Summary
In this lesson, students analyze Pride and Prejudice by conducting character analyses and using textual evidence to explore societal norms of the 19th century and their broader historical and social contexts. They compare these norms to those of the 21st century, constructing critical analyses that highlight key connections.
Essential Question(s)
How are characters' actions subject to societal norms? How is an author and their characters influenced by societal norms?
Snapshot
Engage
Students recall historical societal norms for Regency England using the ABC Graffiti strategy.
Explain 1
Students review major themes and historical context from Pride and Prejudice.
Explore 1
Students summarize Pride and Prejudice using A Novel in a Day.
Explore 2
Students analyze characters using Color, Symbol, Image to illustrate character differences.
Explain 2
Students redefine their understanding of Regency England by investigating a Wakelet.
Extend
Students critique characters from the novel by role-playing conversations that challenge or subvert traditional societal norms.
Evaluate
Students appraise the role-playing conversations with a Gallery Walk.
Materials
Lesson Slides (attached)
ABC Graffiti posters (attached; one per group)
Pride and Prejudice (linked; entire novel)
Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 1 handout (attached; one per student)
Pride and Prejudice, Chapters 2-11 handout (attached; one set per group)
Pride and Prejudice, Chapters 12-21 handout (attached; one set per group)
Pride and Prejudice, Chapters 22-31 handout (attached; one set per group)
Pride and Prejudice, Chapters 32-41 handout (attached; one set per group)
Pride and Prejudice, Chapters 42-51 handout (attached; one set per group)
Pride and Prejudice, Chapters 52-61 handout (attached; one set per group)
Novel in a Day handout (attached; one per student)
Color, Symbol, Image handout (attached; one per group)
Color, Symbol, Image Rubric handout (attached; one per group)
Pride & Prejudice Activity slides (see Teacher’s Note: Preparing the Lesson)
Austen’s Words handout (attached; teacher copy)
Character Pairings handout (attached; class set, see Teacher’s Note: Preparing the Lesson)
Dry erase markers multiple colors (a different color per group)
Engage
30 Minute(s)
Begin by opening the attached Lesson Slides and transition through slides 2-3 to review the essential questions and lesson objectives with your students in as much detail as you feel necessary.
Display slide 4. Explain to your students that they will complete an ABC Graffiti activity related to historical gender roles. Have students get into groups of 2-3. Provide each group with one colored marker (each group gets a different color) and an attached ABC Graffiti handout. Move to slide 5 and explain that for Round 1 groups will be given three minutes (use the timer) to formulate a list of historical careers or occupations based on historical stereotypes and gender roles. Instruct students to also place an F (for female) or an M (for male) next to the occupation to determine the typical stereotype or gender role [e.g. D-doctor (M)]. Explain to students that they will write down as many words for as many letters as possible in the time provided using their prior knowledge of the topic. Start the timer. Once the time is up, tell students to take their markers and rotate to the next poster.
Display slide 6 and explain that for Round 2 they will be given three more minutes to pick up where the previous group left off when trying to fill out the poster. Start the timer. Once again, call time and have students rotate to a different poster.
Move to slide 7 and inform students that for this final three-minute round, they can use an outside resource to generate new occupations, or anything about Regency England or Jane Austen for the remaining letters. Start timer.
Once the timer has ended, instruct the groups to return to their original poster and construct a summary statement synthesizing the poster’s information. Have each group share their summary statements.
Explain 1
Display slide 8 and distribute the attached Pride and Prejudice Chapter 1 handout to all students. Invite students to underline vocabulary words they don’t know and make note of potential themes or tone as they read. Read the chapter as a class. As a class, have students share their initial reactions to the novel so far. Transition through slides 9-10 and review definitions for “tone” and “theme”. Display slide 11 and invite students to turn to an Elbow Partner and discuss the following questions: What themes are they starting to see in chapter one already? What is the overall tone for the novel so far? After a brief conversation, ask for volunteers to share out. Use hidden slide 12 to clear up any misconceptions.
Next, transition to talking about any other vocabulary students didn’t know. Ask students: What are some terms you didn’t know? Display slide 13 and review some of the relevant literary terms. Invite students to write unknown definitions down on a separate sheet of paper and keep handy as they read. Use the attached Austen’s Words handout for help with definitions. Ask students if there were words they marked that were not on the vocabulary slide and discuss meanings as a class.
Explore 1
120 Minute(s)
Display slide 14. Explain to students that they will use the novel Pride and Prejudice to analyze a character’s actions, dialogue, and relationships to identify how societal norms impact behavior. Share the instructional strategy Novel in a Day with students and pass out the attached Novel in a Day handout, one per student. Have students type in your shortened URL address or scan your QR code to access the “Pride & Prejudice Activity” slides. Once students have accessed the activity and the “sample” slide, minimize the Lesson Slides and pull-up the “Pride & Prejudice Activity” slides. Before students begin the activity, make sure to spend a couple of minutes going over slides 1-2 of the “Pride & Prejudice Activity” slides to review the expectations for the activity. As a class, write a summary for chapter 1 on Activity slide 3 to model how they should complete their assigned chapter slides.
Divide the class into six groups where each group is responsible for one of the attached handouts of ten chapters. Pass out the attached chapter handouts accordingly.
Pride and Prejudice Chapters 2-11
Pride and Prejudice Chapters 12-21
Pride and Prejudice Chapters 22-31
Pride and Prejudice Chapters 32-41
Pride and Prejudice Chapters 42-51
Pride and Prejudice Chapters 52-61
Allow students time to read. Remind students to use their Novel in a Day handout as they read to create a summary over the part they individually read. Afterwards, as a group they should create a combined summary over all the chapters their group read. Instruct them to find their chapters’ slide and add their summaries to the linked “Pride & Prejudice Activity” slide deck. As a class, ask each group to chronologically share their summaries. Inform students to keep the “Pride & Prejudice Activity” slide deck open as they will use it throughout other parts of the lesson.
Explore 2
60 Minute(s)
Resume using the Lesson Slides and display slide 15. Introduce students to the Color, Symbol, Image strategy, where each group will choose a specific character from the novel to focus on. In this strategy, students will jot down what they know about their assigned character. Then, they will need to identify key quotes and moments (citing textual evidence) that illustrate the societal expectations of their character. After that, students will think about what color might represent their character and explain their choice. Have them do the same for a symbol and an image. Tell students to think metaphorically when they think about a symbol, but more concretely for an image. Tell students that they will use this strategy to emphasize each character's views on societal norms, using their observation skills from the Novel in a Day activity. Pass out one copy of the Color, Symbol, Image handout and one copy of the attached Color, Symbol, Image Rubric handout to each group. Instruct students to complete the handout based on the Rubric guidelines for their chosen character before moving their content to the linked “Pride & Prejudice Activity” slide deck.
Once all groups have added their content, transition to slide 16 and invite students to read through other character slides and use the emojis to react. Then have a class discussion on how societal norms may influence character actions. We suggest asking the following: Why did you choose each piece that identifies societal norms influencing your character? How were your choices influenced by your character’s decisions and relationships? How did societal norms influence marriages or relationships portrayed in the book? Did your character adhere to societal norms or were they defiant? Consider moving back to the “Pride & Prejudice Activity” slide deck during the discussion.
Explain 2
40 Minute(s)
Now that students have reviewed the novel, transition to talking about how these characters’ actions reflected the historical context surrounding Jane Austen and when she wrote the novel.
Display slide 17 and explain that now students will learn about Regency England by reviewing a Wakelet with curated content. Access the Wakelet here: http://k20.ou.edu/regency. Instruct students to access the content by scanning the QR code or typing in the provided URL on the slide. The different topics to focus on are as follows: Marriage and Social Status, Gender Expectations and Norms, Education and Accomplishments, Economic Independence, Legal Rights and Social Restrictions, Family Dynamics and Domestic Life, and Social Etiquette and Behavior.
Invite students to choose one topic to research making sure all topics are assigned. Then instruct them to return to the “Pride & Prejudice Activity” Google slide deck and add their Point of Most Significance from their research to their chosen topic’s slide. Choose one person from each area to share out their slide.
As a class discuss: What have you learned about the Regency era, gender norms, societal expectations, social classes, and how these influenced the story's characters?
Extend
45 Minute(s)
Display slide 18. Inform students that they will be using the Role-Play Conversations strategy. Explain that they will be in a group of three where two members will be actors and one will be a scribe. Once students have formed their groups, have each group take turns selecting a slip of paper with their assigned characters (see previous Teacher’s Note: Preparing the lesson). Move through slides 19-20 to review the activity and everyone’s roles. Remind students that as they engage in conversation, they need to keep the switch in mind. Allow students time to prepare their scene.
Display slide 21. Once the groups are prepared to present their scenes, remind students of good listening norms:
Students will actively listen in order to analyze and evaluate speakers’ verbal and nonverbal messages by asking questions to clarify purpose and perspective.
Each group will present the switched-role scenes while their scribe takes notes and records the scene. The audience members should be prepared to make a positive comment or ask a short question. All students should make at least one comment or ask a question of one of the other groups. Note: This listening expectation can be used as a formative assessment.
Evaluate
90 Minute(s)
Display slide 22 and introduce students to the Gallery Walk strategy. Explain that students will do a gallery walkthrough over the scribe's notes of the role-play conversations. Pass out two different colors of sticky notes to each student and ask students to write an agreement comment on one color and an additional observation or disagreement on the other color.
After everyone has provided their feedback from the Gallery Walk, display slide 23 and explain that students will answer the following as an Exit Ticket:
What have you learned about the Regency era?
What have you learned about gender norms, societal expectations, and/or social classes?
How have these influenced the story's characters?
Resources
K20 Center. (n.d.). ABC graffiti. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/96
K20 Center. (n.d.). Bell ringers and exit tickets. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/125
K20 Center. (n.d.). Color, symbol, image. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/161
K20 Center. (n.d.). Gallery walk/carousel. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/118
K20 Center. (n.d.). Google slides. Tech Tools. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/tech-tool/2335
K20 Center. (n.d.). Novel in a day. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/74
K20 Center. (n.d.). Poms: point of most significance. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/101
K20 Center. (n.d.). QR codes. Tech tools. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/tech-tool/2449???????
K20 Center. (n.d.). Role-play conversations. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/3372
K20 Center. (n.d.). Wakelet. Tech tools. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/tech-tool/2180