edited by
Sibylle Gruber
Urbana, IL: NCTE
2000

Katie Fischer's Lessonplan for Literature on the Web

Literature and the Web

To the Student: As a member of our literature class, you recently completed reading Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-five. You are aware that Vonnegut's novel deals with several wars -- most obviously World War II and the Vietnam War. With this background in mind, please travel to the sites listed below:

Part I: During Class

1. First visit Kurt Vonnegut's homepage to find background information on how he feels about war and pacifism and to uncover what his own background might tell you about Billy Pilgrim's story. Make a list of those items from the novel which appear based on fact and those which seem more a created part of the fiction.

http://www.cas.usf.edu/english/boon/vonnegut/kv.html

http://www.spcc.com/ihsw/kv.htm

2. Return to the web and search for information about Vietnam Vets and POWs

http://grunt.space.swri.edu/thepast.htm

3. Visit Senator Tom Harkin's homepage and biography to discover how his political life intersects with POW concerns.

http://www.senate.gov/~harkin/bio.htm

Part II: Before the Next Class

(choose one)

1. Use one of the interactive links or e-mail addresses listed on the pages above and write the person involved responding to material you find at the site. Make sure your write-up attends to both the site and the novel. You might consider questions, comments, or other responses linking the two.

2. Consider Senator Harkin's political action in light of what the novel details about POW treatment and write about how these two events intersect.

3. Reviewing poetry or letters at the Vet site, find evidence of responses to war that either agree or disagree with Pilgrim's reaction to his World War II involvement.

4. Develop your own written response linking the novel to any of the material you found at web sites.
 

NCTE