The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Lesson plans and teaching resources

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Biography and Background

Havana, Cuba in Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea
A photo of Hemingway with his family and 4 marlins. Follow links on Google maps for pictures of Havana today.

Ernest Hemingway
A collection of links from the Nobel Prizes archive.

Ernest Hemingway
A collection of photographs of Hemingway, arranged chronologically.

Ernest Hemingway Creates a Reading List for a Young Writer, 1934
Two short stories, 14 books, and some advice for writers.

Fishing with Hemingway
Students investigate Hemingway's life. Then they research and write about the life of someone whose profession or experience interests them.

Hemingway
Poetry and brief biography.

Michael Palin's Hemingway Adventure
Designed to go with the PBS series, this site provides a great deal of biographical and background information.

Picturing Hemingway: A Writer in his Time
Biography with photos of the author and of artifacts.

Timeless Hemingway
Biographical information, photos, message boards, a quote finder, and related links.

The Old Man and the Sea

Cultural Symbolism and Themes of The Old Man and the Sea
Students locate passages that describe and explain the cultural symbolism in the text. They explain the themes of the novel by analyzing characters as literary and symbolic figures, and they create a booklet of literary symbols.

The Old Man and the Sea
Reading strategies to support study of the book, including an anticipation guide, a guided imagery activity, and practice with vocabulary.

The Old Man and the Sea
Pre-reading activity, 16 discussion questions, and a follow-up writing activity. Don't miss the note at the end.

The Old Man and the Sea
Background magazine article and discussion questions.

The Old Man and the Sea
Background, analysis, and a variety of activities addressing character, theme, style & structure, language, and practice for written assessments. 16 pages, Adobe Reader required.

The Old Man and the Sea: Questions for Study and Discussion
A dozen discussion questions.

The Old Man and the Sea Reading Group Guide
Background information and 5 discussion questions.

The Old Man and the Sea: Style Assignments
Scroll down on this extensive page to see all five types of writing assignments.

Twilight of the Idol
A series of photographs of Hemingway by Alfred Eisenstaedt first published in Life magazine. Don't miss #9, a photo of Cojimar, a Cuban fishing village and the inspiration for the village in The Old Man and the Sea.

Vocabulary from The Old Man and the Sea
A list of 21 words drawn from the novel. Click on each word for definition, audio pronunication, synonyms, and examples of current usage.