Willa Cather:
My Antonia
Created by Mary Gregoski
PTE 856 (Summer 2002)
Curriculum Integration
• Include the following subject areas:
– Language Arts (Read My Antonia)
– Social Studies (History of Time Period)
– Agriculture (Farming Practices)
– Art (Pictures/Drawings of Time Period)
– Technology (Create Presentations)
– If possible, a trip to Red Cloud
Language Arts
• Students will read the novel My Antonia
• Students will be divided into groups and
will be assigned a chapter(s) in which they
must create a quiz to add to their final
product
• Students will give final presentation in class
• Students will study the life of Willa Cather
and will gain knowledge about her other
writings
Social Studies
• Students will study the time period
of Willa Cather’s life
• Students will complete a time line
of her life including the novels
written
Agriculture
• Students will study the farming practices
of this time period
• Students will gain an understanding of
the grasses and lands on which the
farmers of this era were working
• Students will make a comparison of
farming practices from Cather’s era to
today’s
Art
• Students will view
pictures/drawings of this era
• Students will attempt to draw a
picture of this era by using the
knowledge they gain from the text
of My Antonia
Technology
• Students will take pictures at the field
trip in Red Cloud using a digital camera
• Students will create a web page for their
group’s particular chapter(s) including:
–
–
–
–
–
Pictures from the trip
Information about the chapter(s)
Information about the life of Willa Cather
A quiz over their particular chapter(s)
Group’s overall reaction to the novel
Technology
• Students will then create a Power Point
presentation that will include:
– Information about their chapter
– Information about Cather that is interesting
to them
– Information about what they learned
Technology
• Students will create a brochure to
promote Willa Cather’s novels
• The brochure will discuss My Antonia as
well as other novels by Cather
• Students must include information about
Willa Cather’s writing career
Curriculum Integration
• This is a brief overview of what can be done to
complete this unit. There are many more
possibilities I am sure but in such a small
school as mine I will be fortunate to complete
this unit. I will be using this unit this year so
we will see how well it works. There are more
details that will be needed such as rubrics,
reading logs, and overall checklist. I am
looking forward to implementing this unit. I
am not sure if the trip to Red Cloud will be
possible due to budget cuts.
Webliography: Willa Cather Unit
1. Quiz over My Antonia
http://www.gradesaver.com/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/readers/quiz.cgi?book=myantonia&q_start=1&total_q=40
A simple quiz that will be used as a good example for students when they create their
quizzes.
2. Willa Cather’s My Antonia: “the Happiness and the Curse” by Carol Leavitt
Altieri
http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1987/2/87.02.01.x.html
Great site to have students go in depth about the novel. This site also provides good
discussion questions for teachers. It may be site that is more appropriate for teachers but
when creating a unit where students need to do the majority of the work, could be a
useful resource for them.
3. Willa Cather Home Page
http://www.willacather.org/
This site has all you want to know about Willa Cather to begin this unit.
Webliography: Willa Cather Unit
4. Willa Cather Site
http://fp.image.dk/fpermarxlind/
This site goes into even more detail than the previous site. Easy to understand and has
much information to offer.
5. The Willa Cather Electronic Archive
http://www.unl.edu/Cather/menu.htm
This is a great resource for in-depth research or just to locate a few pictures of Willa
Cather. This site has much to offer in describing Cather and her writings.