This is a suggested teaching schedule for a 10 day class study of Ernest J. Gaines’ A Lesson Before Dying. Lesson plans and handouts can be downloaded individually by clicking on the name of the file in the schedule below. Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view these files.
Audio Guide CDs are available only for the communities participating in The Big Read. If your community is participating, contact the lead community organization to receive a free Audio Guide CD. Non-participating communities can listen to the full audio online.
DAY ONE
FOCUS: Biography
Day One Lesson Plan [64K]
Activities: Listen to the Big Read CD. Read Reader’s Guide. Discuss the ways Gaines used elements of his own life to create the novel. Write about how a good novel can transcend time and place.
Homework: Read Chapters 1-4 (pp. 3-32).*
DAY TWO
FOCUS: Culture and History
Day Two Lesson Plan [68K]
Activities: Discuss the accuracy of Gaines’ depiction of a small Southern town. Write an essay analyzing the way Henri Pichot treats Inez and Miss Emma.
Homework: Read Chapters 5-9 (pp. 33-74).
DAY THREE
FOCUS: Narrative and Point of View
Day Three Lesson Plan [63K]
Activities: Explore possibilities of alternatives to first-person narration. Write a brief description of the trial in either first or third person.
Homework: Read Chapters 10-13 (pp. 75-102).
DAY FOUR
FOCUS: Characters
Day Four Lesson Plan [54K]
Activities: Discuss Grant’s role as the novel’s protagonist, the antagonistic forces, and characters within the novel. Write a short essay on a character or situation that serves as an antagonist to Grant.
Homework: Read Chapters 14-17 (pp. 103-134).
DAY FIVE
FOCUS: Figurative Language
Day Five Lesson Plan [63K]
Activities: Discuss the ways Gaines uses description of the scenery to evoke different moods. Write an essay on why the symbol of the “hog” affected Miss Emma, Tante Lou, and Jefferson so deeply.
Homework: Read Chapters 18-21 (pp.135-167).
DAY SIX
FOCUS: Symbols
Day Six Lesson Plan [68K]
Activities: Discuss the religious symbolism in the novel. Write an essay on the symbolism of a character’s name.
Homework: Read Chapters 22-24 (pp.168-194).
Handout 3 [56K]
DAY SEVEN
FOCUS: Character Development
Day Seven Lesson Plan [68K]
Activities: Discuss the role of heroes in the novel and what the concept of heroism means to Grant and Jefferson. Write an essay on a female character whose actions can be considered heroic.
Homework: Read Chapters 25-27 (pp. 195-218).
DAY EIGHT
FOCUS: The Plot Unfolds
Day Eight Lesson Plan [54K]
Activities: Examine the major events of the novel as they pertain to Grant and Jefferson. Discuss the ways the lives of the two men are linked. Map a timeline. Write several paragraphs anticipating the novel’s end and how the actions of Grant and Jefferson might affect the community.
Homework: Read Chapters 28-31 (pp. 219-256).
DAY NINE
FOCUS: Themes of the Novel
Day Nine Lesson Plan [69K]
Activities: Examine the themes justice, commitment, and manhood. Ask students to identify other themes.
Homework: Prepare outlines and begin essays.
DAY TEN
FOCUS: What Makes a Great Book?
Day Ten Lesson Plan [60K]
Activities: Explore the qualities of a great novel. Discuss what A Lesson Before Dying can teach us about the pre-civil rights South.
Homework: Finish essays.
Handouts
Handout One: Sharecropping [PDF]
Handout Two: Pre-Civil Rights South [PDF]
Handout Three: Jackie Robinson and Joe Louis [PDF]
* Page numbers refer to the June 1994 Vintage Contemporaries Edition.
