Pride and Prejudice Session #3 - Society, Marriage and Theme

This was by far my favourite session with our students thus far!! I was amazed at their depth of insight and maturity despite the fact that they are all 15 and under! 

To start with I had them get into groups do this chart comparing society in the 1800's to now. Then we came back together and discussed it.
They did a great job finding the reasons behind the differences during our discussion - we touched on everything from the class system in Britain to the limited ways that women could make money. These students took this discussion beyond what I had hoped!

Next I had them get in groups again and answer the questions on marriage from this sheet. All I can say is WOW - if they can apply their thoughts on marriage to their lives they will have very happy marriages! I asked them many other questions when we got back together and they expanded on the discussion.

Finally I used a list of themes and I had get into pairs and circle the ones they saw in Pride and Prejudice. We then went over the many themes and why they thought they applied to the book.
What a rich study!!! 

The students did a dress rehearsal and then put on Pride and Prejudice for us moms! What a joy it is to see them acting with their peers! They certainly are willing to be vulnerable with each other and laugh!

These performances not only help solidify the piece of literature, but they help to solidify the time period, the language, the culture and so much more! What a blessing this session was!!