The short story suggested is "Hills Like White Elephants" which can be found in the following link:
http://www.hamiltoncps.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Hills-Like-White-Elephant-Story.pdf
Even though the vocabulary used is not very difficult, I would use this piece of literature in a class of 2º Bachiller, since the topic of the story - abortion- is quite controversial. Besides, abortion is not specifically treated, but students have to guess about it from what they read. In order to understand the text better, some activities have been proposed in order that they learn more about the author and reflect upon the text. The activities have been divided into pre-treatment, treatment, and post-treatment activities, and they are going to be listed below.
PRE-TREATMENT ACTIVITIES:
- Activity 1: The students will be read the following quotation by the author:
"All good books have one thing in common- they are truer than if they had really happened" (Ernest Hemingway)
They will be asked to go to BRAINYQUOTE and look for one or two quotes by Hemingway and post them on edmodo
- Activity 2: The students will be given the following introduction. With the introduction and the title, the students will discuss in groups on what they think the story is about.
First published in transition in August of 1927, “Hills Like White Elephants” became an important piece in Hemingway's second collection of short stories, Men Without Women. Hemingway wrote the story soon after the publication of his 1926 novel, The Sun Also Rises, while living in Paris. Men Without Women was well-received, as were Hemingway’s other early works. He was embraced by the expatriate literary community in Paris and received strong reviews on his work in the United States and abroad. Although he continued to write novels and stories throughout his career, the early short stories are often considered to be among his finest works. ‘‘Hills Like White Elephants,’’ a widely-anthologized and much-discussed story, offers a glimpse at the spare prose and understated dialogue that represents Hemingway’s mastery of style.
The story, told nearly in its entirety through dialogue, is a conversation between a young woman and a man waiting for a train in Spain. As they talk, it becomes clear that the young woman is pregnant and that the man wants her to have an abortion. Through their tight, brittle conversation, much is revealed about their personalities. At the same time, much about their relationship remains hidden. At the end of the story it is still unclear as to what decision has or has not been made, or what will happen to these two characters waiting for a train on a platform in Spain (http://www.enotes.com/hills-like-white-elephants).
TREATMENT ACTIVITIES
Activity 1. Choose a scene from the text and create a video using Go Animate (direct link on tools). You can invent the dialogue or copy it.
Activity 2. In pairs or small groups (4 people at much) you will have to create a photo novel. For doing so, you will have to take pictures of you representing the story and then in Glogster upload them and add some short dialogues that summarize the plot. (Direct link of Glogster in Tools)
POST-TREATMENT ACTIVITIES
Activity 1. Discussion. What do you think the two characters are talking about? Do you think that the title is related to the text?
Then explain that the text is about abortion, and that the white elephants in Eastern cultures are considered to be very valuable animals, and even the symbol of strength and power. This may be related to the willpower of the girl, and as well compare how valuable the unborn child is to the girl, just as white elephants in Eastern cultures.
Activity 2. Watch the following video about the short story Hills Like White Elephants. Then discuss with your partners whether you found many differences between the text and the video. Make a short list.
Activity 3. Writing. Abortion: for or against?
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