As part of the NCTE High School Literature Series, Tim O'Brien in the
Classroom focuses on opportunities for classroom discussion and writing
assignments, including lessons, open-ended prompts, and student writing
samples.
Many students, even those who claim to dislike stories of war or
violence, are drawn to the writing of Tim O'Brien, especially The
Things They Carried. The mysteries and "gray areas" O'Brien explores
make his work a perfect addition to units on the fiction of the Vietnam
War, first-person narrative, modern stories and novels, war stories,
story cycles, and unconventional narrative structures. As part of the
NCTE High School Literature Series, Tim O'Brien in the Classroom
focuses on opportunities for classroom discussion and writing
assignments, including lessons, open-ended prompts, and student writing
samples. By teaching Tim O'Brien's works, you can not only make
connections with other material in the literary canon, but also initiate
broader discussions with your students about the reliability of memory,
the purpose of storytelling, and the origins of fiction.