The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
"Once upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl, and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering.”
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss: Sometimes we are lucky enough to stumble across a text, a work of art,
that changes us - and will in turn change so many of our students lives for the better: Giving comfort, beauty, and solace at a
time of anxiety, stress, and depression. I started teaching this novel after about a decade of teaching. It fit so well with the other books and stories we were reading - and it came at just the right time as the stress levels of students were on the rise - and it gives the students a wonderful introduction to close reading, connections, and to so many of the ideas and concepts that we will revisit throughout the year - in an approachable novel that so many of them will not only appreciate - but deeply love as well.
For a long time, I have given students, bookmarks for the novels (PDF) that we read with due dates and references to poems and other related material that are, then, available at a glance - It allows them to plan their time and for students that need more time for reading - they can begin early (I try to give them the bookmarks a week early.
I have always taught a great deal of poetry in my British Literature course - and students who ended up taking my World Literature class told me they missed the poetry - and honestly, so did I. I then started incorporating more poetry by way of finding, reading, and discussing a thematically linked group of poems - as an introduction to each of our novels that we read. I also found it gave me a chance to bring in even more diverse texts and authors (poets).
Our first novel - and our first discussion of that book. So much in a few short weeks has led up to this - the short stories on truth, the quizzes and students knowing that they are actually expected to do the reading, and of course the previous lessons poems which served as a kind of prelude or overture to upcoming discussions.
You will probably only use this lesson if your Opening Discussion got cut short. Otherwise you can proceed to the next lesson.
Three distinct ways to have a class discussion on The History of Love 25-45. A vertext, divided reading, and Ringmaster Teacher. Each are explained complete with their respective Power Points or notes.