This is a suggested teaching schedule for a 10 day class study of Thornton Wilder's The Bridge of San Luis Rey and Our Town. Lesson plans and handouts can be downloaded individually by clicking on the name of the file in the schedule below. Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view these files.
Audio Guide CDs are available only for the communities participating in The Big Read. If your community is participating, contact the lead community organization to receive a free Audio Guide CD. Non-participating communities can listen to the full audio online.
Day One Lesson Plan [PDF]
FOCUS: Culture and History
Day Two Lesson Plan [PDF]
FOCUS: Narrative and Point of View
Day Three Lesson Plan [PDF]
Day Four Lesson Plan [PDF]
FOCUS: Symbol and Allusion
Day Five Lesson Plan [PDF]
FOCUS: Themes of the Novel
Day Six Lesson Plan [PDF]
FOCUS: Reading a Play
Day Seven Lesson Plan [PDF]
FOCUS: Setting the Stage
Day Eight Lesson Plan [PDF]
FOCUS: Comedy vs. Tragedy
Day Nine Lesson Plan [PDF]
FOCUS: What Makes a Writer Great?
Day Ten Lesson Plan [PDF]
Handout 1: Spain in the New World [PDF]
Handout 2: The Real World of Our Town [PDF]
Handout 3: Thornton Wilder’s Other Works [PDF]
Page numbers refer to the Perennial Classics 1998 paperback edition of The Bridge of San Luis Rey.
Page numbers refer to the Perennial Classics 2003 paperback edition of Our Town.