Teaching The Jilting of Granny Weatherall

Instructions for You

Objective: Katherine Anne Porter makes it pretty clear from the title that this story's all about a certain granny. So that's where we'll begin: with a closer look at how Grandma Weatherall's doing.

In this one-hour activity, which can take place after the doctor returns for the second time, the students will break into groups of three, taking up the perspective of either Cornelia, the doctor, or Granny. They're going to stay in character to assess Granny's current situation.

When all's said and done, the students will swap their pieces and analyze one another's work to see whether they captured the essence of how their specific character would see the situation.

Let's do this.

Materials Needed: a copy of the text and/or our Shmoop summary page

Step 1: Get the students to break into groups of three to get things rolling. They can choose who'll be Granny, the doctor, and Cornelia. Each person's going to envision how his or her character perceives Granny's current situation and write a short piece about it.

Step 2: Each piece will describe, from their character's perspective, how Granny's doing. For example, Granny W might say something like

"I'm perfectly fine, thank you very much. If anything is causing me detriment, it is the constant disturbances by a variety of different people, whose one similarity is their tendency to annoy me relentlessly. The most recent was Doctor Harry, who wouldn't accept that I did not require his assistance: I subsequently told him to 'take your schoolbooks and go.'"

Have students reread the first section for ten minutes to refresh their memories.

Step 3: Next, have students spend ten minutes brainstorming ideas, considering what they'll say exactly about Granny and how she's doing (physically and psychologically).

Step 4: The last ten minutes will be spent writing the piece. The students should stick to the following guidelines:

• The piece should be around 150 to 200 words long.
• All ideas should refer to specific parts of the story.
• There should be at least one key quote included.
• It should be written in first person, in the voice of the chosen character.

Step 5: When everyone's finished writing, they should swap their pieces around. They're going to critically analyze another group member's piece.

Step 6: Here are a few guidelines for the students to follow as they're writing their critical analysis:

• It should be written in the third person.
• It should be written informatively.
• The critical analysis should be concerned with whether the student has accurately depicted the character's perception of Granny's wellbeing by this point in the story.
• It should be around 200 to 250 words long.
• All ideas should be supported by reference to the text.

They've got 20 minutes to get this together.

Step 7: Homework time. The students can take home the work by another member of their group that they haven't seen. They're going to critically analyze it in the same manner as Step 6.

A little creative writing, a little analysis, and we'll call it a day.

Instructions for Your Students

Katherine Anne Porter makes it pretty clear from the title that this story is all about a certain granny. So that's where we'll begin: with a closer look at how Grandma Weatherall's doing.

Today you'll break into groups of three, with each member taking on either Cornelia, the doctor, or Granny's perspective. You're going to stay in character to assess Granny's current situation.

When all's said and done, you're going to swap your pieces and analyze one another's work to see whether your fellow students captured the essence of how their specific character would see the situation.

Let's do this.

Step 1: Break into groups of three to get things rolling. You can choose who'll be Granny, the doctor, and Cornelia. Each person's going to envision how his or her character perceives Granny's current situation and write a short piece about it.

Step 2: You're going to be putting together a short written piece that describes, from your character's perspective, how Granny's doing. For example, Granny W might say something like

"I'm perfectly fine, thank you very much. If anything is causing me detriment, it is the constant disturbances by a variety of different people, whose one similarity is their tendency to annoy me relentlessly. The most recent was Doctor Harry, who wouldn't accept that I did not require his assistance: I subsequently told him to 'take your schoolbooks and go.'"

First, you'll reread the first section for ten minutes to refresh your memory.

Step 3: Next, spend ten minutes brainstorming ideas, considering what you'll say exactly about Granny and how she's doing (physically and psychologically).

Step 4: The last ten minutes will be spent writing the piece. You should stick to the following guidelines:

• The piece should be around 150 to 200 words long.
• All ideas should refer to specific parts of the story (creativity is appreciated but within reason).
• There should be at least one key quote included.
• It should be written in first person, as the character.

Step 5: When everyone's finished writing, you'll swap your pieces around with your fellow group members. You're going to critically analyze someone else's piece.

Step 6: Here are a few guidelines to follow as you're writing their critical analysis:

• It should be written in the third person.
• It should be written informatively.
• The critical analysis should be concerned with whether your fellow student has accurately depicted the character's perception of Granny's wellbeing by this point in the story.
• It should be around 200 to 250 words long.
• All ideas should be supported by reference to the text.

You've got 20 minutes to get this together.

Step 7: Homework time. You're going to take home the work by the another member of your group that you haven't seen and critically analyze it in the same manner as Step 6.

A little creative writing, a little analysis, and we'll call it a day.