"Deor" & Why do we read Literature?

"nor could she ever foresee without fear how things would turn out. That went by, so can this." Deor

"The thing about Shakespeare is that we know nothing about him, and he knows everything about us" Rob Watson

"I'm a crying because, what Macbeth says that about life - it's what I've always believed - and I thought I was the only one..." a student

This is the opening lesson for the year for the course. I am always struck by how often students reference what we do that day - not only later in the school year, but years and years later when they come to visit. Because this is also the first lesson to be published on this website, I'm hoping to make it a template for how the others will look. The lessons essentially asks three questions: 1) Why do we read Literature? 2) Why do we read Shakespeare in particular? 3) Can British Literature, and texts from over a hundred years ago really tell us anything about ourselves - can we relate to them (in this era of student anxiety and stress - this question becomes particularly important)?

Lesson Overview

Beginning the Beginning

Beginning the Beginning - Student Answers

The Answer that I Overheard

The Thing About Shakespeare...

Handouts

Most Recent Handouts & Quizzes

Lesson Notes (instructions)

Audio Visual Content

Remote Enhancements

Class Recording

What's Next & Unit Home Page

Forgetting How to Learn - Mary Poppins & Educational Tales:

WHAT CAME BEFORE:

Thoughts on the Lesson

Lesson Overview

this is a brief synopsis of what we do - for much more see the Lesson Notes below.

Beginning the Beginning

The lesson begins by me asking the students to write down (see handout #1) "Why we read Literature". I may or may not define exactly what I mean by "Literature" with a capital "L". Shakespeare, Toni Morrison, Sandra Cisneros, etc as Literature. And/or I may tell them "Harry Potter, I believe is Literature; Twilight is not". This usually gets a laugh - but more importantly it brings understanding to the question. I caution them to tell me what they honestly believe, NOT what they think that I want to hear. If they believe that they only read Literature because they are forced to - then that is what they should say. I then give them time to write while I begin my first ever attendance for the class - I will stop and ask them how to pronounce their name, what they like to be called (nicknames) and if they have a preferred pronoun.

Beginning the Beginning - Student Answers

We then go around the room - starting with the first student, and everyone gives their reason for why they believe we read Literature. I will almost always make at least one comment on what they have said - always a postive affirmation.

The Answer that I Overheard

I then tell them that students often asked me that question - and I really didn't have a good answer. "Why do we read literature?" Then I tell them about watching the movie "Shadowlands" and hearing a young student quote his father (who was a teacher), "We read to know that we're not alone". The best answer that I ever heard and one that the students love - and will remember - some even decades later when they send me a note or drop by.

The Thing About Shakespeare...

For details on this see my lesson notes. I then tell them about my Shakespeare scholar friend Rob Watson who told me the thing about Shakespeare is that "we know nothing about him - and he knows everything about us". I then talk about a wonderful student who was crying in the back of the room one day - when we were about to begin our Macbeth Act V discussion. I asked them why - and they told me because they had "read what Macbeth says about Life being a tale told by an idiot - and they (the student) had felt this their entire life - and now - and now they knew they weren't the only one who felt that way.

Handouts

Most Recent Handouts & Quizzes

Handout #1 DOC PDF Deor poem in Modern English, space to write "Why Do We Read Literature?", snippet of Intimations of Immortality (Wordsworth), Homework (Mary Poppins, short essay), next readings.

Handout #2 DOC PDF (Assignment for a short essay on students' educational experience [positive or negative] to be written BEFORE they do the next day's reading: "John and Barbara's Story" from Mary Poppins.

Older Versions of Handouts (a folder's worth - these will mostly be in the old doc format of Word)

Lesson Notes (instructions)

My Lesson Notes 2021 - the most recent lesson notes - up until my last year of teaching. If you can read my writing you'll find all you need to conduct this class.

My Lesson Notes 1998 - a much earlier version. Sometimes it's fun to see how much my class changed - in this case 22 years earlier. Written on a manilla envelope, no less.

Audio Visual Content

Deor - Old English - a reading in Old English
Deor (a modern take) - a song by Alistair Slaughter (a short sample) A Hip Hop version of "Deor" - and until I get explicit permission from that student, I cannot publish the entire song - though I must say it is amazing.

Remote Enhancements

Deor & Why Do We Read Literature - A PowerPoint Presentation -
This is a presentation designed to help the focus of the class during our video meet - it takes us from point to point - often with the text that is referenced and keeps the class organized and moving forward.

BritLitOpening_2015_p1.m4a

Class Recording

I begin the class by asking the students "Why do we read Literature." Every student then gives their answer and we all listen to what each other has to say. Next, I relate a scene from the movie Shadowlands - that gives an excellent answer to that question. We listen to the Old English version of Deor and we read and discuss the poem. We finish the class by talking about what it is that makes Shakespeare so different, and how he fits into our today's discussion.

What's Next & Unit Home Page

Forgetting How to Learn - Mary Poppins & Educational Tales:

It was about 8 years into my teaching that I rediscovered this wonderful story from Mary Poppins. The story (assigned for reading before class) is about two very small children who have all kinds of wonderful abilities (ie talk to the sun, starlings, etc) - but they are told they will lose them when they turn one year of age. Of course, they don't believe it will happen to them (even if it has happened to everyone else [except for Mary Poppins]). And they turn one - and of course it happens. For me, it is the perfect way to begin the year - once upon a time students waved their hands enthusiastically in a classroom - they cared about what they learned (as opposed to simply the grade they received) and learning was not a chore - it was fun. This together with their educational experience essays - asks the question - "What happened?" and "How do we get that feeling back?"

WHAT CAME BEFORE:

Every other English Class they've ever had.

Thoughts on the Lesson

It is the opening lesson - and perhaps except for the final lesson - the most important lesson of the year (my students always teased me that I said this about every lesson. But of course in this case it is true. Why do read Literature? If there is not a good answer - what is the point of the year together?