Essential question
What does Ichabod's imagination reveal about what he wants when he thinks about Katrina?
Marked passage
- Passage location
- Van Tassel farm
- Start anchor
- The pedagogue’s mouth watered as he looked upon this sumptuous promise of luxurious winter fare.
- End anchor
- his heart yearned after the damsel who was to inherit these domains
Ichabod imagines food, land, and Katrina together
Ways to teach it
Listening
Listen to the exact passage; visual following is optional. Same question and evidence demand.
Solo
Read the exact passage independently.
Supported
Use narration and sentence highlighting while reading the same passage.
Teacher guide
Close
Name the single detail that most changed or sharpened your interpretation, and explain why.
Evidence
Use at least one description of Katrina and two details of property, food, or inheritance that enter the same fantasy.
Mark
Underline descriptions of Katrina herself. Circle the food, property, inheritance, and future wealth Ichabod imagines around her. Put a star beside the point where the person and the estate most clearly merge in his desire.
Instructional move
Separate attraction to a person from attraction to what the person represents
Notice
• What does Ichabod imagine receiving if he marries Katrina? • Which parts of the fantasy are about her as a person? • How does the mixture of romance and property complicate the sincerity of his attraction?
Strong answer
Ichabod's thoughts about Katrina repeatedly blend her with food, land, inheritance, and the Van Tassel estate. He wants the person and the social/material future she represents at the same time.
Think
Answer provisionally: What does Ichabod's imagination reveal about what he wants when he thinks about Katrina? Choose the strongest interpretation you can defend from this passage alone.
Watch for
Do not conclude he feels no attraction to Katrina. The question asks how attraction is entangled with what marriage would give him.
Why this passage
Ichabod’s thoughts about Katrina slide repeatedly into food, land, inheritance, and what the Van Tassel property could become. His imagination reveals that desire for the woman and desire for the life attached to her are difficult to separate.
Write
Write a short evidence-based response to: What does Ichabod's imagination reveal about what he wants when he thinks about Katrina? Use at least two details from the assigned passage and explain how they support your interpretation.
Student tasks
Mark
Underline descriptions of Katrina herself. Circle the food, property, inheritance, and future wealth Ichabod imagines around her. Put a star beside the point where the person and the estate most clearly merge in his desire.
Notice
What does Ichabod imagine receiving if he marries Katrina? Which parts of the fantasy are about her as a person? How does the mixture of romance and property complicate the sincerity of his attraction?
Think
Answer provisionally: What does Ichabod's imagination reveal about what he wants when he thinks about Katrina?
Write
Write a short response using at least two pieces of evidence from this passage. Use evidence from the assigned passage. Show what you noticed and how the text supports your interpretation.