The Scarlet Letter The Prison Door Scene: Practice with Diction Analysis

This is a good lesson to use whether you are beginning a reading of The Scarlet Letter or if you are teaching the Crucible or Colonial America. The lessons work on collecting details for an essay assessment that focuses on author’s purpose relation to diction and symbolism. An original prompt is used with student samples scored by an experience AP English reader for the College Board. These lessons fit in well into any Honors Literature class, Pre-AP, American Literature, or AP English Literature or Language class.

Teacher-made videos to help students create an art project with the diction and symbolism used in the passage are included. Students will close read and annotate the text, view supporting video clips, and listen to an NPR story on a modern-day Scarlet Letter applied to males on college campuses. Also, there is an interview with Sarah Vowell on Anne Hutchinson. There is a link to a TED TALK on women in contemporary prison. The resource has an explanation on how portions of the lessons can be used in the flipped class situation.

There is also an opportunity to write a Rhetorical Précis, as well as supporting material for teaching this to your students. These four lessons prepare students for AP Language and Literature exams, Common Core extended response assessments, American and World Literature Course exams, the SAT and ACT essay and critical thinking activities

In this resource, there is a unique detailed rubric that can be used to score Socratic Seminars in a way that encourages organic fluid discussions. In the guide, there is a step by step explanation on how to conduct a fish-bowl discussion with the rubric. The packet includes complete lessons, common core standards, essential and key questions.