Hemingway's the Old Man and the Sea Book Club
In this 4-week course, students will read Ernest Hemingway's classic, The Old Man and the Sea
Janelle Fila
Average rating:
4.6
Number of reviews:(903)
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What's included
4 pre-recorded lessons
4 weeks
of teacher support1 year access
to the contentHomework
1-2 hours per week. Students will read approximately 30 at a time on their own time. Students will have access to the new video and a corresponding one page worksheet with discussion questions and places for fill-in-the blank answers. I also assign a short writing assignment focused around the discussion questions. There are also vocabulary words and a free Kahoot! trivia quiz to test comprehension from the pages read.Assessment
The more questions, comments, and posts that students share in the classroom, the more I can understand their knowledge and comprehension of the topics we are discussing.Letter Grade
includedClass Experience
US Grade 6 - 9
The Old Man and the Sea is a great introduction to Ernest Hemingway, one of America's classic authors. It is required reading in many classrooms. Its themes of man vs. beast and man vs. self make it a wonderful story to read and discuss. Students will read approximately 30 pages at a time on their own time. Each lesson, a new video will discuss the pages that the students have previously read. This class does not meet live. The prerecorded sessions will emphasize characters, their motivations, theme, story plausibility, and inferences about what might come next. The video covers the important elements of the week's reading and a corresponding one page worksheet with discussion questions and places for fill-in-the blank answers. The worksheets will also address/remind the students of some of the important topics from each chapter. I also assign a short writing assignment focused around the discussion questions. Lesson breakdown: Students will receive a worksheet and discussion questions for each weekly video. There is one weekly writing assignment to complete after the reading. I will post vocabulary words from the weekly reading for the students to use in a sentence that showcases their understanding of the definition. I will also post a link to a themed Kahoot! trivia quiz that the students can use to further immerse themselves in Hemingway's world. Students can share their experience and their scores, or forgo this free, optional resource if they have testing anxiety.
Learning Goals
The prerecorded sessions emphasize characters' motivations, theme, and story plausibility. Students will examine their own thoughts through a worksheet, a writing assignment, vocabulary words, and an optional Kahoot! review quiz.
Syllabus
4 Lessons
over 4 WeeksLesson 1:
Pages 1-30
Video lesson, worksheet, vocabulary words, writing assignment, and optional Kahoot! review quiz Lesson 2:
Pages 31-60
Video lesson, worksheet, vocabulary words, writing assignment, and optional Kahoot! review quiz Lesson 3:
Pages 61-90
Video lesson, worksheet, vocabulary words, writing assignment, and optional Kahoot! review quiz Lesson 4:
Page 91-127
Video lesson, worksheet, vocabulary words, writing assignment, and optional Kahoot! review quiz Other Details
Parental Guidance
From commonsensemedia.org: The Old Man and the Sea is a classroom reading-list staple. Widely regarded as Hemingway's masterpiece, it won the Pulitzer Prize and had much to do with his winning the Nobel. It's packed with epic struggles (man vs. nature, man vs. himself), eternal issues (love, survival, teaching the next generation, tenacity against the odds) and strong writing. It's also about three days in a boat in which most of the action takes place in the title character's head, punctuated by graphic descriptions of, say, the gutting of fish. It's also somewhat fraught with a late-in-life perspective that may be largely lost on young readers. Readers young and old are rarely ambivalent about this book -- it's either love or hate, often mixed with a hefty dose of parody (Hemingway at times writes like a macho parody of himself).
Supply List
The students will need a copy of The Old Man and the Sea to read on their own. It can be borrowed from the library or even listened to as an audio book. The students will not need a physical copy of the story in class, although they may find it helpful to have while filling out their worksheets or working on their writing assignment.
External Resources
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
Joined June, 2019
4.6
903reviews
Star Educator
Teacher expertise and credentials
Master's Degree in Music or Theatre or Arts from Spalding University
I have a Master's Degree in Creative Writing for Children and Young Adults. I was a substitute teacher for three years before teaching full-time on Outschool for multiple years. I also teach English Composition at my local technical college. I have been blessed to discuss classic authors like Hemingway in the classroom many times, including my own high school reading experience! I learn something new every time I am exposed to his stories. The Old Man and the Sea is an excellent book to discuss and analyze due to its epic themes: man vs. nature, man vs. self, love, survival, teaching the next generation, overcoming obstacles, etc. I am excited to read it alongside your student to see what emotions, feelings, and gut reactions Hemingway's writing stirs up for them.Reviews
Self-Paced Course
$10
weekly or $40 for all content4 pre-recorded lessons
4 weeks of teacher support
Choose your start date
1 year of access to the content
Completed by 2 learners
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Ages: 11-16
