I wanted to introduce my students to literary impressionism by noticing Stephen Crane’s use of color and by creating a collaborative visual representation of the The Red Badge of Courage.
Tag Archives: Education
“A Sea of Troubles” Offers Text Pairings for Greater Relevance
A Sea of Troubles performs the task touted on the cover: it pairs texts for greater relevancy in contemporary times. However, its untouted task, fostering and teaching civility, is the cherry on top.
Create context for Gatsby with “Cosmopolis” documentary
Before you even mention to your students that they’ll be reading The Great Gatsby in your classes, know that they will have probably at least heard of it. But that’s about all. Use this @RicBurnsFilms video and viewing guide to build context.
Race, Class, and Music in The Great Gatsby
Dive into the music of Gatsby. I found this awesome article, “Race, Class, and Music in The Great Gatsby” that I’m reblogging below in this post.
“Song of Myself” Videos Make Personal Connections
And then I stumbled upon something amazing: Whitman, Alabama. This was the inspiration I needed to demonstrate the importance of Walt Whitman’s poetry in American culture today.
Switch Up Sketchnotes to Engage Distracted Students
I love sketchnotes. They’re engaging, colorful, and creative, and allow me to make illustrative connections while I listen to a book. But here’s the thing: I’m not a very good listener. I need to carefully concentrate on the words I’m hearing or my mind wanders to whatever’s going on in the hall, outside the window, or just inside my head. So even though I’m a huge fan of sketchnotes, sometimes I need a more passive kind of sketchnotes… sketchnotes that keep me engaged, but still able to focus on the text so I can create meaningful notes and doodles that will ultimately aid understanding and retention of the content.
Seven Articles to Pair with The Great Gatsby
During this quick (and my first!) attempt at teaching Gatsby, I’m feverishly collecting notes and jotting down ideas for my teaching of it next year. Here are three articles to check out for your next Gatsby unit.
The Great Gatsby 2013 Film Chapter Breakdown (updated 1/31/22)
While planning lessons a few days ago, I wanted to know exactly how Baz Luhrman’s Gatsby aligns with the novel. To find out, I watched the movie with novel in hand. Here’s the chapter breakdown.
Three Poems to Pair with The Great Gatsby
Have you ever wanted a few poems to pair with The Great Gatsby? Y’know, a few good, not-too-longish poems to work as bell-ringers, if needed, or add-on texts to supplement literary analysis essays?
Gulliver’s Travels & The New York Times’ Anatomy of a Scene
Using the New York Times Anatomy of a Scene collection as inspiration, high school students provide director’s commentary for a movie clip and thereby showing their understanding of satire.