I. READINESS
a. MOTIVATION: I will begin class by giving a few students different
types of lenses/glasses (e.g. colored, binoculars, eye patch, etc.) and
telling them to observe a certain section of the room. Then we will listen
to the descriptions about what the students found in their particular
section. Everyone should have seen things differently.
[Now after listening to those descriptions, someone briefly tell me why
they think the descriptions were so different. (Because they each
saw through different lenses, making each description a bit different.)
Has something similar ever happend after reading a piece of literature
- that you and someone else read the same exact poem or story, but you
both had a completely different idea of what the author was trying to
say? Well, some people can read the same text and interpret it completely
differently because we, as readers, bring our own experiences to reading
stories, making it possible to analyze the same story in many different
ways. This is what we will be doing today – looking at the different
ways to analyze text based off of searching for certain context clues
for that particular mode of criticism. Our purpose-for-reading today will
be to inform (expository), and reading for literary experience (narrative).]
b. TAPPING AND BUILDING BACKGROUND:
[The criticism we will touch on today is feminism, but that will be discussed
more as we read about theory in just a bit. First I would like to find
out what you already know about the story, its background, or Hemingway
as an author. Does anyone know about what time Hemingway was doing the
majority of his writing? (around WWI?) Yes, Hemingway actually
went to work as an ambulance driver in Italy during the war when he
was only 18 years old. He was wounded during the war on duty as canteen
boy and spent time in a hospital there. But it was after WWI that Hemingway,
along with many other young people of the time, shifted their thinking.
Many young adults saw the effects of the war, the devastation, the destruction,
and simply the reality of life, and they wanted to escape the American
role in the power struggle of the world. Hemingway himself went to Paris
after the war to continue writing. This is what our two main characters
today are considered: expatriates. They were against the war, disjointed
from the ideals of the United States, and this feeling of being separated
pushed them to leave the country and flee to Europe in search of a more
bohemian, artistic, and ideal lifestyle.]
c . CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT AND VOCABULARY: Sexual politics:
(the principles governing relationships between the sexes in literature;
also, such relationships seen in terms of power). [Before we begin reading
the expository text that we will refer back to during the next couple
days, we first have to take a look at some vocabulary word. So to start
off, what do you think of when you hear the words "sexual politics"?
Let's dissect the two words to create a meaning: What constitutes politics?
(laws, governing system, debates). Ok, so 'sexual' placed onto
the word 'politics' as an adjective might mean what type of governing
system or debate? (A male/female debate or struggle.) Right,
so sexual politics here describes the struggle and the relationships between
the sexes in literature; this also includes how such relationships are
seen in terms of power.] This word will be used previous to the expository
reading so that students can recognize it as they read silently and write
any necessary notes in the margins as they go through the text. The words
absinthe, anis, cervezas, and Ebro will be discussed contextually as we
go through the narrative reading since they can be more easily understood
through the context of the story.
e.g. [As we go through the text, I want you to have a sheet of paper
out so that you can copy a few vocabulary words down in order to understand
them as we are reading. I am going to give you the list of words now,
and then we will stop occasionally to check if they are clearly understood
through context or not. Here is the list: Anis, abinthe, cervezas, and
Ebro.]
d . PURPOSE-FOR-READING: [Today, as previously mentioned, we
will be reading to be informed about feminist criticism and also for general
literary experience with our short story. After we are finished with the
short story, you should be able to fill out the chart about the characters’
core values (comparing/contrasting) and what keeps them from reaching
a similar solution about the pregnancy based on what you have read thus
far.]
II. SILENT READING(expository): At this time, students
will read through the expository text first and insert questions, comments,
or reflections while reading. This will be helpful to their understanding
of both the expository and the narrative texts. Taking notes/organizing
will be helpful for students as they read the narrative text as well.
III. DISCUSSION: Now the students will get into small
groups in order to discuss the theory and the vocabulary that we went
over prior to the reading. [I would like each member of the group to discuss
general explanations of what feminist criticism means. Then would like
you to discuss and record certain issues or context clues that a feminist
critic might search out in a piece of literature, based on his/her feminist
theory. You will be able to find this at the end of the text that we are
using. I just want you to have a good idea of what you will be looking
for when we read and critique our own short story.] Student will reconvene
as a large group to share what they came up with in the small groups.
From the suggestions, they will give their suggestions of what to look
for in literature and these will be placed on an overhead for the whole
class (by the teacher). They will later use this as a reminder of what
to look for in the short story.
IV. SILENT READING (narrative): The students will read
the narrative text once by themselves simply to get a good grasp of the
basic storyline. If they wish to take any preemptive notes in the margins,
that is completely fine. After they are finished, the students will re-read
it individually now using the overhead as a guide to look for certain
feminist issues that one might find in the text. [Are there certain overtones
that are evident? Does the text use a certain language that a female writer
might not have used?] When they have gone through and read it a second
time, they will then get in different small groups to continue with the
discussion section.
V. DISCUSSION: [I want you, in your groups, to discuss
generally what you found in the text that could possibly be items that
feminist critics would also have recognized based on the list we have
already made of points to watch out for. You should be able to collaborate
to fill in your own personal graphic organizer as you see fit, filling
in the blanks around the drawings. Before diving into the g.o. please
ask any questions that are unclear about filling it out or about the reading.
If you think you need it, we can go over the first few sections on the
board, just to start generating some ideas to get you started on your
own. Be prepared to share your ideas as a large group once we are all
finished.]
VI. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: [What did you find to be each
character’s main core values? (Expatriatism for both, strong
family values or morals for the girl.) How did that shape how they
saw the world? (It made the girl a bit more reluctant to agree with
the American's point of view. It made him not understand where she was
coming from.) What was the American thinking in his head? (I
don't want a baby. I don't have time for a baby. She is a nice girl, but
I am not ready for a family life.) What was the woman thinking in
her heart? (I don't know if I can just get rid of something so easily.
I don't feel right about this. Why is he so calm about it?) What
can you name that might be placed in the “wall” between the
two as a barrier? (Lack of communication. Differences in values, lifestyles,
and morals. The general gender differences that make it difficult to understand
the opposite sex.) What are some possible ways each person could
adapt in order to start breaking down that wall? (One might just have
to change to the point of view of the other. They might just have to try
to communicate better in order to build a good relationship that allows
them both to cooperate to find a solution.) How might one read this
as a feminist piece? (Typical male response - not being understanding,
putting pressure on the woman to perform something, dominating the decisions,
taking such a serious situation lightly.) What evidence is there
to suggest that? (The whole dialogue is full of miscommunication and
word games that each one plays with the other.) Can you cite specific
passages that could be construed as evidence of the woman’s feminism
or the typical “male” reaction to such an issue (abortion)
("let the air in", "really a simple procedure")?]
VII. REREADING: : If they were not able to think of
any specific sections that could be used as evidence to support the character
of Jig’s personal reaction to the apparent problem, have students
reread by skimming as a small group and come up with two or three passages
that would be helpful in supporting this attitude.
VIII. FOLLOW-UP: [Finish the graphic organizers for tomorrow
if you are not finished already. If you need any help findin some textual
evidence or filling in the blanks, please do not hesitate to ask me. Then
look back at the story we read for today, and decide whether or not the
right decision was made based on your own personal viewpoint about the
issue of abortion, answering this question: How might Jig be justified/not
justified? Briefly explain your findings in a 1-2 page analysis over the
reading. It can be done based on personal views of feminism, or it can
be related to the other hard read about feminist criticism using the vocab.]
IX. DIFFERENTIATION: One possibility for making the activity
different would be to manipulate the graphic organizer based on the students’
understanding of the information. Right now, I have it planned so that
they would be following the model by filling in the necessary information
on the g.o., but it would be easy to let them, based on the ideas and
concepts that I would like them to recognize from the text, create their
own graphic organizer. That way, the students will be allowed a bit more
freedom of creativity while still maintaining the original important concepts.
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