Princess Bride Lesson Plan
Rationale: Stories and Storytellers
" (Scheherazade) fashions her universe not through physical force, as does the king, but through imagination and reflection." -- Reading Lolita in Tehran, p.19
Azar Nafisi 's Reading Lolita in Tehran is a source of inspiration and hope for many who are interested in teaching and discussing literature, especially as it pertains to the social and political power of women. Personally, this is one of those books I end up reading at least once every year. In my most recent reading, I was struck by the prevalence of powerful storytellers, those who shape reality into the texts that Nafisi studies with her students, as well as the stories of Iranian men and women told through the novel itself. In order to appreciate the power and influence of stories, Nafisi narrates her own experience (and that of some of her students) as a university professor in revolutionary Iran, and connects these experiences to texts as diverse as Jane Austen 's Pride and Prejudice to the classic folktale A Thousand and One Nights. In the same vein, I have centred this unit around storytelling and storytellers, with the hope that students will gain an appreciation for the inherent power given to those who write and tell stories, and how readers can disrupt or challenge that power through critical questions and knowledge of literary techniques and conventions. As well, students will be empowered to tell their own stories, sharing and connecting to the stories of others, and using language to make sense of their experiences.
In her article "Critical Questions: Whose Questions?", Anne Simpson articulates some key ideas about critical literacy that have influenced the development of this unit. She acknowledges that stories are "not reflections of reality, but are selective versions of it, told from a particular view" and also that "authors write for particular audiences and assume that audiences have specific cultural
" (Scheherazade) fashions her universe not through physical force, as does the king, but through imagination and reflection." -- Reading Lolita in Tehran, p.19
Azar Nafisi 's Reading Lolita in Tehran is a source of inspiration and hope for many who are interested in teaching and discussing literature, especially as it pertains to the social and political power of women. Personally, this is one of those books I end up reading at least once every year. In my most recent reading, I was struck by the prevalence of powerful storytellers, those who shape reality into the texts that Nafisi studies with her students, as well as the stories of Iranian men and women told through the novel itself. In order to appreciate the power and influence of stories, Nafisi narrates her own experience (and that of some of her students) as a university professor in revolutionary Iran, and connects these experiences to texts as diverse as Jane Austen 's Pride and Prejudice to the classic folktale A Thousand and One Nights. In the same vein, I have centred this unit around storytelling and storytellers, with the hope that students will gain an appreciation for the inherent power given to those who write and tell stories, and how readers can disrupt or challenge that power through critical questions and knowledge of literary techniques and conventions. As well, students will be empowered to tell their own stories, sharing and connecting to the stories of others, and using language to make sense of their experiences.
In her article "Critical Questions: Whose Questions?", Anne Simpson articulates some key ideas about critical literacy that have influenced the development of this unit. She acknowledges that stories are "not reflections of reality, but are selective versions of it, told from a particular view" and also that "authors write for particular audiences and assume that audiences have specific cultural
Cited: Ontario Ministry of Education. The Ontario Curriculum Grades 9 and 10: English. Toronto: Queen 's Printer for Ontario, 2007.