Report on Classes with High School Students (高大連携)
Taras Alexander Sak

On August 5th, I taught two 90-minute classes to 23 hard-working and highly motivated Hiroshima-area high school students.  We all had a great time learning--and using English--together!  This year, I taught about American Literature (the lecture title was「あなたにもあの作品が読める!―高校生のためのアメリカ文学入門」).



After a short introduction to the American Civil War (in Japanese, 南北戦争), which lasted from 1861-1865, we began learning about two novels (小説) that are set around that important event.  The first class period mainly focused on Little Women (『若草物語』), which was published in 1868.  We learned about Louisa May Alcott, the author of Little Women, and about her life, career, and family.  Then, we listened to an audio file of a few pages while taking notes (and "shadowing" as we listened); after that, we read aloud with a partner/small group and checked our understanding.  Finally, we watched scenes from a movie adaptation and had a short discussion.



In the second period, which began after the students had a short lunch break, we listened, took notes, read aloud, and watched one more scene from Little Women before moving on to the second novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (『ハックルベリー・フィンの冒険』), which was published in 1884.  First, we learned about the author, Mark Twain, and his interesting connection to Tokyo Disneyland.  After that, we heard about his career and about this great book, which has become a children's classic.  Finally, we read a few pages, then watched a movie adaptation, before concluding.



During the individual class sessions, we took a few photographs, which you can see on this page (with the students' permission).  It was a great day and I hope to see all of the students again on our campus!