The little known Civil War set story, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”, pairs perfectly with the conversation on Sacrifice with Mahatma Gandhi. After reading this short story, and discussion the surprise ending, I would lead students in a discussion …
Washington Irving’s short story “The Devil and Tom Walker” is a classic American twist on the age-old theme of selling your soul to the devil. The conversation with Dr. Seuss about Ambition connects perfectly to a pre-reading class discussion of …
Freedom means different things to different people, and some throughout history have had to struggle more to get it than others. After reading Kate Chopin’s classic “The Story of an Hour”, students can use the conversation with Susan B. Anthony …
Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” pairs perfectly with the conversation on anger featuring Lao Tzu. After a reading of the story, students can use the conversation as a springboard to an analysis of how the main character’s …
The short story “The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs is a suspense story that pairs perfectly with the Franklin Delano Roosevelt conversation about fear. The theme of fear of the unknown shows that people in scary situations may act rashly, …
The ending of Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery“ is shocking. I would use the conversation with John Adams about Power to lead students in a discussion of the story and how some people in society exert their power over …
The short story “To Build a Fire” by Jack London is about how the main character’s lack of imagination leads to a tragic failure in the Yukon wilderness in the middle of a brutal winter. After a reading of the …
After the last tree falls and the factories shut down in The Lorax by Dr. Seuss, the Lorax has to leave the once fruitful forest. For this lesson, I would use the Sophocles’ conversation on hardship. In small groups, I …