Fresh Takes on Teaching Literary
Elements: Lessons and Activities to
Deepen Comprehension – Part II
Connecting Life to Literature
And
Literature Back to Life
Jeffrey D. Wilhelm
Boise State University
Theory: Understanding Setting
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Activity Theory/CHAT
Any human activity- both internal and external - is in
fact allowed, encouraged, and shaped by situations and
the social dynamics of the particular situation in which
it occurs
All human activity governed by cultural goals and rules
Situated Cognition
All learning is situated and is coproduced by the setting
and situation – Herbert Simon’s scissors
(info-transmission and standardized testing are just two
examples of how current cognitive science in violated
Essential Questions for Setting
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How does culture (or other settings) shape who
we are?
What do we need to know to live in Indonesian
culture?
To what extent does time and place dictate who
you are and what you can do?
To what extent is the American dream accessible
to all?
What is a hero, according to the Greeks vs. the
Romans?
Reframe a unit so it focuses on setting . . .
Setting: A Heuristic
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Levels of setting
Microculture: your classroom
Mesoculture: your school and community
Macroculture: the political and cultural situation
of U.S.A. in 2009
Microculture: East Egg
Mesoculture: East Coast of U.S.
Macroculture: The Power Structure of Wealth
and Status during the 1920s
Setting as
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Physical location
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Think of your own life. You are invited to a party. Is it
the address that counts? The street itself? The
neighborhood? The traffic, which side of the tracks the
address is on, what properties abut the property,
whether it is an area of industry, business or homes?
Depending on various considerations, it will depend.
And depending on what topic, conflict, or point will be
explored or expressed in a story, writers and readers
will need to attend to different details..
Setting as
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Temporal: the period or era; the duration of
time the story spans
Past, present, future or hypothetical/fantastical
past, present or future
“The Story of an Hour”, One Day in the Life of
Ivan Denisovich, Legends of the Fall
Setting as
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Social and Psychological; the human dimension
This includes the mood/feeling of the setting,
the culture and cultural constraints of the
setting, and the resulting effect on characters
Beer Alley vs. Gin Lane