Tell Me A Story: Narrative Literature for Teens
About This Activity
This class is offered on Outschool.
Together the teacher and learners will explore three different literary forms: Short Stories, Narrative Poetry, and Essays. Literature can seem out of reach, out of touch, and outright boring. But I have found that learners can love literature when they are supported with modeling and aid in analysis, lots of time for discovery and discussion, and a teacher who finds it all fascinating. I love talking to learners about the ways that their interests, experiences, and ideas intersect with literature.
For each author, we will read a short work, talk about their time and place in history, and discuss the genre and literary elements of the work we are reading. Most classes will include a short video, reading the poem aloud or an in-depth story structure and analysis, and then discussion of the implications of the piece and connections/comparisons to other pieces of literature.
If a student would like a half-credit class, this can be accomplished by doing the optional assignments that will be posted in the classroom. Parents will need to assess these assignments and assign any grades.
Unit 1: The Truth of a Story: Short Stories
Nathaniel Hawthorne-"Young Goodman Brown"
O'Henry-"The Caliph, Cupid, and The Clock"
Shirley Jackson-"The Possibility of Evil."
Gabriel Garcia Marquez-"An Old Man with Enormous Wings"
Unit 2: The Story in the Poem: Narrative Poetry
Lord Tennyson-"The Charge of the Light Brigade"
Samuel Taylor Coleridge-"The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"
Lewis Carrol-"The Walrus and The Carpenter"
Christina Rossetti-"Goblin Market"
Unit 3: My Story: Personal Essays
Virginia Woolf-"The Death of the Moth"
E.B. White-"Once More to the Lake"
Tom Wolfe-"Pell-Mell"
Amy Tan-"Mother Tongue"
This is a discussion-intensive course. All students are expected to interact with respect and civility. I understand that the topics and themes can be controversial and invite disagreement. However, kindness facilitates productive and persuasive conversation.
About the Provider
Tassie Smith
3073500192I teach all kinds of English classes including writing, grammar, literature, and ESL. I am an avid reader of fiction and non-fiction especially poetry, science fiction, and fantasy.
I have been teaching in one form or another for more than 10 years. I taught English as Foreign Language in three different Chinese universities for a total of eight and a half years. These classes included comprehensive English, listening and speaking, writing, and pronunciation where I taught BA, MA, and Ph.D. students. Since we have returned to the United States, I have taught/tutored ESL and English Language Arts both in person and online.
I am also a professional writer. I have a traditionally published book, another at my publisher waiting to be edited, and a novel in its second draft. I love giving students the chance to communicate, write, and learn in community with others.
I love sharing the wonder of language with learners young and old--both those who are learning English for the first time and those who reading the classics or writing brand new classics of their own.
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