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Teaching Daisy Miller

An all-American teaching guide.

  • Activities: 13
  • Quiz Questions: 10

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A young, budding romance in beautiful Switzerland and Italy? Sounds pretty picture-perfect to us. But Henry James was no Nicholas Sparks—we don't get a Happily Ever After here. If the ending has you feeling down about teaching "Daisy Miller," this guide is the perfect thing to cheer you up.

In this guide you will find

  • an activity that has students imagine what would have happened if Daisy overcame her bout with malaria.
  • strategies and resources to help approach challenging topics like racism, sexism, and death.
  • discussion questions to engage students with the deep inner-workings of James' work.

Daisy Miller might not have a love-filled ending, but you can be sure your teaching will take your students' breath away.

What's Inside Shmoop's Literature Teaching Guides

Shmoop is a labor of love from folks who love to teach. Our teaching guides will help you supplement in-classroom learning with fun, engaging, and relatable learning materials that bring literature to life.

Inside each guide you'll find quizzes, activity ideas, discussion questions, and more—all written by experts and designed to save you time. Here are the deets on what you get with your teaching guide:

  • 13-18 Common Core-aligned activities to complete in class with your students, including detailed instructions for you and your students.
  • Discussion and essay questions for all levels of students.
  • Reading quizzes for every chapter, act, or part of the text.
  • Resources to help make the book feel more relevant to your 21st-century students.
  • A note from Shmoop’s teachers to you, telling you what to expect from teaching the text and how you can overcome the hurdles.

Want more help teaching Teaching Daisy Miller?

Check out all the different parts of our corresponding learning guide.



Instructions for You

Objective: We know that Daisy and Winterbourne hang together while they are in Switzerland, much to Mrs. Costello's horror. To get a firm grip on these simpler times (before the scandals of Rome in Part 2), for this activity students will create an itinerary of events for Daisy because, let's face it, she's vastly more interesting than Winterbourne.

This activity is designed to be done once you finish reading Part 1, but before you head into Part 2. It's a quickie, and should only take students about half an hour or so to complete.

Materials Needed: Copies of Daisy Miller; projector connected to a computer with Internet access; pens and paper

Step 1: We want to hammer out exactly what Daisy Miller does all day when she and Winterbourne go trotting off to Chateau de Chillon. This means that students may well have to fill in some gaps.

To get started, first use the following as discussion points:

  • What sort of woman is Daisy? How do you know?
  • What does she like? 
  • Why would she hang out with Winterbourne?
  • Where do Daisy and Winterbourne go?
  • What is the Chateau like?
  • What do the couple do while at the Chateau?

Step 2: Now let's fill in some gaps. Have your students look at pictures of Chateau de Chillon by doing a quick Google image search of the Chateau. All manner of pictures pop up, and we'd be lying if we said we didn't want to take a trip there ourselves. As your students consider this glorious structure, have them answer the following questions:

  • Do the pictures match up with what you imagined when reading?
  • How do the pictures change your concept of that day—or do they?

Step 3: Okay, now's the time to hammer out who did what, when. (It's starting to sound like Clue, isn't it?) Students should divide their paper into three sections: morning, afternoon, and evening. Simply folding it in thirds could do the trick—just make sure they label each section.

Step 4: For each time frame, have students plug in what they believe Daisy does. For example, in the morning section they might write the following:

8:00AM—Daisy finally rolls out of bed and goes into the hotel lobby for a continental breakfast all by herself.

Students need to have at least three things for each section (for a total of nine events). They should also point out whom Daisy is with at each juncture as well as what she does. Remember: Her trip to the Chateau should definitely be on there.

Step 5: Lastly, have your students fill out the rest of the day and turn in their itineraries. They are officially ready to dive into Part 2 of the book.

Instructions for Your Students

Objective: We know that Daisy and Winterbourne hang together while they are in Switzerland, much to Mrs. Costello's horror. To get a firm grip on these simpler times (before the scandals of Rome in Part 2), for this activity you will create an itinerary of events for Daisy because, let's face it, she's vastly more interesting than Winterbourne.

Ready?

Step 1: We want to hammer out exactly what Daisy Miller does all day when she and Winterbourne go trotting off to Chateau de Chillon. This means that you may well have to fill in some gaps.

To get started, we're going to have a little discussion. Answer these questions:

  • What sort of woman is Daisy? How do you know?
  • What does she like? 
  • Why would she hang out with Winterbourne?
  • Where do Daisy and Winterbourne go?
  • What is the Chateau like?
  • What do the couple do while at the Chateau?

Step 2: Let's fill in some gaps now. Chateau de Chillon is a real place, so as you look at pictures of it (close your mouth or you might drool), answer the following questions, too: 

  • Do the pictures match up with what you imagined when reading?
  • How do the pictures change your concept of that day—or do they?

Step 3: Okay, now's the time to hammer out who did what, when. (It's starting to sound like Clue, isn't it?) Divide your paper into three sections: morning, afternoon, and evening. Simply folding it in thirds could do the trick—just make sure to label each section.

Step 4: For each time frame, plug in what you think Daisy does. For example, in the morning section you might write the following:

8:00AM—Daisy finally rolls out of bed and goes into the hotel lobby for a continental breakfast all by herself.

You need to have at least three things for each section (for a total of nine events). You should also point out whom Daisy is with at each juncture as well as what she does.

Step 5: Fill out the rest of the day and turn in your itinerary. You are officially ready to dive into Part 2 of the book.