O. Henry (1862-1905) short story page 246 “The Gift of the Magi” O. Henry (1862-1905) short story page 246

Quickwrite “If you could save one item (not a person) from a disaster—a fire, a flood, an earthquake—what would it be? In a few sentences, describe your most cherished possession, and tell why you treasure it. Was it a gift? If so, how does that make it especially important to you?” Create a middle name for yourself that you believe represents stability, prominent lineage, and wealth. Look up the meaning of your created name. Does the definition sound appropriate for its name?

HW assignment Bring in information about “the wise men” which are referred to in “The Gift of the Magi.” What three gifts were brought to the newborn king? Make sure you cite where you found your information (Book of the Bible, chapter, and verse) GO BEYOND! Why were these three gifts brought instead of something else? Bring in information about King Solomon and Queen of Sheba who are allusions in “The Gift of the Magi.” Make sure you cite where you found this information.

Vocabulary (“The Gift of the Magi”) Record the following vocabulary, find the word in the story and copy the sentence that contains the word: 1. Imputation: p. 247 2. Parsimony: p. 247 3. Instigates: p. 247 4. Agile: p. 247 5. Depreciate: p. 248 6. Cascade: p. 248 7. Ransacking: p. 248 8. Prudence: p. 249 9. Ravages: p. 249 10. Discreet: p. 250 11. Scrutiny: p. 250 12. Inconsequential: p. 250 13. Nimble: p. 251 14. Coveted: p. 251 15. Singed: p. 251

Vocabulary (“The Gift of the Magi”) 1. Imputation: n. an accusation 2. Parsimony: n. stinginess 3. Instigates: v. gives rise to 4. Agile: adj. moving with ease 5. Depreciate: v. lower the value of 6. Cascade: n. waterfall 7. Ransacking: v. searching thoroughly 8.Prudence: n. cautious, good judgment; wisdom 9. Ravages: n. destructive actions; results from destructive actions 10. Discreet: adj. especially being silent or careful 11. Scrutiny: n. close inspection 12. Inconsequential: adj. unimportant; irrelevant 13. Nimble: adj. quickly moving 14. Coveted: adj. longed-for 15. Singed: adj. lightly burned

HW: Vocabulary Activity You will create the following “vocab. word box” for each vocabulary word: definition part of word illustration speech ORIGINAL sentence

Apply these literary terms in the work: Situational irony Surprise ending Theme Allusion Simile Third-person omniscient point of view Setting *The definitions for these terms should be in your notebook in the literary terms section for the Short Story Unit.

Reading and Predicting Read the work and make predictions during your reading on what will happen later in the story. Make sure you provide textual evidence as to why you believe this will happen.

After reading activities Answer questions on page 252 1-9. “What They Did for Love” You must create a PowerPoint presentation after you have researched at least two stories about people who have made the greatest sacrifices for love. This research may come from interviews, Internet-based sources, newspapers, or magazines. Your presentation must include what sacrifices were made and why they were made, and you must compare/contrast the sacrifices to that of Jim and Della. Which sacrifice was greater in your opinion? Were the sacrifices worth it? Make sure you include evidence from “The Gift of the Magi” to support your writing.

Background on O. Henry Now let’s look at the author of “The Gift of the Magi.” http://www.biography.com/people/william-sydney-porter-9542046 After learning about O. Henry, why do you believe he writes using so much irony?