LITERATURE CIRCLES / PLANNER · GRADE 8 BLANK

Plan a circle: “The Necklace”

Guy de Maupassant (1884) · public-domain short story · grades 8–10 · ~1 week / two meetings. Rights: Public domain.

Kit section 5 (group agreement & calendar), scaffolded for this text. Students fill the group, calendar, and roles.

Text, group, and target

Text / author / edition	“The Necklace” — Guy de Maupassant (1884). ______________________ (edition)
Group / period / dates
Grade / TEKS target (p. 3)	Grade 8 · §110.24 — 7(A): theme through characters/events; 6(C,D): support inferences; 1(D): student-led discussion.
Learning intention	We are learning to explain how Mathilde’s choices and the story’s irony reveal a theme about vanity and honesty.
Success criteria	I bring one open question, cite two details with locations, respond to a peer, and name how my thinking changed.

Reading map & calendar

Chunk	Read through	Meeting date · leader
1	Mathilde’s discontent through the ball and the lost necklace.
2	The ten years of debt through Madame Forestier’s final revelation.

Members & first-meeting jobs (p. 7 roles)

Member	First job	Rotates to (next meeting)

Text-specific discussion questions (open — more than one answer)

Predict: After Mathilde borrows the necklace, what could go wrong — and what detail hints at it?
Question: Why might Maupassant end with Forestier’s revelation? How does it change our view of Mathilde’s suffering?
Clarify: What does the narrator mean that Mathilde “was made for” a life of luxury? Is that true?
Summarize: Retell the ten years of repayment in order, without opinion.
Interpret the theme: How do Mathilde’s choices and the twist reveal a theme about vanity or honesty? Use two details.

Optional Jigsaw lenses (p. 4): Character (Mathilde and her husband) · Plot (the ironic twist) · Language (the narrator’s judgments) · Theme (pride vs. contentment) · Point of view (whose viewpoint is missing — Forestier’s (5th reader)).

LITERATURE CIRCLES / STUDENT PREP BLANK

Reading notes: “The Necklace”

Name: _______________ · Home group: _______________ · Section: “The Necklace,” ____________ · Expert lens: ____________

Everyone prepares. Read the whole assigned section. Write or draw three important ideas, two supporting details with locations, and one summary in your own words. Keep interpretation separate from summary.

Questions

What needs clarification?
What could the group explore?

3 · Important ideas

Character choices, conflicts, themes, or central ideas.

Vocabulary

Word + location + meaning or clue.
Mark anything still uncertain.

2 · Supporting details

Short quote or accurate paraphrase + page/paragraph + what it shows.

1 · Summary in my own words

Bring to the circle

My interpretation: These details suggest __________________________________________
Synthesis (connect two lenses): ____________________________________________________
After discussion: My thinking changed / became clearer because ______________________

TEKS evidence: 6(C,D) supported inference; 7(A) theme through characters/events; 1(D) response to a peer. · Pair with the PlotPoint “The Necklace” room.