On-line Assignment

Five elements of a story—The Last Leaf:SettingCharacterPlotConflict Theme

L6—Gifts of Love

What can you guess about the story from the title and the picture on p.83?

Do you get excited about getting gifts?

Do you like to give gifts? Why/not?

What is your guideline when giving gifts to other people?

Line 1-13

L3-4, why does it say, “the next day would be Christmas”?

L9, what is special about her hair?

L10-13, why does it point out their treasures?

Line 14-31

What might be her emotion when she rushed out the door and walked down the street?

How might she feel when she was waiting for her husband coming back?

What’s her concern/care when she said, “don’t look at me that way”?

Line 32-49Why does Jim say, “Don’t make any mistake about me”?

What is “a cry of joy”? Can you show it?

How might Jim feel when he saw Della?

How might Jim feel when he knew that she cut her hair for a Christmas present?

Della saw the beautiful combs. Did she think about where they came from? Why/why not?

Setting

What is the setting for the story? Why is it important to the story?

Character

Who are the main characters of the story? What is their relationship?

Are there any special points of the characters which are important to the story?

Conflict vs Solution

What is Della’s problem? Why was she crying?

Why did she stop crying? How did she find her way out?

Plot (Events)

What happened to Jim and Della after all?

Does the ending match your guess?

Do you like the ending? Why/not?

Theme

What is the main idea that the author tries to tell us?

What does that idea mean to you?

Reflection (1)

In the end, it seems that neither of them got benefit (好處 ) from each other’s gift. Do you think they are foolish by doing so? Why/why not?

If it were you, would you do the same thing or do something else? Why?

Reflection (2)

* What do you think of the saying, “It’s more blessed to give than to receive”? Try to use this story as an example.