Do you teach literary theory in your ELA classes?
Do you find it a challenge for you or for students?
Have you thought about using a core text to explore different theories?
One core text to rule them all… if I was a Lord of the Rings fan this would be an even more poignant line!
Why one text?
Familiarity! Students don’t need to tackle the new text AND the new theory. Instead, the theory is the focus with a text that’s comfortable for students.
If you’re in a school where you have a set of ready-assigned or required texts then this is ideal because you can supplement with a core text and then zoom out to whichever story, poem, or novel might be on the required list of study.
This also provides the option of diversifying your theory choices. From grade 9 through 12 my students will explore Reader Response, Formalism, (New) Historicism, Psychoanalytic, Feminist, Marxist, Post-colonial, Structuralism, Post-Structuralism, as well as Gender/Queer theory.
That seems like a lot but the first three in particular are what we as teachers do most often with students without realizing it’s a particular theory:
- We ask students what they think or feel about a book, its plot, or characters; this is Reader Response.
- We ask students about the structure of the plot, the use of imagery, and so on; this is Formalism.
- We ask students about what may have influenced the writing or reading of a text in its time or about the author and who they are/were when they were writing; this is New Historicism.
The others are a bit more layered but in discussions we often touch on power dynamics between characters, the formation of society, representation within the novels, etc. In this case many of the other theories are already being addressed, be it a bit more informally.
For these last ones on the list more explicit and structured teaching and learning is necessary for students to apply the theory to a text.
Enter the single text for use with almost all of the listed theories!
Which one text?
While there are quite a few that will work, my go-to text is The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. Here’s a video reading of The Giving Tree – Animated Children’s Book that I’ve used in my classroom along with or in addition to hard copies of the book.
This children’s story is simple in language and therefore accessible to nearly all students. The inclusion of images provides an additional layer of interpretation, which increases the text’s accessibility too.
So how does it work?
A strong introduction to the theory is necessary. What are the key concepts, ideas, and definitions students should know to have the background understanding? OWL Purdue has overviews that are useful or you can check out ready-made presentations here (including full teacher notes with analysis of Silverstein’s text and suggestions for additional texts too).
What are the drawbacks?
The repetition of the singular text can be a bit much, particularly in a short course window. There have been some groans when we’re on theory four of five and I bring out the copies of The Giving Tree. We certainly get more efficient later in the year when we don’t want to spend as much time with that book.
If there is significant push-back or if the core text doesn’t work for the theory without making some leaps, I always have back-up texts. I make sure to have a go-to list of short poems and some microfiction to replace if need be.
In all of the ready-made theory lessons available on my TPT I share options for other texts. For example, when teaching post-colonial theory I might use Wole Soyinka’s “Telephone Conversation” instead.
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