Thinking Through Literature

1. Thinking Through Literature Learning HOTS and Enjoying Literature Maida Nechushtan & Judy Henn

2. At the end of this presentation, you will 1. feel excited about teaching literature to your pupils. 2. agree that literature can be accessible to your pupils.

3. 3. see the connection between analyzing literature and promoting HIGHER ORDER THINKING SKILLS – HOTS. 4. teach literature more effectively when given suitable material.

4. 5. leave here saying, “I can do this.” 6. will take steps to include literature in your syllabus.

5. Countee Cullen (1903-1946) was a leading poet in the Harlem Renaissance, a movement of African-American writers in the 1920s in New York City. A brilliant student, he became a high school English teacher. NOTE TO PUPILS: “Nigger” is the most insulting and offensive word one can call an African-American person.

6. Incident: BaltimoreCountee Cullen Once riding in old Baltimore, Heart-filled, head-filled with glee, I saw a Baltimorean Keep looking straight at me. Now I was eight and very small, And he was no whit bigger, And so I smiled, but he poked His tongue, and called me, "Nigger." I saw the whole of Baltimore From May until December; Of all the things that happened there That's all that I remember.

7. 1. Who is the speaker? An African American.

8. 2. How old was the speaker when the 'incident' happened? Eight years old.

9. 3. Which words tell us how the speaker feels at the beginning of the bus ride? "Heart-filled, head-filled with glee,"

10. 4.Three things happen to the speaker on the bus. What are they?

11. a. The white boy stares at the speaker. b. The white boy pokes/sticks out his tongue at the speaker. c. The white boy calls the speaker "Nigger".

12. 5. For how long was the speaker in Baltimore? From May to December, seven months

13. 6. What does the speaker remember from the visit to Baltimore? That a white boy on the bus stared at him/her, stuck out his tongue and called him/her "Nigger".

14. By answering these questions, pupils have shown - the ability to retrieve essential facts about the poem. These questions are LOTS: LOWER ORDER THINKING SKILLS, the essential foundation for HOTS

15. 1. How did the speaker feel after the white boy stuck his tongue out at him/her? The speaker was shocked and insulted.

16. 2. Why is this incident the only thing that the speaker tells us about the visit to Baltimore? This incident had such a powerful effect on the speaker that he/she could not remember anything else from the long visit.

17. 3. The “incident” referred to in the title of the poem is made up of two gestures and one word. What are they?

18. a. staring "keep looking straight at me“ b. poking/sticking out the tongue c. calling the speaker "Nigger“

19. 4. Which kind of behavior do you think had the most powerful effect on the speaker? Justify your answer. The most powerful effect was hearing the word "Nigger“.

20. 5. If, in the future, the speaker has a similar experience, how do you think he/she can overcome this obstacle?

21. Conflicts CONFLICT – the struggle or fight between opposite forces.

22. a. between two people b. between a person and society

23. c. between a person and the environment (nature, supernatural powers) d. between a person and his inner feelings – the inability to decide

24. Decide what type of conflict there is in the following examples: 1. the speaker of "Incident: Baltimore" and the white child on the bus ______ 2. the speaker of "Incident: Baltimore" and the white racist society in the American south_____

26. Rationale Literature demands of the reader active engagement; in order to experience pleasure and involvement – it needs to be thought through.

27. through a study of literature, readers master HIGHER ORDER THINKING SKILLS HOTS

28. A systematic programof learning literature equips pupils with: essential skills in cognitive development transferable skills to non-literary prose ability to carry out tasks appearing on national standardized exams

29. Pupils who study literature through LOTS and HOTS will be able to:

30. a. recognize literary devices and terms in prose and poetry. b. compare and contrast between works which have similar components. c. organize understandings into semantic maps.

31. d. relate to the cultural, historical and sociological background of the authors and their works. e. integrate existing knowledge with newly acquired insights.

32. f. make connections with their own lives. g. examine their feelings in relation to themes and ideas from the works.

33. h. create works of their own in the arts, related to themes found in the reading choices. • i. formulate alternative endings for works. • j. judge the value of issues presented in the works.

34. In "Incident: Baltimore" a young child experiences prejudice for the first time and it has a powerful effect on him/her. Unfortunately, the world is filled with such situations. Give an example of an act of prejudice in the world today. What could be done to change the situation?

35. Write a letter to a friend as if you were the speaker in "Incident: Baltimore" and tell what happened during the bus ride and how you now feel.