Kelly J. Taylor Tiller
A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen
From Four Major Plays, translated by James McFarlane and Jens Arup
New York: Oxford UP, 1998. ISBN 0192833871
· Genre: Play, 19th Century, Tragedy
· A late 19th century playwright, Ibsen uses a female protagonist,
Nora, to highlight the gender inequities of the era. While the play would
provoke great discussion on gender bias, it particularly highlights the
biases and difficulties involved in a 19th century marriage... and perhaps
of marriages today. Because of the less familiar language, and the subtle
yet profound themes of the play, it would probably be most appropriate
for tenth graders and older students.
· After reading the play, the class could do a mock trial for Nora
based on various issues, including the forging of her father's signature
or the abandonment of her family. Students could also read this and another
play about a married woman from this century, then write and essay comparing
the issues that both of these women face. Students could also rewrite
sections of the play, using the same characters, but with a modern storyline
and dialogue (Gina Caponi).
Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You by Christopher Durang
From Plays From the Contemporary American Theater, Brooks McNamara,
ed.
New York: Mentor, 1988. ISBN 0451627539
· Genre: Play, Contemporary, Dark Comedy
· This is a hilarious play that makes fun of the Catholic/Christian
dogma in general. Because this play touches a myriad of sensitive subjects,
including religion, premarital sex and sexual orientation, I would only
recommend this play for very mature high school students. Not all students
are mature enough to read a play like this one, but the ones that are
will have to face views and prejudices that they may or may not agree
with. The irony and frankness of the play will force students to defend
their beliefs in their minds.
· This play would be a great opener for a fishbowl discussion on
hypocrisy, religion and sexuality, and how these issues affect literature
(Guy Kinney). Students could also write their own plays that make fun
of common opinion on a certain issue. They would have to be careful, however,
not to make fun of people in the process. Finally, students could do journal
writing on their own personal convictions and the convictions of others,
and how these beliefs could lead to violence or harmful actions.
All My Sons by Arthur Miller
From Six Great Modern Plays
New York: Laurel, 1956. ISBN 0440379849
· Genre: Play, Contemporary, Tragedy
· This is a play that deals with the idea of responsibility. Students
will read about the struggles of Joe Keller and his family, who are coping
with personal dilemmas caused by World War II. This play would be a great
companion to a social studies unit on WWII and the early 1950s. Due to
its length, this play would probably be most appropriate for ninth graders
and older students.
· After reading the play, students could write about a time when
they did something wrong that hurt a loved one. There could also be a
class-wide discussion on war -- not only on how we feel about it, but
what life is like for the families left behind. Finally, students could
debate on the actions of Chris and Keller. Who was right? Who did the
right thing? Who should've made different choices?
A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift
From The Longman Anthology of British Literature, Vol. IC
New York: Longman, 1999. ISBN 0321067649
· Genre: Essay, 18th Century
· This essay is a great example of irony and parody in writing.
To help alleviate Ireland's problem with hunger and overcrowding, Swift
writes and essay proposing that people eat Irish children. While he obviously
doesn't mean this, students should be in high school before reading this
essay. By the time they reach ninth grade, they'll probably have a better
understanding of irony than middle school students. Also, this essay would
be a great addition to a unit (Language Arts/Social Studies) on the history
of English imperialism in Ireland and on Irish history in general.
· This essay could be presented to students as if Swift really
meant what he was saying. The students could write an essay "answering"
Swift, explaining why his proposal is not a good one. After they are told
that Swift wasn't serious, we could discuss why he would have used irony
and parody in his essay. We could also choose a serious social or environmental
issue in class. Groups of students could then write ironic essays on how
to solve the problem. Students could also investigate past methods of
"solving" problems that were just as damaging and silly as eating
children (Slavery? War? Internment/Concentration camps?). They could present
their findings and their views on those methods to the class.
Letter From Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr.
From The Norton Anthology of African American Literature, Henry
Louis Gates and Nellie Y. McKay, eds.
New York: Norton, 1997. ISBN 0393959082
· Genre: Essay/Letter, Civil Rights Movement
· While this work is technically a letter to a few clergymen, I
believe that the letter is also a kind of persuasive essay. Dr. King undoubtedly
knew that thousands, if not millions of people would see this correspondence.
I think that he was not only answering the questions of a few, but of
a whole nation that felt that blacks should just wait for freedom. He
had to tell the nation exactly why it had been wrong for all those years.
Besides the letters of the Bible and the Gettysburg address, King's letter
is probably the most well-known essay known in American culture. Because
of its importance, I would recommend it for middle school and older students.
· This work would be a great introduction for students to write
persuasive essays/letters of their own. If they deal with social issues,
we could mail them to congressmen or special interest groups (Dee Vosbein).
Students could try to write persuasive essays/ response letters from the
point of view of others from the Civil Rights era, like Bull Connor, Rosa
Parks, or unknown citizens.
Ar'n't I A Woman? Speech to the Women's Rights Convention in Akron,
Ohio, 1851 by
Sojourner Truth
From The Norton Anthology of African American Literature, Henry
Louis Gates and Nellie Y. McKay, eds.
New York: Norton, 1997. ISBN 0393959082
· Genre: Essay/Speech, 19th Century, Women's Rights
· Though this was a speech, I believe that it is still an important
persuasive essay when written. In addition to learning about the history
of the era, students can also use this text as a gateway to learning about
Sojourner Truth.
· Students could pull the different ideas of this essay and separate
them into paragraphs, from the arguments against women's ignorance, their
lack of strength and past harm done toward mankind. Students could then
write their own essays based on this argument/rebuttal style, and then
present them to the class. Finally, students can write journals based
on what they think some of the audience members' reactions would have
been the Truth's speech. What would another black woman have thought?
A white Southern man?
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs
From The Norton Anthology of African American Literature, Henry
Louis Gates and Nellie Y. McKay, eds.
New York: Norton, 1997. ISBN 0393959082
· Genre: Autobiography, 19th Century, Slavery, Women
· This interesting autobiography, which details the life of a freed
Harriet Jacobs, will give students a clear picture of the injustice, fear
and danger that was a constant part of the experience of many black slaves.
· After reading Jacobs's autobiography, students could separate
into groups. They would then choose a certain section of the autobiography
and write a script that reflects that portion of Jacob's life. They would
later do the skit in front of the class. Students could also write an
essay comparing the life of Jacobs to the lives of other non-fictional
(George Washington Carver) or fictional (Nora from A Dolls' House) people.
How did they have similar problems? How were their problems different?
Lastly, the class could have a discussion about Jacob's life. What would
they have done if they were in her situation? How would they have gotten
free? Would they have fought harder for their children?
Carver: A Life in Poems by Marilyn Nelson
Asheville, NC: Front Street, 2001. ISBN 1886910537
· Genres: Biography/Poetry, George Washington Carver
· Though this is a book of poetry, it is also a wonderful and refreshing
way to think about documenting someone else's life. Whether in prose or
poetic form, students will undoubtedly learn a great deal about Carver
from this book, which I recommend for middle schoolers and older students.
· An obvious lesson to do with students is to have them write group
research papers on George Washington Carver and other scientist and mathematicians
besides Einstein. They could them present the papers to their class. Perhaps
a more challenging assignment would be for the same groups to research
and write notes about a scientists or mathematician, but let their end
product be a collection of poems about the person's life. They could compile
the poetry and pictures of their selected person into a book. A final
idea, after learning about Carver's life, is to review his artwork (and
perhaps by others who are not famous for their artwork) and write poems
inspired by a specific piece of art.
Thomas and Beulah: poems by Rita Dove
Pittsburgh: Carnegie-Mellon, 1986. ISBN 0887480209
Genre: Biography/Poetry
· Like Nelson, Rita Dove also does a wonderful job documenting
the lives of her parents in poetic form. Unlike Nelson's work, however,
students do not know who Dove's parents are and can only discover them
through her writing. Because of the difficulty of some of the poetry,
I would recommend it for high school students.
· Students could write essays comparing Nelson's and Dove's works.
How are they similar? How do the subjects of the poems change our understanding
or interest in them? Students could also transform some of the poems into
mock journal entries, so instead of reading a poem about Thomas and Beulah's
first date, they would pretend that they were Thomas or Beulah and write
about the event in prose. Finally, students could write a set of poems
about someone they know.