On the Road - A Teaching Unit for an Advanced Class

The thesis includes two main parts. In the first part, I will study the age and the general atmosphere of the 1950s and 1960s in the United States. I will look at the importance of this period, concerning culture, literature, entertainment and arts. An important overview of the political and historical events that led to the development of this non-conformist, "angry" era will be given. The focus of the essay shall be reached through the discussion of the most specific novel of the "Beat Generation", namely Jack Kerouac's "On the Road". In the second section of my essay, I will point out and examine two teaching units I prepared for an English advanced class. There shall follow a clear examination of the choice of subject („Route 66") in the lesson and its overall content. A methodological interpretation of the lessons will follow in the end.