Critical Lenses Activities (Click to download .pdf document)

CREATING ACTIVITIES FOR APPLYING CRITICAL LENSES TO A TEXT 

Review the activities that Harry created for To Kill A Mockingbird.  Harry used critical lenses to help address some of the more problematic aspects of this classic novel.

Select another novel from the high school canon, perhaps one discussed in Chapter 9 such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or The Scarlet Letter.  What critical lenses might you employ if were to teach this novel, and why?  What aspects of this novel might a particular critical lenses bring into sharper relief?

Using Harry’s handout as a model, create your own activity for the novel that you select.

APPLYING CRITICAL LENSES TO A CANONICAL TEXT 

The Bedford/St. Martins press has a series called Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism, which surrounds a classic text with articles in which critics view the text from a variety of theoretical perspectives.  You can view the selection of texts using the link below:

http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/browse.asp?disc=ENG&disc_name=English&@id_course=

1058000086&cd_booktype=LIRE&cd_subtype=TCSC

After familiarizing yourself with this series, select a text that does not appear on the Bedford St Martin’s list, preferably one that you anticipate teaching. Using this text, create a mini case study by finding at least three critical articles that discuss the text for a particular critical lens.  You’ll find the list of additional readings on the webpage that accompanies this chapter to be particularly helpful for this assignment.

CREATING A LESSON PLAN BASED ON APPLYING CRITICAL LENSES 

Chapter 9 presents a unit by Tim, who taught Montana 1948 to his juniors and seniors in a contemporary literature class.  Tim introduced four critical lenses—historical, feminist, Marxist, and reader-response—to help his students explore the novel.  Using the basic considerations for lesson planning that we discussed in this chapter and in Chapter 3, create your own lesson plan in which you use a literary text and at least three critical lenses. As you prepare this lesson, think about a group of students with whom you are currently working or whom you are observing, and then respond to the following questions as you create your lesson plan.

Who are my students?

What kinds of literary experiences do they need?

Given their abilities and experiences, which text should I choose?

What approaches to those texts should I use?

KEEPING A CRITICAL LENS READING JOURNAL 

Keep a critical-lens reading journal as you read novels on your own. Set aside one page for each lens, and then jot down phrases, events, or actions of its characters that bring a particular lens to mind.  (A terrific teacher we know has used this activity effectively with her students.  They’ve kept lens journals for The Great Gatsby and Their Eyes Were Watching God with great success.  This teacher found that the “lens journals” improved both class discussion and the students’ writing assignments by providing them with specific textual examples for each lens.