Cathedral Lesson Plan

Scarcity

Kind of Activity:

Group Discussion

Objective:

To examine and understand the effect of scarcity on Carver’s short stories.

Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.1; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.2; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.3; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.1

Structure:

Many of Carver’s stories, including “Vitamins,” are premised upon a state of scarcity. In this activity, students will examine the effect of scarcity on narrative.

Draw a diagram on the board, such as the following: the left side is labeled “scarcity,” with 3-5 boxes in a column, widely spaced out. Each box should have three arrows extending to the second column, which will be labeled “result.”...