Introducing Della and Jim

Overview

In this first lesson of a 4-day unit, students begin exploring the theme of sacrifice by meeting the characters from The Gift of the Magi. Students read closely for character traits and motivations that will help them understand later decisions in the story.

Learning intentions

Students will be able to:

• Identify key character traits for Della and Jim from the text.
• Explain a character’s motivation using evidence from the story.
• Describe how the text develops ideas about sacrifice through character choices.
• Use grade-appropriate academic vocabulary in discussion and writing.

Success criteria

Students can:

• List at least 2 traits for Della and 2 traits for Jim, with a short reason for each.
• Identify one motivation for each character and cite a specific detail from the story.
• Participate in a discussion using academic vocabulary (trait, motivation, evidence, infer).

Curriculum links

• Reading — Reading Informational Text: Students build comprehension skills that transfer to informational reading by identifying important ideas and using evidence.
• Reading Prose and Poetry — Analyze the development of stated or implied theme(s) throughout a literary text by tracing how ideas emerge through characters and choices.
• Vocabulary — Finding Meaning: Students integrate academic vocabulary in speaking and writing about characters.
• Communication — Following Conventions: Students write and speak with correct capitalization, punctuation, and spelling appropriate to grade level.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–6 min · Hook (shared thinking). Teacher shows a prompt on the board: “What would you give up if you wanted to make someone else’s life better?” Students write 2–3 quick thoughts, then share one with the class.
2. 6–10 min · Set purpose for reading. Teacher explains that today they will meet Della and Jim and look for traits and motivations that help explain sacrifice in the story; students turn to a partner and predict one trait and one possible motivation for either Della or Jim.
3. 10–25 min · Teacher-guided reading (first pass). Teacher reads the opening section(s) of The Gift of the Magi, pausing to ask: “What do we learn about Della/Jim so far?” Students jot evidence notes in the the character trait and motivation worksheet as they listen.
4. 25–40 min · Small-group character work (second pass). Teacher models how to convert evidence into a trait (“What I see in the text”) and into a motivation (“What drives the character”). Students complete two sections on the the character trait and motivation worksheet: traits and motivations for Della, then traits and motivations for Jim, using at least one piece of evidence per character.
5. 40–50 min · Whole-class discussion (evidence-based). Teacher leads a discussion using sentence frames on the board: “I think Della is ____ because ____.” and “Della’s motivation seems to be ____.” Students contribute one claim per character and respond to at least one classmate by adding evidence or refining the motivation.
6. 50–56 min · Theme bridge (implied message). Teacher asks: “So far, what idea about sacrifice is starting to appear in this story?” Students use one sentence stem: “This story suggests that sacrifice can be shown when ____.” Teacher records student ideas on the board as “emerging theme.”
7. 56–60 min · Exit check (quick accountability). Teacher collects the the character trait and motivation worksheet for review and does a 60-second share-out: each student states one trait + one evidence detail.

Resources

• the character introduction slides
• the character trait and motivation worksheet
• Class copy(s) of The Gift of the Magi (printed or accessible text)
• Board markers/chalk
• Highlighters (optional) for evidence marking in the text
• Timer (projected or visible)

Assessment

• Formative during reading: teacher circulates and checks that notes include both a trait and evidence.
• Formative in discussion: teacher listens for correct use of academic vocabulary (trait, motivation, evidence, infer).
• Collection of the character trait and motivation worksheet to confirm each character has at least one motivation supported by text evidence.

Differentiation

• Support: Provide sentence starters for traits and motivations (e.g., “Della seems ____ because the text says ____.”).
• Support: Offer a word bank with academic vocabulary (trait, motivation, evidence, infer) and common motivation verbs (help, protect, provide, care, respect).
• Extension: Challenge students to add a “possible conflict” (what problem the character faces) and explain how that conflict may affect the next choice.
• EAL/SEN: Allow short responses (bullet points) and accept evidence that is paraphrased; teacher may prompt with yes/no evidence questions (“Does the text say she tries hard to…?”).