Hi guys, am doing http://suite101.com/article/fun-classroom-activities-for-teaching-literature-a305946
It’s a simple website which contains some activities and
reasons for teaching literature.
#1. Creating a newspaper and feature stories about the
different characters and events. Advertisements can be included as well.
I like this idea because students show understanding of
characterization and events when they write such stories. Writing their ideas
out is an added advantage. Students might write gossip-y stories though, and
include events which are non-existent in the actual literature.
#2. Talk show
When students answer questions about the characters’
behaviour, they are forced to think like the character and lead to more
insight, especially when they have to justify their answers.
#3. Write a movie script.
By transforming a novel into a script requires insight into
the characters and events that are happening. Might be more suitable for higher
level students.
(140 words)
Hi Tiying! I really like the activities that this website has to offer. However, I must play the devil's advocate and nitpick by pointing out all the possible things that may go wrong.
ReplyDelete1) The activities may be of too high a level for students to participate meaningfully in. Apart from the Movie Script idea (which you have pointed out is more suitable for higher level students), both the Newspaper and Talk Show require the students to create new material out of their existing knowledge -- according to Bloom's Taxonomy, this is the highest level of learning that students can display. As such, these activities may not be suitable for weaker students, or even NA kids. Then again, we must always first judge our students' abilities before we select our activities, no?
2) As with all self-directed learning and problem-based learning tasks, the higher the level of autonomy that students are given in an activity is inversely proportional to the amount of control that a teacher has over the learning outcomes of the lesson. There is a high possibility that what the students take away from the lesson may not tie in with your lesson objectives. Hence, these activities may be more suitable at the end of a module as a form of revision rather than as a teaching activity.
3) The amount of fun that the activities offer may end up being a double-edged sword; students may end up having so much fun that they fail to realise and place importance on the knowledge and skills gained from the activity. Hence, the activity may end up being just another activity and lose its effectiveness.
That said, I'm sure kids will love participating in these activities as opposed to the usual boring lessons. If we can apply these activities in a meaningful way, I'm sure they will do the kids (and us, as well) a lot of good. :)
Oooh I like the idea of the movie-script. I think it might be time-consuming though, unless it's done over two lessons, at least? But I think it's a good way of testing their interpretation skills. Speaking of which, this could also be another means to gauge their narrative skills. The talk show is definitely going to help them with their justification; I like that idea... It could even turn into a debate-style contest! (:
ReplyDeleteThe newspaper idea could work with different groups but more scaffolding may be needed foran NA compared to a higher ability class. So while you may just appoint an editorial team with your high ability class and leave them to it, for your other class, you may need to give more time and guide the process a lot more.
ReplyDeleteThe ideas listed on this website seem especially fun and I am sure that they will engage students. I especially like the task of adapting a text but changing the setting. I imagine that Shakeseare set in Singapore where the characters dress like us and speak in Singlish. Working through this activity will help students in understanding characterisation although the setting has been changed. It will make it possible for the teacher to check if students understand other aspects of the text such as relationships between characters, motivation and the dynamics.
ReplyDelete