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Dramatic Perspective in Moby Dick Lesson PlanDramatic Perspective in Moby Dick Lesson Plan
Publisher
National Endowment for the Humanities
Resource Details
Curator Rating
Educator Rating
Not yet Rated
Grade
9th - 12th
Subjects
English Language Arts
1 more...
Resource Type
Lesson Plans
Audience
For Teacher Use
Duration
45 mins
Instructional Strategies
Collaborative Learning
2 more...
Technology
Projection
Internet Access
Year
2015
Usage Permissions
Creative Commons
BY: 4.0
cc
Lesson Plan

Dramatic Perspective in Moby Dick

Curated and Reviewed by Lesson Planet
This Dramatic Perspective in Moby Dick lesson plan also includes:
  • Unit Overview: Melville’s Moby Dick: Shifts in Narrative Voice and Literary Genres (.html)
  • Ahab’s Dramatic Monologue in Chapter 37 (.pdf)
  • Ahab’s Dramatic Monologue in Chapter 37 - Teacher Version (.pdf)
  • Comparing Introductions: Ishmael and Ahab (.pdf)
  • Comparing Introductions: Ishmael and Ahab - Teacher Version (.pdf)
  • Activity
  • Join to access all included materials

A instructional activity on Herman Melville's Moby Dick asks readers to compare the first person point of view of Ishmael in Chapter 1 to Captain Ahab's dramatic monologue in Chapter 37. Readers cite evidence from the chapters to support their analysis of Ahab as a foil to Ishmael.

13 Views 4 Downloads
CCSS: Designed

Concepts

american literature, herman melville, moby dick, perspective, character foil, first-person point of view, point of view, voice, protagonists, antagonists, monologues, soliloquies, compare and contrast

Instructional Ideas

  • Begin the lesson by asking class members to brainstorm a list of character foils in other works they have read (Gene and Phineas, Othello and Iago, etc.)
  • If pupils are unfamiliar with dramatic monologues, conduct a mini-lesson using either Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess" and/or Shelley's "Ozymandias" to introduce the conventions of the form

Classroom Considerations

  • The second of three lessons in a Moby Dick unit
  • Requires copies of two worksheets

Pros

  • Includes teacher versions of the two worksheets

Cons

  • None

Common Core

CCRA.R.3

See similar resources:

Organizer

Literature Study Guide - Moby Dick

Curated OER
Complete with a reading schedule, literature question page, and supplementary list of literary activities, this book report form on Moby Dick would be an good resource for your junior high or high school class. The guide includes...
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Worksheet

Moby Dick Activity Worksheet and Progress Test

Curated OER
In this Moby Dick activity and progress test activity, students respond to a total of 18 short answer, multiple choice, matching, and fill in the blank questions pertaining to Herman Melville's Moby Dick.
9th - 12th English Language Arts
Lesson Plan

Mississippi Trial, 1955: Imagery Guide

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Class members take on the role of jurors in this guided imagery activity designed to be used with chapter 15 of Mississippi Trial, 1955. 
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Worksheet

Finding the Main Idea

Curated OER
Thar she blows! An excerpt from Herman Melville’s Moby Dick provides the text for an exercise in finding the main idea. After recording the main idea of the passage, readers also provide two supporting ideas. An answer key is provided.
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eBook

Moby Dick

Library of Congress
Few first lines of literature are as well-known as the first line from Moby Dick by Herman Melville. Readers discover the classic text that contains these lines using a digital eBook. The online version contains page-by-page...
9th - Higher Ed English Language Arts
CCSS: Adaptable
Lesson Plan

Literary Genres in “Moby-Dick”

National Endowment for the Humanities
Moby Dick is more than a whale of a tale narrated by Ishmael. A activity studying Herman Melville's classic novel asks readers to examine the different genres the author weaves into his story. Instructors model how to conduct a stylistic...
9th - 12th English Language Arts
CCSS: Designed
Lesson Plan

Narrative Voice in Moby Dick

National Endowment for the Humanities
Call him a reliable narrator! Ishmael is the focus of a lesson plan that asks readers to analyze the complex character of Herman Melville's narrator as he is introduced in the first chapter of Moby Dick.
9th - 12th English Language Arts
CCSS: Designed
Unit Plan

Grade Saver: Moby Dick by Herman Melville

Grade Saver
This is an online study guide/notes for the novel Moby Dick by Herman Melville including author information, literary elements, chapter-by-chapter summaries/notes, study questions, and analysis.
9th - 10th English Language Arts
Lesson Plan

Moby-Dick

Curated OER
High schoolers take on the persona of a sailor or a captain of a whaling vessel in New England in the 1800s and write five journal entries as that person.  In this Moby Dick activity, students research the whaling industry in...
9th - 12th English Language Arts
Lesson Plan

From Fact To Fiction: Moby Dick

Curated OER
High schoolers examine what makes a tragic hero and whether Captain Ahab fits the criteria.  In this literature lesson plan, engage in group discussions and examine Captain Ahab from the novel Moby Dick. They will then engage...
9th - 12th English Language Arts
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