As mentioned in the Day 1 post, I began the next day with "Regret" by Kate Chopin, having students read it in class (it's another very short story) and then completing a theme analysis worksheet. They generally finished reading it in ten minutes, and I would then walk around noting their responses. My goal at this point was simply to begin the process of thinking on a higher plane, above plot comprehension.
"Regret" is one of many stories perfect for this stage because the theme is regret (in this case, an older woman's new-found awareness of what she has missed in life). Although a work of interpretive lit, the story's theme is fairly easy to analyze.
As I walked the room, I encouraged students to use the worksheet from Day 1, The Use of Force, as a guide. Maybe it should be noted here that I gave all students a 3 ring binder and used a 3 hole punch on every story and worksheet (as years passed, I more appreciated the value of order).
Allowing 25 minutes to pass (depending on the class), I started calling for answers to the worksheet. The external conflict is easy (Mamzelle A vs the children, etc). In this case, the internal conflict is fairly obvious (Mam A). Most students recognized the reason Mam A weeps at the story's end----the self awareness of the joys of motherhood, and the fact that at her age she will never enjoy them. Having experienced intimacy, she now regrets the values with which she had lived her life.
Usually at the end of the second day, students are somewhat more confident in their ability to analyze literature. Down the road, I'll ask students to evaluate works, but my goal is now to bolster their assurance in their ability to think on a higher level.
The next day, I will throw a curve at students with the story "Lamb to the Slaughter" by Roald Dahl (www.classicshorts.com/stories/lamb.html).
There are probably some things I am taking for granted here. I'll be glad to complete a theme analysis worksheet on this story, for ex, if anyone would want it.
I kept a small table along a wall in my room. There, students could find the stories they had missed due to being absent. The day to day lessons were posted online, so upon returning to school, students simply went to the desk for missed work. I hated beginning each class with someone asking, "What did I miss yesterday?" or "Did we do anything yesterday?"
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Day 1 English class
I retired in 2008 after 37 years of teaching. In that time, I taught every grade level, but spent the final twenty years with juniors and seniors, including the AP class. I also served as the gifted ed co-ordinator for the rural PA district. An old friend urged me to share some ideas/lessons that my students seemed to respond to (or for the Warriner's devotees, to which my students seemed to respond). I was lucky in that my students were great young people who trusted that what I was doing was going to help them. Years went by between discipline problems.
A little background: about halfway through my career, I was asked to leave the junior high and take the senior English classes, which included a new AP course. I was made gifted teacher also. I was unprepared, and did a poor job that first year. With some help from Duke's TIP program, I returned with a new mindset, and started teaching with a poster of Bloom's tax on my back wall. The goal was to foster higher order thinking skills. I started each new school year's class with the first short story I was assigned in college, "The Use of Force," a William Carlos Williams (very) short story about a doctor who makes a house call and forces a young girl's mouth opened to check for diptheria. I used this story for both my highest and lowest performing classes.
The lesson: I passed out copies of the story, and read it aloud to the students. After that, I distributed a "theme analysis worksheet," which comprised eight simple questions designed to help students think analytically about any story. The worksheet looked like this:
1. External conflict (s)? (doctor vs child, mother vs father, for ex).
2. Internal conflict? (doctor vs doctor).
3. Most important conflict? (here I talked about escapist (external conflict) and interpretive (internal) literature. In this case, the doctor vs himself is most central to theme.
4. Abstract terms in conflict? Students gave many here, but "rage vs calm" and "anger vs reason" and "love vs hate" etc were among the most mentioned.
5. Most important abstract conflict? It really doesn't matter, but let's say "anger vs reason."
6. Choose the winning abstract of question 5 (Anger).
7. Why did you choose this abstract? In the story, the doctor loses control of his sense of reason and overpowers the young girl, even as he realizes he should leave and return later.
8. Theme? The answers to 6 and 7 should lead to an easy theme statement--"-Often, even the most rational people lose control of their better judgement," for ex. Or "Anyone can lose it completely." Or more simply, "Anger often triumphs over reason."
The length of this lesson was always about 40 minutes. If time permitted, I told students that they loved stories, even if they didn't think so. They are attuned to wanting to hear and create stories. Words just aren't words. As an example, I told them, "In a few seconds, I'm going to give you two words. They are just words and have no connection. Ready? Okay, 'baby' & 'lawnmower.'" I would wait a few seconds and say, "Those were just words, but my guess is you put them together into a story. How many of you pictured the lawn mower rolling toward the baby?" Everyone :)
This would sometimes lead to a discussion of enjoying gossip, etc. But mainly, I was trying to get them to accept that, believe it or not, they really do love literature.
Day 2 would be a continuation of theme analysis, but this time on their own with the (again, very) short story "Regret" by Kate Chopin ( classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/kchopin/bl-kchop-regret.htm).
Note: My wife, newly retired, was a far better English teacher than I. Her junior students had an almost unbelievable success rate on PA's state assessment test. She will also contribute to the blog.
Hope this finds its way to helping a few classes.
A little background: about halfway through my career, I was asked to leave the junior high and take the senior English classes, which included a new AP course. I was made gifted teacher also. I was unprepared, and did a poor job that first year. With some help from Duke's TIP program, I returned with a new mindset, and started teaching with a poster of Bloom's tax on my back wall. The goal was to foster higher order thinking skills. I started each new school year's class with the first short story I was assigned in college, "The Use of Force," a William Carlos Williams (very) short story about a doctor who makes a house call and forces a young girl's mouth opened to check for diptheria. I used this story for both my highest and lowest performing classes.
The lesson: I passed out copies of the story, and read it aloud to the students. After that, I distributed a "theme analysis worksheet," which comprised eight simple questions designed to help students think analytically about any story. The worksheet looked like this:
1. External conflict (s)? (doctor vs child, mother vs father, for ex).
2. Internal conflict? (doctor vs doctor).
3. Most important conflict? (here I talked about escapist (external conflict) and interpretive (internal) literature. In this case, the doctor vs himself is most central to theme.
4. Abstract terms in conflict? Students gave many here, but "rage vs calm" and "anger vs reason" and "love vs hate" etc were among the most mentioned.
5. Most important abstract conflict? It really doesn't matter, but let's say "anger vs reason."
6. Choose the winning abstract of question 5 (Anger).
7. Why did you choose this abstract? In the story, the doctor loses control of his sense of reason and overpowers the young girl, even as he realizes he should leave and return later.
8. Theme? The answers to 6 and 7 should lead to an easy theme statement--"-Often, even the most rational people lose control of their better judgement," for ex. Or "Anyone can lose it completely." Or more simply, "Anger often triumphs over reason."
The length of this lesson was always about 40 minutes. If time permitted, I told students that they loved stories, even if they didn't think so. They are attuned to wanting to hear and create stories. Words just aren't words. As an example, I told them, "In a few seconds, I'm going to give you two words. They are just words and have no connection. Ready? Okay, 'baby' & 'lawnmower.'" I would wait a few seconds and say, "Those were just words, but my guess is you put them together into a story. How many of you pictured the lawn mower rolling toward the baby?" Everyone :)
This would sometimes lead to a discussion of enjoying gossip, etc. But mainly, I was trying to get them to accept that, believe it or not, they really do love literature.
Day 2 would be a continuation of theme analysis, but this time on their own with the (again, very) short story "Regret" by Kate Chopin ( classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/kchopin/bl-kchop-regret.htm).
Note: My wife, newly retired, was a far better English teacher than I. Her junior students had an almost unbelievable success rate on PA's state assessment test. She will also contribute to the blog.
Hope this finds its way to helping a few classes.
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