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English · Grade 10

Authorial Choices and Meaning

Learners study three masters of the short story to see how authors' deliberate choices create meaning. They distinguish verbal, situational and dramatic irony in O. Henry's “The Gift of the Magi” and Poe's “The Cask of Amontillado,” trace how Saki withholds and plants information in “The Open Window,” follow symbols and motifs across a story, and explain how word choice builds tone. They finish by analyzing how one author uses irony to shape meaning.

  • 4 lessons
  • About 135 minutes
  • Authorial choices check: 10 questions
  • Ways to answer: choose an answer, highlight a text, match pairs, put in order, sort into groups and arrange tiles
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What learners will discover

  • Identify verbal, situational and dramatic irony and explain the effect of each.
  • Analyze how structural choices (order of events, withheld information, endings) create tension, mystery or surprise.
  • Analyze how a symbol or motif develops meaning across a text.
  • Explain how an author's word choice creates tone and shapes meaning.

Lessons

  1. Three kinds of irony 6 steps3 practiceabout 34 min
  2. Withholding, planting and endings 6 steps3 practiceabout 32 min
  3. Symbol and motif 6 steps3 practiceabout 32 min
  4. Word choice and tone 6 steps3 practiceabout 32 min
  5. Authorial choices check 10 questions at the end

Keep exploring

More 10th grade reading

Guide for grown-ups