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English lesson plan · 12th grade (Year 13 in England) · 45 minutes

Literary movements: Romanticism, Gothic, Realism, Modernism and more

Reading Comprehension

CCSS RL.11-12.9CCSS RL.11-12.5England: A-level English Literature (context, AO3)England: AP LiteratureEngland: GCSE English Literature (context)

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Literary movements: Romanticism, Gothic, Realism, Modernism and more.

  • I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
  • I can explain each step and say why it works.
  • I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Narrative techniques: unreliable narrator, in medias res, frame narrative…; Drama terms: soliloquy, aside, foil, hamartia, catharsis…; Literary analysis: theme, symbol, ambiguity

Leads to: the next skill in this area.

Materials: A short text or extract (one copy each), Highlighters, Question cards, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 5 min

  • Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Narrative techniques: unreliable narrator, in medias res, frame narrative…; Drama terms: soliloquy, aside, foil, hamartia, catharsis…; Literary analysis: theme, symbol, ambiguity). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. Which narrative technique matches this description? Writing that imitates the flow of a character's thoughts, often jumping between ideas. (stream of consciousness / multiple narrators / unreliable narrator / in medias res) → stream of consciousnessPrompt: Think about who tells the story, in what form, and where the story starts.
  2. Which drama term matches this description? The fatal flaw or error of judgement that causes a tragic hero's downfall. (foil / soliloquy / hamartia / aside) → hamartiaPrompt: Who is the character speaking to: themselves, the audience, or other characters?
  3. Which narrative technique is used here? Each chapter is narrated by a different member of the family, so we see the same argument from four sides. (unreliable narrator / frame narrative / multiple narrators / in medias res) → multiple narratorsPrompt: Is the form unusual (letters, thoughts), does the story start mid-action, sit inside another story, or have a narrator we can't trust?

Hook · 5 min

  • Read the first lines of a short text aloud and ask what students predict will happen and why.
  • Share the objective: Literary movements: Romanticism, Gothic, Realism, Modernism and more. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 10 min

  • Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
  • Example: Which literary movement matches this description? 1830s–1840s New England: intuition, self-reliance and the spiritual value of nature.
  • Step 1: Literary movements share themes, styles and historical contexts; recognising them helps you write about context.
  • Step 2: Transcendentalism: 1830s–1840s New England: intuition, self-reliance and the spiritual value of nature.
  • Step 3: So the answer is: Transcendentalism
  • Answer: Transcendentalism
  • Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 10 min

  • Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
  • Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
  1. Which literary movement matches this description? 1920s–1930s: a flowering of African American literature, music and art centred in Harlem, New York. (Modernism / Realism / Postmodernism / Harlem Renaissance) → Harlem RenaissancePrompt: Think about the period and the key features: emotion and nature? terror? everyday life? experiment? jazz-age Harlem? self-reliance? play with fiction itself?
  2. Which literary movement does this description most closely match? A novel follows a provincial doctor's money worries, unhappy marriage and daily routine in careful, unromantic detail. (Romanticism / Harlem Renaissance / Gothic / Realism) → RealismPrompt: Which features in the description are most distinctive?

You do: independent practice · 10 min

  • Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
  • Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 5 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. Which literary movement matches this description? 1920s–1930s: a flowering of African American literature, music and art centred in Harlem, New York. (Romanticism / Modernism / Harlem Renaissance / Gothic) → Harlem RenaissancePrompt: Think about the period and the key features: emotion and nature? terror? everyday life? experiment? jazz-age Harlem? self-reliance? play with fiction itself?
  2. Type the literary movement (in English) that matches this description. Mid–late 19th century: ordinary people and everyday life shown accurately and in detail. → RealismPrompt: Think about the period and the key features: emotion and nature? terror? everyday life? experiment? jazz-age Harlem? self-reliance? play with fiction itself?

Watch out for

  • Answering from memory or opinion instead of evidence in the text.
  • Copying a long quote without explaining what it shows.

Support and stretch

Support

  • Review first: Narrative techniques: unreliable narrator, in medias res, frame narrative….
  • Use concrete materials: a short text or extract (one copy each).
  • Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
  • Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

  • Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
  • Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-12.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

eurekami

Literary movements: Romanticism, Gothic, Realism, Modernism and more

Name

Date

Score/ 8

  1. Question 1

    Which literary movement does this description most closely match? A novel follows a provincial doctor's money worries, unhappy marriage and daily routine in careful, unromantic detail.

    • A. Harlem Renaissance
    • B. Realism
    • C. Modernism
    • D. Romanticism
  2. Question 2

    Which literary movement matches this description? Mid–late 20th century onwards: playfulness, metafiction and scepticism about single 'grand' truths.

    • A. Realism
    • B. Postmodernism
    • C. Harlem Renaissance
    • D. Romanticism
  3. Question 3

    Type the literary movement (in English) that matches this description. Mid–late 19th century: ordinary people and everyday life shown accurately and in detail.

    Answer

  4. Question 4

    Which literary movement does this description most closely match? A novel's narrator interrupts the story to discuss with the reader how she might end it, offering three different endings.

    • A. Postmodernism
    • B. Realism
    • C. Gothic
    • D. Transcendentalism
  5. Question 5

    Which literary movement matches this description? 1920s–1930s: a flowering of African American literature, music and art centred in Harlem, New York.

    • A. Romanticism
    • B. Realism
    • C. Harlem Renaissance
    • D. Gothic
  6. Question 6

    Type the literary movement (in English) that matches this description. 1830s–1840s New England: intuition, self-reliance and the spiritual value of nature.

    Answer

  7. Question 7

    Which literary movement matches this description? From the mid 18th century: mystery, terror, the supernatural and gloomy settings such as ruined castles.

    • A. Romanticism
    • B. Harlem Renaissance
    • C. Gothic
    • D. Transcendentalism
  8. Question 8

    Which literary movement matches this description? 1830s–1840s New England: intuition, self-reliance and the spiritual value of nature.

    • A. Transcendentalism
    • B. Gothic
    • C. Postmodernism
    • D. Romanticism

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Answer key: Literary movements: Romanticism, Gothic, Realism, Modernism and more

  1. 1. B. Realism

  2. 2. B. Postmodernism

  3. 3. Realism

  4. 4. A. Postmodernism

  5. 5. C. Harlem Renaissance

  6. 6. Transcendentalism

  7. 7. C. Gothic

  8. 8. A. Transcendentalism