Unit Name: The Maltese Falcon
Standards:
RL.11-12.1. Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says
explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves
matters uncertain.
RL.11-12.2. Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development
over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a
complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.
RL.11-12.3. Analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop and relate elements
of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are
introduced and developed).
RL.11-12.4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including
figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and
tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or
beautiful. (Include Shakespeare as well as other authors.)
RL.11-12.6. Analyze a case in which grasping a point of view requires distinguishing what is directly
stated in a text from what is really meant (e.g., satire, sarcasm, irony, or understatement).
RL.11-12.9. Demonstrate knowledge of eighteenth-, nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century
foundational works of American literature, including how two or more texts from the same period
treat similar themes or topics.
RI.11-12.1. Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says
explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves
matters uncertain.
RI.11-12.2. Determine two or more central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the
course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to provide a complex
analysis; provide an objective summary of the text.
RI.11-12.3. Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequence of events and explain how specific
individuals, ideas, or events interact and develop over the course of the text.
RI.11-12.4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including
figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze how an author uses and refines the meaning
of a key term or terms over the course of a text (e.g., how Madison defines faction in Federalist No.
10).
RI.11-12.8. Delineate and evaluate the reasoning in seminal U.S. texts, including the application
of constitutional principles and use of legal reasoning (e.g., in U.S. Supreme Court majority opinions
and dissents) and the premises, purposes, and arguments in works of public advocacy (e.g., The
Federalist, presidential addresses).
RI.11-12.9. Analyze seventeenth-, eighteenth-, and nineteenth-century foundational U.S.
documents of historical and literary significance (including The Declaration of Independence, the
Preamble to the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address) for their
themes, purposes, and rhetorical features.
W.11-12.1. Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid
reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
W.11-12.2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and
information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of
content.
W.11-12.3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective
technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.
W.11-12.4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined
in standards 1–3 above.)
W.11-12.5. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or
trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and
audience.
W.11-12.7. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question
(including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when
appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject
under investigation.
W.11-12.8. Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using
advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of
the task, purpose, and audience; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the
flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and overreliance on any one source and following a
standard format for citation.
W.11-12.9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and
research.
SL.11-12.1. Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in
groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11–12 topics, texts, and issues, building on
others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
L.11-12.4. Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases
based on grades 11–12 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
L.11-12.5. Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in
word meanings.
Summary: In this unit, students will read a novel from the early 20th century.
Throughout the reading, students will explore the social and historical context of the
novel in order to understand the themes and literary devices used by the author to achieve
his message. This unit will culminate with the students writing a literary analysis essay.
Instructional Lessons/mini-lessons
Informal Assessments
Point of View—taught through
“Home” and narrative assignment
Reading:
Reading guide: Record evidence of
money or wealth as you read. Then
interpret what the text’s message is
regarding money/wealth based on the
recorded evidence.
Characterization—taught through
“Home” and literary analysis
Theme— expanding a topic to a
message with parables and poems
Tone—Hughes poetry and parables
Canned research on the Knights of
Malta;
 MLA format
 Plagiarism
 Synthesis
Drawing of crime scene of Miles’s
death. Paragraph justifying design
using textual support.
Routine Writing:
How does the Flitcraft Parable build
one of the novel’s central themes?
How does the historical context of
the novel support the author’s
development of a central theme?
The Falcon as a symbol
Quick writes with poetry and
parables:
What is the theme? Support.
What is the tone? How does it
develop the theme? Support.
Compare Hughes’s treatment of the
American Dream with a character
from Maltese Falcon.
Write an objective summary of
Roosevelt’s Address.
Materials
Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese
Falcon
”The Parable of the Lost Son”
“The Blind Men and the Elephant”
Chekov’s “Home”
Time per task
Total
time for
unit
9 Weeks
Dahl’s “Lamb to the Slaughter”
Langston Hughes “Democracy”,
“Let America be America Again”
and “Mother to Son”
“San Francisco in the Roaring
Twenties”
“The Fallacy of Success”
Roosevelt’s “First Inaugural
Address”
Writing Assessment
Literary Analysis:
1. Extended/Revised Writing:How does Hammett use a particular character to
reveal his message about money?
2. On-Demand: Dahl uses both Mr. and Mrs. Maloney to establish his message.
Choose one character to explore. Explain how he/she is characterized and
how that furthers the author’s purpose/message.
Narrative: Create a narrative to express the Exeter family timeline based on the provide
checks.
Research Project: Research the history of the Knights of Malta. Explain the connection
between the novel and the real Maltese falcon.
Book Chapters
Other Texts
1-3
Ordeal by cheque
“Hills like White
Elephants”
Concept
Supporting inferences
with text
Assessment
Narrative—put the story
of the checks into
narrative form
Book Chapters
Other Texts
12-14
“The Blind Men and the
Elephant”
“The Parable of the Lost
Son”
“The Prodigal”
Parables
How does the Flitcraft
Parable build one of the
novel’s central themes?
Concept
Assessment
4-6
“Fallacy of Success”
Roosevelt’s “First
Inaugural Address”
“San Francisco in the
Roaring 20s”
How to read a
paragraph: Close reading
of informational texts
Analysis: How does the
historical and cultural
context of the novel
support the author’s
development of a central
theme?
7-9
Hughes Poems
10-11
Point of View
Characterization
Describe the theme
and/or tone and analyze
their development.
OR
Compare Hughes’s
treatment of the
American Dream with a
character from Maltese
Falcon
Analyze the author’s
choice for names. How
do the characters along
with their assigned
names support the
author’s message?
15-17
Rembrandt’s “Allegory
of a Rich Man”
“Falcon as a Symbol”
“The Knights of Malta”
18-20
Allegories
Analyze one of the
novel’s symbols. What
does the symbol
represent and how does
Research
Research project??
Final Analysis
it develop the author’s
purpose?