Lesson Summary:For pre-assessment, the teacher willask students for examples from their own work that reflects their point of view and opinions. Prior to class, the teacher will assign to groups based upon research topics that will familiarize students with Twain’s life, his views on war and religion, and his experience in writing The Mysterious Stranger. Two gifted readers will read the roles of Satan and the narrator. The teacher will review with students key sentences from the piece to clarify meaning. Research groups will convene and discuss how their research applied to and helped clarify the selection. They will then present their findings. The teacher will assign each group to write a skit in which Twain responds to the character of Satan. Advanced Learners will research other works of Twain to report on his point of view, and Struggling Learners will write a paragraph in response to his point of view as expressed in the selection.
Lesson Objectives:
The students will know…
- how an author’s experience influences his or her writing.
- how knowledge of that experience can clarify the meaning of a piece of literature.
- recognize an author’s point of view.
- apply research to discover meaning.
Learning Styles Targeted:
x / Visual / X / Auditory / Kinesthetic/Tactile
Pre-Assessment: Elicit from students examples from their own work, such as articles, songs, papers, stories, or poems, that reflect their views and concerns.
Whole-Class Instruction
Materials Needed: 1 Copy of excerpt from The Mysterious Stranger* per student; notebooks; pens and pencils.
Procedure:
1)Prior to class, the teacher should break the class into four groups and assign the following research topics: overview of the life of Mark Twain; Mark Twain’s views on war; Mark Twain’s views on religion; background of The Mysterious Stranger.
2)Ask two gifted readers to read the excerpt, one taking the role of Satan, the other the role of the narrator.
3)Emphasize that Mark Twain was a complex thinker and that many of his views evolved over time. Point out that while Twain is identified as a humorist, he was profoundly serious. His later years in particular were marked by great sorrow caused by the death of three daughters and his wife.
4)Point out and ask students to react to the following sentence from the first paragraph: “The vast majority of the race, whether savage or civilized, are secretly kind-hearted and shrink from inflicting pain, but in the presence of the aggressive and pitiless minority they don't dare to assert themselves.” Ask, what is Twain ultimately saying about humanity? Elicit that humanity isn’t basically cruel but weak.
5)Using their research as a base, ask each group to prepare a ten-minute presentation relating what they know about Twain’s life and views to the selection. Allow time for questions and feedback. Presentations should include Twain’s reaction to the Spanish American war as well as his views on slavery.
6)As a follow up, tell students that while Twain did uphold many of the views expressed by Satan regarding humanity’s weakness, his own career showed a remarkable degree of activism. Challenge each group to prepare a skit in which Twain responds to Satan’s views. Students should be aware of Twain’s own activism for abolition, women’s rights, and against vivisection (experiments on animals), as well as his admiration of Joan of Arc. Have each group develop a script and select actors, one to portray Twain, the other to portray Satan. Allow class time for presentation, feedback, and questions.
Advanced Learner
Materials Needed:copy of one of Twain’s works;notebooks; pens and pencils.
Procedure:
1)Challenge students to read or reread another of Twain’s works such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, or The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.
2)Students should summarize the work, and note how it compares and differs in its expression of the author’s views.
Struggling Learner
Materials Needed: 1 Copy of excerpt from The Mysterious Stranger* per student; notebooks; pens and pencils
Procedure:
1)Challenge students to respond to Twain’s point of view. Have them choose one of Satan’s lines from the excerpt and write a paragraph
2)Have students share their paragraphs. Elicit feedback and questions.
*see supplemental resources
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