Lesson Overview 

The Whisper Circle (Ripples on the Pond)

We begin the lesson (after the quiz) with a discrepant event (see my page on Class Discussion Methods).  I ask the students to tear off a corner of a sheet of  paper (about a 1/4 of a page).  Then they are to write down one word that describes the emotion they felt, as a reader, when they came to the part of the text where the death of young father is described.  After they write it - I then tell them to fold the paper in two so the word is hidden.  We then arrange ourselves in concentric circles - one person in the center of the room - three around that person - six or seven around that circle - etc. until we have four or five circles of students.  Next, everyone hands their slips of paper to the person in the center.  I then ask that person, in the center, to read - in their normal voice to read one of the words.  The next circle is instructed to repeat that word - only a little softer.  The next circle softer than that - until the last (outmost's) circle's utterance can barely be heard.  The effect is powerful and the perfect way to begin our discussion.  Note occasionally we did this at the end of the class as well.

The Discussion (most recent Lesson Notes - 2022)

Perhaps one of my oldest (revised) but still in use (until I retired) discussion plans.  After the quiz, the discussion is broken into four parts (I-IV).  See my page on class discussions - this will be a "Ringmaster-Teacher" approach.  Also students will have just done "The Whisper Circle" described above.

Part I - Plot 

• (see my notes  for much more)  First - have a student briefly recount what "happens" in the story - the plot.

• Next - establish point of view (3rd person limited).  Get proof from the students to show that (It's all from Nick's point of view)

• What keeps the reader interested?  What builds the tension?

• What are the two big actions that take place here?  (death & life)  - this sets the discussion up for the "sunrise" at the beginning of the story and the "sunset" at the end.

Part II - Echoes 

• (see my notes  for much more)  Point out the part of the story from where they leave until they arrive in the cabin.  What recurring image(s) do they see.  Give them a few minutes.  (Light, darkness, mist, smoke).  Ask them how this fits in with the story (Nick is shrouded in the smoke of adulthood - he doesn't understand).

• What is the point of the echoes at large?

Part III - WHY?

• (see my notes  for much more)  The big one:  Why does the Doctor take his son?   Understand this and you will understand the story and a few of the stories that follow it.  Was it a good idea?  (of course not! to take a small 6-8 year old child to a difficult child birth). 

• Why does the Dr. tell his son "You don't know"?

• What does the Dr. mean that the woman's cries are not important?  (They turn out to be very important - leading to her husband's death).

• How do little kids view their parents?  (As gods, as heroes)

• Do things turn out as the Doctor intended?  (NO.  He took Nick to impress him (see the next story - "The Doctor and the Doctor's Wife" - to build himself up - and because of the husband's death - it does just the opposite.

Part IV - Sunrise

• Read the last few paragraphs aloud, "It was just beginning..."

• What happened to the Indian father?  (he dies - he could not stand the pain)

• Link with Nick's worries

• What is Nick's mood, on that boat as the sun comes up?  "He was sure he would never die".

• What happens with the bass?  How does the fish jumping in the water echo what happens in the story?

• The ripples are the echoes of what happened - moving on - moving out into Nick's life.  "The child is the father of the man."

• Hemingway's father, in real life - on whom this story is based kills himself - and so will Hemingway (you will have to determine how much of this information you share - and it should be done in the most sensitive way possible).

• Ripples never end.