 Polyphemus Moth I am not a lover of insects. Some of them I can admire, but mostly I avoid them as much as possible. It matters not whether they are venomous or harmless. I am eternally thankful that a large six-inch preying mantis fell next to me on a chair at the laundromat and NOT in my hair. I don't think I would be living to tell this tale. How, then, did I end up engrossed by a book on moths? I even count this among some of my favorite non-fiction. It all goes back to reading A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter. In it, Elnora earns money to pay for her textbooks by collecting moths for a scientist. Through that fictitious world, I developed an interest in learning more about them. It turns out that Stratton-Porter was truly interested in moths and wrote a whole book about them, "Moths of the Limberlost." She made me see the exquisite beauty of moths. Reading, goes far beyond making us literate, but can take us down other paths and open doors into another world that we might not peer into otherwise.
Are you looking for a high school literature course for this fall? Check out my year long class on World Literature & Composition. Starts Aug. 26, 2021 - Thursdays 1:30-2:30 p.m. EST.
I like to give my students an opportunity to be creative in demonstrating what they have learned. It is not necessary for them to always write essays. Open-ended projects such as these online interactive posters teach them to think and plan as well as to show what they have gleaned. The first is a study of The House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The second is on "Evangeline" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
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Renee MetcalfWhere will you find me when I am not teaching? For your reading pleasure!
August 2023
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