The Sign of the Four Lesson Plan

Holmes' London, Part 2

Kind of Activity:

Research

Objective:

Conduct an in-depth research project on a historical aspect of the novel.

Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.6, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.2

Structure:

Students should pick one aspect of the text about which to execute a research project. There are plenty of plot points in The Sign of the Four that revolve around current events/politics of the time at which the story was written. These would have common knowledge to Conan Doyle’s readers, but to us, they can be a bit obtuse—in particular, many students may not have a frame of reference through which to understand the plot about India.

Though...