Literature What is it? Why do we teach it? 1
Literature is about the &*#@! experience of being alive! David Foster Wallace 2
Reading Strategy: Literature A literary text will let you, for a short time, experience life in someone else s shoes. Reading literature is the ultimate fly-on-thewall experience. You get to witness at first hand something you may never see or do in real life. (TRACKS SF page 344) 3
IN Someone Else s Shoes Literature, Film and Human Interest LIFE Stories in Tracks SF Tracks SF Rasma Haidri Sjøvoll 4
STORY IS LIFE For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn. Ernest Hemingway LIFE AS STORY 5
CULTURE & SOCIETY ENGLISH CURRICULUM AIMS K06 and life s stories discuss and elaborate on culture and social conditions in several English-speaking countries discuss and elaborate on different types of English language literary texts from different parts of the world discuss and elaborate on English language films and other forms of cultural expressions from different media discuss and elaborate on texts by and about indigenous peoples in English-speaking countries 6
literature ˈlɪt(ə)rətʃə noun [ mass noun ] written works, especially those considered of superior or lasting artistic merit: a great work of literature. books and writings published on a particular subject: the literature on environmental epidemiology. leaflets and other printed matter used to advertise products or give advice. advertising and promotional literature. Oxford Dictionary of English Copyright 2010, 2013 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. 7
CULTURE & SOCIETY autobiography short story speech film news article poem interview 8
Why bother with someone else s shoes? CITIZENSHIP / SOCIAL COMPETENCE EMPATHY n. the power of entering into another s personality and imaginatively experiencing his experiences. (Chambers English Dictionary, 1989 edition) NOT THE SAME AS: SYMPATHY COMPASSION 9
EMPATHY Empathy is about experiencing those feelings for yourself, as if you were that person, through the power of imagination. - Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence 10
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Being in the shoes of young adults meeting personal challenges ch. 1 Who Am I? interviews p. 14 Raising the Mango short story p. 35 Paper Towns novel excerpt + film p. 39 ch. 3 Dora novel excerpt p. 148 ch. 4 Does My Head Look Big in This? novel excerpt p. 224 My Country speech p. 276 ch. 5 The Fear song lyrics p. 304 Cyberbullying - Two Stories feature articles p. 308 12
Being in the shoes of people protesting discrimination & prejudice ch. 2 Harlem poem p. 69 ch. 3 No More Page Three article p. 164 Pride film p. 168 ch. 4 Son of Mine poem p. 230 10 Things White People Should Know About Black People column p. 282 13
Being in the shoes of strangers in a strange land ch. 1 Sorry, But Norwegian Isn t Dying blog p. 29 ch. 3 The British (serves 60 million) poem p. 172 Welcome to the UK? newspaper articles p. 175 / You Won t Be Settled in Australia - news flash p. 228 ch. 2 The Thing Around Your Neck short story p. 105 ch. 4 Shantaram novel excerpt p. 265 What Does it Mean to be Australian? quotations p. 220 14
Being in the shoes of people making ethical choices about truth or lies, life or death, courage or retreat ch. 2 Every Second Counts autobiography p. 76 ch. 4 The Sniper short story p. 196 ch. 5 Malala s Nobel Lecture speech p. 313 15
Being in the shoes of indigenous people in modern societies ch. 2 Indian Education short story p. 96 (pre-reading / tasks 1, 3a, 3c, 3d) ch. 4 Whale Rider film p. 243 16
Being in the shoes of people of different generations ch. 1 First Day at School poem p. 12 ch. 4 Transition short story p. 244 ch. 5 My Family Values interviews p. 297 The Fear short story p. 299 17
Becoming an empathetic reader 18
BEING AN ENGAGED READER Tasks in Tracks SF WHO AM I? p. 18 Imagine you are interviewing one of the teenagers twenty years from now. What questions would you ask? How might he or she answer the same questions in twenty years time? Write a personal text on the expectations young people today face from their surroundings, and the best way of helping them to cope with these challenges. 19
Looking at language: note down the informal phrases they used. Make a dialogue about a topic of your choice plans for the next holiday or the weekend; about a film or TV show that you enjoy. Use the informal phrases you have noted down. Perform your dialogue for another pair or for your class. 20
Do you have anything in common with any of the 17-year olds who were interviewed? Are these problems relevant to teenagers in Norway as well? 21
What similarities and differences are there between the education systems in the UK and Norway? Sum up what the fact boxes and interviews relate about : unemployment and school fees expectations from parents pressure at school and social pressures 22
Gerald from Belfast loves cars. Do you have a dream car? Describe the car you would like to buy. It could be an existing car or an imaginary one. What did you learn about life in the different countries? 23
Do any of these 17-year-olds strike you as being particularly optimistic in their outlook on life? Write a text about what happens to one of these teenagers in the five-year period after the interview. You can choose a news article, a short story, an email or something else. 24
Shantaram p. 265 Pre-reading p. 265 Tasks p. 272 1a intrapersonal intelligence 1b logical intelligence 1c logical, spatial intelligence 1d logical, intrapersonal Task 2 interpersonal Task 4 intrapersonal, linguistic
WRITING EXERCISES PUTTING YOURSELF IN SOMEONE ELSE S SHOES Write an interview with the character, with you taking on the role of the character and answering the questions from the character s perspective.
Write the character s shopping list for: Groceries Clothes Fun weekend Presents for others
A bit of wit from Stephen Fry Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you criticize them, you are a mile away from them and you have their shoes. 28
Literature is about the &*#@! experience of being alive! David Foster Wallace 29
Sources / useful websites http://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/empathy.html#ixzz47ww2h49c http://www.dagbladet.no/2015/10/26/kultur/meninger/debatt/skole/maling/41645570/ http://www.scotsman.com/news/jackie-kay-using-poetry-to-help-female-asylum-seekers-1-2828428 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-nichtern/the-pursuit-of-happiness-_b_743570.html http://www.seedsofempathy.org/ http://www.rootsofempathy.org/ https://www.behance.net/gallery/18024715/9-types-of-intelligence-illustrated https://readingandlearningblog.wordpress.com/2014/09/28/hierarchy-of-readers/#comments 30