In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel, The Great Gatsby, Gatsby puts himself in ruthless pursuit of wealth and love without regard to the cost. Although his ambition eventually leads to his own murder, it begs the reader to wonder about …
The Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union in the 1950s and 1960s contains great conversations about the theme of ambition, and how the United States, and especially President John F. Kennedy, felt pressure to catch up …
Forgiveness is an important life skill for students. On the other end of that spectrum lies the potential damage of holding grudges. To help my students understand the poisonous nature of sustained anger, I read the poem “A Poisonous Tree” …
In the Time of Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez, is a great novel with which to explore the theme of self-expression; in it four sisters navigate dictatorship in Latin America, fighting back to different degrees and in different ways. The Audre …
During a unit on the Civil Rights era, I would introduce the Sit-In Movement, a means of peaceful protest in which people would sit quietly in “whites-only” establishments in opposition of racial segregation. Abraham Lincoln’s quote about self-determination would fit …
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling offers a great example of the theme of cooperation. Before reading the novel, I could use the conversation on cooperation and Helen Keller’s quote about accomplishing more when working with others. …
When teaching the novel, Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan, I would introduce the conversation surrounding Socrates and humility after reading Chapter 5 in the novel, when Esperanza is faced with the realization that she and her mother are now …
Henry David Thoreau’s time spent at Walden Pond was not a fluke; it was a carefully planned and executed choice to live deliberately according to Thoreau’s transcendental beliefs. I would use a study of Walden to connect to the Lao …
I am teaching a geography unit about settlement patterns in the United States. In the unit, questions will include “Why is it important to settle near bodies of water?” and “How does climate affect settlement?” I would pair Erik Erikson’s …
Before getting students to understand the basic jobs within different roles in government (president, governor, mayor, judge etc…), I would start off with the Erik Erikson conversation on interdependence. This way, students would gain an appreciation for how people within …
I’m teaching characterization using Jerry Spinelli’s novel, Maniac Magee. I will focus on the theme of conflict by analyzing the way Maniac interacts with different characters, specifically his “enemies” Mars Bar Thompson and Giant John McNab. At the end of …
In “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes, I could teach the theme of perspective by examining the message the speaker gives her son– to never give up when times are hard. Before reading the poem, I could use the Theodore …
