Quote Originally Posted by ScoutHikerDad View Post
Well, since you asked, I start my youngsters on Day 1 in English IV Honors (the feeder/pre-req course to my AP class, so I'm very interested in their progress) with Shelley's poem "Ozymandias" under the Doc Cam after we've listened to it being read aloud by Bryan Cranston in his Walter White persona so that they can hear the importance of "voice":
If you know the poem and/or are a Breaking Bad fan, it makes more sense. From there I send them home with the introduction to Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible to annotate, which for my money is one of the most exquisitely crafted passages in the English language, and is often modeled at seminars, creative writing workshops, etc. I always tell them to look for what I call "flashing lights" like the one at the end of Gatsby: patterns of diction and syntax, figurative language, whatever they notice-it's all fair game. I help by highlighting and drawing lines between elements that seem connected. After that, they engage in both an in-class and an online discussion in which they share what they've noticed and start to formulate arguments about potential developing themes, deeper meanings, etc. For me, class discussion is at the heart of it all, and I can see a correlation between students who are willing to put it all on the line in class, and great essays that do the same. I give out my "Insight of the Day" cards to students who really bring it. Kinda like Wonka's golden ticket, it's a way to encourage discussion-they can cash 'em in for 5 points on a quiz or daily grade.

And since I have at least some of these kids for 2 years, I have to think long-term/big picture. That opening day novel intro. becomes their summer reading (of the whole novel) if they elect to take my AP English course. And even though it's pushing 600 pages, most kids love it, and get a lot out of it that will help them on the exam the following summer.

This is probably more than you want to know. I don't do anything all that radical-it's just basic literary analysis. For the reader at home, it helps to have engrossing material, that includes passages that "vibrate with meaning." For example, read Chapter 1 of Conroy's The Prince of Tides and be just gob-smacked if you've never read it. Conroy is doing so much there with just setting alone that it's hard to know where to start; and his writing hearkens back to the extravagance of Wolfe. You can do the same with a Hamlet soliloquy, the ending scene of A Tale of Two Cities, cutting-edge material like The Handmaid's Tale, or whatever strikes your fancy.

Allow me to recommend a book that is very popular along these lines in case you didn't suffer through enough literary analysis in school. In fact, I have it posted digitally in my online course, and I sometimes assign chapters to students: https://www.amazon.com/How-Read-Lite.../dp/0062301675
Foster delves into the subject with self-effacing humor instead of coming across as some stuffy twit in elbow patches (they exist, sadly!). Here's the free .pdf if you want an entertaining read on the subject: https://mseffie.com/assignments/prof...ssor%201st.pdf

Outside of razors and such, this is my life's work, and I love it and working with young people more than I can probably get across. Thank you for indulging me.
What age do you teach, University?

I have never considered myself thick and i went to an expensive boarding school but it shames me to admit that I didn't understand anything you said!