The Great Gatsby (2013) Viewing Guide & Worksheets

Add another interesting element to your Roaring Twenties (or ELA) Unit with this “The Great Gatsby” Movie Viewing Guide and Worksheet!

This movie can be used as an introduction or review for your Roaring Twenties unit and the viewing guide is designed to help insure that students are paying attention and thinking about the information presented in the film.

This lesson includes a pre-screening activity with basic questions about the time period that will require students to conduct a little bit of research.

The viewing guide is split into four sections to go along with the movie. Each of the four sections contains questions that are designed to make students think about the people and ideas at play in the film as well as to ensure that students are paying attention to the plot.

There is also a post-screening activity sheet that asks specific questions about the content in the film and asks students to compare the movie to actual historical events. These worksheets are also included in Google Form format to be submitted digitally.

How the Lesson Works:
★ The Pre-Screening Worksheet is designed to serve as an introduction or review of the Roaring Twenties.
★ The Viewing Guide is split into four sections with short answer, true/false, and multiple choice questions from the movie.
★ The Post-Screening Worksheet is designed to be completed after students have viewed the movie in its entirety.
★ Customizable Google Form Versions of each activity are included.

Movie Synopsis:
It’s the spring of 1922 in New York City, a decadent playground of shifting morals, glittering jazz, bootleg empires and skyrocketing stocks. Chasing the American Dream, would-be writer Nick Carraway (Golden Globe nominee Tobey Maguire) arrives from the Midwest only to land next door to Jay Gatsby (three-time Oscar nominee Leonardo DiCaprio), a mysterious millionaire whose estate overflows with endless parties. As Nick’s beautiful cousin Daisy (Oscar nominee Carey Mulligan) and her blue-blooded husband Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton) fall into Gatsby’s orbit, Nick bears witness to a tragedy of impossible love and incorruptible dreams. Fitzgerald’s timeless epic, the Great Gatsby mirrors the struggles of modern times in a dazzling visual journey from the mind of Baz Luhrmann, director of the Oscar winning Moulin Rouge.

Required Materials:
★ The Great Gatsby (2013) DVD or Streaming Capabilities