Foreshadowing in literature is hints given by the author of what will happen later. To demonstrate mastery of foreshadowing in literature, students must achieve five levels of understanding:

1. They must be able to define foreshadowing – Level 1 is simple memorization. It is possible for students (or even a really smart monkey) to recite the definition without understanding it.
2. Students should be able to identify foreshadowing – Level 2 eliminates the monkey. It shows the ability to apply the definition in a literary setting. Any high school student can do this with a bit of practice. Identification, however, falls short of mastery.
3. Students should be able to substantiate predictions based on the author’s clues. Level 3 is really close to mastery. It requires high level thinking, even if the predictions are wrong. It falls short of mastery insomuch that the skill is only relevant as it pertains to a specific story
4. Students should be able to determine the author’s purpose in using the foreshadowing – Level 4 indicates mastery of foreshadowing in literature. The ability to analyze author’s purpose facilitates critical thinking and will help individuals make sense of advertising, political speeches, editorials, and news reports. In short, knowing what the author’s purpose is will help them make informed decisions.
5. Students should be able to use foreshadowing in their own writing for a specific purpose – Level 5 is difficult to measure.  Few students reach this mark and is a highly advanced skill.

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“Masque of the Red Death” is one of those stories that became more relevant around March of 2020 with the Covid-19 pandemic. Plagues and pandemics have not only been a part of human history, but in many cases they have changed history. We are fortunate today that we have communication and medical capabilities that limit the effect of pandemics and disease. So despite the disruption to our lives and the personal tragedies some of my listeners may have faced due to Covid-19, I think it’s ok to look forward with optimism and faith. In the end, however, we control our thoughts and we can choose to look forward with faith or dwell on the negatives of the last couple years. 

How might looking forward with faith and gratitude make a difference in your life?

Links

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Caesar has ample information to ascertain there is a viable threat against his life, so why does he not heed these warnings?

It’s because of pride. He thinks he’s untouchable. He thinks that his decrees carry the force of god.

How are we like Caesar? Do we listen those who are “beneath” us or do we think we’re too good to listen to the advice of our students, our colleagues, and others? If so, we may be setting ourselves up for a huge downfall, hopefully nobody’s going to stab you, but we may be setting ourselves up for a metaphorical stab in the back.

Takeaways

1. Julius Caesar shows why humility might be the best way to avoid a gigantic fall.
2. “Beware the Ides of March” is probably the most famous warning in literature.
3. What warnings are you ignoring in your classroom or personal life?

Resources

• Julius Caesar Blog Post at ELACommonCoreLessonPlans.com
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Why teach foreshadowing in Literature?

Teaching foreshadowing in short stories may cover the following Common ELA Standards. 

1. RL.9-10.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
2. RL.9-10.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text
3. RL.9-10.5  Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise.

Two Minute Lesson Plan: Suspense Lesson Plan

I’m a big fan of charts.  This chart deals with suspense. This link connects to short stories for teaching suspense.

1. Discuss how writers create suspense: (1) foreshadowing; (2) pacing; (3) dangerous action
2. Create a two-column chart.
3. In the left column write an example of how the author creates suspense.  In the right column, label it as pacing, dangerous action, or foreshadowing.

Check out this Suspense in the”Most Dangerous Game” chart. It’s a word document, so you can edit its contents to fit whatever story you wish.

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Charles Dickens’ father was a pay clerk in a navy office. Because of financial difficulties, the family moved about until they settled in Camden Town, a poor neighborhood in London, England. At the age of twelve Charles worked with working-class men and boys in a factory that handled "blacking," or shoe polish. While his father was in debtor's prison, the rest of the family moved to live near the prison, leaving Charles to live alone. This experience of lonely hardship was the most significant event of his life. It colored his view of the world and would later be described in a number of his novels.

Today’s quote comes from Great Expectations, a novel I first read in college when I was going through my read everything by Charles Dickens phase. 

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If you recall the novel, Pip grows up impoverished, receives a large sum of money from a generous benefactor, and makes a mess of his life. His financial mess can be attributed to a lack of financial restraint:

"So now, as an infallible way of making little ease great ease, I began to contract a quantity of debt."

Takeaways

1. Great literature is more than a great story.
2. Just because we’re teachers doesn’t mean we’re destined to be poor.
3. Create a budget and stick to it.

Resources

• 15 Good Money Habits
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Today’s quote comes from David Copperfield, a novel I first read in college when I was going through my read everything by Charles Dickens phase. Young David Copperfield meets Mr. Micawber who has many a problem with money; that is, he has no ability nor desire to manage his money well, always incurring debts and never able to pay them off, landing him eventually in debtors' prison. 

By the way, if you’ve seen the movie that came out a couple years back, Mr. Micawber does not get the kind treatment that Dickens gives him in the novel. And since we’re talking about the movie, I must say I absolutely loved it.

Today’s money quote is very wise and ironically comes from the bumbling money manager himself, Mr. Micawber:

“Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.”

Takeaways

1. Great literature is more than a great story.
2. Just because we’re teachers doesn’t mean we’re destined to be poor.
3. Create a budget and stick to it.

Resources

• 15 Good Money Habits
• Free Video Course Sign Up : https://forms.aweber.com/form/34/1733538234.htm
• Complete Lesson Plans Collections: https://trent-media.myshopify.com/

After teaching high school for 20 years, I was a little nervous about my new middle school teaching assignment. Then I realized it’s kind of the same as teaching high school, except students are smaller and the stories are different.

The skills, however, remain the same–just at a different level.

And of course the learning target stays the same: “I can cite textual evidence to support analysis.”

You mean, middle school students are capable of citing textual evidence and analyzing literature?

They are with this “Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros lesson plan.

Links

• “Eleven” Support-Refute Organizer
• “Eleven” Blog Post
• Short Story Teaching Guide Central
• Short Stories for Teaching Empathy

I’ll be honest. I usually stop reading Julius Caesar after Act 3 and show the movie for Acts 4 and 5 because everything after act 3 is just falling action. And there’s a lot of falling.

Takeaways

1. I’m not sure the play’s worth teaching/reading after Act III. There are a couple good movies you can show on YouTube to give students the ending they crave.
2. Shakespeare depicts Marc Antony as a cut throat politician.
3. Back-stabbing is a topic high school students can relate to.

Resources

• Julius Caesar Blog Post at ELACommonCoreLessonPlans.com
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