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The Bell Jar: by Sylvia Plath

Pre-reading Strategy: Internet Research

The students will work in small groups of three or four, looking up information on a topic related to mental health practices in the 50's and 60's.  I want this activity to uncover some of the methods used in the novel, such as shock therapy and a particular brand of communal living that were common to the era.  Each group will choose a topic on their own, or I can help them, and then they will be given time to look things up on the internet and record useful information.  I will be encouraging them to cite their sources as accurately as possible, with the intention that they get some more practice making this a habit.  They will eventually come together as a class and give short speeches to the other groups.  By this method, the class will gain a little background knowledge that should really help when we start reading the book. 

Some possible topics to look up might include:

	gender differences in treatment of patients
	gender differences in diagnosis
	typical 'cures' for ailments
	common practices or methods for particular ailments
	controversial or influential figures in psychology and psychiatry
	relevant statistics about how many people were treated
	relevant statistics about what populations were treated

Click the link below to see a formal lesson plan for this activity.  The document is available in either Adobe Acrobat or Microsoft Word formats.

Internet Research Lesson Plan     or   [MS Word]

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