Link to Google doc of presentation handout:
https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0Acd1iDMEKW-IZGQ0Mjlkc3FfNzB3bnh6cnZkeA&hl=en
Prezi presentation:
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
CI 5410 Week 5.2 - Poem #4; "Real Job"
Real Job
“I hope you’re doing this for the right reasons.”
She told me.
“And not just trying to put off getting a real job.”
A real job?
A real job?
What job is more real than using what little I have
to give something
to give anything
to another?
And I’m not talking about giving money
or toys
or fashions
or anything that one may use as ammunition against another.
I’m talking about giving freedom
hope
love
safety
a future
even if it’s only for 50 minutes a day.
What job is more real than using what little I have
but seeing the same things day in
and day out?
racism
hatred
discrimination
even when people say that it’s not intended.
Nah
It’s fake
Baby
Just as fake as the real world that you live in
So if it makes you feel any better
I’ve made it all up
Just like I’ve made up my mind.
“I hope you’re doing this for the right reasons.”
She told me.
“And not just trying to put off getting a real job.”
A real job?
A real job?
What job is more real than using what little I have
to give something
to give anything
to another?
And I’m not talking about giving money
or toys
or fashions
or anything that one may use as ammunition against another.
I’m talking about giving freedom
hope
love
safety
a future
even if it’s only for 50 minutes a day.
What job is more real than using what little I have
but seeing the same things day in
and day out?
racism
hatred
discrimination
even when people say that it’s not intended.
Nah
It’s fake
Baby
Just as fake as the real world that you live in
So if it makes you feel any better
I’ve made it all up
Just like I’ve made up my mind.
CI 5410 Week 5.2 - "Penny for Your Thoughts"
Gemineye's "Penny for Your Thoughts" effectively challenges various gendered stereotypes concerning sexuality / sexual relationships; mainly, the assumption that men are more preoccupied with and / or take more pleasure from participating in carnal acts of sex vs. forming intimate emotional relationships.
The primary poetic "device" that Gemineye utilizes to challenge the aforementioned gendered stereotype is a sort of semantic "inversion" or "twist." In other words, just as he begins to form a rather vivid, sexually explicit scene, he quickly and creatively inverts his meaning to reinforce a sense of emotional vs. carnal intimacy:
"Getting intimately closer as we approach the
Climatic altitude of nude, mental, sensational… conversation.
Because I’m trying to get to know everything about you
From the neck… UP."
Via the first portion of the above "stanza," notice how Gemineye begins to construct his scene via utilizing words that connotatively resonate with a sense of explicit sexuality (e.g., "climatic," "nude," and "sensational"). However, just as the listener assumes / expects Gemineye will complete his scene with a final serving of sexually explicit detail (e.g., the "typical" male attitude / response), he redirects attention away from the carnal body, to the emotional mind. Similarly, just as the reader assumes / expects Gemineye to be interested in his partner from the neck down (carrying further implied sexual connotations via drawing attention to the stereotypically sexualized female organs), he again inverts his meaning to draw attention to the symbolic center of his partner's emotional vs. carnal self.
However, via the use of these semantic inversions, notice how a sense of explicit sexuality is not purged from how Gemineye conceptualizes his relationship with his partner. Instead, I argue that Gemineye's use of this sort of poetic inversion effectively allows this raw explicitness to transition from his partner's body to her mind, losing absolutely no power as this border is crossed:
"I want to lick every inch of every crevasse
So I can get an oral fix from each orifice
And taste you passionate... IMAGINATION."
Again, when the reader assumes / expects Gemineye to complete this scene via referencing some sort of carnal, sexual act, he immediately shifts this sense of explicitness away from his partner's physical body, to something that is not physical. In short, I argue that this poem would not be nearly as effective if Gemineye completely purged it of it's sense of explicit sexuality. Instead, this sense of explicit sexuality creatively exoticizes and sexualizes the emotional characteristics of his partner, characteristics that men are typically assumed not to be interested in forming a truly intimate and / or satisfying relationship with.
Gemineye's use of this semantic inversion would not be NEARLY as effective if "Penny for Your Thoughts" was simply recited vs. performed:
"I’m penetrating every entrance… to your mind."
For example, the pause denoted by the ellipses does not guarantee that the listener will stop and process for the necessary amount of time for the inversion to "work." However, when performed, Gemineye consciously pauses, gives the listener adequate time to process part one of the semantic inversion, and then proceeds. As a result, the silent "rests" created by these pauses can be interpreted as the "loudest," most meaning-dependent features of the poem. In short, if not performed, the core quality of Gemineye's poem would be rendered ineffective.
Although Gemineye's use of this semantic inversion is definitely creative, effective, and admirable, I found the aggressive, intense tone that he utilizes to perform his poem to strangely contrast with his intended purpose. Via the utilization of this aggressive, intense tone, I argue that Gemineye perhaps unwittingly reinforces the potentially destructive gendered stereotype that men are inherently aggressive, angry beings. Although Gemineye's focus shifts from the body to the emotions across his semantic inversions, his aggressive, angry, and intense tone remains static. While his tone remains unchanged across these semantic shifts, I feel as though Gemineye is sending the message that male anger cannot be diffused; instead, it can only change forms and "must" otherwise be directed at something.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
CI 5410 Week 4.3 - Poem #3: "R.I.P."
R.I.P.
When I am dead, my dearest,
don’t you dare dance upon my grave;
my heart has grown rigid,
rests from your wandering gaze.
Though death now keeps my conscience,
dance far away from me;
don’t chance my bones collecting,
an essence of a beat.
When I am dead, my dearest,
don’t you dare dance upon my grave;
my heart has grown rigid,
at last enjoying peace.
When I am dead, my dearest,
don’t you dare dance upon my grave;
my heart has grown rigid,
rests from your wandering gaze.
Though death now keeps my conscience,
dance far away from me;
don’t chance my bones collecting,
an essence of a beat.
When I am dead, my dearest,
don’t you dare dance upon my grave;
my heart has grown rigid,
at last enjoying peace.
CI 5410 Week 4.2 - Assignment #3; "Dude, your poem sucks because _______"
-------
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
-------
Although the following activity is a bit of a knock-off of the “A Difficult Poem” exercise as found on page 145 of our course text, I argue that the following modifications stand to render the overall task more analytical in nature.
Due to the creatively terrible writing required of this task (more on that in a moment!), I imagine this activity to take 2 class periods (introduced / assigned as HW on day ONE, reflected upon on Day TWO).
------
SPECIFICS
-------
After you and your class have started to get a working handle on the formal elements of poetry (perhaps after you have completed the “Poetry Scavenger Hunt” activity), require that your students complete the following:
DAY ONE
1.) Have each student select ONE (or TWO maximum) formal elements of poetry to critically “spoof” / “suck at.” (e.g., imagery, general clichés, meter, alliteration, assonance, and so on).
2.) Swear them to secrecy / do not let them share their selected target elements! (They will critically identify / discuss what is being “spoofed” / “sucked at” on Day TWO).
3.) Using targeted element(s) as the meta-purpose guiding their writing, have students write a poem of any length in which targeted element is creatively “spoofed” / “sucked at.”
4.) Remind students that EVERYONE’S poem will absolutely “suck.” Model / set the worst possible example by selecting an element to “spoof” / “suck at” and create an atrocious poem of your own. Then, read it aloud and have the class tell you what SPECIFIC formal element of poetry you are “spoofing” / “sucking at” and WHY.
5.) Remind everyone to keep things appropriate!
6.) Whatever is not complete in class, assign as homework.
NOTE: I can foresee a large portion of students selecting elements potentially easier to “spoof” / “suck at” than others. For example, I would argue that it would be easier for students new to exploring formal elements of poetry to consciously write a terrible simile than a terrible rhyme scheme. To prevent this uneven undertaking of elements, consider assigning quadrants of the room and / or groups specific elements that they will be required to target in their poems.
DAY TWO
1.) Either as a class and / or in small groups (again, whatever you deem appropriate to YOUR unique class and learning context), have students read each other their poems, critically listen, and complete the following sentence:
“Dude, you’re poem SUCKS because ____________”
…in which they will complete the above sentence via identifying a.) which specific element(s) are being “spoofed” / “sucked” at, and b.) how / why they can tell / "suck" so bad.
Other variations of this critical analysis could also include bringing in typed / written copies of the poems to physically mark on (the presence of marking on a physical may appeal to some learning styles, but wouldn't necessarily have to be required).
2.) As a class, critically select the poems that represent various formal elements of poetry best (er… worst!), and publish them in a “Suckiest Poems” anthology.
Have fun!
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
-------
Although the following activity is a bit of a knock-off of the “A Difficult Poem” exercise as found on page 145 of our course text, I argue that the following modifications stand to render the overall task more analytical in nature.
Due to the creatively terrible writing required of this task (more on that in a moment!), I imagine this activity to take 2 class periods (introduced / assigned as HW on day ONE, reflected upon on Day TWO).
------
SPECIFICS
-------
After you and your class have started to get a working handle on the formal elements of poetry (perhaps after you have completed the “Poetry Scavenger Hunt” activity), require that your students complete the following:
DAY ONE
1.) Have each student select ONE (or TWO maximum) formal elements of poetry to critically “spoof” / “suck at.” (e.g., imagery, general clichés, meter, alliteration, assonance, and so on).
2.) Swear them to secrecy / do not let them share their selected target elements! (They will critically identify / discuss what is being “spoofed” / “sucked at” on Day TWO).
3.) Using targeted element(s) as the meta-purpose guiding their writing, have students write a poem of any length in which targeted element is creatively “spoofed” / “sucked at.”
4.) Remind students that EVERYONE’S poem will absolutely “suck.” Model / set the worst possible example by selecting an element to “spoof” / “suck at” and create an atrocious poem of your own. Then, read it aloud and have the class tell you what SPECIFIC formal element of poetry you are “spoofing” / “sucking at” and WHY.
5.) Remind everyone to keep things appropriate!
6.) Whatever is not complete in class, assign as homework.
NOTE: I can foresee a large portion of students selecting elements potentially easier to “spoof” / “suck at” than others. For example, I would argue that it would be easier for students new to exploring formal elements of poetry to consciously write a terrible simile than a terrible rhyme scheme. To prevent this uneven undertaking of elements, consider assigning quadrants of the room and / or groups specific elements that they will be required to target in their poems.
DAY TWO
1.) Either as a class and / or in small groups (again, whatever you deem appropriate to YOUR unique class and learning context), have students read each other their poems, critically listen, and complete the following sentence:
“Dude, you’re poem SUCKS because ____________”
…in which they will complete the above sentence via identifying a.) which specific element(s) are being “spoofed” / “sucked” at, and b.) how / why they can tell / "suck" so bad.
Other variations of this critical analysis could also include bringing in typed / written copies of the poems to physically mark on (the presence of marking on a physical may appeal to some learning styles, but wouldn't necessarily have to be required).
2.) As a class, critically select the poems that represent various formal elements of poetry best (er… worst!), and publish them in a “Suckiest Poems” anthology.
Have fun!
CI 5410 Week 4.1 - Assignment #2; "Poetry Scavenger Hunt"
-------
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
-------
Before diving into any specifics surrounding the following assignment idea, I would like to share a confession with you – even though I’m an English teacher, I loathe, and I mean LOATHE, the study of formal poetic elements. Although I absolutely delight in discussing / manipulating arguments, language, and multimodal text, I have always perceived the breaking down of poetry into its myriad of constituent parts to be an EXTREMELY painstaking, unfulfilling, and otherwise anxiety-filled process. This sort of process reminds me of deconstructing / solving a complex math problem, where pluses, minuses, and multiplication symbols are substituted with iambs, troches, and feet (and believe me, I am B-A-D at math!). As a cumulative result of such focused study of these elements, I feel as though I do not have the time (let alone mental energy) to make sense out of and / or appreciate any beauty that a given poem possesses. In short, where some people find delight / beauty in discussing / manipulating these formal elements of poetry, I find anxiety, fear, and frustration; emotional responses presumably shared by many students undertaking such a task!
As I engage in further self-reflection in the attempt to figure out WHY, specifically, I have such a negative attitude toward the study of formal poetic elements, I feel as though the anxiety and distaste I experience stems from how I was expected to learn these elements as a student; through the largely decontextualized, non-authentic “decoding” of some random poem forced upon me by the teacher. Although our course text does a nice job of clearly exploring these poetic elements, as well as contextualizing them via the selection of some fairly beautiful / good poems (at least by my subjective criteria / opinion), I did not have a choice in this matter! I did not have the choice to handle a collection of poetry that I was fascinated by and was able to identify with forever whatever reason! I wasn’t able to flip through pages and select a poem that I found meaningful at the time, a poem that resonated with ME! I was not able to reap the benefits of others co-engaging / coaching me through the process (other than the author of the handbook, that is).
As I argue that many of our students perceive the study of formal poetic elements to be similarly decontextualized, non-authentic “decoding” exercises of random, arbitrarily selected poems that they cannot / do not personally identify with, I urge you to consider the following assignment.
Before I further jump into any specifics, I argue that this activity should take 2-3 class periods as I argue that authentic, potentially “dirty / gritty” exploration is crucial to the activity’s overall effectiveness. But more on that in a moment (again, adjust to YOUR unique learning context).
-------
SPECIFICS
-------
Materials needed
As you are no doubt a committed teacher of literature, you ideally have not only a shelf, but an entire ROOM stocked absolutely FULL of diverse texts; poetry and prose, old and new, traditional and non-traditional, English / American and world-centric, male and female, textual and visual, and so on and so forth. In other words, you will ideally have a large library of literature reflective of the diverse students and learning styles that walk into your classroom each day. If you feel as though your library is lacking, take the time to “stock up” before considering this activity (for a quick fix, see what you might be able to borrow from other teachers). Ideally, you want to have a textual selection that you are at least relatively confident that each and everyone one of your students can sift through and eventually find something that they identify with and find meaningful for whatever reason, even if they cannot articulate that exact reason to you!
If you feel confident that you have the library I so dramatically describe, on to the next steps…
-Make a textual mountain in the middle of your classroom however orderly or disorderly (sometimes this sort of study is messy business) you desire.
-After constructing and distributing some sort of simple worksheet / graphic organizer, quite literally set your students “loose” on the mountain of texts. Although the specific expectations you design are of course dependent upon YOUR unique learning context, I imagine requiring students to…
a.) find textual examples that somehow exemplify a range of specific formal poetic elements (e.g., iambic pentameter, imagery, alliteration, assonance, and so on)
b.) record them on their worksheets or journal pages
c.) state specifically HOW / WHY the example they isolated reveals some sort of desired poetic element
NOTE 1: You’re of course going to have had to give your students at least some pre-instruction to formal elements of poetry prior to beginning this activity for obvious reasons. However, I do not think that this pre-instruction has to / should be very intense. Again, my meta-rationale for this activity is that students will have an easier time / take more pleasure in exploring formal poetic elements if they have much more agency in the process; the agency to select their own texts, uncover the elements in the order they desire (almost a sort of self-scaffolding as they potentially work themselves up from easier to more difficult elements to uncover).
NOTE 2: AND THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT! If you simply turn students loose on this task without your guidance, I am very confident that this task will fail miserably. Instead, I suggest you keep the following actions in mind to keep students on track and provide them with the necessary guidance and scaffolding:
-Mill around the room, keeping an eye on who is having trouble. If they are having trouble with a Shakespeare text, suggest something that you believe they might identify with more closely (again, hopefully you are aware of your textual selection, as well as the personality and identities of your students).
-As groups begin to uncover poetic elements, STOP, verbalize the discoveries to the rest of the class (to fight the craziness of noise, perhaps schedule large-group check-ins every 10 minutes or so), and co-explore with your class the following:
1.) What, specifically, a group uncovered passage-wise (you can further read, act, and verbalize the passage).
2.) How / Why a given textual selection is a good example of a given formal poetic element.
-And finally, embrace the chaos!
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
-------
Before diving into any specifics surrounding the following assignment idea, I would like to share a confession with you – even though I’m an English teacher, I loathe, and I mean LOATHE, the study of formal poetic elements. Although I absolutely delight in discussing / manipulating arguments, language, and multimodal text, I have always perceived the breaking down of poetry into its myriad of constituent parts to be an EXTREMELY painstaking, unfulfilling, and otherwise anxiety-filled process. This sort of process reminds me of deconstructing / solving a complex math problem, where pluses, minuses, and multiplication symbols are substituted with iambs, troches, and feet (and believe me, I am B-A-D at math!). As a cumulative result of such focused study of these elements, I feel as though I do not have the time (let alone mental energy) to make sense out of and / or appreciate any beauty that a given poem possesses. In short, where some people find delight / beauty in discussing / manipulating these formal elements of poetry, I find anxiety, fear, and frustration; emotional responses presumably shared by many students undertaking such a task!
As I engage in further self-reflection in the attempt to figure out WHY, specifically, I have such a negative attitude toward the study of formal poetic elements, I feel as though the anxiety and distaste I experience stems from how I was expected to learn these elements as a student; through the largely decontextualized, non-authentic “decoding” of some random poem forced upon me by the teacher. Although our course text does a nice job of clearly exploring these poetic elements, as well as contextualizing them via the selection of some fairly beautiful / good poems (at least by my subjective criteria / opinion), I did not have a choice in this matter! I did not have the choice to handle a collection of poetry that I was fascinated by and was able to identify with forever whatever reason! I wasn’t able to flip through pages and select a poem that I found meaningful at the time, a poem that resonated with ME! I was not able to reap the benefits of others co-engaging / coaching me through the process (other than the author of the handbook, that is).
As I argue that many of our students perceive the study of formal poetic elements to be similarly decontextualized, non-authentic “decoding” exercises of random, arbitrarily selected poems that they cannot / do not personally identify with, I urge you to consider the following assignment.
Before I further jump into any specifics, I argue that this activity should take 2-3 class periods as I argue that authentic, potentially “dirty / gritty” exploration is crucial to the activity’s overall effectiveness. But more on that in a moment (again, adjust to YOUR unique learning context).
-------
SPECIFICS
-------
Materials needed
As you are no doubt a committed teacher of literature, you ideally have not only a shelf, but an entire ROOM stocked absolutely FULL of diverse texts; poetry and prose, old and new, traditional and non-traditional, English / American and world-centric, male and female, textual and visual, and so on and so forth. In other words, you will ideally have a large library of literature reflective of the diverse students and learning styles that walk into your classroom each day. If you feel as though your library is lacking, take the time to “stock up” before considering this activity (for a quick fix, see what you might be able to borrow from other teachers). Ideally, you want to have a textual selection that you are at least relatively confident that each and everyone one of your students can sift through and eventually find something that they identify with and find meaningful for whatever reason, even if they cannot articulate that exact reason to you!
If you feel confident that you have the library I so dramatically describe, on to the next steps…
-Make a textual mountain in the middle of your classroom however orderly or disorderly (sometimes this sort of study is messy business) you desire.
-After constructing and distributing some sort of simple worksheet / graphic organizer, quite literally set your students “loose” on the mountain of texts. Although the specific expectations you design are of course dependent upon YOUR unique learning context, I imagine requiring students to…
a.) find textual examples that somehow exemplify a range of specific formal poetic elements (e.g., iambic pentameter, imagery, alliteration, assonance, and so on)
b.) record them on their worksheets or journal pages
c.) state specifically HOW / WHY the example they isolated reveals some sort of desired poetic element
NOTE 1: You’re of course going to have had to give your students at least some pre-instruction to formal elements of poetry prior to beginning this activity for obvious reasons. However, I do not think that this pre-instruction has to / should be very intense. Again, my meta-rationale for this activity is that students will have an easier time / take more pleasure in exploring formal poetic elements if they have much more agency in the process; the agency to select their own texts, uncover the elements in the order they desire (almost a sort of self-scaffolding as they potentially work themselves up from easier to more difficult elements to uncover).
NOTE 2: AND THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT! If you simply turn students loose on this task without your guidance, I am very confident that this task will fail miserably. Instead, I suggest you keep the following actions in mind to keep students on track and provide them with the necessary guidance and scaffolding:
-Mill around the room, keeping an eye on who is having trouble. If they are having trouble with a Shakespeare text, suggest something that you believe they might identify with more closely (again, hopefully you are aware of your textual selection, as well as the personality and identities of your students).
-As groups begin to uncover poetic elements, STOP, verbalize the discoveries to the rest of the class (to fight the craziness of noise, perhaps schedule large-group check-ins every 10 minutes or so), and co-explore with your class the following:
1.) What, specifically, a group uncovered passage-wise (you can further read, act, and verbalize the passage).
2.) How / Why a given textual selection is a good example of a given formal poetic element.
-And finally, embrace the chaos!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
CI 5410 Week 3.1 - Assignment #1; "From the Wolf's Perspective"
Assignment #1; "From the Wolf's Perspective"
-------
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
-------
For my first assignment idea, I would like to share with you a wonderfully creative activity focusing on teaching / manipulating PERSPECTIVE. I was initially exposed to this idea during my licensure program's dedicated writing methods class, and it has stuck with me ever since.
Again, the primary focus of this activity is to teach students how to consider (as well as practice manipulating for themselves!) the idea of PERSPECTIVE across textual and / or visual texts. I do not see why this activity could not be applicable to students across ages, cultures, AND learning styles – more on the potentially universal nature of this activity later. Lastly, although of course highly dependent on YOUR unique learning context(s), I imagine this activity to take approximately 1 - 2 class periods.
-------
SPECIFIC PROCESSES
-------
Materials
In preparation for this activity, stock up on a number of popular / common children’s fables. Although you definitely have a TON of options to work with here, the following common tales immediately come to mind:
-The Tortoise and the Hare
-The Three Little Pigs
-Jack and the Bean Stock
-The Ugly Duckling
-Hansel and Gretel
-Little Red Riding Hood
-Goldilocks and the Three Bears
-Humpty Dumpty
Basically, any pop culture children’s fables that the majority of students in your class are likely to be familiar with are game!
If you wish, bring in Xeroxed, text-centric print-outs of these stories, or if you dare (and have the access), try to bring in REAL children’s books filled with the child-like images / text with which these stories are commonly communicated. Basically, I argue that the more you can encourage personal identification with these stories (after all, many children were read to out of these children’s books), the more effective this activity will be.
Procedures
DAY ONE
-Split students up into small groups, assigning ONE fable per group.
-While in their small groups, have students read fables out-loud to their fellow group members. Encourage students to express the language in child-speak (e.g., how mothers / fathers might adjust their voices to represent different characters when reading to children – a harsh voice for the bears and a high voice for Goldilocks). Also, encourage students to take in and experience any accompanying visuals that may be present.
-Once groups have read their fables, have each group present responses to the following question set:
a.) Whose perspective do you believe YOUR GROUP'S fable is written from (e.g., Goldilocks or the Three Bears?).
b.) What SPECIFIC features of the text do you believe reveal this perspective (in terms of possible language and / or accompanying visuals).
c.) What SPECIFIC “lesson” is being taught via said perspective (e.g., re: Hansel and Gretel - you shouldn’t trust strangers).
-And now the fun part! Either starting in class and / or assigned as homework, have students re-tell their story via the perspective of ANOTHER character. For example, re-telling the story of Little Red Riding Hood via the Wolf’s vs. Red’s perspective. NOTE: Depending on YOUR unique learning context, you could have students complete this task collaboratively as a group, or require each student to work independently. However, due to maintaining individual accountability, I recommended each student be required to complete their own independent re-telling.
DAY TWO
-Have students re-form the SAME groups that they worked in the day before.
-Have each student read their re-told stories out-loud to the remainder of the group. Again, encourage students to really get into it and utilize different voices to represent unique characters.
-Reflecting on their re-told stories, have students individually respond to the same question set as the day before:
Again:
a.) Whose perspective do you believe YOUR fable is written from (e.g., Goldilocks or the Three Bears?).
b.) What SPECIFIC features of the text do you believe reveal this perspective (in terms of possible language and / or accompanying visuals).
c.) What SPECIFIC “lesson” is being taught via said perspective (e.g., re: Hansel and Brittle: you shouldn’t trust strangers).
-Within their small groups, have students discuss how, SPECIFICALLY now, they accomplished their changes in perspective via SPECIFIC language and / or images they decided to utilize. Furthermore, have them discuss how these changes in perspective influences the meta-lesson that their re-told story suggests to readers. For example, if re-told from the Wolf’s vs. Red's perspective, I would argue that the common fable of Little Red Riding Hood would teach a significantly different sort of lesson to readers!
Accommodating for Diversity and / or Learning Styles
If you have students in your class that come from different, rich cultures, DO NOT waste such an opportunity; instead, proactively utilize students' diverse experiences as yet additional learning opportunities for your class. Although other students’ cultures might not share the SPECIFIC fable of Little Red Riding Hood, you’re in luck; childhood fables of some sort are more or less universal across ALL cultures! In such a case, just imagine what sort of teaching and learning would take place if students from other rich cultures shared THEIR unique, culture-specific fables with their group members! In short, I argue that this activity could be very easily modified to include the re-telling of not only American-centric fables, but fables from across the many rich cultures with which your students might have valuable “insider” knowledge.
Furthermore, this overall activity is very conducive to visual learners and writers as well. For example, if students do not wish and / or have the ability to to re-tell their stories via text alone, or if they simply have a natural talent for creating images, encourage them to consider and re-tell their stories visually. After all, I don’t think I have ever scene a purely text-centric children’s book! In addition to having students think about how perspective can be communicated via text, do not neglect exercising their ability to consider the building of perspective via visual elements, too.
-------
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
-------
For my first assignment idea, I would like to share with you a wonderfully creative activity focusing on teaching / manipulating PERSPECTIVE. I was initially exposed to this idea during my licensure program's dedicated writing methods class, and it has stuck with me ever since.
Again, the primary focus of this activity is to teach students how to consider (as well as practice manipulating for themselves!) the idea of PERSPECTIVE across textual and / or visual texts. I do not see why this activity could not be applicable to students across ages, cultures, AND learning styles – more on the potentially universal nature of this activity later. Lastly, although of course highly dependent on YOUR unique learning context(s), I imagine this activity to take approximately 1 - 2 class periods.
-------
SPECIFIC PROCESSES
-------
Materials
In preparation for this activity, stock up on a number of popular / common children’s fables. Although you definitely have a TON of options to work with here, the following common tales immediately come to mind:
-The Tortoise and the Hare
-The Three Little Pigs
-Jack and the Bean Stock
-The Ugly Duckling
-Hansel and Gretel
-Little Red Riding Hood
-Goldilocks and the Three Bears
-Humpty Dumpty
Basically, any pop culture children’s fables that the majority of students in your class are likely to be familiar with are game!
If you wish, bring in Xeroxed, text-centric print-outs of these stories, or if you dare (and have the access), try to bring in REAL children’s books filled with the child-like images / text with which these stories are commonly communicated. Basically, I argue that the more you can encourage personal identification with these stories (after all, many children were read to out of these children’s books), the more effective this activity will be.
Procedures
DAY ONE
-Split students up into small groups, assigning ONE fable per group.
-While in their small groups, have students read fables out-loud to their fellow group members. Encourage students to express the language in child-speak (e.g., how mothers / fathers might adjust their voices to represent different characters when reading to children – a harsh voice for the bears and a high voice for Goldilocks). Also, encourage students to take in and experience any accompanying visuals that may be present.
-Once groups have read their fables, have each group present responses to the following question set:
a.) Whose perspective do you believe YOUR GROUP'S fable is written from (e.g., Goldilocks or the Three Bears?).
b.) What SPECIFIC features of the text do you believe reveal this perspective (in terms of possible language and / or accompanying visuals).
c.) What SPECIFIC “lesson” is being taught via said perspective (e.g., re: Hansel and Gretel - you shouldn’t trust strangers).
-And now the fun part! Either starting in class and / or assigned as homework, have students re-tell their story via the perspective of ANOTHER character. For example, re-telling the story of Little Red Riding Hood via the Wolf’s vs. Red’s perspective. NOTE: Depending on YOUR unique learning context, you could have students complete this task collaboratively as a group, or require each student to work independently. However, due to maintaining individual accountability, I recommended each student be required to complete their own independent re-telling.
DAY TWO
-Have students re-form the SAME groups that they worked in the day before.
-Have each student read their re-told stories out-loud to the remainder of the group. Again, encourage students to really get into it and utilize different voices to represent unique characters.
-Reflecting on their re-told stories, have students individually respond to the same question set as the day before:
Again:
a.) Whose perspective do you believe YOUR fable is written from (e.g., Goldilocks or the Three Bears?).
b.) What SPECIFIC features of the text do you believe reveal this perspective (in terms of possible language and / or accompanying visuals).
c.) What SPECIFIC “lesson” is being taught via said perspective (e.g., re: Hansel and Brittle: you shouldn’t trust strangers).
-Within their small groups, have students discuss how, SPECIFICALLY now, they accomplished their changes in perspective via SPECIFIC language and / or images they decided to utilize. Furthermore, have them discuss how these changes in perspective influences the meta-lesson that their re-told story suggests to readers. For example, if re-told from the Wolf’s vs. Red's perspective, I would argue that the common fable of Little Red Riding Hood would teach a significantly different sort of lesson to readers!
Accommodating for Diversity and / or Learning Styles
If you have students in your class that come from different, rich cultures, DO NOT waste such an opportunity; instead, proactively utilize students' diverse experiences as yet additional learning opportunities for your class. Although other students’ cultures might not share the SPECIFIC fable of Little Red Riding Hood, you’re in luck; childhood fables of some sort are more or less universal across ALL cultures! In such a case, just imagine what sort of teaching and learning would take place if students from other rich cultures shared THEIR unique, culture-specific fables with their group members! In short, I argue that this activity could be very easily modified to include the re-telling of not only American-centric fables, but fables from across the many rich cultures with which your students might have valuable “insider” knowledge.
Furthermore, this overall activity is very conducive to visual learners and writers as well. For example, if students do not wish and / or have the ability to to re-tell their stories via text alone, or if they simply have a natural talent for creating images, encourage them to consider and re-tell their stories visually. After all, I don’t think I have ever scene a purely text-centric children’s book! In addition to having students think about how perspective can be communicated via text, do not neglect exercising their ability to consider the building of perspective via visual elements, too.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
