English with Mrs. Lamp

Puritan Times & Colonial Literature Unit

• Full Puritan Literature/Colonial Times English 11/American Literature Unit

• Listen to “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”

The Scarlet Letter: Full Unit Materials and Lessons

• One: Interactive “How to Read Hawthorne” Lesson Help your students read and understand Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter with this 30-slide interactive PowerPoint lesson. Designed for 11th-grade American Literature students, it provides a comprehensive guide to approaching Hawthorne’s text. The lesson covers essential reading tips, contextual understanding, and style analysis. Students learn to navigate complex language, identify literary devices, and comprehend 19th-century diction. The interactive elements, including paraphrasing exercises and character breakdowns, make this lesson engaging and practical, supporting Common Core standards and enhancing students’ literary analysis skills with minimal prep for teachers.

  Two: Study Guide for “The Minister’s Black Veil” Teach Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Minister’s Black Veil” with this detailed resource. It includes a 15-question reading worksheet, five unique short-answer quizzes, and an answer key, designed to deepen comprehension and encourage critical thinking. The worksheet focuses on symbolism, character analysis, and themes, while quizzes assess understanding through varied formats to minimize cheating.

  Three: “Spoiler Alert” Activity for The Scarlet Letter Prepare your kids for better comprehension of The Scarlet Letter with this engaging, creative “Spoiler Alert” activity. This pre-reading exercise introduces students to the concept of spoilers and their benefits, and “spoiling” the plot helps them better appreciate and understand Hawthorne’s novel. Students read a summary of key plot points and create visual summaries in groups, which are then displayed around the classroom to aid in understanding and retention. This interactive activity prepares students for the text, makes the reading experience more enjoyable, and provides a visual roadmap to support student understanding of the novel’s complex narrative.

  Four: Comprehensive Study Guide Dive into The Scarlet Letter with this thorough study guide, featuring 16 pages of targeted questions AND an answer key. It breaks down each chapter with questions that explore themes, symbols, and character development. Designed to facilitate critical thinking and in-depth analysis, the structured questions guide students through the novel, helping them engage deeply with Hawthorne’s text and understand its complex elements.

  Five: Reading Quizzes Assess your students’ grasp of The Scarlet Letter with these meticulously crafted quizzes. With 35 total quizzes covering various chapter ranges, each featuring 9 multiple-choice and 1 short-answer question, this resource ensures thorough understanding and engagement. The quizzes come with a full answer key and are designed to minimize cheating with five versions per chapter chunk. Suitable for high school English classrooms, these quizzes align with Common Core and AP® Literature standards, providing a robust tool for encouraging reading, monitoring comprehension, boosting critical thinking, and facilitating detailed analysis of the text.

  Six: CER Skills Toolkit Develop students’ analytical writing skills with this comprehensive CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning) skills bundle for The Scarlet Letter. It includes practice questions, sample responses, and five versions of a summative exam with unique CER questions. The toolkit provides detailed instructions, example answers, and flexible materials to enhance textual analysis and argumentative writing skills.

  Seven: The Scarlet Letter Essay Pack Featuring 42 prompts, including easy, hard, and bonus options, this essay pack caters to varying student abilities. It includes scaffolded writing lessons, mentor essays, and creative prompts to inspire deep literary analysis. Suitable for both AP® and general education classes, it supports differentiated instruction and aligns with Common Core standards. The materials help students overcome writing challenges, build confidence, and engage in meaningful literary analysis, making it a valuable resource for enriching the study of Hawthorne’s classic novel.

  Bonus: Creative Extras & Pacing Guide
  Engage students with a variety of creative and interactive activities designed to enhance their study of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. This bonus bundle includes a “Bio Poem” activity for character exploration, a “Draw a Scene” comic strip task to illustrate key plot points, and a comprehensive introductory reading that covers the author’s background, historical context, and major themes. Additionally, it features an interactive Chapter 1-6 review game with 33 questions to boost comprehension and a flexible 6-week planning calendar to plan your unit.

 Helpful Resources

• SparkVideo: Watch this video overview.
• Read Aloud: Some people find it easier to read along with an audiobook.
• Chapter Summaries: For struggling readers, it can help to read a chapter summary before you read the assigned chapter.
• FULL TEXT: A “full text” is an online version of the book. It is searchable if you press Ctrl + f (then enter the word or phrase you want to find and hit “enter”).
  

Further Reading for Advanced Students

•  Public Shaming Article