English 11H: Dillard’s Teaching a Stone to Talk
Unit Plan (2012)
Annie Dillard’s
Teaching a Stone to Talk is an example of “prose other than fiction” and is a core component of the IB curriculum. The book is a collection of essays on diverse topics with common themes and motifs which often reads like fiction. Although her writing does contain familiar literary elements such as character, symbol, and figurative language such as metaphor and simile, her use of the essay format to discuss these ideas may seem foreign and may take some time to appreciate.
Dillard’s collection is relatively short and concise, 14 essays of varying lengths divided among 166 pages. However, in order to focus and narrow our study of her work, I am going to limit your reading to about a third of the book. You will be required to carefully read and thoughtfully consider the following essays:
 “Total Eclipse” (p9-28)
 “Living Like Weasels” (p65-70)
 “The Deer at Providencia” (p78-84)
 “God in the Doorway” (p137-139)
 “Sojourner” (p146-150)
Assignments
Reading Logs:
For each of the five essays, you will complete one reading log entry. Each log entry will contain a short excerpt from the essay (one to three sentences or so) and then a “healthy” paragraph (200-250 words) explaining why this particular excerpt is significant to the overall essay. You may consider commenting on its literary significance or its significance to elements beyond the text (or both).
Reading logs will be due once we have completed the entire collection and will be scored out of a possible 25 points (five points per entry). Grading will be based on the literary depth of your discussion and the grammatical correctness and accuracy of your writing.
Short Writing Assignments (scored in the “Homework” category):
Assignment #1:
Read the essay “Total Eclipse” (p9-28) and then compose a one-page response to this question:
What meaning did the eclipse have for the narrator in Dillard’s essay (likely Dillard herself)? Do you feel this event changed her life? How so?
Your response should be between 250-500 words, grammatically correct, and structured with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. You should include at least three quoted lines from the essay to support your commentary. Be sure to answer all elements of the prompt. This assignment will be scored out of 20 points.
Assignment #2:
Read the essay “Living Like Weasels” (p65-70) and then compose a one-page response to this question:
What, exactly, does Dillard learn from weasels? How might you apply this message to your own life?
In other words, what might you learn from a weasel?
Your response should be between 250-500 words, grammatically correct, and structured with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. You should include at least three quoted lines from the essay to support your commentary. Be sure to answer all elements of the prompt. This assignment will be scored out of 20 points.

Assignment #3:
Read the essay “Sojourner” (p146-150) and then compose a one-page response to this question:
How does the essay “Sojourner” relate to the content and ideas expressed in “Total Eclispe” and “Living Like
Weasels”?
Your response should be between 250-500 words, grammatically correct, and structured with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. You should include at least three quoted lines from the essay to support your commentary. Be sure to answer all elements of the prompt. This assignment will be scored out of 20 points.
Reminder: All work should be the individual work of the student. Use of online sources, peers or other outside resources is not appropriate to this assignment and may constitute plagiarism. Do your own work and practice your skills in critical reading and interpretive writing.