I. Preparation

Most students have probably read The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle before entering the high school, and know something about Washington Irving. To enjoy the other sketches fully one should know well the man who wrote them, for they are strongly personal. The reader is to travel with Irving, to see things with his eyes, and to consider subjects with his good sense and fine taste. One way to approach the task of teaching the Sketch-Book, then, is to assign for re-reading, or at least for review, the two stories mentioned above, and to awaken a lively interest in the genial man who wrote them. This may involve reversing the usual method of studying the author last.

Washington Irving by Charles Dudley Warner, in the American Men of Letters Series, and The Life and Letters of Washington Irving by Pierre Irving will furnish abundant and interesting material for both teacher and student.

What do we know of Irving's parentage? his characteristics as a boy? his education? his first trip to England? his travels? his friends? his habits? his return from abroad? his military experience? his first literary ventures? his long stay in Europe? his literary successes? his great reception on his return to New York? his life at Sunnyside? his public services?

II. Reading and Study

These sketches should not be read hurriedly but thoughtfully and, as far as time will permit, aloud in class. They contain many fine descriptions which should be used, with the aid of questions and composition exercises, to keep alert the imagination of the pupils. The following are a few of the topics that might be used for oral or written work:

The Author's Account of Himself

The Voyage