The Great Gatsby Close Reading Analysis Worksheets Bundle

Item description

Extend reading comprehension, support the development of close reading analysis skills for high school, and reduce time spent lesson planning at home with this set of rigorous questions covering each individual chapter of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in printable Word Document and PDF formats. Information on each close reading activity follows:

Chapter 1 Close Reading Worksheet. By engaging with this resource, students will:

• Discern what the text states explicitly and implicitly
• Discern point of view
• Analyze character motivations
• Clarify cause-and-effect relationships
• Apply knowledge of a variety of literary devices including situational irony, hyperbole, simile, and metaphor
• Articulate the intended effect of metaphorical language
• Analyze the author’s craft to determine intent
• Write with clarity and precision

Chapter 2 Close Reading Worksheet. By engaging with this resource, students will:

• Discern what the text states explicitly and implicitly
• Analyze character motivations
• Apply knowledge of various literary devices including alliteration, assonance, and simile
• Discern and articulate the greater significance of a given detail with emphasis on what is revealed about character modes of thinking
• Analyze how complex characters interact
• Make logical inferences about how Tom perceives Myrtle
• Demonstrate awareness of how social status influences behavior
• Compare Myrtle to the puppy she is gifted
• Discern a primary function of the chapter
• Write with clarity and precision

Chapter 3 Close Reading Worksheet. By engaging with this resource, students will:

• Discern what the text states explicitly and implicitly
• Analyze how complex characters interact
• Analyze the author’s craft
• Analyze the effect comparing Gatsby to Belasco has on the reader
• Infer why the author may have intended to wait to introduce Gatsby until chapter three
• Apply knowledge of literary devices to the text with an emphasis on understatement and situational irony
• Analyze what Nick’s dialogue and behavior at the party reveals about his psychological state
• Explore character motivations
• Define complex words and phrases as they are used in the text
• Articulate how Nick’s expectations of Gatsby are violated
• Write with clarity and precision

Chapter 4 Close Reading Worksheet. By engaging with this resource, students will:

• Discern what the text states explicitly and implicitly
• Analyze how complex characters interact
• Analyze the author’s craft to determine the effect diction has on the reader’s comprehension
• Apply knowledge of various literary devices including sibilance, invective, ambiguity, oxymoron, and imagery
• Articulate the cultural significance of the white chauffeur transporting people of color
• Discern what Nick finds astonishing about Wolfsheim’s behavior
• Identify the primary function of Wolfsheim’s character in the context of the plot
• Define complex words as they are used in the text
• Make logical inferences about Nick’s modes of thinking
• Articulate the technique Fitzgerald uses to spark a significant shift in tone
• Write with clarity and precision

Chapter 5 Close Reading Worksheet. By engaging with this resource, students will:

• Discern what the text states explicitly and implicitly
• Analyze how complex characters interact
• Articulate how Gatsby’s behavior is ironic from Nick’s perspective
• Apply knowledge of various literary devices including situational irony, simile, and hyperbole
• Identify textual evidence that best supports a claim
• Analyze the author’s use of language to discern his intent
• Explore the symbolism of an object or objects
• Clarify and elaborate on a concern Nick has for Gatsby in a given passage
• Write with clarity and precision

Chapter 6 Close Reading Worksheet. By engaging with this resource, students will:

• Discern what the text states explicitly and implicitly
• Analyze how complex characters interact
• Discern the intended effect of figurative language in context
• Make logical inferences about Gatsby’s decision making
• Apply knowledge of various literary devices including metaphor, situational irony, hyperbole, euphemism, allusion, and personification
• Analyze the author’s craft to determine the intended meaning of a lesser known phrase
• Analyze what character dialogue reveals about their psychological and emotional states
• Determine the significance of a given detail
• Explore dynamic character
• Identify a main function of the chapter

Chapter 7 Close Reading Worksheet. By engaging with this resource, students will:

• Discern what the text states explicitly and implicitly
• Analyze how complex characters interact
• Make a logical inference about Daisy’s parenting style
• Identify the significance of given characterization details
• Apply knowledge of various literary devices including assonance, consonance, metaphor, hyperbole, onomatopoeia, imagery, euphemism, and catharsis
• Analyze word choices to determine which word most accurately conveys an idea
• Explore character motivations
• Explore Nick’s assessment of Gatsby’s behavior in the context of the chapter
• Analyze the author’s craft
• Write ideas with clarity and precision

Chapter 8 Close Reading Worksheet. By engaging with this resource, students will:

• Discern what the text states explicitly and implicitly
• Analyze how complex characters interact
• Explore character motivations
• Analyze how and why complex characters behave certain ways
• Make logical inferences based on characterization details and other narrative techniques
• Apply knowledge of various literary devices including personification, oxymoron, simile, onomatopoeia, assonance, and more
• Explore the meanings of complex words, taking into consideration both denotative and connotative associations
• Analyze a given passage to determine its tone
• Determine the primary function of a given detail
• Explore cause-and-effect relationships
• Make logical inferences about the author’s intent
• Analyze plot developments in the context of the chapter to discern and articulate social commentary
• Cite relevant textual evidence in support of claims
• Analyze the symbolic importance of dust
• Write with clarity and precision

Chapter 9 Close Reading Worksheet. By engaging with this resource, students will:

• Discern what the text states explicitly and implicitly
• Apply knowledge of literary devices including situational irony and metaphor
• Explore character motivations
• Analyze how complex characters interact
• Determine the greater significance of a given characterization detail
• Analyze the author’s word choices to infer the author’s intent
• Make logical inferences about a character’s mode of thinking in context
• Explore how Tom sees himself in the context of the tragedies of Gatsby, Myrtle, and Wilson

Materials are available for teaching a variety of texts such as:

• Animal Farm by George Orwell
• Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
• Feed by M.T. Anderson
• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
• Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
• The Adventures of Ulysses by Bernard Evslin
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare