How to Teach Seminar

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How to Teach Seminar

• Ethan Frome

Jennifer Knobloch February 22, 2005
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Objectives

• To answer the question, What do I do when I am
  handed a book and told to teach it?
• To share my thought processes while constructing
  a unit for a high school-level work of literature
• To share my reflections on what worked, what
  didnt work, and what I will do differently next
  time

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My Classroom and My Community

• Nutley High School
• 10th and 11th grade English
• 25-30 students per class (5 classes)
• Tracking Honors, Regular, and Inclusion
• Small suburban town, 25 minutes outside of New
  York City
• Blue collar working class community
• Primarily white students emerging Hispanic and
  African American population

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Synopsis of Ethan Frome
A classic novel of despair, forbidden emotion,
and sexual undercurrents set against the austere
New England countryside Ethan Frome works his
unproductive farm and struggles to maintain a
bearable existence with his difficult,
suspicious, hypochondriac wife, Zeena. But when
Zeenas vivacious cousin enters their household
as a hired girl, Ethan finds himself obsessed
with her and with the possibilities for happiness
she comes to represent. In one of American
fictions finest and most intense narratives,
Edith Wharton moves this ill-starred trio toward
their tragic destinies.
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What difficulties did I face/anticipate?

• Ethan Frome is a novel that does not usually
  elicit a warm reception from high school
  students
• The setting is cold and dreary, the characters
  are miserable, and the plot line is driven by
  misery and tragedy
• Students low motivation levels and aversion to
  at-home reading

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How do you begin planning a unit?

• Identify the big questions that you would like
  to tackle over the course of the unit
• Devise ways to equip students with the necessary
  skills and preparation to grapple with those
  big questions -- scaffolded assignments
• Create assessments that will prompt students
  responses to those big questions
• Continually reflect and alter plans according to
  students needs

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Identifying Those Big Questions

• When, if ever, should a person place his/her
  personal happiness above his/her duties or
  responsibilities?
• What does it mean to be considered a man? How
  does Edith Wharton invert societys gender
  stereotypes in Ethan Frome?
• How can a persons surroundings negatively affect
  his/her emotional health and happiness?

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Scaffolded Assignments
How did I get my students from the place they
were to the place I wanted them to be?

• Pre-reading activity
• Landscape project
• Supplemental resources/research
• Journal entries
• Study guide
• Skit writing project
• Final essay

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Ethan Frome Pre-Reading Activity
Self-sacrifice is a major theme in Ethan Frome.
Self-sacrifice can imply two things the willing
surrender of one good thing for the sake of
something better, or the painful giving-up of
something under pressure or guilt. Should we
sacrifice our own happiness for the happiness of
others? Is hurting another person ever justified
if it ensures your own happiness? Discuss each
of the scenarios below with a partner. Decide
whether or not a person should place duty and
responsibility above his/her own personal
happiness. Why/why not? Its okay to disagree
with your partner--just make sure to write down
both opinions.
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Pre-Reading Questions

• Should a husband and wife stay together for the
  sake of the children?
• Peter Singer, a philosopher, suggests that every
  American should give away 10 of his/her salary
  to poor people in needy countries. Should
  someone have to sacrifice his/her money in order
  to help strangers?
• Should a woman have to give up her career in
  order to take care of children?
• Should a grown child have to take care of his/her
  sick, elderly parent? What if that parent needs
  constant attention, e.g. needs to be bathed, fed,
  or given medicine regularly? When would it be
  asking too much?
• Is it justifiable for a husband or wife to leave
  his/her spouse just because he/she is bored or
  unhappy in the marriage?

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What I Discovered About My Students

• In their worlds, everything is black and white
• Sample responses to pre-reading questions
• Question 4 Dont get married if you dont
  think you will be happy.
• Question 5 I think a person should take care
  of their elderly parent as much as possible if
  it does not conflict with school or sports.
• Teenagers love when you give them opportunities
  to debate hot topics and share their personal
  experiences with others

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Ethan Frome Landscape Project

• Due Date Tuesday, November 30, 2004
• Setting/landscape is a critical element in
  Whartons novel Ethan Frome. In order to
  understand the development of Ethan, Zeena, and
  Mattie, we must understand how the landscape
  affects that development. How do you see the
  town of Starkfield in your head?
• Using Whartons rich descriptions, create an
  artistic representation (drawing, painting, or
  collage made of magazine and/or newspaper
  clippings) of what Starkfield, especially Ethans
  house and property, looks like. The more details
  you can include in your representation, such as
  the big elm tree or the Frome headstones, the
  better.
• Then, write a one-page explanation of what you
  included in your representation and why. How
  does your picture increase our understanding of
  the New England landscape as portrayed in Ethan
  Frome? Suggestion Cite specific (quotes) from
  the novel to support why you included certain
  things in your representation.

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Landscape Project Requirements

• Your artistic representation must be at least 8
  1/2 x 11 in size, but feel free to make it
  bigger. I have tons of magazines, especially
  ones that focus on country living. If you would
  like to borrow some, stop by my room after
  school, and I will loan them out.
• Your one-page explanation should follow all
  standard guidelines 12 point font, Times New
  Roman, 1 margins. Use our normal heading for
  this paper, single-spaced.
• Any questions/concerns, please see me sometime
  soon! Do not wait until the day the project is
  duethat is too late.

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14 Years- Guns n Roses
I try to feel the sunshine You bring the rain You
try and hold me down With your complaints You cry
and moan and complain You whine and tear Up to my
neck in sorrow The touch you bring You just dont
step inside to 14 years So hard to keep my own
head Thats what I say You know Ive been the
beggar Ive played the thief I was the dog they
all tried to beat But its been 14 years of
silence Its been 14 years of pain Its been 14
years that are gone forever And Ill never have
again
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Autobiographical Aspects of Ethan Frome?
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Journal Entries
(Before reading Chapter 4) Are you invested in
Mattie and Ethans relationship? Are you hoping
that romance does bloom between these two
characters, or are you unable to look past
Ethans duty as a husband to Zeena? After
reading Chapter 4 Have your feelings about
Mattie and Ethans relationship changed? For the
worse or better? Which character are you more
sympathetic toward at this pointEthan or Zeena?
Why? Respond to the following excerpt in
Ethan Frome Thats so. It is powerful cold
down here, Ethan assented and with lowered
head he went up in his wifes wake, and followed
her across the threshold of their room.
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Ethan Frome Study Guide

• Useful for holding students accountable for
  the reading
• Extends students comprehension of the
  chapters
• A well-designed study guide should always
  further discussion of the units big
  questions
• Suggestions
• Keep questions to a minimum
• Use graphics to make the study guide less dry
• Students will invest more time in the
  assignment if it will count for something

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Skit Writing Project
What would happen if Ethan and Zeena went on a
dating show together? Think about the show
Change of Heart. The premise? Couples who have
dated for a few months test their relationships
by going out on dates with other people. At the
end of the show, both people must decide whether
to stay in the relationship or leave. What
would a taping of Change of Heart be like with
Ethan and Zeena on the show? Use their argument
in Chapter 7 to construct the basis of their
discussion on the show. What questions would the
host ask of them, and how would they respond?
Remember--you are to paraphrase things they say
to each other in Chapter 7. What would Ethan and
Zeena decide to do at the end of the show? Would
both stay? Both leave? Would one choose to stay
and one leave? Use your creativity and
imagination. Make sure to keep your dialogue
appropriate.
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Formal AssessmentsShort Essay Format
With regard to Ethan Frome, explore how poverty
(lack of money) and isolated landscapes can
weaken the human spirit. Make sure to comment on
all three main characters Ethan, Zeena, and
Mattie. Both Ethan and Zeena held certain
expectations about married life. What are their
expectations entering into the marriage, and how
is each person deceived or let down? How does
each person cope with the undesirable situation?
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Writing Component to Ethan Frome Unit

• Goals
• To create a final assessment that allowed
  students to tackle our big question of the
  unit
• To specifically target creation of thesis
  statements and topic sentences

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Ethan Frome Essay Topic English III Miss
Knobloch Our unit on Ethan Frome has
centered on the theme of personal happiness
versus duty/responsibility. Ethan struggles to
decide between Zeena (duty) and Mattie (personal
happiness). Compare/contrast Zeena and Mattie
as the choices in Ethans life. How does each
woman affect Ethans sense of manhood and
emotional well-being? How does Whartons
description of each woman affect her level of
desirability? How do Ethans decision-making
skills contribute to his own misery at the end of
the novel? As a conclusion to your essay,
consider what message or moral Wharton is trying
to send at the end of Ethan Frome.
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• Requirements
• Essay must be at least 5 paragraphs and include
  an introduction, at least three body paragraphs,
  and a conclusion
• You must include at least three direct quotes
  from Ethan Frome in your body paragraphs as
  support for your argument. Additional quotes are
  always beneficial, however, do not pad your
  essay with unnecessarily long and/or irrelevant
  quotes.
• Format
• Typed, double spaced
• 12 point font, Times New Roman
• 1 margins on all sides
• Proper MLA heading, page numbering, and citations
• Failure to follow these guidelines will result in
  a deduction of points.
• This essay must be submitted to Turnitin.com on
  or before December 20, 2004. I also expect a
  hard copy to be handed to me in class on December
  20. Late papers will receive a 10 deduction for
  each day late (up to three days). No excuses
  will be accepted for not having a hard copy.
  Printer problems is not an excusebring in the
  saved file on disk or email the paper to
  yourself!

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Topic __________________________________________
_______ Introductory Paragraph I. Attention
Grabber ________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
______ II. Thesis Statement __________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
_ Body Paragraph I. Topic Sentence __________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
____________________________________ II.
Supporting Details a. _________________________
_________________________________ b.
__________________________________________________
_______ c. ____________________________________
_____________________ d. ______________________
___________________________________ e. Quote
__________________________________________________
Body Paragraph I. Topic Sentence _________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
_____________________________________ II.
Supporting Details
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a. ____________________________________________
_____________________ b. ______________________
___________________________________________ c.
__________________________________________________
_______________ d. ____________________________
_____________________________________ e.
Quote __________________________________________
________________ Body Paragraph I. Topic
Sentence _______________________________________
________________________________________ II.
Supporting Details a. ________________________
________________________________________ b.
__________________________________________________
______________ c. _____________________________
___________________________________ d.
__________________________________________________
______________ e. Quote _____________________
_____________________________________ Conclusio
n I. Rewording of Thesis ______________________
__________________________________________________
______ II. Real Life Connection/Provoking
Thought/Conclusion Drawn ________________________
__________________________________________________
____
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What Went Well

• Many female students became invested in the
  love story between Ethan and Mattie
• Many male students admitted that the novel
  wasnt that bad and appreciated our
  discussions about masculinity and gender
  stereotypes
• A few students (male and female) read the
  complement to Ethan Frome, Summer, on my
  recommendation
• Thesis statements and overall structure of
  final essays was improved from last essays due
  to outlines and writing exercises
• In general, students appreciated my
  supplemental resources and creative
  assignments for Ethan Frome

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What Did Not Go Well

• Still a struggle to get students to read at
  home
• Students were tired of reading tragedies--
  Arent we ever going to read anything happy
  this year?
• Alternative assessments? Could I have
  developed more authentic ways of assessing my
  students understanding of our big question
  besides a final essay?

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What I Learned

• The enthusiasm I bring to the text is
  infectious (I never want this book to end!)
• Make novels as current and prevalent to
  students lives as possible--play up the
  interesting, juicy parts of the novels
  creation or plot line
• Students need to understand that everything is
  not black and white people, like characters in
  novels, are multi-dimensional
• Pre-reading is ESSENTIAL, and it must carry
  through to the end of the unit
• DO YOUR RESEARCH!

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Questions? Comments?
Thank you for coming! Thank you Dr. Meixner
and anyone who helped to plan, arrange, and
advertise this workshop. jknobloch_at_nutleyschools.
org