
Free Materials for Catcher in the Rye
Updated: Oct 9, 2022
Ah. Catcher in the Rye. Whenever I mentioned this book title at Back to School Night, it never failed to elicit a lot of groans from the parents in front of me, as well as the question: "I read that in high school. WHY are kids still reading Catcher in the Rye?" Uh...I don't really know? It's on the curriculum so I teach it....? And then once I taught it I wanted to KEEP teaching because kids react very strongly to Catcher. Most kids hate read Catcher and think Holden is ridiculous but there are always a few kids in the back clutching the book who are like "this book is my life!!" I love teaching any books that elicits a strong emotion in either direction rather than a lukewarm response or apathy....so therefore, I always loved Catcher. On a personal level, I love rereading Catcher because I always react differently to it. In high school I connected to it, in college I felt bad for Holden in adulthood I thought he was hilarious. I always tell kids to go back and reread Catcher in college or beyond....if they want.
I taught Catcher for a few years in a row and below are my materials. I did not use all of these materials every year. The materials are in the general order in which I used them.
Before Reading Materials
Vocabulary
During Reading Materials
Catcher Opening Passage Analysis, Literary Terms Notes, Rubric
Catcher 1st Page Literary Terms Matching Quiz (paid product)
Isolation Quotation Analysis (Group work)
For this activity, I gave each group of students a different quotation related to isolation and required them to complete the analysis steps. I had each group share out when everyone was done.
Other Assignments