Write a story of your own emotional development from childhood through adolescence or adulthood (whichever is appropriate) following the method laid out by Oates in "Four Summers". Do this by writing about an event or events in four different summers.

Reflect on your own experiences as a fourteen-year-old. Is Oates's representation of Sissie's thinking and behavior in the third section typical of someone that age? Discuss as a class.

Compose a list of your parents' character traits, and then compare them with the lists of other students. Do you notice traits in your parents that you feel you want to emulate or escape? Evaluate in groups why or how you might take on or deny certain traits, describing how social and economic conditions have shaped your outlooks and observations.

Break up into four groups. Each group is charged with adapting one section...