Curriculum / ELA / 7th Grade / Unit 14: Death of a Salesman (2020) / Lesson 1
ELA
Unit 14
7th Grade
Lesson 1 of 14
Jump To
Explain Arthur Miller’s motive for writing Death of a Salesman, based on his biography.
Website: Arthur Miller Biography
We participate in the Amazon Associate program. This means that if you use this link to make an Amazon purchase, we receive a small portion of the proceeds, which support our non-profit mission.
Unlock features to optimize your prep time, plan engaging lessons, and monitor student progress.
Tasks that represents the peak thinking of the lesson - mastery will indicate whether or not objective was achieved
Why did Arthur Miller choose to write about ordinary men in his plays (rather than kings, queen, or famous people)? What did he hope to accomplish? Answer in five to seven sentences using at least one piece of evidence.
What to look for in student response:
Arthur Miller chooses to write about ordinary men in his plays to convey/show the morality (the rights and wrongs) of the working class. By writing about ordinary lives, he hopes to “raise the consciousness of people to their human responsibilities.” One quote from the text that supports my claim can be found in paragraph 5: “His concern of the physical and psychological wellbeing of the working class.” This quote could be related to the fact that his entire family experienced the life of the working class as Jewish immigrants in the early 1900s. He was possibly inspired by his own life growing up with his father losing his clothing business and his uncle being a salesman. Perhaps, growing up with these two images in his life, he experienced the effects and challenges of living with businessmen during the Wall Street crash in 1929 and wanted to write a play based on his experiences.
Questions about the text that will help guide the students understanding
RI.7.2 — Determine two or more central ideas in a text and analyze their development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text.
Lesson 2
RI.7.2
Analyze the purpose of the stage directions.
RL.7.5 RL.7.6
Explain Miller’s repeated symbolism of nature in Act I.
RL.7.4
Analyze how Miller uses juxtaposition of the stockings to symbolize his inability to provide for his family.
RL.7.4 RL.7.5
Analyze how Linda’s dialogue contributes to the playwright’s critique of American culture (of capitalism).
RL.7.5
Analyze how Biff and Happy’s dialogue contributes to the mood.
Explain how Arthur Miller’s belief about American culture (capitalism) seeps into this scene between worker and boss.
RL.7.2 RL.7.4
Explain how the author uses monologue to develop the theme of popularity and reputation.
RL.7.2 RL.7.5
Explain how Miller juxtaposes Charley and Willy in order to reveal Willy’s tendency for self-destruction and false pride.
RL.7.3
Analyze how self-deception functions as a coping mechanism for Willy Loman.
Explain Willy’s motivation to commit suicide.
Analyze how Willy’s self-deception leads to his suicide.
Discussion
Debate whether or not Willy’s suicide resolved any of his problems.
SL.7.1
Explain how Willy Loman can be defined as a tragic hero.
W.7.2
Create a free account to access thousands of lesson plans.
Already have an account? Sign In
See all of the features of Fishtank in action and begin the conversation about adoption.
Learn more about Fishtank Learning School Adoption.
Yes
No
Access rigorous, relevant, and adaptable ELA lesson plans for free