| I. |
Students who have not been successful in school
using the traditional curriculum, but who still need exposure
to the themes and issues in classical literature, art and culture,
can sometimes be engaged by way of the culture that surrounds
them and is more accessible to them: Pop Culture. |
| II. |
Creative high school teachers pay attention to what
kids are listening to, seeing on the news stands, respond to in
mural art, grafitti, and cartoons (either on the page or on television). |
| III. |
Looking for connections between what teens are
engaged with can lead to rich explorations in multiple genres:
poetry, stories and essays, books, plays, and a variety of modes
of artistic expression. |
| IV. |
Using successful lessons created by other teachers
may spur ideas for other resources and connections. |
| V. |
Examples (see handout link)
|
| |
A. Stephen Crane meets Metallica and Garth Brooks-a
lesson by Suzanne DeGraves |
| |
|
i. Play the songs, then read the book, looking for
similarities in descriptions and characters |
| |
|
ii Students write a song from the perspective of
a character in the book |
| |
|
iii. Students find other songs that express similar
themes and feelings
|
| |
B. The Simpsons in American Literature |
| |
|
i. The use of parody |
| |
|
ii. Students make connections between the classic
work and the cartoon |
| |
|
iii. List of episodes –www.thesimpsons.com/index.html |
| |
|
iv. Example: Poe Week |
| |
|
|
1. Simpsons’ Tell Tale Head and
Poe’s Tell Tale Heart |
| |
|
|
2. The Raven: watch the A & E biography of Poe;
listen to the poem read by James Earl Jones, then read along |
