This is a suggested teaching schedule for a 10 class study of Leo Tolsoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich. Lesson plans and handouts can be downloaded individually by clicking on the name of the file in the schedule below. Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view these files.
Audio Guide CDs are available only for the communities participating in The Big Read. If your community is participating, contact the lead community organization to receive a free Audio Guide CD. Non-participating communities can listen to the full audio online.
DAY ONE
FOCUS: Biography
Day One Lesson Plan [64K PDF]
Activities: Listen to The Big Read Audio Guide. Read Reader’s Guide essays. Discuss Tolstoy’s preoccupation with death. Write about personal reaction to a death.
Homework: Read Chapters 1-2 (pp. 31-52).*
Handout One [59K PDF]
Handout Two [55K PDF]
DAY TWO
FOCUS: Culture and History
Day Two Lesson Plan [64K PDF]
Activities: Discuss the relevance of Tolstoy’s social criticism of the bourgeois. Practice
patronymics. Write about how Ilyich’s
willingness to ruin the lives of others might
satirize the bourgeois class.
Homework: Read Chapters 3-4 (pp. 53-72).
DAY THREE
FOCUS: Narrative and Point of View
Day Three Lesson Plan [64K PDF]
Activities: Explore possibilities of alternative method of narration. Rewrite a brief encounter in Chapter 1 from another character’s point of view.
Homework: Read Chapters 5-7 (pp. 73-88).
DAY FOUR
FOCUS: Characters
Day Four Lesson Plan [56K PDF]
Activities: Discuss the issue of conformity in the novella. Write about a foil to the main character.
Homework: Read Chapters 8-12 (pp. 89-113).
DAY FIVE
FOCUS: Style and Genre
Day Five Lesson Plan [69K PDF]
Activities: Discuss the respective merits of fantasy and realism. Write about whether Gerasim is a realistically portrayed character.
Homework: Examine use of metaphors and symbols in the novella’s conclusion.
DAY SIX
FOCUS: Symbolism and Figurative Language
Day Six Lesson Plan [68K PDF]
Activities: Analyze symbols in the final chapter. Write about use of metaphors in the novella.
Homework: Apply the Kübler-Ross model to Ivan Ilyich.
DAY SEVEN
FOCUS: Character Development
Day Seven Lesson Plan [54K PDF]
Activities: Discuss Ivan Ilyich as antihero. Write about Ivan Ilyich’s final epiphany.
Homework: List turning points in the plot of the novella.
DAY EIGHT
FOCUS: The Plot Unfolds
Day Eight Lesson Plan [68K PDF]
Activities: Explore possibilities of an alternative plotline. Write about Tolstoy’s ability to generate interest and suspense.
Homework: Prepare to defend Tolstoy’s achievement.
Handout Three [56K PDF]
DAY NINE
FOCUS: Themes of the Novella
Day Nine Lesson Plan [59K PDF]
Activities: Explore Tolstoy’s treatment of the themes of duty, morality, and the purpose of life.
Homework: Prepare outlines and begin essays.
DAY TEN
FOCUS: What Makes a Great Book?
Day Ten Lesson Plan [61K PDF]
Activities: Evaluate the greatness of the novella and its most important themes. Write a defense of the universal relevance of The Death of Ivan Ilyich.
Homework: Finish essays.
* Page numbers refer to the Bantam Classics 1981 edition of The Death of Ivan Ilyich, in the Lynn Solotaroff translation.
