2. Santiago the Shepherd
Recurring dreams about
treasure while sitting
under a Sycamore tree in
Spain.
Has to travel to Egypt to
find treasure after
prompted by several
characters.
Personal Legend is
Santiago’s main focus.
Journey to Egypt is the
goal.
Leads him to meet several
important characters along
the way that shape
Santiago.
Meets and journeys with
the Alchemist and finally
arrives to the pyramids.
Beaten by men and told
his dream is worthless and
that the real fabled
treasure is buried under a
sycamore tree in Spain.
Treasure was originally
where Santiago started his
journey at the beginning of
the story.
Moral of the story: Follow
your heart and search for
your dreams.
4. Common Core State Standards
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.10
• By the end of grade 9, read and comprehend literature, including stories,
dramas, and poems, in the grades 9-10 text complexity band proficiently,
with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range. Reading of
book to its entirety and understanding of elements within the story.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.4
• Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely,
and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the
organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to
purpose, audience, and task. Students have to be able to present their
information to the class and capture the attention of the audience.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.5
• Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual,
and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of
findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest. Students will
have to use different media sources to help their presentation
(PowerPoint or Prezi).
5. Common Core State Standards
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.3
• Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences
or events using effective technique, well-chosen details,
and well-structured event sequences. Will be utilized for
the writing of the narrative story for the students.
6. Illinois Foreign Language State Standards
• 29.E.3 Describe geographical aspects (e.g., population
distribution, natural resources and main economic activities) of
areas where the target language is spoken. Students will
discuss different areas of Southern Spain and their
relevance to the story.
• 28.B.2b Produce language using proper pronunciation,
intonation and inflection. Students will present their given
information in Spanish to the rest of the class.
• 28.D.2b Present a simple written or oral report on familiar
topics. Students will use this information to produce a
group project and present in front of the class.
• 28.D.3a Write compositions and reports with a specific focus,
supporting details, logical sequence and conclusion. Students
will have to write a paper on a specific subject and use
correct grammar while completing the process.
7. Questions based on Chapters
• Students will partake in weekly quizzes that pertain to the
selected chapters for reading.
• Chapter quizzes will be done at the end of the week and
will be based upon weekly discussions and information
from the text.
• The questions will be based on events from the story as
well as information given in class for weekly discussions.
8. Questions from book-Discussion Based
• During the story, Santiago had to give a form of payment
to both the gypsy and the old man. One in the form of
money and the other as part of his animal flock. Can you
think of examples from your own life when you had to give
up something to meet a goal and found the price too
high?
• Paulo Coelho once said that alchemy is all about pursuing
our spiritual quest in the physical world as it was given to
us. With this in mind, what inner resources do you need to
continue along this journey?
• When Santiago talked about the pilgrimage to Mecca, the
crystal merchant argued that having a dream is more
important than fulfilling it. Do you believe it is more
important to chase a dream or fulfill it? Why?
9. Questions from book-Discussion Based
• Why did Santiago have to go through the dangers of
Tribal Wars on the outskirts of the desert to reach the
pyramids? Why did the Alchemist leave Santiago alone to
complete it?
• Earlier in the story, the alchemist told Santiago “when you
possess great treasures within you, and try to tell others
of them, seldom are you believed.” What does that quote
mean to your group and how did that help Santiago?
10. Activities-Posed Questions
• Group work to answer discussion questions.
• Quizzes at the end of every week.
• Lengthy discussions to tie book into real world
experiences.
• Map creating activity to understand the full journey of
Santiago.
• Different quotations that relate to the story and reinforce
the main message from the book.
11. Activities-Interact w/ Community/Local
Context
• Pre-Cursor Activity related to Spanish
• Students will be placed into groups.
• They will each research a province in the south of Spain
(Andalucía) such as Granada, Malaga, Almeria, etc.
• They will have to outline main details of their area that they are
studying such as geography, culture, food, rituals, etc.
• They will present their region of choice to the class in
groups and have to discuss their findings in the target
language of Spanish.
12. Activities-Interact w/ Community/Local
context
• Students will individually write a 3 page paper, double
spaced on their Personal Legend.
• They will have to describe in-depth their goals and
dreams that they have for themselves moving forward into
the future.
• The paper will be written in Spanish and will be discussed
in small groups on the due date of the paper.
• Students will share their ideas in Spanish and then share
to the whole class about their thoughts on the Personal
Legend.
15. Book Excerpt
Every second of the search is an encounter with God,' the
boy told his heart. 'When I have been truly searching for my
treasure, every day has been luminous, because I've
known that every hour was part of the dream that I would
find it. When I have been truly searching for my treasure,
I've discovered things along the way that I never would
have seen had I not had the courage to try things that
seemed impossible for a shepherd to achieve.
16. Motivational statement
• “It's the possibility of having a dream come true that
makes life interesting.” Paulo Coelho
• Set your mind to something and through hard work and
dedication, the universe will recognize your efforts.
• All students have dreams and aspirations that they wish
to conquer, the book offers them the sense to see that
anything is possible.
• Connects with life and real events by illustrating the
positive message of striving for the best.
