The Great Gatsby

Created Feb. 7, 2024 by Ruby Devonish

This is my PBL using the Great Gatsby as a way to spark discussion and research about the income gap.


Team members

Name: Alyssa Click

Name: Ruby Devonish



Topic: The Great  Gatsby by Scott F. Fitzgerald



Part 1:  Driving question:

  • What are your three initial driving questions?


  • What does American Dream mean in Gatsby’s time (The Jazz Age)?

  • How does The Great Gatsby portray two types of wealth? What are the advantages and/or disadvantages of the different types of wealth?

  • How do you think wealth affects how people act towards each other? How does The Great Gatsby display the personality differences or morals between people with “new money” vs “old money”?


  • What is your one, final driving question?

How can we analyze the literary devices and historical elements of the Great Gatsby?

______________________________________________________________________________

How does the Jazz Age affect the driving themes in The Great Gatsby? (And how those themes  compare to today’s society)*possible additional question

_______________________________________________________________________________

If you were a middle class citizen  living in the Jazz age, how would the SES gap effect your living? How does that compare to the SES gap today?

_______________________________________________________________________________

How does the income gap impact our lives, and what are some solutions to closing the gap? Should the gap be close?

__________________________________________________________________________________

How is the income gap affecting us today in comparison to how it affected people during Gatsby’s time, and how can we resolve those issues?


  • Background information of this driving question:

This particular project would be targeted for the grade levels 8-10, as students of the age reading the Great Gatsby would be appropriate. This project would target different academic standards listed under English/Language Arts for students in grades 9-10, including RN.3.3, RN.4.3, RL.4.2, RL.3.1. This project would not be too time consuming, taking maybe a few class periods for work time, presenting the information, etc. The students would have already completed the novel, and now would be finding historical references as well as literary devices and analyzing them, as well as presenting them to the class in project form, using some sort of technology, such as a PowerPoint presentation.  



  • Why do you think this is a good driving question?

    • This questions warrants in depth study because the students will have to find different historical references in the novel as well as research information on this time period. They will also have to study different literary devices in order to be able to identify them in the novel. This DQ is relevant because students of that grade would be reading the Great Gatsby in their curriculum. There are multiple plausible solutions, as any group of students will find different literary devices and well as different historical references. The DQ does provide opportunities for students to defend as well as analyze their solutions to the question.


Part2: Grabber

  • What is your grabber?


Crash Course on Roaring Twenties aka The Jazz Age

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfOR1XCMf7A


Crash Course on Income and Wealth Inequality

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xMCWr0O3Hs



  • Why do you think this grabber is beneficial and how it  align with your driving question?

Crash Course on Income and Wealth Inequality gives background information on what the wealth gap is and how it’s affecting our society.

Crash Course on Roaring Twenties  will be used so that the student will have a greater understanding of the historical relevance and how the economy was affected during the Jazz Age.


The grabber capitalizes more on high emotion situation because of the drama involved in The Great Gatsby and the excitement of the Jazz Age.

  • Does the grabber establish authenticity & relevance?

The grabber establishes relevance since the Crash Course is directly related to the time period of the book’s setting and the other Crash course shows how the income gap is still affecting us today.


  • Make sure to explain in detail how this grabber would be used.

The grabber will be used to spark discussion and contribute to brainstorming, so the group could decide on the solution they would like to take. This would be done during class time when the project is introduced.


  • Culminating activities: List all your activities here:

  • Discussion on income gap/Crash Course grabbers

  • Research on the income gap during the Jazz Age and today

  • Making a presentation and paper on the solution they have come up with based on research and analysis of the income gap


1) Sample

  • What is your first activity?


  • Why do you think this is a good activity for PBL?

Try to answer these 4 questions.  (But you should not answer them with yes or no, instead explain the details and convince me that you’ve met these criteria)

  • How is the activity authentic?

  • Does the activity provide students with the opportunity to present and defend problem solution?

  • Does the activity require student collaboration?

  • How will I judge what students have learned from the activity?

    • You will need to create a rubric for this step and potential example materials as well.

1) Research

They will do their research on the 1920s and present day and the causes of the wage gap as well as its effects. Each group can brainstorm what kind of approach they will have in resolving this issue.


Graded on the citation page


2) Discussion

After researching the whole class will discuss what they think of the income gap today, and how it compares to the Jazz Age.

Everyone will provide their opinions  drawn from their own experiences and diverse backgrounds.

It gives them an opportunity to present, and they would later defend their stance after the final activity when their presentations have all been presented.

It requires student collaboration since the groups will have to decide amongst each other which take they want to focus on in the wage gap situation.


Graded on participation


3) Presentation & Paper

Group

Presentation will take between 8-10 minutes. Paper will be no less than 700 words and no more than 1000 words. Must have appropriate works cited page with the paper and on the last slide. A short debate (no more than 10 minutes) will take place between the presenting group and the rest of the class after each presentation, so each group should be prepared to defend their stance and suggest realistic solutions to the wage gap.


Return to top