First+Ten+Lessons+(The+Personal+Legend)

A highly interactive and personal approach to reading a provocative text. As I mention below, you need to be cautious about how much students reveal about themselves at first. Dreams are very personal and sometimes expose things we'd rather hide. Writing privately and sharing discretely and voluntarily will respect these boundaries. If the conversation is safe, students will eventually share freely, but you have to prove they will be respected first. Maybe you should be distinguishing conscious dreams, e.g. goals and wishes, from unconscious dreams, e.g. sleeping dreams, omens and signs.

10/10
//__Lesson Plans __//
 * __Day One __****: Good start! **


 * Purpose: **To introduce students to the major concept of this unit—dreams; to predict and generate a list of questions for which they will seek answers in their reading of the novel.


 * Preparation: ** Write the title “The Ruined Man Who Became Rich Again through a Dream” on the board and have prepared a copy of the fable for every student. Also written on the board should be the following questions:
 * What would you do if you had a dream that told you where and when you will find vast treasure and wealth?
 * If a friend of yours told you he/she had a dream like this, what advice would you offer?
 * How could the dream or the reward influence your decisions?

List their questions on the board as they say them. Have one student distribute copies of the story to the class; meanwhile, call for volunteers to read the story, requiring roles for: a narrator, the Baghdadi, the Chief of Police, and Allah. After reading the story aloud, ask the students which questions of theirs the story answered, and which it did not (crossing them out, checking them off). The class will compare their responses to the initial questions with the story’s characters.
 * Procedure: **
 * I. **In partners, students will ask one another each of the above questions, writing each other’s answers on a sheet of paper. Afterward, call on the pairs to share with the class their responses. Closing the discussion, ask what the class’ consensus seems to be.
 * II. **Ask the students about the title on the board:
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Based on this title, what do you think the story will be about?
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Based on this title, what questions can we generate which the story might answer?
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">III. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Finally, project an image of //The Alchemist//’s cover on the board, articulating that they will be focusing on this text throughout the unit. Ask students to write a response in their journals (this will be titled Journal #1) to the prompt: Based on the title/cover of //The Alchemist// and our discussion today:
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">What do you think the novel is about?
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">What questions can you generate which might be answered in the text?
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">IV. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Tell students to hand in their journals on their way out. For homework, assign pages ix-11 of //The Alchemist//.


 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Assessment: **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Participation in the partner and whole-class discussions and Journal #1 will qualify as formative assessments.


 * __<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Day Two __****<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">: **


 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Purpose: **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> To begin exploring Santiago’s personality traits by examining his relationships with other (minor) characters.


 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Preparation: **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Pass the students’ journals back and inform them they’ve been reviewed. Have picked out a few questions students posed in their journals that could have already been answered in the reading last night.


 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Procedure: **
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">I **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">. Begin class by calling students up to collect their journals. Ask students what questions of theirs, if any, were answered in the reading. If this is slow-going, have picked out two or three interesting questions from their journals already[ good idea] (and be sure to mention the students’ names who asked them).
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">II. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Review last night’s reading. Ask the students what has happened in the book so far and record their responses on the board:
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">What do we know about Santiago?
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">What do we know about the setting?
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">What events have transpired?

You may be over-structuring in III and IV. Let students do IV and ask THEM why his behavior is different. These students are old enough to figure it out.

 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">III. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Organize the students into groups of four. Tell them to, individually, take a minute to think of an example of how a friend’s or their own behavior changes depending on the people they’re around or the setting. Have them share their responses with their group-mates. After a few minutes, ask for a few volunteers to share. Finally, ask the groups what this might “say” about their friends, themselves, or people in general.
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">IV. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Explain that we see the many sides of people through their interactions with certain people in certain situations—it’s what makes us dynamic and unique; and that to then really know Santiago, we need to look at his relationships.
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">IV. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Ask the students to list who Santiago has spoken with so far (sheep, parents, and the merchant’s daughter) and what the setting is (fields of Andalusia). Each group member must choose one of the above characters or the setting and answer the following questions in their journals (Journal #2):
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Describe Santiago’s behaviors around/reactions to the character/place.
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Select a quote/passage supporting your description.
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Explain what you think the significance of that relationship is—why does it/could it matter now or in the future? What does Santiago want out of the relationship?
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">V. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> For homework, they will read pages 11-25 and respond to the same prompts for the Gypsy fortune teller and the King of Salem.


 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Assessment: **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Involvement with their groups and the completion of Journal #2.


 * __<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Day Three __**


 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Purpose: **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> To discuss our personal goals, how they’ve changed since childhood, and why.


 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Preparation: **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Several stacks of multi-colored post-it notes. Make six columns on the board, one for each group (numbered 1-6). Place students’ journals at their desks.


 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Procedure: **
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">I. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Tell the students to open their books to page 18. Read aloud the quote, “…at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what’s happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. That’s the world’s greatest lie.” Ask the class whether they agree or disagree with this statement.
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">II. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Arrange students into groups of four or five; give them a group number. While placing a stack of post-it notes in the middle of each group (try to get a different color for each group), ask the students: What were your childhood dreams? What did you want to be when you grow up? An astronaut? A taxi driver? A cowboy? Give students a minute or two to think and ask them each to write //at least// two responses, each on a separate post-it.
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">III. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Let students share what they wrote down. Tell them to ask each other: If you let students write privately about this at first, they may be more honest. I would only ask volunteers to share. This is personal and students need to gain trust in each other before going public.
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">What were your childhood dreams?
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Do you still have them?
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">What propels you toward them, or drove you away from them?
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">IV. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Instruct the groups to place their post-its on the board within their specific column. Have a representative from each group stay up front by the board. Ask each one to briefly explain their dreams and whether they have them still or not; tell them to remove the “dead dreams” from the board. After each one has spoken, have them remove the remaining post-its and return to their regular seats.
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">V. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Ask the class to paraphrase Santiago’s dream.
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">VI. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Write on one side of the board “Fortune Teller” and on the other “King of Salem.” Ask the class how their responses to Santiago’s dream were similar and different, asking that they cite specific passages. Jot their responses on the board. Finally, ask them how the fortune teller and the king’s responses differed from theirs on the first day of the unit, regarding “The Ruined Man…”
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">VII. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Assign them to read pages 25-47.


 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Assessment: **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Participation in the post-it activity and the discussion afterward.


 * __<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Day Four __**


 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Purpose: **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> To discuss how cultural and religious prejudice functions in the novel and how they relate to achieving our dreams.


 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Preparation: **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Have prepared a painting of Saint Santiago Matamoros to project at the front of class and copies of the activity sheet. Draw a horizontal line on the board; on the left-most end, write “Page 25” and on the right-most, write “Page 47.” Have their journals ready to hand out.


 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Procedure: **
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">I. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Ask the students to take a minute to review the events in their assigned section of reading. Then, call on students individually to describe something that happened; for each response, follow up by asking the student “Is this a positive or negative turn for Santiago?” Transcribe the response above the line (to some degree) for positive and below for negative. Keep calling on students for responses until most of the major events and some minor ones are up there.
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">II. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Follow up the completion of the summary by asking them, “What characters are associated with the ‘positive’ actions or thoughts and which with the ‘negative?’” Write either initials or an abbreviation of the characters’ names.
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">III. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Transition: Pull the projector screen down. Pass out copies of the activity sheet. Show the class the painting of Saint Santiago Matamoros, but do not tell them who it is. Ask the students to take three to five minutes to respond to the questions on the activity sheet (Describe what you see happening: the characters involved and the setting; list any symbols you recognize and explain their significance; describe your overall impression of the piece). Have students share with the class their responses.
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">IV. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Tell the students that this is the Saint Santiago Matamoros that the boy, Santiago, is reminded of during the Muslim prayer scene; explain to them who this person was, historically. Ask them, then, what they think about Santiago’s feelings toward Arabic people; if they’re pretty interested in the discussion, ask them who else Santiago felt similarly toward (the fortune teller).
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">V. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Raise the screen. Collect their activity sheets. Direct their attention to the end of the horizontal line, where there should be written something about the Arabic crystal merchant feeding Santiago so he doesn’t starve. Tell them to take out their journals and consider the quote on page 40: “I only perceive the world…” In this entry (Journal #3), tell them to: discuss what Santiago means when he says this; how it functions particularly in this section of the novel; and what it means to you.
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">VI. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Collect the journals at the end of class. Tell them they don’t have any reading homework, but they will have a quiz on Part One first thing tomorrow.


 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Assessment: **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Journal #3 and the activity sheets qualify as their assessments.


 * __<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Day Five: __ I suggest using Candide at the beginning or end of the novel, so you don't interrupt the reading of the Alchemist. **


 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Purpose: **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> To assess their reading comprehension of the novel’s structure thus far; to present an opposing philosophy to that of the King of Salem’s, using Chapters One and Two of //Candide//.


 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Preparation: **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Have prepared enough copies of the quiz for every student; have made packets of Chapters One and Two of //Candide//, complete with the book cover; pass their journals back to their desks.


 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Procedure: **
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">I. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Pass out the quiz (ten questions) face down. When all the quizzes have been distributed, tell them to turn it over and begin. After approximately five minutes (should be enough time), tell them to pass them forward. Project a Word document of the quiz at the front; go over the questions with them: re-read the questions and have the students call out the answers.
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">II. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Distribute copies of the //Candide// packet to the students. Tell them to circle or highlight any words or phrases they do not understand while reading. Begin by reading the title and the first paragraph aloud, and then ask the students to continue: one student reads a section, then “passes” it to the next person in their row. Continue this until the whole story is read.
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">III. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Ask the students to summarize what has taken place in the story.
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">IV. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Have them take out their books and turn to page 22 of //The Alchemist//; read to them to the passage: “And when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” Then, ask them what Dr. Pangloss’ philosophy is (“It is demonstrable […] that things cannot be other than as they are: for, since everything is made to serve an end, everything is necessarily for the best of ends.”).
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">V. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Recall the discussion the previous day, where they charted negative and positive events in Santiago’s life. With partners, instruct the students to list negative and positive things that happen to Candide (see activity sheet). Have pairs quickly share their responses with the class.
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">VI. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Instruct the students to stand up. Ask them whose story they find the most realistic so far, Santiago’s or Candide’s; tell them if they side with Santiago, to stand on the right side of the room and if they side with Candide, stand on the left. They //cannot// stay in the middle. Ask individual students to share their reasons for their choices. After several responses from each side, remark on how optimistic or pessimistic we seem to be.
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">VII. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> For homework, assign pages 51-65 and write Journal #4: respond to the same prompts for the crystal merchant as they already have for the King of Salem, the fortune teller, etc.


 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Assessment: **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> The quiz and activity sheets qualify as the assessments.


 * __<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Day Six __**


 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Purpose: **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> To reflect on the purpose of our dreams, and whether it is better to be contented with our lives or pursue larger goals.


 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Preparation: **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Two columns on the board: on one side, “Day-dreams” and on the other “Reasons.” Have several different colors of dry-erase markers/chalk. Enough activity sheets for every student.

<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Have them share their responses with their partners, discussing especially why it is they just like thinking about those goals/lifestyles. <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Discuss their responses.
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Procedure: As before, I think sharing dreams is risky. It could be done in journals and then volunteered sharing. Students will gain confidence with this as they others share, but they need to guard their privacy at first. **
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">I. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Arrange students into pairs. Ask them to respond individually to the following prompts:
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Think of an example of when the //thought// of achieving a dream—experiences, treasures—is better than //actually// achieving it.
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Why? What makes them better day-dreams than realities?
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">II. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Have one person from each pair write both of their day-dreams and reasons in the respective columns. The board should be fairly full of different colors and types of responses. Remind students: do not worry about having the same responses as others—repeats are okay.
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">III **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">. Look for commonalities with the class. Circle frequently recurring day-dreams and reasons.
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">IV **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">. Compare these with the crystal: have the students to open their books to pages 54 and 55. Read the crystal merchants dialogue aloud to them. Ask them:
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">What is his dream?
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Why does he not pursue it?
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">How is this similar or different from your responses on the board?
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">V. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Express that the crystal merchant and Santiago are vastly different, but they still teach each other new ideas and ways of life. Distribute the activity sheet, with which they will list:
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">The ideas each has taught the other in this section and in the previous reading.
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Quotes/passages supporting these examples.
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">The effects of these ideas on their beliefs and goals.
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">VI. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Collect their activity sheets and journals to grade Journal #4. Assign pages 65-79 for homework; also, instruct students to bring in something that represents, for them, a source of wisdom—much like Santiago’s Urim and Thummim. CDs, images, books, video clips, musical compositions, choreographed dance, etc. qualify (see assignment sheet/rubric).


 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Assessment: **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Participation in the class discussion, completion of activity sheets, and Journal #4.


 * __<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Day Seven __**


 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Purpose: **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> To compare and contrast different our sources of wisdom; to reflect on the dreams of both the Englishmen and Santiago, and how they go about seeking them; and to appreciate differences.


 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Preparation: **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Have the students’ journals at their desks. Clear the board of any unnecessary writing to stick images on it, make room in the chalk grooves for books, have an overhead projector hooked up for images and video clips, and a CD player/speakers for audio.

<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Afterward, they will leave their source at the front of the room (if it’s tangible). By the time everyone has shared, there should be a decent collage of things.
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Procedure: I like this idea, but concern for vulnerability remains. Perhaps brainstorm the possibilities the day before. Some students might say their parents or siblings are sources. How would this work out? **
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">I. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Begin class by asking students to take out their items. Ask how many students require the projector, speakers, etc. Keep a tally on scrap paper of which devices are most necessary.
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">II. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Take volunteers first. Students should approach the front of the room and face the class. They will then:
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Identify their source is (present it to the class)
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Describe why is it a source of wisdom for them
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Explain how it influences and motivates them
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">III. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Ask students to open their journals. Tell them under the entry Journal #5 to respond to the questions:
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">What was one source of wisdom that has little or no significance in my life? Why?
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">What was one source of wisdom I really relate to? Why?
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">IV. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Tell them to take out //The Alchemist// and read to them a passage on page 70: “Everything in life is an omen.” […] “There is a universal language, understood by everybody, but already forgotten. I am in search of that universal language, among other things.”
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">V. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Discuss with them what the “universal language” is, now that it’s been mentioned several times in the text. After a few minutes, write two columns on the board, one titled “Santiago” and the other, “The Englishman.” Ask them:
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">What are each character’s goals? What are their Personal Legends?
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">What signs or omens does each mention?
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">What are their sources of wisdom?
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">VI. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Finally, ask them what each thinks of the other’s approach toward his Legend by the end of the chapter.
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">VII. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Collect their journals. Assign pages 79-104.


 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Assessment: **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> The presentation rubric and Journal #5 qualify as assessments.


 * __<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Day Eight __**


 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Purpose: **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> To appreciate the challenges and responsibilities we face in pursuing our dreams; to discuss what relationships help or hinder us in our pursuit of them.


 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Preparation: **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Have enough “Responsibilities in //The Alchemist//” for each student. Place their journals on top of their desks.


 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Procedure: **
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">I. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Begin the class by introducing one of this section’s most surprising events: Santiago declaring he will marry Fatima, only after meeting her the previous day. Ask the students:
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">How does Fatima react to Santiago’s declaration? What does she say?
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">In what ways is this relationship different from his crush on the merchant’s daughter? Whatever happened to her anyway?
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Do you think this is how love works? Or, do you think this is how love //could// work?
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">II. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Pass out the “Responsibilities…” activity sheet. For this assignment, the students must look for characters’ responsibilities to certain people and certain ideals //at this point in the novel// and what that relationship suggests about their purpose in life. They must also find support from the text. They will be looking at: the crystal merchant, the Englishman, Fatima, the camel driver, and the tribal chiefs. Then answer:
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">What kinds of relationships do you see here? To family? To community?
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Who has the most responsibility of this list?
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">III. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Work through one of the characters with the students, using a transparency copy of the activity sheet.
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">IV. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Let the students continue on their own. If they finish and there’s time, ask students to share their responses, filling in the transparency copy with their responses.
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">V. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> For homework, tell students to finish the “Responsibilities…” sheet and read pages 104-127.


 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Assessment: **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> The class discussion and “Responsibilities…” activity sheet qualify as assessments.


 * __<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Day Nine __**


 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Purpose: **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">To look closer at the practice of alchemy: what it is and how it is represented in the text, through the alchemist and Santiago’s relationship; and to relate the aims of alchemy to Santiago’s Personal Legend.


 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Preparation: **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Have blank sheets of paper for each student and boxes of colored pencils; have several images of paintings of alchemy and alchemists from //The Alchemy Website//;


 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Procedure: **
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">I. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Review with the class their now-finished “Responsibilities…” sheets, if they didn’t have enough time the previous class.
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">II. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Give each student a blank sheet of paper; tell them they can share boxes of colored pencils. Read pages 109-112—this is Santiago’s first encounter with the alchemist— aloud to the students. Before reading, ask them to focus especially on the description of the scene, both characters’ appearances, postures, gestures, etc. After reading the passage, have students draw a moment from the scene: the alchemist riding up from a distance, his sword point touching Santiago’s forehead, etc.
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">III. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Have the students, with masking tape or magnets, tag their pictures in one giant collage on the board. Ask them:
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">What kind of a man do we envision the alchemist being?
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">How might we describe him based on our pictures?
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">IV. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Have the students return to their seats. Show them, with the projector, several antiquated paintings and engravings of alchemists and alchemy. Ask them:
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">What major differences do you see between the novel’s alchemist and these men?
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Does the novel’s alchemist look like a man of rocks, minerals, and distilling flasks?
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">V. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Explain the basic tenants of alchemy, as according to the Englishman on pages 80-82. Read to the students another passage, this time from the top of page 125. Then, ask them:
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Why did the alchemist choose to take Santiago on a journey, not the Englishman? Why does the alchemist believe he is a better “candidate?”
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">What does the alchemist mean when he says other alchemists were “only looking for gold?”
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">VI. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Tell the students they will have a quiz tomorrow from the beginning of Part Two up until where they’re at today. No reading for homework.


 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Assessment: **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> The students’ drawings and discussions in class.


 * __<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Day Ten __ Unlike Candide, I think this is minor interruption in the reading and highly relevant to the text. **


 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Purpose: **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> To examine the value placed on dreams, omens, and signs; to question what signs we’re ever given that we’re heading in “the right direction.”


 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Preparation: **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Have quizzes prepared for every student. Have packets of “Joseph and the Pharaoh’s Dream” (Genesis 41) for every student, as well as the “Superstition Quiz.”


 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Procedure: **
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">I. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Like the first quiz, pass them out face-down. After they all finish and hand them in, review the answers by projecting a Word document of the quiz at the front of the class.
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">II. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Pass out packets of “Joseph…” Reading the story aloud, one student should read one verse, and then the student next in line reads the following, and so on. Afterward, ask them:
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">How does Santiago’s story parallel Joseph’s?
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">What does it suggest about Santiago that the tribal chief likens him to Joseph?
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">III. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ask the students:
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Are we very skeptical today about prophets? About dream interpreters?
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Do we assign value to signs and omens, like Santiago, the alchemist, and the tribal leaders?
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">What do we call signs and omens today?
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">IV. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Give the students a “Superstition Quiz,” which will gauge what they know about them and whether they heed them or not. Afterward, takes polls of student responses, that is, which superstitions they pay mind to: bats, the number 13, walking under a ladder, etc.
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">V. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> In their journals (Journal #6), have them write about:
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Besides superstitions, when have you interpreted a moment as a “sign” or an “omen” and followed it? Was the outcome positive or negative? Do you put any faith into similar events that have occurred after it?
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">VI. **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Collect their journals. They can keep or recycle their “Superstition…” sheets. Assign pages 127-156 for homework.


 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Assessment: **<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">The quizzes, discussion, and journal qualify as assessments.