Literary Lesson Presentation

I collaborated with my peers in the English cohort to prepare a literary lesson presentation on key terms in English Language Arts. My part of the presentation focused on allusions and how to teach them to students effectively. I began by sharing the definition of allusion. Then, I provided examples of mythical allusions in a complex text -- Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. To make the content accessible, I gave examples of allusions in a popular song, “Blessings (Reprise),” by the artist Chance the Rapper. I included this example because it alluded to topics students were familiar with, like the Disney animated film The Lion King. For students to understand complex allusions like the ones in Shakespeare’s writing, a teacher must begin by drawing on their background knowledge and using the things they are familiar with as stepping stones. Following those examples, I asked the audience to engage by identifying allusions in songs that they already knew and asking them to analyze the lyric and how the allusion contributes to the more significant meaning of the text. This is a culturally responsive practice that I have used in my classroom.