Love is a feeling or an emotion, but it can also be positive attitudes and behaviors. Our retina will never construct the image of love because it is not a physical object. However, being in love leads to behavioral changes we can see and describe. The unit starts with the following essential questions: "What do I see? What do I notice? Is this love?" It includes a visual section that primarily teaches students to see details, interpret them, infer, analyze the context, and discuss what an artist/author wants to communicate with a visual image. A second section focuses on critical thinking and takes into consideration the following essays: "Seeing" by Annie Dillard, "I Want a Wife" by Judy Brady, "The Breakups That Got Under My Skin" by Kerry Cohen published in The New York Times, and the novel Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. The objective is to enhance students' ability to see details, pay close attention to context, think, close-read, analyze, discuss, synthesize, and evaluate themes. The unit requires various writing activities and concludes with a documented essay or, for those students who have special needs, a simple documented visual presentation.
(Developed for College English and AP English Literature, levels 3-4; recommended for College English, AP English Literature and Composition, and AP English Language and Composition, levels 3-4)
