Connecting Literature to Life:
Interdisciplinary Approaches
in the English Classroom
Kim Kotty
Georgia Schulte
IATE Fall Conference 2015
What is our goal?
While schools may still have their curricula neatly stratified into discrete subjects,
the world, of course, is not like this. As English teachers we have a unique
opportunity to capitalize on the inherently interdisciplinary nature of our
field to engage our students in meaningful ways. We seek to authentically make
connections between
the literature we teach, the historical
context from which it is derived, and the modern world in
which we all live.
Why? It meets common core.
Common Core emphasizes the shift towards non-fiction
texts:
“Students must be immersed in information about the world
around them if they are to develop the strong general
knowledge and vocabulary they need to become successful
readers and be prepared for college, career, and life.
Informational texts play an important part in building
students’ content knowledge. Further, it is vital for
students to have extensive opportunities to build knowledge
through texts so they can learn independently.”
“Key Shifts in English Language Arts” (2015)
It also allows for differentiation
Because 21st Century Readers/Writers must be able to...
-Build intentional cross-cultural connections and
relationships with others so to pose and solve problems
collaboratively and strengthen independent thought;
-Design and share information for global communities to meet
a variety of purposes;
-Manage, analyze, and synthesize multiple streams of
simultaneous information;
-Create, critique, analyze, and evaluate multimedia texts;
-Attend to the ethical responsibilities required by these
complex environments
(NCTE Framework for 21st Century Curriculum and Assessment, 2013)
But how?
1)Discussions that link English class content with the
visual media students encounter daily
2)Projects that promote knowledge of current events and
social justice
3)Assignments that utilize students love of popular culture
and music to access deeper meaning in literature, nonfiction, and art.
Example 1: Visual Literacy Free Writes
Open up class in the non-fiction unit with an image on the
board. Students should spend a few minute free writing what
they observe and why they think the image appears as it is.
As a class, we will then discuss how the creator wants us to
feel, how we are being manipulated, and how we really think.
This only takes a few minutes, but connects students nonfiction skills to what they need to process in the real world
every day, especially in advertisements and news reports.
BP Ad. Why are they
doing this? What
happened? What’s
their goal?
How is this
misleading? What
is the purpose of
this deception?
Respond to “normal”
New Orleans
This year’s cover. What
is this saying? What do
you think? Why?
Farm-friendly TV ad
Example 2: Victorian Underbelly Project
During a study of Dickens’ Great Expectations, students
choose a relevant topic (“fallen women”, child labor, crime +
punishment, diseases, etc.) and collect research to make an
artifact that mirrors a “real world” product.
Students get an enriched view of the novel through historical
context, but also make a connection to how these social
justice issues are relevant in today’s world.
Students have fun with this, but are also building
research/writing skills while engaging/creating nonfiction
pieces of their own. They are also encountering social
justice issues, often for the first time.
Artifact Choices: Newspaper similar to a Chicago Tribune or
CNN website (resources: poster board, GoogleDrive template,
PhotoShop, InDesign) or a video similar to either a
documentary or 60 Minutes (resources: Wevideo, iPad/phone)
Other Requirements: 2+ historical database articles, 3+ other
resources, and an annotated bibliography. At least 1 “modern
day” connection.
Students do a “gallery walk” to review each other’s work at
the end of the unit.
Example 3: “Jigsaw” Method
1. Students are given a choice of
articles all on the same general topic.
You can also assign students a
particular article based on their
reading level or interest (QUIET
DIFFERENTIATION!).
2. Students are given a few minutes to
read the article and fill out the Jigsaw
sheet.
3. Students are then grouped so that
each student has read a different
article. They come together to
discuss what they have read and
form a general thesis about the topic.
The Jigsaw Method gives students access to a variety of
sophisticated texts that they encounter in the real world
(Time, The Atlantic, Newsweek) and shows them how what we
discuss in class (fiction) has an inherent connection to
modern life and social discourse.
The students engage with this because they become “masters”
of their article and have freedom in choosing a particular
piece.
For a discussion on gender:
Example 4: The Scarlet Letter
Use images
from social
media to
introduce the
concept of
the effects
of shame and
public
humiliation
before
reading The
Scarlet
Letter.
Is your reaction to these sets of images the same? Why?
Is This Effective?
What is the relationship between an individual and Society?
What are the effects of hidden and revealed “Sin”?
Example 5: Civil Rights Era
What caused the
Civil Rights
Movement?
What were the results
of the Civil Rights
Movement?
1997
1957
“Segregation Now, Segregation Tomorrow, Segregation Always”
“1963 Inaugural
Address” and
responses to it.
“Southern Man,” Neil Young
“Sweet Home Alabama” Lynyrd Skynyrd
I saw cotton
And I saw black
Tall white mansions
And little shacks.
Southern man
When will you
Pay them back?
I heard screamin'
And bullwhips cracking
How long? How long?
...Southern change
Gonna come at last
Now your crosses
Are burning fast
Southern man
Well I heard Mister Young sing about
her
Well I heard ole Neil put her down
Well, I hope Neil Young will remember
A southern man don't need him around
anyhow...
In Birmingham they love the Gov'nor,
boo-hoo-hoo
Now we all did what we could do
Now Watergate does not bother me
Does your conscience bother you.
Tell the truth.
Sweet home Alabama
Where the skies are so blue
Sweet home Alabama
Lord, I'm coming home to you, here I
come
Example : Gatsby Songs
On Gatsby's 'love' for Daisy
On Myrtle Wilson
On Daisy
On Nick leaving New York
On Gatsby’s Party
On Gatsby's Guests
Find a quote, song lyric, a
song title that you think
embodies one of the main
relationships or conflicts
within The Great Gatsby.
Provide an example, AND the
source (singer, writer,
etc), AND explain how this
is significant/reflective of
one of the
relationships/conflicts, and
which one, and why.
Example 5: Mythology in the Real World
Example 5: Works by Benjamin Franklin
Use clips from The
Office to underscore
Franklin’s biography,
his audience, the
purpose of his
Autobiography, and the
use of aphorisms in Poor
Richard’s Almanac.
Conclusion
We know that English class has inherent real world value that
informs the way our students think of themselves, of history,
of their world. If we illuminate these connections in the
classroom, the students will begin to see them on their own
outside of the classroom.
Kim Kotty (Fenwick H.S.)- kim.kotty@yahoo.com
Georgia Schulte (Glenbard D87)- georgia.schulte@gmail.com
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