ENGL 123: Critical Thinking,
Composition, & Literature
“Reading the Harlem Renaissance”
Professor Anne Kingsley
Introduction to Course
 Syllabus
 Introduction to each other
 Working with literary texts
 Writing Practice
 Homework Discussion/What’s next
Course Site
 http://bringmeallofyourdreams.wordpress.com/
 “The Dream Keeper” (through wordpress.com )
 On this site, you will find:

Updates, interesting info, discussion board, etc.

“About” (information on the course)

“Calendar” (Course calendar & assignment info)

“Contact me”
 “Course policies”

“links”

“Unit 1” (information on Unit 1)
Introduction to Each Other
 Name (First, Last)
 What are you
doing/studying at DVC?
 What is your favorite
“literary” text? (book,
novel, poem, story, etc.).
If you can’t think of a
literary text, what other
reading have you recently
enjoyed?
Reading Literature
 How do you read literary texts? What do you look for?
What is your process?
Working with Literary Texts:
First Steps
• Observations:
• What do you notice?
• title, language choices, characters, imagery,
style, tone/attitude, publication, plot, dialogue,
etc.
• What stands out?
• specific quotes, specific language, confusions,
surprising moments, frustrations, etc.
First Steps, cont.
 Annotations:
 What does it
mean to annotate
a text?
 How do we
annotate?
First Steps, cont.
 Asking Questions (The Art of Inquiry)
 Asking questions about the text in front
of you will help you to engage, converse,
and contribute to your readings!
 What is the significance of the word
(BLANK)?
 What does the repetition of (BLANK) signify?
 Why does the rhythm suddenly change?
 What kind of language is used to describe the
landscape at the beginning of the text? What do
you think is the significance?
Putting this Method into Practice
 Individually:
 Read: “The Dream Keeper” by Langston Hughes.
 As you are reading, perform the process of initial
observations

Observe

Annotate
Creating Questions
 Taking your observations and making questions
 Observation: “dreams”….
 QUESTION: What dreams? Can we imagine what dreams
Hughes refers to? Who are we bringing the dreams to?
 Take a moment to sketch one out…
In Groups
 Get into 6 groups
 Select one of the other poems on the page for your group to
work through.
 Individually, each group member should 1) observe &
annotate 2) ask 2 questions 3) For each question, write a one
paragraph response. (20 minutes)
 CLASS BREAK 5 minutes
 As a group, share what you observed.
 As a group, select the top two questions (revise if necessary) to
ask the class.
 Be ready to present and lead the discussion…(i.e. nominate a
“scribe” and a presenter)
Homework
 August 27 (MEET IN LIBRARY LAB 202)
 Sign & Print Course Contract (See Course Policies Page)
 Read Alain Locke's The New Negro
("Introduction,"Foreword," all selections in "Fiction," all
selections in "Poetry")
 Annotations (on text or typed)
 First Observations Unit 1 (Typed & Printed)