Unit Overview
This is a two-part unit. For the first five weeks, students
will work with the short story collection The
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Of the twelve
stories included, we will study eight. As a class, we will examine “A Scandal
in Bohemia,” the first story in the collection, as a way to introduce the
stories and some of the assignments for the unit. Then, students will work in
small groups with one story; this will shape their project investigations
during the unit.
For the remaining two weeks, we will look at modern dramatic adaptations of the original stories, compare the new versions to the old, and address why Sherlock Holmes remains so popular 127 years after his inception.
The culminating text for the first part of the unit is a portfolio project called the Case Report. It is comprised of five elements—Case Notes, Criminal Profiles, Evidence Artifact, Research Report, and Police Statement. The culminating text for the second part of the unit is a two-part project. First, students will write a short story based on the original Sherlock Holmes stories. Then, students will record readings of their stories and share them with the class.
For the remaining two weeks, we will look at modern dramatic adaptations of the original stories, compare the new versions to the old, and address why Sherlock Holmes remains so popular 127 years after his inception.
The culminating text for the first part of the unit is a portfolio project called the Case Report. It is comprised of five elements—Case Notes, Criminal Profiles, Evidence Artifact, Research Report, and Police Statement. The culminating text for the second part of the unit is a two-part project. First, students will write a short story based on the original Sherlock Holmes stories. Then, students will record readings of their stories and share them with the class.
Timeline
January 6 - February 20, 2015: 7 weeks (24 days)
Goals
* To practice students' induction and deduction skills.
* To identify and incorporate textual evidence when citing information or analysis.
* To examine multiple ways of storytelling.
* To discuss and analyze the cultural impact of the Sherlock Holmes stories.
* To identify and incorporate textual evidence when citing information or analysis.
* To examine multiple ways of storytelling.
* To discuss and analyze the cultural impact of the Sherlock Holmes stories.
Rationale
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would, no doubt, be appalled at just how ingrained his consulting detective character has become in global popular culture today. Doyle may never have thought much of his most famous characters, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson, but the rest of the world is inclined to disagree. The Sherlock Holmes stories are some of the most widely read, seen, heard, adapted, and influential pieces of literature to have ever come out of Victorian England, not only because they crossed all social bounds—economic, gender, and cultural—but the bounds of time and location as well. This is evident in the countless adaptations, studies, and other reimaginings that crop up every year around the world. One need only look at the three most recent dramatic adaptations—with Robert Downey, Jr., Benedict Cumberbatch, and Jonny Lee Miller each starring as their own version of the Great Detective—to see how far Holmes has come in the 127 years since his first adventure, the novel A Study in Scarlet, was published.
But these are more than just mere adventure or mystery stories, which is why they ought to be taught in classrooms today. The Sherlock Holmes stories are strong reflections of Victorian life. Holmes generally interacts with other middle-class men and women in the course of his investigations, and we see the wide range of professions available to the English at the turn of the nineteenth century. We also see many of the cultural problems prevalent in Victorian England, such as issues with drugs, immigration, racism, women’s rights, crime, and advances in science. The language and writing style are contemporaneous and, although perhaps unfamiliar to students today, they are significantly less difficult to read than other Victorian writers like Charles Dickens.
Most importantly, the Sherlock Holmes stories can teach students to be more mindful, observant, and persuasive. Maria Konnikova, a psychologist and journalist, recalled Holmes’s simple question to Watson in “A Scandal in Bohemia” about how many stairs there were leading up their rooms and how Watson could not remember (the answer is seventeen). The idea prompted her to write her New York Times Best Seller, Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes, to try to uncover the secret to Holmes’s impressive deductive abilities. She calls it “mindfulness,” the ability to both see and observe in order to make those seemingly impossible connections between seemingly unrelated things. Holmes has mastered the ability to be “eternally on” to possess the “mental alertness that takes in the present moment to the fullest, that is able to concentrate on its immediate landscape and free itself of any distractions” (Konnikova). The stories show us the fruit of Holmes’s labor and his intellectual capacity shines brightly beside the audience’s stand-in, Dr. Watson.
But it is not just that Holmes observes what others do not, it is that he is able to take those observations and explain why they are even there to be observed. Holmes never makes a claim without being able to back it up with sound evidence. He rarely jumps to conclusions and takes his time to examine all the facts before claiming anything—much to Watson’s frustration. In “A Scandal in Bohemia,” Holmes startles Watson by saying he knows not only that Watson has been out in terrible weather recently, but that his maid is incompetent. It all comes down to Watson’s shoes. Holmes easily points out that the doctor’s shoes are caked in mud—evidence of having been out in the rain lately—but there are defined scratches on the shoes where someone attempted to scrape the mud off and cut the shoe leather as well (Doyle).
Sherlock Holmes is by far one of the most popular, recognizable, and classic characters in English fiction. It would be a disservice to students not to examine Doyle’s creation and see where the fascination began.
But these are more than just mere adventure or mystery stories, which is why they ought to be taught in classrooms today. The Sherlock Holmes stories are strong reflections of Victorian life. Holmes generally interacts with other middle-class men and women in the course of his investigations, and we see the wide range of professions available to the English at the turn of the nineteenth century. We also see many of the cultural problems prevalent in Victorian England, such as issues with drugs, immigration, racism, women’s rights, crime, and advances in science. The language and writing style are contemporaneous and, although perhaps unfamiliar to students today, they are significantly less difficult to read than other Victorian writers like Charles Dickens.
Most importantly, the Sherlock Holmes stories can teach students to be more mindful, observant, and persuasive. Maria Konnikova, a psychologist and journalist, recalled Holmes’s simple question to Watson in “A Scandal in Bohemia” about how many stairs there were leading up their rooms and how Watson could not remember (the answer is seventeen). The idea prompted her to write her New York Times Best Seller, Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes, to try to uncover the secret to Holmes’s impressive deductive abilities. She calls it “mindfulness,” the ability to both see and observe in order to make those seemingly impossible connections between seemingly unrelated things. Holmes has mastered the ability to be “eternally on” to possess the “mental alertness that takes in the present moment to the fullest, that is able to concentrate on its immediate landscape and free itself of any distractions” (Konnikova). The stories show us the fruit of Holmes’s labor and his intellectual capacity shines brightly beside the audience’s stand-in, Dr. Watson.
But it is not just that Holmes observes what others do not, it is that he is able to take those observations and explain why they are even there to be observed. Holmes never makes a claim without being able to back it up with sound evidence. He rarely jumps to conclusions and takes his time to examine all the facts before claiming anything—much to Watson’s frustration. In “A Scandal in Bohemia,” Holmes startles Watson by saying he knows not only that Watson has been out in terrible weather recently, but that his maid is incompetent. It all comes down to Watson’s shoes. Holmes easily points out that the doctor’s shoes are caked in mud—evidence of having been out in the rain lately—but there are defined scratches on the shoes where someone attempted to scrape the mud off and cut the shoe leather as well (Doyle).
Sherlock Holmes is by far one of the most popular, recognizable, and classic characters in English fiction. It would be a disservice to students not to examine Doyle’s creation and see where the fascination began.
The Observation of Trifles-Unit Plan | |
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