### Year 11 Language Arts Lesson Plan: Literary Criticism
**Lesson Title**: Introduction to Literary Criticism
**Subject**: Language Arts
**Grade Level**: Year 11
**Duration**: 75 minutes
**Learning Objectives**:
1. Students will understand the purpose and scope of literary criticism.
2. Students will become familiar with different critical approaches.
3. Students will apply basic literary criticism to a selected text.
**Materials Needed**:
- Copies of a selected literary text (short story or poem)
- Whiteboard and markers
- Projector and computer
- Handouts with excerpts from different critical approaches (e.g., formalist, feminist, Marxist)
- Notebooks and pens
**Common Core Standards**:
- RL.11-12.1: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
- RL.11-12.2: Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyse their development.
- RL.11-12.5: Analyse how an author's choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text contribute to its overall structure and meaning.
### Lesson Plan
**1. Introduction (10 minutes)**
- Begin with a brief discussion on what literary criticism is and why it is important. Ask students: "What do you think 'literary criticism' involves?"
- Explain that literary criticism helps us understand, interpret, and evaluate texts more deeply. It's like having a conversation about literature to uncover deeper meanings.
**2. Mini-Lecture on Critical Approaches (15 minutes)**
- Provide a brief overview of various critical approaches:
- **Formalist Criticism**: Focuses on the form and structure of the text itself.
- **Feminist Criticism**: Examines how texts represent gender and explores themes of femininity, masculinity, and gender inequality.
- **Marxist Criticism**: Looks at texts through the lens of class struggle, power dynamics, and materialism.
- **Psychoanalytic Criticism**: Analyses texts based on Freudian psychology and the unconscious mind.
- **Postcolonial Criticism**: Explores the impacts of colonialism on cultures and societies.
- Use the projector to display key points for each approach and provide examples from known texts.
**3. Group Activity: Applying Critical Approaches (25 minutes)**
- Divide students into small groups and assign each group a different critical approach from the handout.
- Provide each group with a copy of the selected literary text (e.g., a poem by William Blake or a short story by Katherine Mansfield).
- Instruct each group to read the text and analyse it according to their assigned critical approach. They should take notes on their observations and prepare to share their findings with the class.
**4. Group Presentations (10 minutes)**
- Have each group present their analysis to the class. Encourage them to explain how their critical approach shaped their understanding of the text.
- After each presentation, open the floor for questions and short discussions to help other students see the text from different perspectives.
**5. Individual Reflection and Writing (10 minutes)**
- Ask students to spend the remaining time writing a brief reflection on which critical approach they found most interesting and why.
- Prompt them to consider how using multiple critical approaches can enrich their understanding of a text.
**6. Conclusion and Homework Assignment (5 minutes)**
- Summarize key points discussed in the lesson.
- For homework, assign students to select a text of their choosing and write a short essay analysing it using one of the critical approaches introduced in class.
**Assessment**:
- Informal assessment through observation of group discussions and presentations.
- Formal assessment through the homework essay, considering their ability to apply a critical approach and support their analysis with textual evidence.
**Differentiation**:
- Additional support will be provided to students who struggle with reading comprehension or analysis, such as one-on-one guidance.
- Advanced students can be encouraged to use more than one critical approach in their homework essay to compare and contrast different perspectives.
**Extension**:
- Interested students can be given additional readings on more complex theories like Structuralism, Deconstruction, or Ecocriticism.
**Note**:
- It's important to foster an inclusive environment where all perspectives are respected, and students feel comfortable sharing their ideas.