My classes are held in 100-minute block sessions every other day. Activities in this lesson take approximately one class period to complete. The lesson below outlines Day Four on A Streetcar Named Desire. Today we finish reading the play and explore student themes.
A prezi on the play by Leanne Black (2013) may be useful for reviewing the play's historical context, plot, and literary techniques. Due to the comprehensive nature of the Prezi, I recommend waiting until you are done exploring the play with students to use it as a review. You can create your own account at prezi.com.
For all-class reading and discussion, teachers working with students who are building critical reading proficiency can use a teacher-developed study guide on the play as a resource. It includes discussion questions on each scene as well as extended learning opportunities. I have included it as a resource in this section and will include it in each subsequent lesson to facilitate its use.
At the beginning of class, students explain that since we reviewed Scenes I through V through student-led inquiry and discussion last class, they feel prepared to finish reading the play today.
We continue reading the text by listening to the audiobook ((HarperCollins, 2008) while reading the text. As students are highly proficient readers, we read Scenes VI through VIII then discuss the following issues:
Students are anxious to finish the play. We read Scenes IX-XI, then discuss the following issues:
For the ticket out, I ask students to write a page that answers the question: What do you think is the theme of A Streetcar Named Desire? Why? Provide at least three examples from the text with parenthetical citations to support your answer. Please view the video in this section for an overview of student work (Narration: Ticket Out)(Student Work: Ticket Out). Students share their writing with at least two people and discuss their themes.
Students state that they have learned to always seek out help if they have problems as opposed to running from them.