Using Meyer's Twilight in the secondary classroom

Abstract

Stephenie Meyer's series Twilight has swept the nation and the world. Everywhere you go, the names Edward and Bella seem to have punctured the vernacular. People are obsessed with the characters, the movie, the actors, and the author. Mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters all around the world are reading the series. The first Twilight novel has been in the top 100 bestsellers list on Amazon.com for 735 days (Amazon.com, 2009). The four book series has been on the New York Times Best Sellers list for 121 weeks as of December 4, 2009 (NY times.com, 2009). The book has also been translated into 20 different languages ("Bio", n.d.). The Twilight movie premiered in November 2008 at number one, bringing in 70 million dollars during its opening weekend ("Bio", n.d.). But one just has to walk into a bookstore or even Wal-Mart with their giant book and memorabilia displays to understand the Twilight phenomenon. This study considers how this young adult novel can be transformed into a learning opportunity for secondary students. The study explores in-depth the use of young adult novels in the classroom and their ability to teach students various concepts. The main focus of this research is Twilight and how it can be used in the classroom to teach canonical literary elements such as symbolism and author's purpose.

Notes

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Thesis Completion

2010

Degree

Bachelor of Science (B.S.)

College

College of Education

Degree Program

English Language Arts Education

Subjects

Dissertations, Academic -- Education;Education -- Dissertations, Academic

Format

Print

Identifier

DP0022547

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Document Type

Honors in the Major Thesis

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