Tag Archives: Teaching Tools

6 September 2023Teaching ToolsCreative Writing, Fiction, Leuphana, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, Leuphana University Lüneburg, Storytelling, Teaching Tools, WritingJanina Malena Sähn

It’s A Wrap: Beginning with Endings

By Maryann Henck

At the end of the semester, I always like to include a wrap-up exercise for one final creative writing task: “It’s a Wrap” – which also seems to be a fitting way to say goodbye to the American Studies Blog this September. Here’s how the task works:

Select endings from novels or short stories without revealing the original source. These are some of my favorite choices:I really, truly wish he hadn’t said that. I keep thinking about it. I can’t stop. I don’t have anything else to add. I just wanted to make sure I had the last word. I think I’ve earned that. (Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn)
“It’s because I’m concentrating on my thesis, I don’t worry about other stuff. Nobody asked if Freud checked the use-by date on the milk.” “They didn’t have use-by dates in the early twentieth century.” It was incredible that two such dissimilar people had become a successful couple. (The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion)

Through the windows a strange subterranean light was rising, barely distinguishable from darkness. I felt change far beneath me, moving deep beneath the surface of things, like the plates of the earth blindly moving in their black traces. I found my bag, and my car keys, and I let myself silently out of the house. (Transit by Rachel Cusk)

…Also I’ve begun to feel he’s the only person who knows anything about me. Maybe because I’ve never hit anyone else with a bottle, so they never got to see that part of me. Neither did I come to think of it. It did make a mess; but then, I don’t think I’ll ever be a very tidy person. (Lady Oracle by Margaret Atwood)
Ask participants to write a piece of short fiction (350–700 words) using the selected ending as a prompt for beginning their stories.
Keep your promise and reveal the original literary sources to your participants once they’ve completed the task.

In the following story, “Who’s Getting Crowned,” the ending from Alan Bennett’s The Uncommon Reader inspired me to create a meeting between the Queen and her most loyal subjects. Enjoy!

17 May 2023Teaching ToolsCreative Writing, Dogs, Leuphana, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, Leuphana University Lüneburg, National Pet Month, Rescue Dog, Stories, Teaching Tools, WritingJanina Malena Sähn

An A‑May-zing Month for Animals

By Maryann Henck

I like to think of May as one of the most amazing months – not only because it’s National Pet Month, but also because May 20 is National Rescue Dog Day in the United States. Let’s face it: Pets are so much more than just cute companions – they are fluffy family and friends as well as endless sources of comfort, joy, and hope. But what about all those animals out there who don’t have a human to look after them, love them back, and maybe even save them from horrible fates?

14 December 2022Teaching ToolsCreative Writing, George Saunders, HAS, Human-Animal Studies, Leuphana, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, Leuphana University Lüneburg, narrative, Teaching Tools, vocabulary, WritingJanina Malena Sähn

What Does the Fox Say? A Simple Tale with a Plethora of Possibilities

By Maryann Henck

When I first read George Saunders’ fable-like tale, Fox 8, I initially felt amused, then sad, and finally outraged. I also felt a blog brewing – not of the book review variety but of the teaching tool/creativity corner variety. For starters, Fox 8 is less of a charming bedtime story for children – who will no doubt enjoy it – and more of a darkly comic cautionary tale for adults. The titular first-person narrator takes the readers on a journey through his life as a fox who lives and forages with his fellow foxes in the forest. Fox forest life is running smoothly until Fox 8 has his first confusing encounter with humans, which results in conflicting feelings.

2 March 2022Teaching ToolsAmerican Indian Digital History Project, Apache, Canada, Colonalization, Contemporary Indigenous Culture, DJ Shub, Emma Stevens, Geronimo, Indigenous History, Indigenous People, Invasion of America, Leuphana, Leuphana University Lüneburg, Native American, Robby Romeo and Red Thunder, Sisters, Smithsonian National Museum, Smithsonian National Museum of American Indian, Stereotypes, Supaman, Teaching Native History, Teaching Tools, United States, Unlearning StereotypesHenrike Kattoll

Teaching Native North America: A Continuing Challenge

By Christoph Strobel

Intellectual legacies of colonization play a powerful role in shaping how mainstream U.S. and global society has come to see Native Americans. Artwork from the 19^th and 20^th centuries – such as James Earle Fraser’s sculpture, “The End of the Trail” – have helped to create the image of Native Americans on horseback as representations most associated with Indigenous populations of North America. Type “Native American” into a search engine, and you’ll likely get many historical images of Great Plains Indians. In parts of Europe as well, the perception of Native Americans has been shaped in unique ways by authors like Karl May and the later movies based on his books. Without a doubt, our students’ perceptions about Native Americans are influenced by these fantasies and representations.

2 February 2022Teaching ToolsAfrican American History, American History, Aretha Franklin, Beyoncé, Black History, Black History Month, Center for Racial Justice Education, Claytee White, Confederate Flag, Don Cornelius, Education, Harriet Tubman, Jay-Z, Leuphana, Leuphana University Lüneburg, Nancy Dome, Nic Stone, Racial Justice, Racism, Soul Train, Teaching ToolsHenrike Kattoll

Setting the Stage for Black History Month

By Sabrina Völz

Photo Credit: “Woman holds up sign at the Black Lives Matter protest in Washington DC 6/6/2020” by Clay Banks

It’s that time of year again. February 1 marks the beginning of Black History Month. Before I suggest some useful resources, let’s briefly look at its origins.

Fact 1: The United States is not the only country to officially celebrate it. In addition to our neighbors to the North, who also celebrate this time of remembrance in February, the Irish and the United Kingdom observe Black History Month in October.

Fact 2: The roots of Black History Month in the U.S. can be traced back to historian Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, who together marked the second week of February – which coincides with Abraham Lincoln’s birthday – as Negro history week in 1926.

Fact 3: Even the Great Emancipator had his failures, and so it’s undoubtedly best that in 1969 students at Kent State moved to celebrate the contributions and culture of Black Americans for an entire month, instead of placing President Lincoln, who upheld the mass public hanging of 38 Dakota Sioux on December 26, 1862, in the center of their celebrations.

So, if your school has never celebrated Black History Month before, it’s never too late to get on that ‘soul train’. And since we didn’t want to leave you in the lurch, we’ve provided a list of some suitable blogs we’ve published over the years on subjects, ranging from cultural icons, such as Aretha Franklin, Don Cornelius, and Beyoncé, to best books and fabulous films dealing with Black identity and history. You’ll also find information on some current controversies:

13 May 2020Teaching ToolsAmerican Yawp, British Library, Digital Learning, Digital Teaching Tools, Google Lit Trips, Leuphana, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, Library of Congress, National Archives, Remote Learning, Smithsonian Institute, Teaching Materials, Teaching ToolsHenrike Kattoll

Remote Learning with American Studies

By Carolyn Blume, Andreas Hübner, Michaela Keck

With this fifth blog, we are coming to the end or our series on digital teaching tools. We hope that you’ve been inspired by some of the American Studies links ranging from the heart-warming and hilarious antics of humans and animals to the more scholarly posts on Academic Earth.

Make Way for Ducklings by Nancy Schön in Boston Public Garden

Google Lit Trips

By Carolyn Blume

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” Mark Twain