This is a suggested teaching schedule for a 10 class study of Marilynne Robinson's Housekeeping. 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.
The CD Audio Guides 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. If your community is not participating, encourage a local organization (such as a library, museum, literary center, arts council, or similar non-profit organization) to apply.
Day One
FOCUS: Biography
Day One Lesson Plan [PDF]
Activities: Listen to The Big Read CD. Read the biography (pp. 4–6) and the interview excerpt (pp. 10–11) in the Housekeeping Reader's Guide. Collectively review the key points of Robinson's biography. Write about a childhood place of mystery and discovery.
Homework: Read Chapter 1 (pp. 3–28).*
Day Two
FOCUS: Culture and History
Day Two Lesson Plan [PDF]
Activities: Read and discuss Handout One. Discuss the role of women in the 1950s and how women are portrayed in the novel's first chapter. Write a short essay about a historical artifact or event that is interwoven with your family history.
Homework: Read Chapters 2 and 3
(pp. 29–59).
Day Three
FOCUS: Narrative and Point of View
Day Three Lesson Plan [PDF]
Activities: Read and discuss Handout Two. Read aloud and discuss an excerpt of the ice-skating scene in Chapter 2. Write a description of the narrator.
Homework: Read Chapter 4 (pp. 60–75).
Day Four
FOCUS: Characters
Day Four Lesson Plan [PDF]
Activities: Discuss the flood scene in Chapter 4. Discuss and write about characters and the concept of family traits.
Homework: Read Chapter 5 (pp. 76–94).
Day Five
FOCUS: Figurative Language
Day Five Lesson Plan [PDF]
Activities: Examine the extended metaphor (Fingerbone "relics") on p. 73. Ask the students to discuss what is being compared. Write a paragraph using figurative language to describe a complex emotion.
Homework: Read Chapter 6 (pp. 95–108).
Day Six
FOCUS: Symbols
Day Six Lesson Plan [PDF]
Activities: Read aloud the scene depicting Sylvie on the bridge (pp. 80–84), and the section where Ruth and Lucille stop going to school and spend time at the bridge (pp. 95–97). Write about why and how the bridge functions as a symbol in the novel.
Homework: Read Chapter 7 (pp. 109–142).
Day Seven
FOCUS: Character Development
Day Seven Lesson Plan [PDF]
Activities: Read and discuss Handout Three. Analyze and discuss the dynamics of Sylvie, Ruth, and Lucille's household. Write letters in Ruth and Lucille's voices.
Homework: Read Chapter 8 (pp. 143–175).
Day Eight
FOCUS: The Plot Unfolds
Day Eight Lesson Plan [PDF]
Activities: Use the filmmaking technique of storyboarding to map the plot of the first eight chapters.
Homework: Read Chapter 9 (pp. 176–191).
Day Nine
FOCUS: Themes of the Novel
Day Nine Lesson Plan [PDF]
Activities: Discuss, analyze, and write about the central theme of housekeeping.
Homework: Read Chapters 10 and 11
(pp. 192–219).
Day Ten
FOCUS: What Makes a Book Great?
Day Ten Lesson Plan [PDF]
Activities: Explore the qualities of a great novel. Write essays examining personal reactions to the novel.
Homework: Select an essay topic and write a
thesis statement.
Handouts
Handout 1: Construction of the Sandpoint Railroad Bridge [PDF]
Handout 2: First-Person narration in Housekeeping [PDF]
Handout 3: Family Dynamics in Housekeeping [PDF]
* Page numbers refer to the Picador 2004 edition of Housekeeping.
