What Else? Other Approaches by: S. Herz
Say:
All semester long, we have talked about literature units. We have learned different methods to help us teach students different units throughout the year. We have also discussed what the "traditional" units have looked like versus the present-day units. Before, teachers would have four six week long units that tackled one core Literary text with very little supporting texts. They definitely did not include YA lit within the curriculum for their units. Now, we are encouraged to design units where there is a variety of different texts that students can engage with. This is because all students learn differently and not all students are going to be excited about studying a classic piece of literature. So, we must pair our classics with multimedia texts and other texts that relate to the foci and themes that we will be studying in our classic texts.
Herz's two articles were extremely helpful for those of us who are in the midst of creating a unit plan. He gives us core, classic text titles and pairs them with a plethora of other kinds of texts that relate. Each article gave us a nice little introduction to his theory behind his approach, and then was followed by an extensive list of possible texts you can use in a unit. He also split the lists up by themes and foci, also by the different wars and historical events the texts were about.
Herz mentioned a lot of strategies that we have discussed all throughout the year to get students pumped to study literature. He suggested conducting one unit over the course of only three weeks. This seems almost impossible, but students begin to get bored with a text after about four weeks anyway. However, he encourages educators to begin with a book pass and book club on the YA novel of the students' choices. Of course these YA novels need to have some sort of connection to the canonical text you will be studying as a class. But once students read a YA novel they are interested in and is fast paced, they may be more interested to read the core text. This is especially true if they know that the core text deals with the same problems and themes as the YA lit they have chosen. The YA novel should take up about the first week of the unit.
The the last two or three weeks should be spent comparing and contrasting important characteristics that are shared or different between the varied texts and the core texts. By having the YA novel up front, it makes it a lot easier to study the core text for most students. Since students are going into the unit with an understanding that the YA novel connects with the core text through similar themes and conflicts, they may be able to read through the core text quicker and with less hassle. You also don't have to assign students the entire canonical text to read. We have discussed this method earlier in the semester, I just can't remember the coined term that it was given. However, since the students have already been exposed to similar things in the YA novel, it isn't always pertinent that you read every word and every page of the core text. Students will enjoy this and may actually read ahead or read what you don't assign. It takes the pressure off of the students to read such a daunting text in it's entirety.
Below, I have created a resource collection for Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. I have included seven different YA novels to couple with Frankenstein. I also chose three very recent move adaptations that are a little non-traditional than the old Frankenstein movies that are more comical than scary. Although, most of the music I chose were not so current. This is also true of the short stories I collected for this unit. I wanted to give my resource collection a variety of texts from a variety of different viewpoints and time periods. Most of my informational texts are New York Times articles, but I also include one info graphic I found online. Lastly, I was surprised to find so many picture books that included Frankenstein's monster in them. However, most of the picture books were Halloween themed and not re-tellings on Mary Shelley's original story.
Do:
Frankenstein
by: Mary
Shelley
Focus:
Bildungsroman and The Search for Self
EQ1: What is the relationship and
responsibility between creation and creator?
EQ2:What is the relationship
between nature and nurture? Which is more important?
EQ3: What role does technology
play in the development of life and the search for self?
Shelley, Mary. (1818). Frankenstein. New York, NY: Scribner Paperback Fiction.
Young Adult Novels:
Black,
Bekka. (2012). iFrankenstein.
NP:
Kindle
Direct Program.
Clay, David. (2006). Clay.
New
York: Delacorte.
Dickinson,
Peter. (1989). Eva. New
York, NY: Delacorte.
Koontz,
Dean R., and Kevin J. Anderson. (2005). Prodigal
Son.
New York: Bantam.
Lee,
Mackenzi. (2015). This
Monstrous Thing.
New York: HarperCollins.
Oppel,
Kenneth. (2011). This
Dark Endeavor.
New York: Simon & Schuster for Young Readers.
Peterson,
Jesse. (2011). Club
Monstrosity.
N.p.: Simon & Shuster.
Song Lyrics:
Carey, Edie (2004). Chemistry. On When I Was Made (CD). Accidental Poet.
Townshend, Peter (1971). Behind Blue Eyes (recorded by The Who). On Who's Next (7” Record). UK: Decca Records.
Vinton, Bobby, Bill Walker, Robert Mersey, Garry Sherman, Charles Calello, Burt Bacharach, and Stan Applebaum (1964). Mr. Lonely. On Roses Are Red (Vinyl). NY: Epic Records.
Informational Texts:
Castle, Stephen. (2015, Feb. 4). Britain Set to Approve Technique to Create Babies from 3 People. New York Times. Retrieved from <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/04/world/europe/britain-nears-approval-of-fertilization-technique-that-combines-dna-of-three-people.html>.
Kolata, Gina. (2015, Apr. 24). Chinese Scientists Edit Genes of Human Embryos, Raising Concerns. New York Times. Retrieved from <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/24/health/chinese-scientists-edit-genes-of-human-embryos-raising-concerns.html?_r=0>.
Pollack, Andrew. (2013, May 15). Cloning Is Used to Create Embryonic Stem Cells. New York Times. Retrieved from <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/16/science/scientists-use-cloning-to-create-embryonic-stem-cells.html>.
(2012). To Clone Or Not To Clone Human? Retrieved 25 Nov. 2015 from
<http://www.mapsofworld.com/infographics/poll/to-clone-or-not-to-clone-text.html>.
Movies:
Burton, Tim. (Producer), & Burton, Tim (Director). (2012). Frankenweenie [Motion Picture]. US: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
Davis, John (Producer), & McGuigan, Paul (Director). 2015. Victor Frankenstein [Motion Picture]. US: 20th Century Fox.
Rosenberg, Tom & Others. (Producer), & Beattie, Stuart (Director). (2014). I, Frankenstein [Motion Picture]. Australia: Lionsgate.
Art:
English, Ron. (2013). Frankenstein Love. Retrieved from
<http://www.artnet.com/artists/ron-english/frankenstein-love-a-Lpf8faTRPZxmsY4d6SkFFg2>.
Jones, Patrick. (2009). Frankenstein. Retrieved from
<http://www.infectedbyart.com/contestpiece.asp?piece=1560>.
Picasso, Pablo. (1934). Inverted Monster. Retrieved from <http://web.org.uk/picasso/frankenstein.html>.
Shichigoro. (2010). The Art of Frankenstein. Retrieved from
<http://frankensteinia.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-art-of-frankenstein-shichigoro.html>.
Poems:
Keats, John. On Seeing the Elgin Marbles. In poetryfoundation.org. Retrieved 25 Nov. 2015, from <http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/183997>.
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. In poetryfoundation.org.Retrieved 25 Nov. 2015, from <http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173253>.
Wordsworth, William. Lines Written a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey. In poetryfoundation.org. Retrieved 25 Nov. 2015, from <http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174796>.
Short Stories:
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. (1892). The Yellow Wallpaper. In gutenberg.org. Retrieved 25 Nov. 2015, from <http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1952/1952-h/1952-h.htm>.
Stevenson, Robert Louis. (1886). The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In gutenberg.org. Retrieved 25 Nov. 2015, from <http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/42/pg42-images.html>.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. (1843). The Birthmark. In online-literature.com. Retrieved 25 Nov. 2015, from <http://www.online-literature.com/poe/125/>.
Graphic Novels:
Grevioux, Kevin. (2013). I, Frankenstein. N.p.: Darkstrom Comics.
Picture Books:
Bemonster, Ludworst (Walton, R. & Hale, N.). (2012). Frankenstein: A Monstrous Parody. NY: Feiwel and Friends.
McDonnell, Patrick. (2012). The Monsters' Monster. NY: Hatchette Book Group
Numberman, Neil. (2009). Do Not Build a Frankenstein. NY: HarperCollins Publishers
I totally agree, Herz has given me tons of new ideas and books to use with other books. I printed out the readings from this unit because I can see me using them as a guide for many years. As I read more I realized that this will not work as well unless I build a huge classroom library, so students can have choices that interest them. I no longer feel bad when my class does not read an entire text, and I would have a few months ago. We read some/most of the book in a 6 week session, then I leave the book available for students who want to continue reading, as the class moves on to the next text.
ReplyDeleteIronic that you picked Behind Blue Eyes by The Who, I was 15 when the album came out and that was probably my favorite song growing up. I saw them perform at the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville in 1976. Although my eyes aren't blue, I always related to the lyrics.
Many have the conception that cloning human life is a new issue in today’s world, but pairing the Frankenstein story with modern cloning controversies points out that the concept of creating life is nothing new, as this book was written in 1818. There is a new movie out now, Meet Your Makers which gives the story from Igor’s perspective, and also a new TV show called The Frankenstein Chronicles. Apparently Ned Stark/Sean Bean has been resurrected from the dead and is now a detective in 19th century London. I have always been fascinated by the classic horror characters such as Dracula, Frankenstein, the Wolfman, etc.
I have also always liked the Jekyll and Hyde characters, and they are making a comeback, at least on the screen. There is a new Jeckyll and Hyde TV show called Jekyll and Hyde, from the perspective of the original Dr. Jekyll’s grandson. Hint: he also has severe anger management issues. If you don't mind, I may borrow some items from your list in January; after dealing with Dickens and A Christmas Carol for three weeks I think my students will like something scary.
Alyssa,
ReplyDeleteYou pointed out that Hertz is a proponent of only spending three weeks on a unit so that students don't get bored. I think it helps teachers not become bored, either, haha, especially since we are usually doing multiple classes of the same prep! I loved your Frankenstein unit; it's one of my favorite novels to teach, and I think the nature vs. nurture connection is CRITICAL for helping students engage the themes of the novel in critical ways. I have had seniors write incredibly sophisticated papers on Frankenstein and who the "real" monster of the story is...[hint, they usually don't think it's the unnamed Creature]. I liked the informational texts you pulled in for the unit, and I am intrigued by the classic poems you also selected -- I think you made a really great choice to pair a lot of contemporary works, like YA novels and films, with recognizable poetry selections from the "traditional" canon. That was clever, and Romantic poetry is going to align really well with the nature/nurture discussions, too. I like getting to see other people's resource collections, because it gives me good ideas for my own. I included a graphic novel, too, instead of a play -- I think it fits both our novels more easily than a stage drama. Will you be able to use any of this collection in your teaching assignment this spring?