Mr Josh Cauhorn / English 11 Honors 1

Unit: Realism
Lesson: 5 – Regionalism and Mark Twain
Length: 35 mins

IDOE Standards Covered

Standard 3: READING: Comprehension and Analysis of Literary Text
Students read and respond to grade-level appropriate historically or culturally significant
works of literature that reflect and enhance their study of history and social science.

11.3.1 Structural Features of Literature: Analyze characteristics of subgenres, types of

writings such as satire, parody, allegory, and pastoral that are used in poetry, prose,
plays, novels, short stories, essays, and other basic genres.
• Satire: using humor to point out weaknesses of people and society.
• Parody: using humor to imitate or mock a person or situation.
• Allegory: using symbolic figures and actions to express general truths about
human experiences.
• Pastoral: showing life in the country in an idealistic - and not necessarily
realistic - way.
11.3.5 Analyze or evaluate works of literary or cultural significance in history (American,
English, or world) that:
• reflect a variety of genres in each of the respective historical periods.
• were written by important authors in the respective major historical periods.
• reveal contrasts in major themes, styles, and trends.
• reflect or shed light on the seminal philosophical, religious, social, political, or
ethical ideas of their time.

Objectives
At the end of this lesson, the student will be able to:
1. Explain Regionalism’s importance in the cultural history of the United States.
(11.3.1., 11.3.5)
1.1 Describe the key identifiers of Regionalism in literature: use of dialect and
a focus on the unique aspects of a specific area.
1.2 Analyze the ways in which Regionalism accurately depicts real life in
1800’s America.

Procedure

Preparation

Prepare equipment for Mark Twain PowerPoint and propaganda poster.

Display poster on PowerPoint as kids walk in.

Write the following on the board.

“Look at the poster on the screen. Answer the following on your notes sheet before we
begin. You have until five minutes after the bell rings.:
-How is this an example of pride? Pride in what?
-What is this poster arguing against? (More than just a railroad)

0-8 mins / Anticipatory Set

“You have been looking at a poster posted around Philadelphia during the 1800s to
argue against a railroad being laid down a major street in the city.” Discuss questions.

8-10 mins / Present New Information – Regionalism

“Regionalism is a subgenre of Realism that focuses on accurately depicting a certain

region of the country in a detailed and thorough way.”

Three indicators:
-Importance of Setting
-Detailed descriptions of that location
-Dialect

Ask a student to mimic what they believe dialect to be.

10-25 mins / Reinforce – find these aspects in Huckleberry Finn excerpt

Place students into four groups. Have one group read and try to detect elements of
Regionalism in the section “About the Novel” on page 670. Have another do the same
to the “Legacy of a Masterpiece” on page 670. Another do the first half of the excerpt on
page 671, and the final group do the second half. Have groups come back and discuss,
fill in notes sheets.

25-30 mins / Enrich introduction to Mark Twain

Go through PowerPoint of Mark Twain for the rest of the period. Focus on pictures and
facts about him.

Materials Needed

-Mark Twain Power Point

-Regionalism Notes Sheet
-Propaganda poster
-Textbook

Formative Assessment

The Graphic Organizers will provide proof that the kids were paying attention. I will walk
around and ensure that they are filling them out. In addition, discussion will give me
immediate feedback on their progress.

Learning Styles

• visual/spatial (Graphic Organizer)

 Mr Josh Cauhorn / English 11 Honors 3

• verbal/linguistic (discussion)
• interpersonal (discussion)
• intrapersonal (journal writing)

Accommodations

None, as these are advanced students.

Resources

NCTE ReadWriteThink-Propaganda Poster

slideshare.com – Mark Twain PowerPoint

Textbook