Teaching Edwards

Sinners Two-Day Curriculum, Day Two

Lead your students in a discussion of “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” Make sure you, the teacher, have read the Introduction to "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" beforehand. There are so many topics to touch on that this discussion will likely consume the entire class period. If you find yourself with extra time, you may want to read and discuss either “Personal Narrative” or the excerpt of “Religious Affections” – whichever you didn’t cover on the first day.

To guide your discussion, we have provided two sets of questions. If you use the first series of questions, make sure to select only a few for your students to focus on. The second series of questions is accompanied by a teachers’ guide to discussing those questions in class. (See Teacher Resources below)

A large part of your discussion may focus on the vivid language that Edwards employs in order to connect with his audience and promote his message. To help you easily identify places in which Edwards employs imagery, metaphor, allusion, similes, etc., we have created a version of “Sinners” in which most such passages are printed in red text. (See Teacher Resources below)

Teacher Resources:
Critical Questions for "Sinners" - Option 1
Critical Questions for "Sinners" - Option 2
Guide to In-Class Discussion - relates to above Option 2
Imagery identified in "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"

Possible Assignments:

1) Many American Literature teachers teach Edwards alongside Martin Luther King Jr. in a sermons unit. If so, you might want to try having your students write their own sermons.

Teacher Resources:
Teacher's Rubric for Student Sermons
Structure and Delivery of a Puritan Sermon
Structure and Delivery of a Puritan Sermon

2) If you teach Benjamin Franklin directly after Edwards, you might want to discuss the connections between the two authors, which are most apparent in comparing Edwards’ “Personal Narrative” with passages from Franklin’s “Autobiography,” which can be found in the Norton Anthology of American Literature.

Teacher Resources:
Full Text of "Personal Narrative"
Selected Excerpts from "Personal Narrative"
Franklin and Edwards