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Teaching American Literature
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For anyone teaching any aspect of American literature, anywhere. Multicultural, democratic.
Website: http://groups.diigo.com/groups/teaching-american-literature
Members: 154
Latest Activity: Jan 3
Teaching American Literature
I'm excited about my new prep for fall, American Lit. Since my first response to any new prep is to collect a ton of links, I started a Diigo group, "Teaching American Literature": "For new or veteran teachers of American literature in high schools, a repository of primary and secondary texts related to teaching Am Lit, including social, political, cultural and religious contexts. Lesson plans, bibliographies, pedagogy, ed tech. Multicultural, democratic."
Next stop, the NING: There are already EC NING groups dedicated to many aspects of Am Lit (Latino/a, Af Am, Native Am -- any Asian Am Lit Group here?). Perhaps this group can serve as an umbrella site, but not to usurp the groups that have already been started. I hope the NING group can be a place where we start and share a conversation about all aspects of American Literature: what to teach, how to teach it, etc.
In particular I'm wondering what it will be like to teach Am Lit in all its diversity, as well as the "old stuff," to my very diverse population of students. In a way teaching Am Lit may seem more relevant than teaching Brit Lit did because I live and teach HERE. Perhaps it will seem more relevant to my students, as well, but I don't know.
Let's build a repository of links on Diigo, and bring the discussion here!
Next stop, the NING: There are already EC NING groups dedicated to many aspects of Am Lit (Latino/a, Af Am, Native Am -- any Asian Am Lit Group here?). Perhaps this group can serve as an umbrella site, but not to usurp the groups that have already been started. I hope the NING group can be a place where we start and share a conversation about all aspects of American Literature: what to teach, how to teach it, etc.
In particular I'm wondering what it will be like to teach Am Lit in all its diversity, as well as the "old stuff," to my very diverse population of students. In a way teaching Am Lit may seem more relevant than teaching Brit Lit did because I live and teach HERE. Perhaps it will seem more relevant to my students, as well, but I don't know.
Let's build a repository of links on Diigo, and bring the discussion here!
Discussion Forum
American Literature Projects 20 Replies
Started by Randall De Kleine. Last reply by Lucy Portland Jan 2.
Short Stories 12 Replies
Started by Rob Currin. Last reply by Jeanne Gamble Jan 1.
What to do with packed curriculum? 2 Replies
Started by Cristy Weggelaar. Last reply by Allie O'Shea Nov. 7, 2009.
Comment Wall
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Comment by AtlTeacher on January 2, 2010 at 5:27pm - Here's an awesome collection of American texts online: http://www.historyisaweapon.com/mobilehiaw.html
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Comment by Jackie Regales on January 2, 2010 at 6:25am
- Anytime, Eileen! I would love to know how you tweak it for other books!
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Comment by Eileen Williams on January 1, 2010 at 8:58pm -
Thanks Jackie,
I got the color assignment doc. I can see a lot of potential to tweak this for other assignments/books. We're reading Great Gatsby in our after school book club so I'll use this. Thanks again for posting it.
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Comment by MJKBoyd on January 1, 2010 at 3:53pm -
Thanks for the idea of the double entry journals. I did my student teaching in MS last semester (7th grade gifted students) and those kids surprised me. I am excited to do my HS student teaching, but a bit worried, too. I'm sure I'll be bugging you veterans throughout the semester for help. Thanks for sharing!
Marsha
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- Eileen-- the Gatsby journal my students did asked them to note every instance in the book when a color is mentioned, and to comment on what that color often represents and might represent here. I'm attaching my Color Journal Assignment.docx assignment here, I think. If that doesn't work right, let me know and I'll send it to you. The ReadWriteThink lesson includes a template and sample page for students to see also.
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Comment by Eileen Williams on January 1, 2010 at 2:04pm
- I love this idea: what other directions have you given that have elicited good responses besides the figurative language one?
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Like Kate, I started doing double-entry journals this year, and it has been amazingly helpful. I can see the difference in the students' analysis and discussions. For me, I have chosen to make them somewhat directed. For example, when my ninth graders read "Their Eyes Were Watching God," I asked them to have at least four entries for each group of chapters they read, and asked them to focus on figurative language especially. Many of the entries did select quotes that featured metaphors or similes, for example, but the student misidentified it, so this showed me that we need to do some refreshing on the distinctions between them. When my juniors read Gatsby, they did journals focused on color imagery and references throughout the book, and I asked them to think about connotations when they responded. I got that idea from a ReadWriteThink lesson, I believe, and it worked out incredibly well. The Shakespeare Set Free books from the Folger Library suggest journals where students trace words, like "blood" for Macbeth.
The students turn them in as a major assessment once we have finished the book/unit, but I also use them as prompts for freewriting in class, and try to offer them essay topics or in-class writing topics that build on the device or technique they tracked.
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Comment by Kate Marlow on January 1, 2010 at 10:09am - I frequently require students to do double-entry journals that correspond to their reading each night. (This is when a student pulls a quotation of particular interest from the reading and puts it on the left side of the page with the proper citation. Then, on the right side of the page, they respond to the quotation, ask questions, make predictions, etc.) I have seen a significant improvement in our class conversations, students refer to their entries during discussions and activities, and I am able to see what they are responding to when I read their journals. It also enables me to see what they aren't fully understanding so we can clarify together as a class.
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Comment by Eileen Williams on January 1, 2010 at 9:17am
- Honestly that is a tough one especially if you have different abilities in one class (I have several international students). My guess: the honors students will do the readings, the remedials will not. I do most reading in class (I do a lot of reading aloud), in lit circles with a student discussion director, or sustained silent reading for short periods with a specific goal (read to the bottom of the next page; and make a predicition).
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Comment by MJKBoyd on December 31, 2009 at 11:58pm
- I'm teaching Honors Am. Lit. (sophomores) and remedial (jrs) for my Masters practicum. I'm beginning with The Scarlet Letter. I've got lots of ideas instead of the obvious "gotcha" quizzes after assigned readings and the obligatory test at the end of the book. My question, though, without succumbing to those methods, what other ways are there to check if students really are doing the readings? Thanks for any help.
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I'm about to enter my annual playwriting unit, but I feel as though my material is getting "stale." I am looking for suggestions, resources, ideas, sample published one act plays...ANYTHING! If you have an idea or teach this unit please reply! Thank…
Bill writes:
Again, this [not sure of antecedent] leads back to a sore point for me. We have no balance in educational theory anymore--and ideas have consequences. I see the same thing happening in our country's politics...
Again, mere hyperbolic…
Oh, I love "What does it mean to be an 'outsider?'" Awesome question--I hope you will post (or blog about) some of the responses you and your students explore together.
It does sound like you have a firm handle on this. Hooray! I was trained in UBD…
My 12th grade AP students (AP Lit) must choose one book for independent reading during ther spring semester. I began this because I realized that, for many of my students,my class would be their last literature course, and I wanted to broaden their…
Michael writes:
Most often it's [constructivism in practice] not that extreme, but usually it tends to share in the general progressive antipathy to "mere" knowledge and hostility to the "sage on a stage" or any sage anywhere.
This is mere caricat…
It seems like a lot of kids don't care for details. Spelling, anyone? I have had the same problem especially with the transfer. You would think that after teaching students how to use parenthetical citation and then correcting their mistakes on thei…
I believe comedy is underrepresented. My students often complain about the depressing works we read (12 grade, but they also say that about previous English courses). We added Much Ado About Nothing a dozen years ago as something of a balance to Ham…
Hi Pat, I have never done these myself, but there are some great examples at VocabAhead Vocab Videos which also contains links to digital resources to help students create their videos. While most of the videos are done professionally, there is at l…
Hi Pat, I have never done these myself, but there are some great examples at VocabAhead Vocab Videos which also contains links to digital resources to help students create their videos. While most of the videos are done professionally, there is at l…
Thanks for your reply -- it was very helpful. I think I understand what you are saying -- kids do try to craft a dazzling sentence, rather than one with insight. And something simple can be insightful. But my concern is really the thinking behind th…
I would say comedy is underrepresented. My students have nicknamed my class "AP Sex & Death" as we tend to go to the dark side. I do try to use some comedy in preparation for a Q3 comedy prompt. We do use A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Color Purple…
Your "rambling" is fantastic. So much good advice. You know, I'm actually looking forward to writing now. I feel like I've got a handle on it.
Thanks for all of your comments.
I really like "Out of the Dust" by Karen Hesse. It is short and I think very accessible for struggling students. It won the Newberry Medal. Not only did it help me understand what the big deal was about the duststorms of the time, I thought it told…
And what about the fact that often writers don't know what their thesis is until they begin reflecting in writing about a subject or occurrence? Happens to me all the time.
Thank you so much everyone! I definitely have a better feel for how essential questions work. I've been able to brainstorm a few and included a few here. Feel free to tell me if I am way off base.
What does it mean to be an “Outsider”?
What makes…
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