As I sit here in the middle of summer, surrounded by curriculum guides and sticky notes, I can’t help but feel excited about the upcoming school year. Why? Because I’m in the process of completely revamping my literature unit, and I’m slicing in critical media analysis and bringing in Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter.

I find myself sketching out what might be my most ambitious unit yet: a six-week exploration of transmedia storytelling, inspired by Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” and classic literature. Here’s a peek into my thought process and hopes for this upcoming adventure.

The Spark of an Idea

When Beyoncé dropped Cowboy Carter, something clicked. As I listened to the album on repeat (for planning purposes, of course), I started seeing connections everywhere. The themes, the storytelling, the way Beyoncé challenges genre norms – it all resonated with so many classic novels we study. That’s when I thought about critical media analysis: what if we used Cowboy Carter as a lens to examine literature?

The Dream Unit: A 4-Week Journey

Here’s what I’m envisioning for this dream unit:

Week 1-2: Laying the Foundations

We’ll kick off by introducing Cowboy Carter alongside our choice novels (“Dracula,” “In the Time of the Butterflies,” and “Things Fall Apart“). We’ll explore narrative structures, world-building techniques, and how perspective shapes storytelling across different media.

Week 3-4: Diving Deeper

These weeks will focus on cultural context, intertextuality, and audience. We’ll examine how each work educates or challenges narratives, from Beyoncé’s exploration of Black artists in country music to the historical contexts of our novels.

Week 5: Transmedia Deep Dive

Here’s where it gets really exciting as we start really getting into critical media analysis. We’ll analyze Beyoncé’s album rollout as a transmedia storytelling campaign and brainstorm how our novels could be adapted across different platforms. 

Week 6: Creation and Reflection

The grand finale: students will turn their choice novel into a multi-platform story using techniques we’ve studied, incorporating elements of historical education and resistance narratives. And, borrowing from my earlier plans, they’ll also develop a concept album based on their chosen novel.

The Goals (or, What Keeps Me Up at Night Planning)

As I sketch out this unit, I’m focusing on a few key objectives:

1. Cross-Pollination of Ideas: By constantly drawing connections between “Cowboy Carter,” classic novels, and modern media strategies, I hope students will develop a more holistic understanding of storytelling.
2. Critical Media Analysis: I want students to become more conscious consumers and potential creators of transmedia narratives.
3. Historical and Cultural Awareness: Through exploring the contexts of both “Cowboy Carter” and our novels, students will gain a deeper appreciation of how art reflects and shapes society.
4. Creative Expression: The concept album project and transmedia campaign will allow students to apply their learning in creative, hands-on ways.
5. Collaborative Skills: Group discussions, jigsaw activities, and final projects will foster teamwork and communication skills.

The Challenges (or, What I’m Slightly Nervous About)

Of course, planning this unit isn’t all daydreams and excitement. I have my share of concerns:

1. Balancing Depth and Breadth: Covering three novels, an album, and transmedia concepts in six weeks is ambitious. I’ll need to carefully curate our focus.
2. Assessment Complexity: Evaluating creative, multi-platform projects will require developing new, comprehensive rubrics.
3. Maintaining Novel Engagement: With so much focus on transmedia elements, I need to ensure students are still deeply engaging with their chosen novels.

These are the main points I’m really grappling with as I continue to refine my plans.

Conclusion

As I continue to refine this unit plan, I’m filled with a mix of excitement and nervous energy. Will students make the connections I’m hoping for? Will they be as excited about this transmedia approach as I am? What if they are not able to transfer the skills of a novel to critical media analysis?

One thing’s for sure: this planning process has already transformed how I think about teaching literature. I’m excited about embracing modern storytelling techniques, and breathing new life into classic texts. I hope this strategy can help students see the relevance of literature in their media-saturated world.

Have you ever incorporated transmedia elements into your teaching? What challenges and triumphs did you experience? Share your thoughts in the comments – let’s learn from each other as we navigate this exciting new frontier in education!