The Catcher in the Rye Lesson Plan | Unit Objectives

1. Through reading J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, students will study the theme of illusion vs reality and the idea of things or people being "phony."

2. Students will demonstrate their understanding of the text on four levels: factual, interpretive, critical and personal.

3. Students will study characters, setting, conflicts, motivations, and symbolism.

4. Students will study one character's confusion and uncertainty as he experiences the process of "growing up."

5. Students will be given the opportunity to practice reading aloud and silently to improve their skills in each area.

6. Students will answer questions to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the main events and characters in The Catcher in the Rye as they relate to the author's theme development.

7. Students will enrich their vocabularies and improve their understanding of the novel through the vocabulary lessons prepared for use in conjunction with the novel.

8. The writing assignments in this unit are geared to several purposes:

a. To have students demonstrate their abilities to inform, to persuade, or
to express their own personal ideas

Note: Students will demonstrate ability to write effectively to inform by developing and organizing facts to convey information. Students will demonstrate the ability to write effectively to persuade by selecting and organizing relevant information, establishing an argumentative purpose, and by designing an appropriate strategy for an identified audience. Students will demonstrate the ability to write effectively to express personal ideas by selecting a form and its appropriate elements.

b. To check the students' reading comprehension
c. To make students think about the ideas presented by the novel
d. To encourage logical thinking
e. To provide an opportunity to practice good grammar and improve
students' use of the English language.

9. Students will read aloud, report, and participate in large and small group discussions to improve their public speaking and personal interaction skills.