Introduction

Use this Real-Life Lens Plan to help students appreciate and explore Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Students will examine the novel’s themes, actions, and characters through the lens of conformity. What must Huck Finn do in order to conform to society? What does Jim have to do? How do they feel about conforming? What actions turn Huck and Jim into outcasts? How do they conform to life on the run?

Materials

  • The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
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Introduce the Lens

To activate students’ thinking, choose one or two of the following Real-Life Links to use in an engagement activity. Have students read or watch and discuss the content. Encourage students to jot down notes, or record class notes on the board for future reference.

Pose the following Big Idea Questions to the class:

What is conformity?  

Under what circumstances should individuals conform or not conform to society?

Engagement Activity

Have students write quick initial answers to the questions. Then discuss the questions, either as a class or in small groups. Encourage students to compare and contrast how different people might conform or not conform to the same situations. Following discussion, give students time to revise their initial responses and ask volunteers to share what they wrote with the class.

CCSS

Introduce the Driving Questions

Begin by having students write their own questions about the lesson topic. Encourage them to think about what they already know about conformity and what they’re interested in exploring further. 

Hand out the Driving Questions Worksheet. Review the questions as a class. Students should enter initial answers to the questions before and as they read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. They will revisit the questions and revise their answers following the lesson activities, classroom discussion, and completion of the text. Remind students to support their responses with text evidence.

Integrate the Driving Questions into your classroom discussions. Use them to help guide students’ thinking about the Big Idea Questions.

1. Why do Judge Thatcher and the Widow Douglas want Huck Finn to conform to respectable society? 

2. How does Huck feel about having to be respectable? 

3. How and why does Huck conform and not conform to the demands of Pap Finn? 

4. How does Huck’s relationship with Jim conform and not conform to respectable society? 

5. To what beliefs, superstitions, prejudices, and ideals do people conform in the novel? 

6. How does conformity make people susceptible to the King and the Duke? 

7. How does conformity make Huck Finn susceptible to Tom Sawyer?

CCSS

Introduce the "Through the Lens" Activity

Activity: Personal and Universal Questions 

In this activity, students will question their own experiences with and ideas about conformity and apply similar questions to their favorite music, games, and stories.

Ask students to rewrite the first four Driving Questions, substituting themselves for Huck and substituting other people in their lives for the other characters. Suggest that students keep their answers private. Explain that the point of the exercise is to demonstrate that conformity and nonconformity are conflicting elements in every person’s life. 

Pair students and have partners ask and answer similar questions about their favorite books, musicians/singers, movies, videos, or interactive games, such as: 

What is your favorite TV show/book/movie? Which characters conform to society’s standards in the show/book/movie and which don’t? 

Who is your favorite singer? Is he/she considered respectable? Why or why not? 

Encourage pairs to return to the Big Idea Questions and consider how their favorite things express conformity or individualism.

Invite three or four students to share their ideas with the class. Prompt whole-class discussion on why conformity and individualism are universal themes by asking questions such as: Why is it hard for the hero [in the movie/show/book/interactive game] to conform? Why does the hero [in the movie/show/book/interactive game discussed] believe in conforming to the law?

After the general class discussion, explain that students will explore Mark Twain’s treatment of conformity and its powerful effect on human behavior through his use of characterization, plot, and language in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

CCSS

Differentiated Instruction

This activity can be modified to help all students access learning.
Decrease difficulty

Prompt students with sentence frames, such as: 

Why do _______ and _______ want me to conform to society? 

How do I feel about having to be “respectable?”

Increase difficulty

Have students discuss conformity in their communities, such as in the following: 

  • occasions that conform to rituals and customs (worship services, graduations, pep rallies) 

  • situations that reward conformity and punish nonconformity (schools, offices) 

  • situations in which an individual’s values might require or even demand nonconformity (peer pressure to do something illegal)

Introduce the Final Project

Before moving on, introduce the final projects to the class (see below for details). Have students choose the project they will complete and encourage them to keep their project in mind as they read the text. Facilitate the formation of project groups if necessary.

Assign the Midpoint Activities

Activity 1: Rules Along the River

Students will analyze how the rules of conformity change as circumstances change for the protagonist, Huck Finn. A worksheet titled Rules Along the River accompanies this activity. Students will use the worksheet to deepen their understanding of several episodes in the text and of the overall plot by examining how Huck conforms to his changing circumstances. Assign the worksheet after students have read through Chapter 19 of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Students can complete the worksheet individually or in small groups.

With the worksheet, students will: 

  • Read summaries of plot points. 

  • Find and read about the same events in the text. 

  • Identify rules and procedures Huck must follow to conform. 

  • Support answers with direct quotes from the text.

CCSS

Differentiated Instruction

This activity can be modified to help all students access learning.
Decrease difficulty

Have students work in pairs to complete the activity. Assign one or two columns (events) to each pair.

Increase difficulty

Have students use the back of the worksheet to write a paragraph comparing and contrasting two of the columns (events).

Activity 2: Effects and Outcomes of Conformity

Students will analyze how Mark Twain uses Huck Finn’s shifting circumstances to structure the narrative of the novel. A worksheet titled Effects and Outcomes of Conformity accompanies this activity. Pass out this worksheet after students have read through Chapter 19 of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Students may complete the worksheet individually or in small groups. 

With the worksheet, students will: 

  • Read summaries of plot points. 

  • Find and read about the same events in the text. 

  • Identify and analyze the causes and effects of conformity or nonconformity. 

  • Predict outcomes based on the changing circumstances of Huck and Jim. 

  • Support answers with direct quotes from the text.

CCSS

Differentiated Instruction

This activity can be modified to help all students access learning.
Decrease difficulty

Have students work in pairs to complete the activity. Assign columns (events) to the same students who worked on them in Activity 1.

Increase difficulty

Have students write short essays that describe how conformity or nonconformity helps Huck survive. The essays should include direct quotes from the text.

Additional Worksheets

To deepen students’ exploration and comprehension of the text through the lens of conformity, you may wish to assign one or both of the following additional worksheets.

Why Does Jim Conform?
Students will use this worksheet to analyze how society’s conformity to slavery affects Jim’s chances of freedom. Students will study the story map and answer the questions in the corresponding columns, noting where they found evidence to support their answer.

Assign this worksheet after students have finished reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Students can work with this material individually or in small groups.

Social Conformity and Irony
Students will use this worksheet to analyze how Mark Twain exposes the values to which people conform by creating situations that are rich in irony. Students will find and review events in the text; identify the ideas, beliefs, and values that the characters express; and explain the irony in the situation. Students will support their answers with direct quotes from the text. They will also note where they found the supporting evidence.

​​Assign the worksheet after students have finished reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Students can work with this material individually or in small groups.​

Final Projects

Students will work on their final projects after they have finished reading the complete text of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Project 1 can be completed by students working individually or in small groups, while Project 2 requires students to work in pairs or small groups.

Final Project 1: Monologues on Conformity

Students will read and analyze selected monologues from the text that express the idea of conformity. A worksheet titled Monologues on Conformity accompanies the activity. The worksheet suggests some monologues, but students may also choose their own. Students will:

  • Select and read speeches or monologues. 

  • Identify basic facts about the monologue: Who is speaking? When and where are the words spoken? What events led to the speech? 

  • Analyze the character of the speaker and the significance of the speech, citing details from the monologue. 

  • Share their ideas from the worksheet with the class and/or perform the monologue for the class.

CCSS

Differentiated Instruction

This activity can be modified to help all students access learning.
Decrease difficulty

Assign monologues according to students’ abilities. Pair students and have partners take turns reading their assigned monologue to their partner for feedback.

Increase difficulty

Have students write a short essay that explains the significance of the monologue to the development of the character and plot of the novel.

Final Project 2: Conformity for Comedy

Students will analyze and perform selected scenes from the novel in which conformity is used for comic effect. The accompanying worksheet titled Conformity for Comedy suggests some scenes, but students may also choose their own. Each group of students will:

  • Select and read a comic scene. 

  • Identify basic facts about the scene: Who is speaking? When and where does the scene take place? What events led to the scene? 

  • Analyze how conformity and nonconformity help create humor in the scene. 

  • Rehearse and give a performance of the scene.

CCSS

Differentiated Instruction

This activity can be modified to help all students access learning.
Decrease difficulty

Assign scenes and characters according to students’ abilities. Have students share their ideas from the worksheet rather than perform the scenes.

Increase difficulty

Have pairs/groups rehearse and perform the scenes with costumes, props, and sound effects, using multimedia as they have available. The performance should include a narrator who tells what happens before and after the scene.

Assess the Assignments

Use the Rubric for Student Assessment to evaluate student work on the lesson assignments. 

Distribute the Student Reflection Worksheet. Guide students through the self-assessment and reflection questions.

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