Home › Lesson Plans
For teachers
The Great Gatsby Lesson Plans and Teaching Guide
A flexible unit plan for teaching F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby in high school or introductory college classes. Because the novel is in the public domain in the United States, every student can read the full text free on this site, one chapter per page, with no logins or sign-ups.
Unit Overview
| Suggested length | Three to four weeks (about 15 to 18 lessons) |
|---|---|
| Level | Grades 10–12 and first-year college; adaptable for advanced middle school readers |
| Core text | The Great Gatsby (1925), nine chapters, all available free on this site |
| Big questions | What is the American Dream, and who gets to have it? Can people reinvent themselves? Can the past be repeated? |
| Skills | Close reading, analysing narrative point of view, tracking symbols and motifs, using textual evidence, argumentative writing |
Learning Objectives
By the end of the unit, students should be able to:
- Summarise the plot and explain the relationships among the main characters.
- Analyse how Fitzgerald uses symbols such as the green light, the valley of ashes and the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg.
- Evaluate Nick Carraway’s reliability as a narrator.
- Explain how the novel reflects the 1920s: Prohibition, the stock market boom, jazz and changing social roles.
- Write a well-supported argumentative essay using short, accurate quotations.
Before Reading: Building Context
Lesson 1: The Roaring Twenties. Show images of 1920s fashion, cars and city life. Ask students what they already know about the decade. Introduce Prohibition (1920–1933), bootlegging and the boom in consumer goods. Our Art Deco fashion and glossary pages are useful references.
Lesson 2: The author. Students read our biography of F. Scott Fitzgerald and list three parallels they predict between his life and the novel. Revisit the list at the end of the unit.
Lesson 3: The American Dream. Quick-write: “What does success mean to you?” Discuss whether hard work alone is enough, and how money, family background and luck play a part.
During Reading: Lesson Sequence
| Chapters | Focus | Activity |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Narrator, setting, East Egg and West Egg | Close-read the first two paragraphs. Map West Egg, East Egg, the valley of ashes and New York. |
| 2 | The valley of ashes; Tom and Myrtle | Compare the descriptions of the valley of ashes and the Buchanans’ house. What does the contrast suggest? |
| 3 | Gatsby’s party; rumours | Students collect every rumour about Gatsby so far and rate how believable each one is. |
| 4 | Gatsby’s story; Wolfshiem; Jordan’s flashback | Fact-check Gatsby’s account of himself against other evidence in the text. |
| 5 | The reunion | Track Gatsby’s changing emotions through the chapter. Discuss the line about the “colossal vitality of his illusion.” |
| 6 | Self-invention; repeating the past | Debate: “Can’t repeat the past? … Why of course you can!” Is Gatsby right? |
| 7 | Climax at the Plaza; the accident | Act out the Plaza scene in small groups. Who holds power at each moment? |
| 8 | Gatsby’s past with Daisy; the shooting | Trace the chain of events and decisions that leads to Gatsby’s death. |
| 9 | Aftermath; the ending | Close-read the final page. What does “boats against the current” mean to you? |
Ongoing Activities
- Symbol journal. Each student follows one symbol (the green light, colours, cars, eyes, weather) and records every appearance with a page or chapter reference.
- Character timeline. Build a class timeline of Gatsby’s life in chronological order, since the novel reveals it out of order.
- Quote wall. Students add one quotation a day with a sentence on why it matters.
- Vocabulary. Assign five words or period terms per chapter from our glossary.
Discussion Questions
- Why do you think Fitzgerald chose Nick, rather than Gatsby, to tell the story?
- Nick calls himself “one of the few honest people that I have ever known.” Do you agree?
- What does Daisy want? Does the novel give her a real voice?
- How does the novel treat class? Compare the Buchanans, Gatsby and the Wilsons.
- What role does Meyer Wolfshiem play, and how should modern readers respond to the stereotypes in his portrayal?
- How do Tom’s comments on the book by “this man Goddard” reveal his fears?
- Nick describes Tom and Daisy as “careless people.” What damage does their carelessness do?
- Is The Great Gatsby a love story, a crime story, a tragedy or a satire?
Essay Prompts
- Argue whether Jay Gatsby is a hero, a fraud or something in between.
- Analyse how one symbol develops across the novel and what it reveals about the theme of desire.
- “The Great Gatsby is a criticism of the American Dream.” Agree or disagree, using evidence from at least three chapters.
- Explore how Fitzgerald uses settings (West Egg, East Egg, the valley of ashes and New York) to show social divisions.
- Compare one scene in the novel with the same scene in a film adaptation. What does each version emphasise? See our guide to the movies.
Creative and Cross-Curricular Projects
- Write a newspaper report on the events of Chapter 7 in the style of a 1920s tabloid.
- Design a guest list or invitation for one of Gatsby’s parties, using details from Chapter 3 and Chapter 4.
- Research jazz recordings of the early 1920s and build a party playlist for Gatsby’s mansion.
- History link: research Prohibition and the 1919 World Series scandal referred to in Chapter 4.
- Art link: study the famous first-edition cover art and design a new cover for a modern reader.
Assessment Ideas
- Reading checks after each chapter, using questions like those in our practice quiz.
- A Socratic seminar on the final chapter.
- A final argumentative essay (800–1,200 words) with a rubric focused on thesis, evidence, analysis and style.
Notes on Sensitive Content
The novel includes adultery, domestic violence, drunkenness, a fatal car accident, a murder and a suicide. Tom expresses racist views, and the portrayal of Meyer Wolfshiem relies on antisemitic stereotypes. Consider preparing students for these elements and discussing them directly as part of the novel’s historical context.