Activity Overview
Using a multi-cell storyboard, ask students to show their knowledge of a time period by depicting what the people, settings, homes, and technology looked like. These categories are important to understand because literature is affected by the popular ideology, technology, advancements, people, and physical setting of its time. Depicting the characteristics of each period will also help students make real world connections. Making connections is a very important skill to acquire and practice.
Using this activity, students will make text-to-text and text-to-world connections. They will also be able to discuss commonalities between texts from a time period. By understanding the motivations of the people in the period, students studying American literature will retain and comprehend each era.
More in-depth classroom use will help students develop a higher level of understanding for each period. Using a chart to graph the differences in style and ideology between literary periods is key to mastery. By graphing categories like values, historical events, style of writing, and common elements, students will make connections and see the progression of the culture.
Template and Class Instructions
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Student Instructions
Create a storyboard depicting the different time periods during which each literary movement occurred.
- Use the template provided by your teacher and add additional cells as necessary
- Label each header "Setting", "Homes", "People", and "Technology/Advancements"
- Label the far left cells with each time period
- In the descriptions boxes, describe each characteristic as it pertains to that time period
- Create an illustration for each description using appropriate scenes, characters, and items
Lesson Plan Reference
How To Analyze the Elements Influencing Each American Literary Movement
Give Reading and Context
Give students readings from multiple literary periods which will help them analyze the central ideas discussed in each piece of writing. Provide context surrounding the elements influencing the writings in each period such as culture, social issues, technology, people, etc. Urge them to study these works and consider the components covered in their analysis.
Examine Culture
For any selected movement, ask the students to discuss the culture of that period, especially the background of the author. Once the students are more familiar with the customs and traditions of the period, they will be able to highlight those elements and find their presence in multiple writings.
Discuss Social Issues
Begin a general discussion on social issues by asking questions such as what are social issues and how do they impact the society, or what is the current most highlighted social issue present in the society? Once the students are more engaged in the discussion, teachers can build the lecture toward social issues surrounding American Literary Movements. Students can examine different social issues impacting different movements in each time period.
Encourage Critical Thinking
Encourage students to think critically about how the features of each era are mirrored in the literature by getting them involved in debates about the books. Give students different activities that will encourage them to use logic for analysis and enhance their critical thinking abilities.
Conduct Comparative Analysis
Students should be encouraged to examine and compare pieces from various eras. Their comprehension of how literature changes in response to shifting circumstances may be strengthened as a result. Ask the students to develop a framework for this comparison and compare two literary writings they find the most interesting.
Frequently Asked Questions About Depicting the American Literary Periods
What effects did sociological and technical developments have on the literature of the naturalism and realism eras?
Realism and Naturalism were affected by the Industrial Revolution, urbanization, and scientific and psychological developments, which resulted in an emphasis on the impact of genetics and the environment on individuals.
Which notable Modernist writers produced noteworthy works?
Notable Modernist writers included T.S. Eliot ("The Waste Land"), F. Scott Fitzgerald ("The Great Gatsby"), and Virginia Woolf ("Mrs. Dalloway").
What effects did the 1960s and 1970s cultural revolutions have on postmodernist literature?
Advances in technology, civil rights movements, and counterculture movements all had an impact on postmodernism, which focused on questions of representation, power, and identity.
How can students analyze the specific features of all these literary periods?
Since there are many literary periods to explore with multiple characteristics and factors, students can make comparative charts or even use storyboards to make the process of learning more interesting.
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American Literary Movements
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