How to Plan an AP Lit Lesson in 5 Minutes

Today was the last AP Lit lesson of our third week of school. My AP Lit kids are capable and hard-working, midway through their study of How to Read Literature Like a Professor. I was scrolling through my prepared notes on HTRLLAP, only minutes before my lesson, when I realized something.

I just wasn’t into my lesson today.

It’s not that my lesson was bad, we just needed a break. All this talk about examples and theory has left me craving some time going back to the basics. In short: I just want to read some great literature and discuss it.

At the last minute, I threw together a full-length AP Lit lesson (48 minutes) that reflects the AP English Literature CED, encourages interpretation and analysis, and requires virtually no preparation.  

The Prep: Brainwork (3 min.) + Copying (2 min.)

With just five minutes to prepare, I visited the card catalog in my brain) to think of a short story I could use.

I wanted an engaging short story that could be read aloud in 20 minutes or less. I also wanted to do a skill-based discussion on the text, so it needed to reflect or contain all the AP English Literature essential skills (minus the one on writing, since today was just going to be a discussion).

It only took a few minutes to select Ray Bradbury’s “There Will Come Soft Rains,” a hauntingly beautiful short story in just 5 printed pages. I dashed to the copier, planning the logistics on my way.  

Reading (15 min.)

When my students showed up, I split them into 6 groups, putting the following skills on the board:

• Character
• Setting
• Structure
• Narration
• Figurative Language 1 (figurative meanings, diction, imagery)
• Figurative Language 2 (simile, metaphor, personification, allusion)

We divided up the skills so that each group had one to analyze. I asked them to annotate the text as I read aloud, looking for their assigned skill. I could have asked them to read this on their own, but I love reading aloud so I didn’t mind. Furthermore, many believe that reading a text aloud models good reading skills and helps build an atmosphere to the lesson.

Group work (10 min.)

When I finished (in an eerie silence; this story is so haunting!), students grouped up and shared their notes with each other. I walked around, listening to their discussions and answering any clarifying questions.

Whole Class Discussion (20 min.)

This was very informal (remember, I was kind of making this up as I went). I asked each group to share what they discussed and we returned to parts of the text that they noticed. Here’s a short run-down of what each group mentioned in analyzing “There Will Come Soft Rains,” at least some parts I can remember.

Skip ahead if you’re not interested in our analysis of “There Will Come Soft Rains” and just want to learn more about the AP Lit lesson structure!

Analysis of “There Will Come Soft Rains” by Ray Bradbury

Character

This group struggled at first, looking for human characters to study. However, they hit their stride once they went back and found all the characterization of the house itself (CHR 1.A). There are countless examples of the house as a personified character, heightening in the second half when it catches on fire. The contrasts between the house and the fire parallel a hero vs. villain battle (CHR 1.C) They particularly noted the reference to “the attic brain” as the house combats the fire, losing in the end.

Setting

This group found most of their evidence in the first page of the story, identifying the story’s date and location (SET 2.A). When pushed, they began discussing the function of the setting. They were shocked to realize that the story was published in 1950, yet set in 2026. One student said, “Oh my God, that’s 4 years from now,” making them realize that the people in Bradbury’s story are themselves as he imagined them (SET 2.B). Finally, they briefly talked about the relationship between the setting and the technology of this story, which is really the main character of the story (SET 2.C).

Structure

My structure group discussed plot events a lot at first, noticing that things were neatly organized chronologically (STR 3.A). They also examined pacing, noticing that Bradbury explained certain parts in detail, slowing down the pacing (the description of the burned outlines outside, the imagery of the nursery). This contrasts with the quick pacing of the house as it battles and loses to the fire (STR 3.B). Next they remarked on some of the contrasts they found in the text, such as clean vs. dirty, light vs. dark, the ruins of the house vs. the breaking of dawn at the same moment (STR 3.D). Lastly, we discussed the conflict, one we’ve seen in many Bradbury texts. They connected that Bradbury often featured technology as an antagonist in his stories set in the future. He also uses fire in several of his stories, leading us to note the juxtaposition between fire (a natural element) vs. technology (a manmade element) (STR 3.F).

Narration

This group focused mostly on describing the narrator of the text (NAR 4.A). At first, they found him dispassionate and detached, but upon closer examination they found notes of sympathy and concern. They found it especially as the narrator described the deathly shadows on the house’s siding and how he described the battle with the fire (NAR 4.C).

Figurative Language 1

This group listed many words and phrases they found intriguing based on connotations and contrasts (FIG 5.A). I expected them to analyze the house as a symbol, but instead they had a lot to say about the imagery and how it contributed to so many other skills (FIG 5.D).

Figurative Language 2

They waited so patiently! This group was dying to point out how important personification is in this story (FIG 6.C). They also remarked on how frequently Bradbury employs similes, something that can make a writer sound pedestrian but works in his style. The similes contributed to the house’s character-building and the general tone in the story (FIG 6.A).

Application (5 min.)

To bring the discussion home, I wrote the prompt from Question 3 of the 2021 AP Lit exam (the significance of a house). We all understood that the house served as a symbol for humanity in the future, but they did need some help with the interpretation of the work as a whole. One thing my group overlooked, in general, was the Sara Teasdale poem in the middle, read aloud in a robotic voice just before the house catches fire. Teasdale’s poem expresses that nature is patient and enduring. It existed before humans and will live on after we are gone. This allusion helped them grasp the story’s theme and we wrapped up the discussion.  

Post-Lesson Assessment (I didn’t do this, but I thought about it)

I thought about assigning the 2021 prompt as a homework assignment, either as a paragraph response or a full essay. As this was a Friday and they already had reading homework for our unit, I decided against it. However, if you needed an assessment for this AP Lit lesson, it’s a great fit.

Reflection

This quick lesson not only gave us the dose of literature that the students and I craved, but also pointed out some weak areas that I can target in coming weeks:

• Active reading stamina: My kids were actively annotating for the first two pages, then kind of fell into just listening. I think this was because the story got so interesting, but it did lead them to miss some important details in the second half.
• Allusions: My students overlooked most of the allusions. Even those who noticed them did little to go beyond just noticing them. I’m going to really hammer home the function of an allusion in our future lessons.
• Partner discussion: In my observations I noticed that many discussions were one-sided. About half of my class is still uncertain or hesitant to share their ideas, so they allow their partners to speak for them. I’m going to try some silent discussions to let introverts and slower processors thrive.

I felt amazing after teaching this lesson. For the first time in a very long time, I threw out my lesson plans. I’m a person who plans out a whole unit at a time, rarely straying from schedule. While I like the organization and support that comes with this strategy, I also enjoyed pressing pause in the middle of a unit to do something completely different. It was a much-needed break for my students and reminded them why they took AP English Literature in the first place.

If you take away “There Will Come Soft Rains,” you can insert any number of short texts, excerpts, and poems and follow this basic AP Lit lesson structure. It’s open and relies on a lot of discussion, but I think a loose, unstructured approach is sometimes the perfect lesson plan!