Lesson Plan

Motivations In "The Gift Of The Magi": Motivation In Characters

Curated and Reviewed by Lesson Planet

O. Henry's short story, "The Give of the Magi," launches a study of what motivates people to act as they do. Class members identify what they believe are the motivations of the characters in O. Henry's tale and then craft a one-page update demonstrating selflessness. 

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CCSS: Adaptable
Instructional Ideas
  • Before the lesson, link to the audio version of the story found on CommonLit
  • Prepare and post the poster paper for the ABC Graffiti activity
  • Ask story writers to illustrate their versions of the story
Classroom Considerations
  • Requires both a projection device for the slide show and an audio device for the short story
  • Prep time includes making copies of the short story, the rubric, and worksheets
Pros
  • Links are provided to explanations of the learning strategies used in the lesson
  • Includes suggestions for how to save copying costs and use Google Classroom/Google Docs for the highlighting activity
Cons
  • None
Common Core