In this highly interactive class, students will read and analyze the works of several influential female authors.  At the beginning of each class, I will give a writing prompt related to the day's reading.  Students will have three minutes to answer the prompt and will then have an opportunity to share their responses.

I will then present an author bio and discuss her contributions to literature, as well as her motivation for writing the piece we are studying. Next, we will analyze the reading for literary elements and theme.  The syllabus is as follows:

Meeting 1
Emily Dickinson's "Hope is the Thing With Feathers" and Emily Bronte's "Hope" (poems)

Meetings 2 
Maya Angelou, "Caged Bird" and "Alone" (poems)

Meetings 3 & 4
Amy Tan, "Fish Cheeks" (memoir) and "Two Kinds" (short story)

Meeting 5
Shirley Jackson "The Lottery" (short story)

Meetings 6, 7, & 8 (novel)
"The House on Mango Street," by Sandra Cisneros. "The House on Mango Street is the remarkable story of Esperanza Cordero, a young Latina girl growing up in Chicago, inventing for herself who and what she will become. Told in a series of vignettes--sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes deeply joyous--Sandra Cisneros' masterpiece is a classic story of childhood and self-discovery. Few other books in our time have touched so many readers" (Amazon.com).

My teaching style is engaging as I encourage student participation and ideas.  I consider my classroom to be a safe place where students can freely express themselves without judgement.  It is my hope that by taking this class, students will want to read more poems, short stories, and novels by these brilliant writers.

***Some of this literature addresses mature topics, so parents should familiarize themselves before enrolling their learner***

***I offer optional writing assessments for this class***