Outline for teaching The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Thematic Focus Questions (choose one or more)
CCS Reading Literature 1, 2, 6, 10
1.
How do Tom’s adventures compare to the adventures of today’s youth?
2.
What does Tom dislike about the realities of the grown-up “civilized” world?
3.
What makes this story timeless?
4.
How do a person’s decisions and actions change his/her life?
5.
How do the decisions and actions of characters reveal their personalities?
6.
Make Twain was critical about the injustices of his society. What kinds of things
does he criticize? What would Twain think about the way young people live today?
Writing Prompts (free-writes, starters, writer’s café, essay topics, etc.)
CCS Writing 9, 10
1. What is Mark Twain’s style of writing? (Note to teachers: Helping students
become familiar with the structure of the novel—dialogue interspersed with
narrative—and the somewhat old-fashioned language and references of the
period, will help them successfully read the rest of the novel. Additionally,
explaining that the chapter titles are summaries of that chapter’s action will help)
2. What was childhood like for Tom Sawyer and his friends? What was your
childhood like? How has childhood changed?
3. How is our society different/the same as the society of St. Petersburg?
4. What does this quote mean? "He had discovered a great law of human action,
without knowing it--namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it
is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain." Chapter 2
5. Tom Sawyer is an adventurous troublemaker who doesn’t pay much attention
to the rules of society. Describe some examples of this from the book.
6. Which character in the book are you most like? Explain why you think so.
7. Mark Twain comments on several aspects of the St. Petersburg community that
he thinks are hypocritical. Find an example from the book that shows hypocrisy
(ie the community thinks of Tom and his friends as annoying rascals for most of
the book; but at their “funeral,” the boys are fondly lauded.)
8. Find a sentence in Tom Sawyer that makes you laugh out loud. Explain why it is
so funny.
Book Report (see example: based on Summer Reading Requirements)
Performance Assessment Possibilities
1. Re-write the ending of the book or chapter from a different perspective
 CCS Writing 3, 10CCS Writing 3, 9, 10 and Reading 6
2. Use a writing prompt to develop a narrative piece of writing
 CCS Writing 3, 9, 10
3. Create a Facebook page for a character (see handout)
 CCS Writing 3 and Reading 6
4. Body outline of a character (see handout)
 CCS Writing 9 and Reading 6