This Big Read Teacher’s Guide contains ten lessons to lead you through F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel, The Great Gatsby. Each lesson has four sections: a thematic focus, discussion activities, writing exercises, and homework assignments. In addition, we have provided suggested essay topics and capstone projects, as well as handouts with more background information about the novel, the historical period, and the author. All lessons dovetail with the state language arts standards required in the fiction genre.
Finally, the Big Read Reader’s Guide deepens your exploration with interviews, booklists, time lines, and historical information. We hope this guide and syllabus allow you to have fun with your students while introducing them to the work of a great American author.
From the NEA, we wish you an exciting and productive school year.
F. Scott Fitzgerald, c. 1925 (American Stock/Getty Images)
The Country Flapper, 1922 (Motion Picture Department of the George Eastman House
First edition cover (Cover painting by Francis Cugat, courtesy of the Matthew J. and Arlyn Bruccoli Collection of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Thomas Cooper Library, University of South Carolina)
