The Things They Carried Curriculum Unit

Students participate in research activities, close reading, character analysis, reader response activities, journaling, interpretation of style and structure, and theme analysis.

Supplementary materials include a reading guide with suggested responses, character quiz and objective test with answer keys, and an essay test. Aligned to Common Core standards.

Literary Form

American Novel

21st-Century Skills

• Collaboration
• Critical thinking
• Social and cross-cultural skills
• Productivity and accountability
• Leadership and responsibility

Overview

The Things They Carried is a contemporary masterpiece that tells stories of the fictional Alpha Company during the Vietnam conflict. It is a novel derived from the author’s own experiences and woven together in an impressionistic style. Through numerous vignettes and a single narrative viewpoint, readers are immersed in the confusion of war and the ambiguities of life and death both in battle and in the aftermath.

Print Book (4S1891): Spiral-bound, 8 x 11 inches, 84 pages, 12 lesson plans, 26 handouts, reproducible.
Book Download (4S1891DL): PDF, 84 pages, reproducible. We recommend Foxit PDF for viewing or editing PDFs.
Grades 9–12.