Description
This ready-to-teach unit for Washington Irving’s classic tale The Devil and Tom Walker is packed with rigorous literary analysis, engaging activities, and differentiated tasks that help students deeply understand the story’s themes, satire, historical context, and moral lessons.
Students begin with a pre-reading jigsaw activity that builds essential background knowledge before encountering the text. Through guided exploration, they examine Washington Irving as an author, American Romanticism, satire and allegory, the Faust legend, Gothic literature, folklore, and the cultural influences of Puritan and Quaker life in 1720s New England. This front-loading ensures students are prepared to recognize Irving’s criticism of greed, hypocrisy, and moral corruption.
Vocabulary instruction is intentional and student-friendly, using a PowerPoint lesson paired with an editable vocabulary chart. Teachers can choose whole-class instruction, guided notes, or independent practice depending on classroom needs. Clear options are provided for whole-class read-alouds, independent reading, or small-group reading, making the unit flexible for different instructional styles.
As students read, they complete comprehension and literary analysis questions that focus on satire, symbolism, theme, and character development, all supported by a detailed answer key for efficient grading or discussion. To deepen understanding, students complete a paired text assignment comparing The Devil and Tom Walker to a short version of the King Midas myth, strengthening text-to-text connections and reinforcing shared themes of greed and consequence.
The unit also includes a structured creative writing assignment in which students write an extended ending, allowing them to apply their understanding of Irving’s style, tone, and moral message. A suggested lesson procedure is included to help teachers implement the unit smoothly from start to finish.
This comprehensive resource works beautifully for American literature units, satire and allegory studies, or any short story curriculum focused on moral lessons and historical context.