University of Richmond

Lesson Plan 1

“The Landlady”

Rachel Dailey
2/19/2013
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University of Richmond Lesson Plan Outline

Introduction
 Lesson Topic – “The Landlady” by Roald Dahl
 Length of Lesson – 90 minutes
 Virginia Standards of Learning –
7.4
E. The student will use context and sentence structure to determine meanings and
differentiate among multiple meanings of words.
7.5
A. The student will describe the elements of narrative structure including setting, character
development, plot structure, theme and conflict.
D. The student will describe the impact of word choice, imagery and literary devices
including figurative language.
E. The student will make, confirm and revise predictions.
G. The student will make inferences and draw conclusions based on the text.

 Context – This is the first of three lessons on Roald Dahl’s short story, “The Landlady”. This
lesson will be taught to a general-level 7 th grade English classroom of 24 students. This lesson
will focus on the content of the story and making predictions. Lesson two will focus on analyzing
the text for foreshadowing and hypothesizing what will happen next. Students will be given in-
class time to write a conclusion to the story in lesson 2 as well.
 Global Themes – Authors use characterization, imagery, word choice and literary devices to
support the plot of a story. Active readers use these elements to predict what will happen next.

Content Objectives

1. The student will analyze the main characters in a fictional short story.
2. The student will evaluate the setting of a story.
3. The student will predict what will happen next in a story.
4. The student will determine the meaning of unfamiliar words using context clues.
5. The student will explain how word choice and literary devices contribute to a story’s meaning.
6. The student will draw conclusions about a character’s next action based on previous actions and
descriptions of that character.

Assessment Aligned to Objectives

List each objective and describe and provide examples of how the evaluation of students' learning will be
accomplished. Each assessment must be directly aligned to the stated objectives.
 Formative –
1. Creation of character map and participation in class discussion.
2. Creation of setting map and participation in class discussion.
3. Individual predictions made at 2 points of the story and closing activity.
4. Analyzing the Text group work and review.
5. Analyzing the Text group work and review.
6. Content of closing paragraph.

Materials/Technology and Advance Preparation

 Computer with internet

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 Text of “The Landlady” split into three sections

 Character and setting maps
 Analyze the Text worksheet
 6 Dictionaries
 How DID You Know? worksheet
 Desks to be placed in a u-shape before class begins

Teaching and Learning Sequence

TIME TEACHER ACTIONS STUDENT ACTIONS

Introduction/Anticipatory Set – Outline how the lesson will begin. How will you focus student attention on lesson content,
build on prior knowledge, motivate students to learn, etc.?
3 minutes The teacher will show a short video about Roald The student will watch the video.
Dahl.

7 minutes The teacher will ask students questions about the The student will participate in the discussion by
video and leads a discussion about Roald Dahl to raising his or her hand.
activate any prior knowledge of his work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTojJDRCC0E

Lesson Development – Outline the sequence to be followed in the development of the lesson. Pay particular attention to
concept development and questioning.
5 minutes The teacher will read the first section of “The The student will follow along as the teacher reads.
Landlady” aloud to the class.

15 minutes The teacher will lead a guided discussion about the The student will answer questions and contribute to
two most important parts of this section of the story: the creation of two mind maps as a class.
the introduction of Billy and the description of the
Bed and Breakfast. The teacher will draw graphic
organizers on the board and hand blank copies out to
students.

2 minutes The teacher will ask the students to write down a The student will write his/her prediction and give it
one-sentence prediction of what will happen next to the teacher.
and hand it to the teacher.

13 minutes The teacher will hand out the second section of the The student will read one section aloud and follow
text and ask the student in the right front of the “U” along as other students read.
of desks to begin reading the first section.

15 minutes The teacher will explain the next activity: working The student will complete Analyze the Text
in small groups to analyze section 2 of the text. worksheet in a small group.
Teacher will split the students into pre-formed
groups (6 groups of 4) and give instructions.

15 minutes The teacher will go over Analyze the Text The student will participate in the review of the
worksheet aloud, asking different members of each worksheet by proving answers or contributing
group to provide answers or answer questions. thoughts, when called upon.

5 minutes The teacher will hand out and read section 3 of the The student will follow along as the teacher reads.
story aloud.

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Closure – Outline how the lesson will be concluded. How will you summarize, review, reinforce, enrich, and/or
encourage students to reflect on what they have learned?

10 minutes The teacher will instruct students to free-write a The student will write their closing thoughts.
closing paragraph that explains what they think
happens to Billy after the story ends and why.

June 2012

Homework
For homework, the student will complete How DID You Know? worksheet. This worksheet asks the
students to list 4 instances of foreshadowing in the story that helped them draw conclusions about what
would happen to Billy. This assignment will prepare students for day 2 of this lesson.

References
Giles, A. (2012). Assignments and Presentations :: The Landlady. Retrieved from
http://simmonsmiddle.al.hcm.schoolinsites.com/?
PageName=TeacherPage&Page='DocumentsCategory'&CategoryID=113081&iSection=Teachers
&CorrespondingID=178121

Wayne, B. (2013) Character Map #1. Retrieved from

http ://www.docstoc.com/docs/3759597/CHARACTER-MAP

About.com. (2012, April 10). Roald Dahl Profile. Retrieved from

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTojJDRCC0E

Appended Materials
Attach the following forms and resources to the completed lesson plan.
 Lesson Organizer
 Curriculum Framework Document – Attach the appropriate pages from the Curriculum
Framework guide and highlight information most relevant to the lesson.
 Lesson Materials
o Section 1 of text
 Character and Setting maps
o Section 2 of text
 Evaluating the Text Worksheet
o Section 3 of text
 How DID You Know? homework

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 Lesson Organizer

Prior Knowledge and NEW Instructional Content

Prior Knowledge

New Content

Anticipatory Set
The teacher will explain that the day will be spent reading a short story written by Roald Dahl, a famous children’s
writer. Then will ask:
 Raise your hand if you have heard of Roald Dahl.
 Raise your hand if you have read one of his books. Or if you know what he has written?
- James & the Giant Peach
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
- Fantastic Mr. Fox
- Matilda
- Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
- The BFG
- The Magic Finger
- Danny, the Champion of the World
- The Enormous Crocodile
- Esio Trot

The teacher will show the following video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTojJDRCC0E

The teacher will ask the following questions:

 What is Roald Dahl best known for? (unexpected endings, unsentimental children’s writing and dark humor.)
 What do you expect his work to be like?
 The name of the story we are reading is “The Landlady”. What do you think it will be about?

Lesson Development

Section 1 of Story

Teacher will pass out section one and read it aloud. While reading, teacher will make sure students know what the
following words mean:
 Briskness/briskly – being lively, energetic and quick
 Swanky – expensive
 Congenial – pleasant or agreeable to your personal tastes
 Conjured – makes something appear, calls to mind
 Rapacious – greedy
 Kippers – small fish that were often eaten for breakfast in England
 Dithering – being indecisive

After reading this section of the story, teacher will ask students:

1. What do you think are the most important parts of this section? What is the author trying to accomplish?
Answers must include:
 Introduction and description of the main character, Billy Weaver
 Description of the larger setting (the town of Bath, England)
 Description of the Bed and Breakfast
 Additional answers may include: create suspense, foreshadow eerie things to come in the Bed & Breakfast

Since the author chose to open the story with a detailed description of character and setting, we can assume that these
items may be particularly important to the plot of the story, right? So, let’s take a few minutes to examine each of these

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things in greater detail. Teacher will pass out character and setting maps.

Character Map for Billy Weaver

Students will help fill out this map by raising their hands, contributing answers and supporting them with the text. The
final product of this map should include the items below.

1. Feelings
 Being brisk is important to success (paragraph 5)
 Admires businessmen, successful people (paragraph 5)
 Doesn’t like the idea of boardinghouses (paragraph 9)
2. Description
 17 years old (paragraph 5)
 Male (paragraph 5)
 Wearing overcoat, new suit and hat (paragraph 5)
3. Behavior
 Politely asks for help (paragraph 2)
 Follows directions of boss/porter without question. (paragraph 4)
 Walks briskly (paragraph 5)
 Notices small details (paragraphs 6, 7, 8)
 Debates pros and cons of decisions (paragraph 8 & 9)
4. Personality Traits
 Polite (paragraph 2 & 4)
 Obedient (paragraph 4)
 Happy (paragraph 5)
 Brisk/purposeful (paragraph 5)
 Observant (paragraph 6, 7, 8)
 Social (paragraph 9)
 Thrifty (paragraph 9)
 Thorough/Contemplative (paragraphs 8, 9, 10)

Teacher may have to prompt some of these answers by directing student’s attention to specific paragraphs (noted above).
Teacher will also make mention that personality traits are not often directly stated, they are inferred. Character’s actions,
behaviors, thoughts and physical description are often the best indicators of their personality traits.

When this map is completed, teacher will ask: how do you feel about Billy Weaver? Do you like him? How do you think
the author wants you to feel about him? ( The author wrote Billy to be likeable. You get a sense that he is a smart, nice
young man who has a positive attitude and a bright future.)

Setting Map
What is the larger setting of this story? Let’s map it out. First, what does a setting include? Time and place.

Map should include the following details:

In the center: Bath, England

In the bubbles: residential town, south of London, aging/neglected, used to be nice, winter, takes place in the past.

Some guiding questions may include:

 Where is this town in relation to London? How do you know?
 What time of year do you think it is? Why?
 When does this story take place? How do you know that it occurs in the past? About when would you place it in
time?

What is the second, smaller setting introduced in this section? The Bed and Breakfast. Let’s map that.

In the center: Bed & Breakfast

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In the bubbles: well illuminated from streetlight, inside visible to passersby, welcoming, cozy and warm, looks lived in,
comfortable.

When this map is completed, teacher will ask:

 What do you notice when you compare the larger setting and the smaller setting? (The bed and breakfast stands
in sharp contrast to the rest of the city. It’s cold outside – there’s a warm fire inside. The other houses are in dis-
repair; this house is well cared for. It’s dark outside, it’s light inside. )
 Why do you think the author presented these two settings in contrast to each other? (To move the plot – Billy
needed to notice the Bed and Breakfast. Also to present the Bed and Breakfast as enticing.

Before we get to section 2 of the story, think about what you think will happen next. Where did we leave off? (Billy is
being physically drawn to the Bed and Breakfast door and rings the bell). What do you think will happen next? What will
Billy find when he opens the door? Take out a piece of paper and write your name at the top, followed by one sentence
explaining what you think will happen next. When you’re finished, fold your paper in half and raise your hand, then I’ll
collect it.

Section 2 of story
Teacher will pass out the second section of story and explain that it has been broken up into sections that will be read
aloud. We’ll start with the person in the front right and each student will read a section. The teacher will read the final
section.

After the reading is finished, the teacher will introduce the group work: Now, we are going to work in small groups to
analyze some of the language used in this section of the story and to discuss the introduction of the Landlady and her
former tenants. I’ve split you into groups of 4. I’ll read the groups aloud and tell you where to move. Do not leave your
seat until all groups are called. You have 1 minute to get settled and then I will pass out your groupwork.

Groups will rearrange, Analyzing the Text worksheet and dictionaries will be passed out. Then the teacher will explain:
Work as a group to complete this sheet. Everyone should write the answers down so that each of you can participate in
class discussion. Please make sure you manage your time well, you have only 15 minutes to complete this activity.

Teacher will walk around to each group as they work and monitor progress and behavior. Teacher will give a 10, 5 and 2
minute warnings.

Discussion of Group work

The teacher will call the class back to order and lead a discussion about this activity. Students will raise their hands and
be called upon to provide answers.

Identifying word meanings is a review concept at this point, so the teacher will quickly move through a and b of
questions 1-4, asking only for an answer and limiting discussion. The teacher will spend more time discussing the
author’s choice of each word.
1. The compulsion or, more accurately, the desire to follow after her into that house was extraordinarily strong.
a. What do you think is the definition of this word?
(student answers will vary – looking for something like “need”.)
b. What is the actual definition?
A strong, usually irresistible impulse to perform an act
c. Why did the author use this word?
To explain that Billy isn’t really in control of his actions at this point. He is being forced into the
house for some unknown reason.
2. But the trouble is that I’m inclined to be just a teeny-weeny bit choosy and particular – if you see what I mean.
a. What do you think is the definition of this word?
(student answers will vary – looking for something like “feel like”.)
b. What is the actual definition?
Feel willing or favorably disposed toward
c. Why did the author use this word?
It softens the Landlady a bit. Instead of saying “I am VERY PICKY” the landlady is just slightly

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inclined toward being selective.

3. We don’t want to go breaking any laws at this stage in the proceedings, do we?
a. What do you think is the definition of this word?
(student answers will vary – looking for something like “process”.)
b. What is the actual definition?
A course of action, a procedure.
c. Why did the author use this word?
To suggest that the Landlady is following a pre-defined set of steps toward a specific outcome. Should
make the reader wonder what her end-game is.
4. There is nothing more tantalizing than a thing like this that lingers just outside the borders of one’s memory.
a. What do you think is the definition of this word?
(student answers will vary – looking for something like “tempting”.)
b. What is the actual definition?
To torment or tease with the sight or promise of something unobtainable
c. Why did the author use this word?
To show the reader just how curious Billy is and to suggest that he is just short of figuring it out, but
won’t be able to.

Closing thought. Something as small as ONE word contributes to the meaning or tone of a work – even the word isn’t
emphasized or included in a specific description or dialogue. The combination of all of these choices is the story!

Identifying literary technique section answers should include:

Excerpt Literary Meaning
Technique
5. This dame was like a jack-in- simile The landlady is quick. She
the-box. already knew that he was
coming and was waiting at the
door for him.
6. She was holding it well out in Metaphor She is holding onto the tray for
front of her, as though the tray dear life – so its contents must
were a pair of reins on a frisky be important.
horse.
7. We don’t want to go breaking Rhetorical The landlady asks the question
any laws at this stage in the question to softer her demand – to seem
proceedings, do we? sweet and accommodating/not
bossy.

If you think about the implied meanings of all of these techniques combined, what does is imply about the landlady? (Her
actions are pre-meditated, she is faking her sweetness, she is up to no good!)

Drawing Conclusions section: This will be treated as more of a discussion.

8. We get to know the landlady through Billy’s eyes in this section. What does he think of her?
 Kind, gentle, welcoming, nice
 “She looked exactly like the mother of one’s best school friend welcoming one into the house to stay for
Christmas holidays.
 She is “slightly dotty” “off her rocker”
 Harmless
 Kind and generous
 She is prepared for guests. The bed is turned down, water bottle in between sheets. (Is there anything weird
about that??)

Do you agree with Billy’ assessment of the landlady? Do you think the reader is supposed to, or does the author want us
to think differently? Why do you think so?

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9. The landlady is very particular about who she lets rent a room at the bed and breakfast. What are the qualities of
someone who is “exactly right” in her opinion.
 She says that Billy is “exactly right” and the other tenants were also young boys. so we can assume that is
quality number one.
 Someone traveling alone
 Charming boys
 Tall, handsome
10. Billy believes that the previous two renters are connected in some way. Who do you think Billy has heard of
Christopher Mullholland and Gregory Temple?
 Answers will vary and are opinion-based.

Teacher will collect predictions, pass out the final section of the story and read it aloud.

Section 3
The teacher will read the conclusion of the story aloud. Stopping to make sure students know the meaning of the
following words:
 Emanate – spread out from. Originate.
 Trifle – something of little value or substance.
 Blemish – a noticeable imperfection

Closure
Immediately after reading section 3, the teacher will keep students quiet and tell them not to discuss what will happen
next out loud. Instead, she will ask them to quietly reread and analyze the final section of the story and write down their
answers to the following questions in complete sentences. The teacher will also write the questions on the board.

 What exactly is the Landlady’s plan for Billy and how do you know?
 What will Billy do next?
 How do you think the story end?

While they are writing, teacher will pass out homework. At the end of the class period, the teacher will collect these
answers.

Instructional Modifications to Instructional Modifications to

Main Events of Instruction
ASSIST Students CHALLENGE Students
 Anticipatory Set
 Reading of section 1
N/A  Character and setting N/A
analysis.
 Reading of section 2
 Groupwork – Analyzing the
Text
 Group discussion on section
2
 Reading of section 3
 Closure

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