Unit Two: The World of Work
Homework Review: (5 Minutes)
- Your Homework is to read “Mrs. Beazley’s Deeds.” I want you to write a one-page blog post identifying the relationship between details relating to play, income, setting, and class
Mini-Lecture: Cultural References (Suggested: 5 Minutes)
- So far, we have considered various frames for understanding narratives.
- We have also through about PLOT.
- We have also thought about how we can COMBINE our FRAMES with PLOT to gain greater insight into a story – which we need to do if we are going to make informed arguments about stories.
- Today, we are going to consider a new concept: Cultural References
Journal Work: (Suggested: 5 Minutes)
In your journal, I want you to take the next five minutes and explain that phrase to me. What does it mean to you?
Class Discussion: (Suggested: 3-5 Minutes)
Cultural References are details particular to specific social or economic conditions.
- They provide insight into the world the text, the world it represents, and the audience it speaks to.
- If we understand cultural references, and the fact that all stories make cultural references, we can get over the idea that “old” stories all take place “back then.”
- They are, like you and me, alive in the sense that they are in conversation with their formative social and cultural conditions.
Group Work: (Suggested: 10 Minutes)
Identify three major cultural references in Mrs. Beazley’s Deeds. Explain their relevance in terms of Frames and Plot.
Class Discussion: (Suggested: 10 Minutes)
In-class writing: (Suggested: 15 minutes)
Let’s return to a question I asked you on the very first day we got together.
- What is the difference between work and play as you now understand the concepts? Where do we learn about work? Where do we learn about play? How are the ways in which you work and play different from the ways your parents work and play? Look back at what you wrote earlier this semester. How is your understanding different now, particularly your understanding of play. Use your key terms! That is the whole point!
Discussion of findings: (Suggested: As time permits)
Homework: (One page)
- Citing some of of our course terms, explain what can “Mrs. Beazley’s Deeds” tell us about the basic struggles people may face when they aspire to a professional status.
