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© 2005 Peter Burkhart

 

"The Red Headed League" Lesson:

Unit/Theme: Sherlock Holmes      Level: Honors

Subject: Seventh Grade English

NYS Standards/ Benchmarks: E2b: Produce a response to literature that demonstrates an understanding of the literary work .

OBJECTIVES/OUTCOMES

  • Students will explore the development of plot in a Holmes story.
  • Students will be able to identify different parts of a story’s organization.
  • Understand that author’s often use a specific pattern in their stories.
  • Students will update a classroom quoteboard with relevant quotations from Holmes.

RESOURCES

  • Note: This quoteboard portion of this lesson should be done after students have read a few stories and should be continuous throughout the unit.

QUOTABLE QUOTE

"It is quote a three pipe problem, and I beg that you won’t speak to me for fifty minutes."

-S. Holmes, Red Headed League

PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

  • Students will have read "The Red-Headed League," and "A Scandal in Bohemia" by Arthur Conan Doyle.

    ACTIVITIES/ OUTCOMES

  • Silent reading (25 minutes)
  • Working in groups students will list the major events in "The Red-Headed League."
  • Small groups of students will identify the different parts of the plotline in a story (Exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution.)
  • Student will use the blackboard to provide their answers for the group using a chart.
  • Time will be provided for students to update the class quotation board.
  • Journal: It has been said people with red hair have fiery personalities. Do you think hair color has anything to do with personality. Support your answer.
  • Journal #2: Holmes said, "the more bizarre a thing is the less mysterious it proves to be. It is your commonplace, featureless crimes which are really puzzling, just as a commonplace face is the most difficult to identify." What does he mean by this?

    ASSESSMENT

  • Group work
  • Participation.
  • Update quoteboard.
  • HW. Continue writing your thoughts about the stories and begin reading "A Case of Identity." (pgs. 147-158).
  • Quiz: "The Red Headed League"

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