Simon C. Edgett
Overview:
In this series of lessons, students will read a biographical narrative or an outline of the Shelleys' lives, making connections between specific elements of their lives that may influence them as writers. Students will then conduct independent research into specific aspects of the writers' lives and present their findings to the class.
These initial understandings of the writers' lives will provide the foundation of later connections between the biography and writing of these writers. Students should also be aware of the ultimate assignment at this point in the unit. Knowing what they are working towards will help to encourage ownership of the assignments leading up to the final project.
Objectives:
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Students will be able to present an initial understanding of experiences and influences that motivate writers in their craft through whole-class discussion and written analysis of independent research.
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Methods:
•Begin with a journal entry: "What role does reality play in the work of a poet? What role does reality play in the writing of a novelist/fiction writer?"
•Ask students to volunteer parts of their writing and record their thoughts on an overhead, chart paper, or some other medium. Hopefully students will connect specific elements of each to reality, but will see a stronger tie in poetry writing where the emphasis is more on direct relation of emotion and less on the development of narrative. Ask students to connect their ideas to specific examples from writers they have been exposed to in the past, whether in this class or another.
•Provide an overview of the Shelleys' lives in either an outline or in a narrative. Ask students to peruse the overview and to highlight the elements they think would be most influential on their lives as writers.
•Students share the elements they have highlighted. Encourage students to respond to one another's ideas to promote a discussion of why specific elements would or would not be influential. Through this discussion students will not only gain deeper insight into the Shelley's, but will begin thinking critically about what motivates writers in their craft.
•Assign students one of the following topics for further research. Students may conduct the research as individuals or in small groups at the teacher's discretion.
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•Percy's parents and his childhood
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•Percy at college
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•The death of Mary's mother
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•Mary Wollstonecraft's writing
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•William Godwin's writing
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•Harriet Westbrook
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•Percy and Mary's elopement
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•Mary's attempts at having children
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•Percy and Mary's travels through the Alps
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•The Shelley's friend Lord Byron
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•The contest that began Frankenstein
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•Percy's death and Mary's reactions
Assessment:
•From their research (which may be assigned as homework or as an additional class period), students are to write a two-page analysis of their findings on their research answering the question, "How do you think the life experiences of these authors might have an effect on their writing?"
•Students should make brief presentations to the class based on their research and analyses.
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