My objectives for this unit are to engage students in reading world class literature from famous authors such as Isabel Allende and García Márquez. Students will also be able to interpret and analyze literary work. As an urban school teacher, I sympathize with my reading colleagues, and agree with the findings that our students lack motivation when it comes to reading literature. Even though some of our students in the district are exceptionally talented, the majority of them find themselves caught in a rip current between knowledge and entertainment. Without any doubt, today's students will choose MTV or BET over the Discovery or History channel and for some of them, reading a book is "old and outdated". This negligence toward exploring and interpreting literature is reflected on CMT and CAPT scores each year. Although the New Haven School district has come a long way, there is still work to do with our young students to change that psychology.
My aim is to guide my students in a series of readings and teach them how to appreciate literature and art as a form of freedom and self expression. Additionally, as a foreign language teacher, I would like to introduce my students to the Latin American Culture and Civilization as represented in literature and art. To accomplish my goal, I chose the study of Magical Realism in Latin American literature. Through studying this unit, students will be able to analyze short stories and make visual connections with some of the art work belonging to this particular era. Lastly, students will compare and contrast writings from Isabel Allende and Garcia-Marquez and other authors.
