In Which I Become a Teacher :)

For some time I have been thinking about starting some classes...as in teaching some classes for my younger siblings. Something I love that they aren't already doing right now. A fabulous idea was percolating for some time in the back of my mind and at last I asked Mama and secured her permission. In addition to my Butcher, Baker and Candlestick maker duties, I am taking on the position of an English Literature teacher. I am so excited about this and have grand plans! I'll be teaching two of my younger sisters, Leah and Anna. (Grades 9 and 6, respectively)
In my last two years of high-school, Sarah and I went through a literature-based unit study called Where the Brook and River Meet. We loved it. The author of this guide went through a very thorough study of the Victorian Era based off of Anne of Green Gables. Rabbit-trails were followed and explored, I gained a love for the amazingly beautiful poetry of that era, I learned about customs, fashion, culture, history, and more. I am seeking to do rather this style of teaching for my English Lit. class.
I decided to start with Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. My younger sisters already love this movie and I figured that reading the book would be perfect because it would retain their attention while at the same time accustoming their ears to the voice of finer literature. After we go through P&P, we'll continue onto something a bit more challenging, then even more challenging, and so on. I can't wait to begin classes, for English literature is so dear to my own heart, I can't wait to help my sisters love it too!

Here is a sample lesson-plan. (I intend for our lessons to be amusing and entertaining. :)

Pride and Prejudice

(Chapters 1 & 2)

Reading Comprehension:

Chapter One:

1. How much money per year is Mr.Bingley entitled to? (4 or 5,000 pounds)
2. When did Mr. Bennet say he would visit the young men of the neighborhood? (When there were twenty of them.)
3. What was the business of Mrs. Bennet's life? (To get her daughters married)
4. What was the solace of her life? (Visiting, and news.)

Chapter Two: 

1. What do we know of Lydia Bennet, thus far? (She is "good-humored", "The youngest," and "the tallest" of the girls.)
2. Who was the woman Mrs. Bennet despaired of being generous enough to introduce the Bennet Family to Mr. Bingley? (Mrs. Long)
3. How many nieces had Mrs. Long? (two)
4. What was Mrs. Bennet's excuse for vowing to "dislike" the making of new acquaintances every day? (She and her husband were advancing in age)

 

Vocabulary:

Define these words in the Webster's 1828 dictionary*:

chaise

design (in its more abstract sense. i.e. "He had a design to visit them.")

scrupulous

solace

circumspection

deign

conjecture

*I am choosing this dictionary because the definitions will be closest to those during Jane Austen's time of life.

Culture:

In Chapter Two it is mentioned that Elizabeth Bennet was trimming a hat. Research the kinds of hats popular during the 1790's. (Jane Austen began writing Pride and Prejudice in 1796) What sort of materials might Lizzy have been using to trim her hat? Which of the styles would look best on you? :)

In Chapter Two Mr. Bennet and Mrs. Bennet have a discussion over the importance of being introduced to a stranger by someone who was already acquainted with the person. Why could they not introduce themselves as we do today? Read about introductions on page 55 of What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew.

That will be their first lesson, and I hope to include more and more activities to do...too bad we haven't any Regency-Era estates in our corner of VA... ;) There are so many possibilities with this sort of study...we could expand into music, art, history, sewing, fashion, grammar, etc. It's quite astonishing what one can pull out of a period-novel. :) I will also be letting the girls read the chapter aloud and instructing them on how to read aloud properly. (Some people bull through, oblivious to all punctuation. It results in mayhem. Believe me. :)

How does this new plan sound? I'll keep you updated on how they're liking me as a teacher, and the lessons as a whole. :D