THE ALCHEMISTBy: Paulo Coelho

Francesco Merenda

Santiago the Shepherd

Recurring dreams about treasure while sitting

under a Sycamore tree in Spain.

Has to travel to Egypt to find treasure after

prompted by several characters.

Personal Legend is Santiago’s main focus. Journey to Egypt is the

goal.

Leads him to meet several important characters along

the way that shape Santiago.

Meets and journeys with the Alchemist and finally arrives to the pyramids.

Beaten by men and told his dream is worthless and

that the real fabled treasure is buried under a sycamore tree in Spain.

Treasure was originally where Santiago started his journey at the beginning of

the story.

Moral of the story: Follow your heart and search for

your dreams.

Readability Level/Lexile Score

•Lexile Score: 910L•Grade Level Equivalent: 6.8

•Grade Level Interest: 9-12

Common Core State Standards• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.10• By the end of grade 9, read and comprehend literature, including stories,

dramas, and poems, in the grades 9-10 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range. Reading of book to its entirety and understanding of elements within the story.

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.4• Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely,

and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task. Students have to be able to present their information to the class and capture the attention of the audience.

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.5• Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual,

and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest. Students will have to use different media sources to help their presentation (PowerPoint or Prezi).

Common Core State Standards• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.3• Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences

or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences. Will be utilized for the writing of the narrative story for the students.

Illinois Foreign Language State Standards

• 29.E.3 Describe geographical aspects (e.g., population distribution, natural resources and main economic activities) of areas where the target language is spoken. Students will discuss different areas of Southern Spain and their relevance to the story.

• 28.B.2b Produce language using proper pronunciation, intonation and inflection. Students will present their given information in Spanish to the rest of the class.

• 28.D.2b Present a simple written or oral report on familiar topics. Students will use this information to produce a group project and present in front of the class.

• 28.D.3a Write compositions and reports with a specific focus, supporting details, logical sequence and conclusion. Students will have to write a paper on a specific subject and use correct grammar while completing the process.

Questions based on Chapters• Students will partake in weekly quizzes that pertain to the

selected chapters for reading. • Chapter quizzes will be done at the end of the week and

will be based upon weekly discussions and information from the text.

• The questions will be based on events from the story as well as information given in class for weekly discussions.

Questions from book-Discussion Based

• During the story, Santiago had to give a form of payment to both the gypsy and the old man. One in the form of money and the other as part of his animal flock. Can you think of examples from your own life when you had to give up something to meet a goal and found the price too high?

• Paulo Coelho once said that alchemy is all about pursuing our spiritual quest in the physical world as it was given to us. With this in mind, what inner resources do you need to continue along this journey?

• When Santiago talked about the pilgrimage to Mecca, the crystal merchant argued that having a dream is more important than fulfilling it. Do you believe it is more important to chase a dream or fulfill it? Why?

Questions from book-Discussion Based

• Why did Santiago have to go through the dangers of Tribal Wars on the outskirts of the desert to reach the pyramids? Why did the Alchemist leave Santiago alone to complete it?

• Earlier in the story, the alchemist told Santiago “when you possess great treasures within you, and try to tell others of them, seldom are you believed.” What does that quote mean to your group and how did that help Santiago?

Activities-Posed Questions• Group work to answer discussion questions. • Quizzes at the end of every week. • Lengthy discussions to tie book into real world

experiences. • Map creating activity to understand the full journey of

Santiago. • Different quotations that relate to the story and reinforce

the main message from the book.

Activities-Interact w/ Community/Local Context

• Pre-Cursor Activity related to Spanish• Students will be placed into groups. • They will each research a province in the south of Spain

(Andalucía) such as Granada, Malaga, Almeria, etc. • They will have to outline main details of their area that they are

studying such as geography, culture, food, rituals, etc.

• They will present their region of choice to the class in groups and have to discuss their findings in the target language of Spanish.

Activities-Interact w/ Community/Local context

• Students will individually write a 3 page paper, double spaced on their Personal Legend.

• They will have to describe in-depth their goals and dreams that they have for themselves moving forward into the future.

• The paper will be written in Spanish and will be discussed in small groups on the due date of the paper.

• Students will share their ideas in Spanish and then share to the whole class about their thoughts on the Personal Legend.

Images

Images

Book Excerpt

 Every second of the search is an encounter with God,' the boy told his heart. 'When I have been truly searching for my treasure, every day has been luminous, because I've known that every hour was part of the dream that I would find it. When I have been truly searching for my treasure, I've discovered things along the way that I never would have seen had I not had the courage to try things that seemed impossible for a shepherd to achieve.

Motivational statement• “It's the possibility of having a dream come true that

makes life interesting.” Paulo Coelho• Set your mind to something and through hard work and

dedication, the universe will recognize your efforts. • All students have dreams and aspirations that they wish to

conquer, the book offers them the sense to see that anything is possible.

• Connects with life and real events by illustrating the positive message of striving for the best.

Image Citations• http://faith.edu.ph/blogs/karl47932/files/2013/12/

The_Alchemist_by_RekTruk.jpg• http://8c4625.medialib.glogster.com/media/918a0844e92c

cd5a30289b032dcfd69ebed5a8fd74870a71d5920f01a9af915b/paulo-coelho-ecard-the-alchemist.jpg

• http://thealchemistallusions.weebly.com/uploads/1/1/0/0/11008551/1234026.jpg?441

• http://paulocoelhoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/alchemist2.jpg