lesson plans/lectures

I frequently use Powerpoint lectures to introduce the author, general themes of their work, historic connections, symbolism, etc. I find that the use of the Powerpoint in class helps global learners really engage in the text, and then we can share the files with online courseware for future studying purposes.

Most of the slide shows have links to movie clips, etc, so that it's not just a flat lecture. Multimedia is really important to me in my lectures, especially since most of my students are not liberal arts majors and have difficulty connecting with literary texts. These approaches help them to learn how to engage, and what terms to use when attempting such discussions.

• sandra cisneros: especially focuses on how an understanding of la llorona, la malinche & la gritona enhances "woman hollering creek." .
• zora neale hurston: genuis of the south. a lesson plan on hurston's history, themes, mules and men, and "how it feels to be colored me."
• anne sexton: "her kind and self image." discusses suicidal self-image for the poet. can also be used for women's studies, modernism or post modernism, and/or confessional poetry.
• emily dickinson: a biographical intro with several poems closely-read, noting patterns and meaning and theme.
• joyce carol oates: for "where are you going; where have you been." this show analyzes themes, symbolism, historic inspiration, and discusses, in part, the movie depiction of the story (smooth talk). it is great as an introduction to the story but also as a way of discussing the greater theme of "death and the maiden."
• robert frost & the wall: a lecture where we compare an unusual look at frost's poem, "the wall", to pink floyd's song of the same title. we also look at the beatles "eleanor rigby" and ultimately, use these videos to discuss what the metaphor of "the wall" means. ronald reagan's speech on the berlin wall is referenced, as well as contemporary walls.
• flannery o'connor: to discuss o'connor's short stories, we look in this slide show at Southern Grotesque/Gothic
• gil scott-heron & sarah jones: a discussion of "the revolution will not be televised" and "your revolution." Introduces spoken word poetry, pastiche, the concept of the male gaze, and critiques of political cultures within poetry/music. an excellent show for discussing the concept of social justice. also compares heron, in particular, to his contemporary beat poets such as ginsberg, and traces him as an early bellwhether/originator of rap.
• tim gautreaux: this is a case-study of gautreaux's story "waiting for the evening news." we analyze gautreaux themes, the history behind the story, symbolism, and setting. used in intro to lit class, 2013-present.
• utopias & dystopias: an introductory slideshow for a unit on dystopia. for use with the text "the ones who walk away from omelas" and film studies like serenity, the matrix, etc. show defines the concept of utopia vs. dystopia, then analyzes how the short story.
• archetypes: a slide show for comp class, or lit class. introduces, defines, and gives examples from contemporary popular media of carl jung's archetypes.
• buffy the vampire slayer & hush: for a comp class. students watch the episode from season four of buffy the vampire slayer, then write an in-class essay (which can be further developed outside of class if desired) where they analyze the forms of non-verbal language within the episode. They must discuss how effective those forms of communication are. an especially good assignment for Halloween. (Note: this assignment is inspired by the excellent essay by Erin Waggoner, available here: http://ojs.library.dal.ca/C2/article/download/3837/3507 )..
• visual arguments: for a comp class, especially. this slide show discusses the power of visuals and the persuasive rhetorical techniques that such arguments use.
• a rose for emily: students in a lit class read faulkner's short story and then hold a mock "trial" for emily, based on the faux newspaper article I print out for them. they have to split into "defense," "prosecution" and "witnesses." this lesson plan gets students very involved, they really enjoy it, and teaches them to close read the story very carefully so they can "win" the case. requires adobe pdf.
• my grading rubric: this rubric tells them what my expectations for each project will be, and as part of the grading process
• cultural practices research paper prompt: students research a cultural practice of a culture "not their own." This is the handout they receive with guidelines for how to create the essay.
• student work: three power point presentations. one that a student created for the "cultural practices" assignment where they must research & present information about a culture other than their own and two others on an author's major theme within that author's body of work.
  japanese fashion hemingway joyce carol oates