The Gift of the Magi for English Language Learners

My favorite story to teach in December is The Gift of the Magi. While I love the original story by O. Henry, the language is too dense for my high beginner to advanced level English Language Learners. So, naturally, I wrote a more accessible version.

I love the central idea of love and sacrifice in the story. My intent is to help my students understand the theme while learning new vocabulary and skills. When I ask my students at the end of the year what their favorite activity was, most invariably say The Gift of the Magi. I hope your students get as much enjoyment from this unit as mine have.

The Gift of the Magi is chock full of no prep activities that can easily take you through the entire month of December.

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The Gift of the Magi comes in print and google drive versions.

Following are some student samples and tips about how I incorporated this with my last year’s virtual classroom.

Front-load Vocabulary. These are the focus words to be used throughout the unit.

Use the Differentiated Plot Diagram or Cause & Effect organizers after a shared reading of the story. Students gain a deeper understanding as they work through the story elements.

Students complete the Reading Response log citing and explaining text evidence.
Students can work independently or in pairs.

Characterization is the focus of the author’s literary device.

Check out The Gift of the Magi for a full preview.