Unit Lesson Plan : Southern Short Stories

Grade Subject: American Literature 11th-12th

UNIT TOPIC AND LENGTH: FLANNERY OCONNORS SHORT STORIES
6 Days
Teacher should have already read OConnors A Good Man is Hard to
Find and Good Country People.
Should have printed copies of both short stories
Teacher needs to read prior, history of Flannery OConnor and the
underlying meanings of each short story.
Teacher should provide poster board for students to illustrate their
favorite scene in one of the stories.
COMMON CORE CONTENT STANDARDS:
ELAGSE11-12SL3: Evaluate a speakers point of view, reasoning, and
use of evidence and rhetoric, assessing the stance, premises, links
among ideas, word choice, point of emphasis, and tone used.
ELAGSE11-12L3: Apply knowledge of language to understand how
language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for
meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or
listening.
BIGIDEAS/ENDURING
UNDERSTANDINGS:

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:

Scan the students to see what

they think when they think of
Southern literature.

What is the mood of the family

members towards the
grandmother in OConnors A
Good Man is Hard to Find?

Ask what the students stance

on the world around them is
currently at.

What predictions can you make

about the familys trip to Florida
in A Good Man is Hard to Find?

Some misunderstandings of
Southern literature might be
that it is intimidating due to its
language/dialect. We will break
down the meaning behind
some sayings included in
OConnors stories.

After reading A Good Man is

Hard to Find were you surprised
by the ending? What devices or
style did OConnor use to build
up to the ending?

There will be some foul

language and racists terms
used in the short story. They

What similarities in style do you

see in Good Country People
compared to A Good Man is
Hard to Find?
After reading both short stories,

are used to represent the cruel

nature of one of the characters.
Students should be given a
heads up of this.

CONTENT:
Students should have prior
knowledge of the Great
Depression in America between
1929-1939
Student should have an
understanding about the Old
South, Reconstruction of the
South after Civil War and the
lasting effects of
Reconstruction on the South.

what do you think OConnor says

about humanity? Do you agree
with her stance?

SKILLS:
Students will be able to
understand Southern literature
structures, style, and dialect.
Students will be able to
recognize the connection
between Southern literature
and the influences of religion.
Students will be able to
illustrate their understanding of
one scene in on e of the short
story.
Student will be able to analyze
one scene in one of the short
stories on the test.

VOCABULARY/KEY TERMS:
GONE WITH THE WIND A
SOUTH
ENLIGHTENMENT

FILM RELEASED IN

1940,

REPRESENTATION OF

WHAT IT MEANS IN THE CONTEXT OF

OCONNORS

OLD

SHORT STORY

PREDICAMENT
ASSESSMENT

EVIDENCE AND ACTIVITIES:

INITIAL ASSESSMENT : DAY 1 DISCUSSING THE STUDENTS OVERALL

UNDERSTANDING OF SOUTHERN LITERATURE AND THE HISTORY OF THE SOUTH
DURING 1930-1940

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT: PRESENTING

POSTERS WITH SUMMARY ON DAY

FINAL PERFORMANCE TASK: TEST ON DAY 6, TEST CONSISTS

CHOICE, 3 SHORT ANSWER, AND PARAGRAPH RESPONSES.

OF

25

5.

MULTIPLE

LEARNING PLAN & ACTIVITIES:

Class will digest what preconceptions they have of Southern
literature. What have they heard about it? What do they initially
think about it? Ask them to give examples of Southern literature
writers if they know any. The class will then hear a lecture about
Flannery OConnor. We will go over her upbringing, where she lived,
her history, and then introduce the two short stories we will read in
class. Students should not be given a summary of the underlying
meanings behind OConnors stories. The students will discover this
on their own as they read.
Teacher will provide printed copies of the stories. They should be
reminded to bring the stories in class every day, because we will
use the stories as reference any time the class discusses the
stories. This is to encourage the students to use evidence to back
their ideas.
Students will read the short stories for homework. They are
relatively short so it should take them 20-30 to read on their own
and annotate. We will then discuss the story in class. The first day
they will read A Good Man is Hard to Find.
Second day the students will discuss A Good Man is Hard to Find
and then they will be asked to read Good Country People for day 3
discussion.
Student should bring the stories to class highlighted and annotated
with their own notes. Their notes will be checked and given
feedback on how to improve. This will help students practice good
note taking for college, and help them search for the bigger ideas in
stories. It can also help make discoveries that other students may
have missed.
Day 3 will be discussion of Good Country People. This is the day to
make connections from the previous story to the second story. Ask
the students what similarities they found from both stories.
Day 4 the students will hand write a rough draft of their summary.
The summary will be about one of their favorite scenes in one of the
short stories. Students should provide quotes, excerpts of the
stories in their summary, as well as connecting symbolism to the
stories or interpret the language used in the story.
Day 5 will be when the students bring their projects and share them
with the class. We will also go over a brief study guide of what will
be on the test over Southern literature.
Day 6 will be the test over the short stories, Flannery OConnor, and
the students understanding of Southern literature classifications.
This should be an assessment that will assess if the students read
the short stories and understood the main ideas of OConnors
writings.

RESOURCES: RESOURCES:
Teacher will provide prints of the short stories for the student to
take home and read in class. Remind students they are responsible
for brining the short stories to class. There will be references in
class to the text, so it is important they bring their own copies every
day.
Taking a break from technology, students will present their favorite
scene on a poster board that the teacher will provide. Teacher can
provide other materials (markers, crayon) but should encourage the
students to take the project home and complete it.
Students are to provide a summary of the scene and why they
enjoyed the particular scene on the back of the poster board.
Students must also include an excerpt of the scene, like a quote, in
their summary.
Students are encouraged to type up summary and paste on back of
poster.