Lesson Plan: the Relevancy of Colloquialism in the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Lesson Plan: the Relevancy of Colloquialism in the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Lesson Plan: The relevancy of colloquialism in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Overview:

Subject: American Literature

Grade: 11

Summary and Rationale: This is an ongoing study that prompts students to use critical thinking to analyze an author’s message and purpose for writing a literary piece. Critical thinking skills are imperative for students to master in a world where they will be need to connect information from a variety of sources and generate a decision based upon the information they have been given. This lesson provides them the opportunity to include additional information to their repertoire on American Voice and how this voice contributes to the American Dream, which is the overarching theme in American Literature.

Pre-Teaching:

Standards:

  • W11-S3C5
  • R11-S2C1

Objectives:

  1. The students will identify the features of Huck’s dialect by writing down their observations and sharing out their responses.
  2. The students will interpret Huck’s intended message by rewriting lines in proper English.
  3. The students will recreate the “Gettysburg Address” by employing their knowledge of Huck’s dialect to rewrite a selected passage.

Evaluation:

  • The students will evaluate the importance of Twain’s use of colloquialism to establishing a revolutionary dynamic to the American Voice by writing a paragraph that focuses on the effect Huck’s language has on the delivery of the intended message.
  • The paragraph will address the following questions:
  • If Twain had written the entire novel only using proper English, what would have been the overall effect on the novel?
  • Does Huck’s voice change the meaning of the passages?
  • Looking at the recreation of the “Gettysburg Address” are there things that Huck can deliver in a message that those who speak proper English cannot convey?

Pre-requisite Knowledge: In order to understand the importance of Twain’s use of colloquialism, the students must first have a working knowledge concerning the definition of colloquialism. They must also have read a portion of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Terms:

  1. Colloquialism
  2. Dialect

Materials:

Teacher:

  1. Board Markers
  2. Copy of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
  3. Handout of the assignment
  4. Projector: features of Huck’s language usage

Students:

  1. Pen/pencil
  2. Paper
  3. Copy of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Teaching Procedures:

Opening (Set):

  • Draw on prior knowledge:
  • What is colloquialism?
  • List features of Huck’s language that makes the way he speaks unique.
  • Give students a few minutes to write down their responses.
  • Have students share out their responses by writing down their observations on the white board.
  • Share my observations on the projector and have them list anything they have not already written down.

Lesson:

  • Interpreting Huck’s use of dialect:
  • I will first model how to interpret a line from the novel.
  • Students will get into pairs and interpret preselected lines from the novel together by rewriting the passage in proper English.
  • After each line, the students will share out their responses.
  • Students will interpret one line independently before we move on- student will choose their own line.
  • After all students have finished, students will share out their interpretations.

Checks for Understanding:

  1. What is colloquialism?
  2. What is dialect?
  3. How did you rewrite the line into proper English?
  4. What elements of Huck’s dialect did you have change to rewrite the passage in proper English?

Guided Questions:

  1. How does Huck’s tone change when you rewrite the passage in proper English?
  2. Did the message change when you rewrote the passage into proper English?
  3. How does proper English change the interpretation of Huck’s characterization?
  4. Why did Twain choose to use colloquialism when writing the novel?

Guided Practice:

  • Students will get into pairs and interpret preselected lines from the novel together by rewriting the passage in proper English.
  • After each line, the students will share out their responses.

Assessment:

Huck Finn interpretations:

  • Students will interpret one line independently before we move on- student will choose their own line.
  • After all students have finished, students will share out their interpretations.

‘Gettysburg Address’ rewrite:

  • The students will evaluate the importance of Twain’s use of colloquialism to establishing a revolutionary dynamic to the American Voice by writing a paragraph that focuses on the effect Huck’s language has on the delivery of the intended message.
  • The paragraph will address the following questions:
  • If Twain had written the entire novel only using proper English, what would have been the overall effect on the novel?
  • Does Huck’s voice change the meaning of the passages?
  • Looking at the recreation of the “Gettysburg Address” are there things that Huck can deliver in a message that those who speak proper English cannot convey?

Closure:

  • Ticket out the door: Write down a summary of what you learned today about the importance of colloquialism to the intended message in the novel.

Differentiated Instruction:

Currently, I have no students on IEP’s, but I will still walk the room during guided practice to monitor student understanding and will answer any clarifying questions. For those students who still struggle with the concept, I will instruct the rest of the class to begin independently working on their interpretations; while I work with those students who need help, interpret new lines in the back of the class.

Top View