Thinking Through
Literature
Learning HOTS
and
Enjoying Literature
Maida Nechushtan & Judy Henn
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At the end of this presentation, you
will
1. feel excited about teaching
literature to your pupils.
2. agree that literature can be
accessible to your pupils.
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3. see the connection between
analyzing literature and
promoting HIGHER ORDER
THINKING SKILLS – HOTS.
4. teach literature more effectively
when given suitable material.
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5. leave here saying, “I can do
this.”
6. will take steps to include
literature in your syllabus.
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Countee Cullen (1903-1946)
was a leading poet in the
Harlem Renaissance, a
movement of AfricanAmerican writers in the
1920s in New York City.
A brilliant student, he
became a high school
English teacher.
NOTE TO PUPILS: “Nigger”
is the most insulting and
offensive word one can
call an African-American
person.
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Incident: Baltimore
Countee Cullen
Once riding in old Baltimore,
Heart-filled, head-filled with glee,
I saw a Baltimorean
Keep looking straight at me.
Now I was eight and very small,
And he was no whit bigger,
And so I smiled, but he poked
His tongue, and called me, "Nigger."
I saw the whole of Baltimore
From May until December;
Of all the things that happened there
That's all that I remember.
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1. Who is the speaker?
An African American.
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2. How old was the speaker
when the 'incident'
happened?
Eight years old.
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3. Which words tell us how the
speaker feels at the
beginning of the bus ride?
"Heart-filled, head-filled with
glee,"
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4.Three things happen to the
speaker on the bus. What are
they?
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a. The white boy stares at the
speaker.
b. The white boy pokes/sticks
out his tongue at the speaker.
c. The white boy calls the
speaker "Nigger".
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5. For how long was the speaker in
Baltimore?
From May to December, seven
months
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6. What does the speaker remember
from the visit to Baltimore?
That a white boy on the bus stared at
him/her, stuck out his tongue and
called him/her "Nigger".
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By answering these questions, pupils
have shown the ability to retrieve essential facts
about the poem.
These questions are LOTS:
LOWER ORDER THINKING SKILLS,
the essential foundation for HOTS
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1. How did the speaker feel
after the white boy stuck his
tongue out at him/her?
The speaker was shocked and
insulted.
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2. Why is this incident the only
thing that the speaker tells us
about the visit to Baltimore?
This incident had such a
powerful effect on the speaker
that he/she could not remember
anything else from the long
visit.
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3. The “incident” referred to in the
title of the poem is made up of
two gestures and one word.
What are they?
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a. staring "keep looking straight
at me“
b. poking/sticking out the tongue
c. calling the speaker "Nigger“
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4. Which kind of behavior do you
think had the most powerful effect
on the speaker? Justify your
answer.
The most powerful effect was
hearing the word "Nigger“.
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5. If, in the future, the speaker
has a similar experience, how
do you think he/she can
overcome this obstacle?
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Conflicts
CONFLICT – the struggle or fight
between opposite forces.
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a. between two people
b. between a person and society
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c. between a person and the
environment (nature, supernatural
powers)
d. between a person and his inner
feelings – the inability to decide
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Decide what type of conflict there is
in the following examples:
1. the speaker of "Incident:
Baltimore" and the white child on
the bus ______
2. the speaker of "Incident:
Baltimore" and the white racist
society in the American
south_____
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Rationale
Literature demands of the
reader active engagement; in
order to experience pleasure
and involvement – it needs to
be thought through.
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through a study of literature,
readers master
HIGHER ORDER THINKING
SKILLS
HOTS
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


A systematic program of learning
literature equips pupils with:
essential skills in cognitive
development
transferable skills to non-literary
prose
ability to carry out tasks
appearing on national
standardized exams
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Pupils who study literature
through LOTS and HOTS
will be able to:
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a. recognize literary devices and
terms in prose and poetry.
b. compare and contrast between
works which have similar
components.
c. organize understandings into
semantic maps.
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d. relate to the cultural, historical
and sociological background of
the authors and their works.
e. integrate existing knowledge
with newly acquired insights.
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f. make connections with their own
lives.
g. examine their feelings in relation
to themes and ideas from the
works.
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h. create works of their own in the
arts, related to themes found in the
reading choices.
i. formulate alternative endings for
works.
j. judge the value of issues
presented in the works.
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In "Incident: Baltimore" a young
child experiences prejudice for
the first time and it has a
powerful effect on him/her.
Unfortunately, the world is filled
with such situations. Give an
example of an act of prejudice in
the world today. What could be
done to change the situation?
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Write a letter to a friend as if you
were the speaker in "Incident:
Baltimore" and tell what
happened during the bus ride
and how you now feel.
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