In teaching essay writing it is a good idea to look at great modern essays; one being Rebecca Solnit’s “Woolf’s Darkness: Embracing the Inexplicable,” which first appeared in the New Yorker on April 24, 2014. It provides a great opportunity …
I am teaching analysis of U.S documents with historical significance, and I want to focus on the theme of dreams by looking at the primary document, Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream…” speech. The unit could be framed …
The “Federalist Paper 51” is a great entry point for analyzing the theme of power and how our government is set up to put a check on it. Throughout the study of this text and theme I would hearken back …
I am teaching students about The Underground Railroad, and I want to focus on the theme of hardship. Harriet Tubman used her horrible experiences from slavery and channeled them into motivation when leading hundreds of others into freedom. I would …
Julius Caesar is the perfect Shakespeare play to use when focusing on the theme of leadership. A huge aspect of the play is that it is a visceral exploration of essential questions relating to leadership: How hard is it to …
I am teaching analysis of the novel Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte and I will focus on the theme of character, as the book’s protagonist puts a lot of effort into preserving and sustaining her own character, despite the many …
I am teaching journalistic writing and a theme I want to focus on is that of sacrifice. Using the present real world context as a research subject, students can write a journalism article which reports the sacrifices citizens have made …
I am teaching poetry and the poem “For Whom the Bell Tolls” by John Donne is the perfect poem to use when looking at the theme of interdependence. The Erik Erikson conversation could be interspersed around the work with the …
I am teaching about the Constitution and I want to look at the beginning of the preamble with students so that we could explore the theme of leadership. I would use the Lao Tzu conversation in order to discuss whether …
I’m teaching William Golding’s The Lord of the Flies and I’m interested in the theme of power and how it can be abused over time. I start off with the John Adams conversation to explore ideas of power and trust …
I am teaching about Segregation, and I want to focus on the theme of self-expression by looking at Jackie Robinson and his career as the first African American baseball player in modern Major League Baseball. In his first two years on the Brooklyn Dodgers, Robinson had to stay quiet in the face of racial injustice and harassment in order to protect himself. I would use the Audre Lorde conversation on self-expression by focusing on the counterclaim, that sometimes in such a complex world silence is necessary for self-protection.
Within a larger unit exploring World War II, students would benefit from learning about Japanese Internment and looking at the theme of conflict. The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. conversation can be used to frame how some Americans viewed Japanese …
