Target Group: Secondary 2 Express Students, Mixed Ability, Class of 36 students
Time Duration: 90 minutes
Learning Environment: Computer Lab, where each computer has internet access and headphones.
Material Used: Poem – August 6, 1945 by Alison Fell (Refer to Appendix A)
| Lesson Objective(s): Students will be able to discuss a poem using Practical Criticism and Historical Criticism and identify at least three differences between the two forms of criticism. Students will be able to list at least three ways in which prior knowledge or historical knowledge of a subject matter can influence the criticism of a poem. |
| Procedure: 5 minutes: Teacher greets class, and tells them that the lesson for today is a group discussion of a poem using different forms of criticism. Teacher then distributes the poem to the students. Students are then divided into three groups. 30 minutes: Group 1 – students in Group 1 will be instructed to form three groups of four and work together to analyse the given poem using Practical Criticism in 30 minutes. Group 2 – students in Group 2 will be instructed to first individually watch a 10-minute video on their computers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6wz1y1EkCY They will then form three groups of four and work together to analyse the given poem in 20 minutes using the additional historical knowledge they have gained from the video. Group 3 – students in Group 3 will be instructed to spend 10 minutes reading the following six short articles about the 1942-1945 Japanese Occupation in Singapore: http://library.thinkquest.org/10414/japan.html http://www.cofepow.org.uk/pages/asia_singapore2.html http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/about_us/history/world_war2/v04n02_history.html http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/about_us/history/world_war2/v03n10_history.html http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/about_us/history/world_war2/v07n10_history.html http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/about_us/history/world_war2/v07n08_history.html They will then form three groups of four and work together to analyse the given poem in 20 minutes using the additional historical knowledge they have gained from these articles. 25 minutes: Groups are each given 2 minutes to present to the rest of the class their analysis of the poem. 15 minutes: The class will be engaged in a discussion as to why their analyses of the same given poem differ from one another. The class will then discuss the differences between the two forms of criticism – Practical Criticism and Historical Criticism. 10 minutes: The class will also discuss how prior knowledge or historical knowledge of a subject matter can influence their analysis of a poem. 5 minutes: Teacher to give a summary of what the students have completed and discussed in the lesson. Teacher to also explain to students the learning outcomes of the lesson. |
Appendix A
August 6, 1945 by Alison Fell
In the Enola Gay
five minutes before impact
he whistles a dry tune
Later he will say
that the whole blooming sky
went up like an apricot ice.
Later he will laugh and tremble
at such a surrender, for the eye
of his belly saw Marilyn's skirts
fly over her head for ever
On the river bank,
bees drizzle over
hot white rhododendrons
Later she will walk
the dust, a scarlet girl
with her whole stripped skin
at her heel, stuck like an old
shoe sole or mermaid's tail
Later she will lie down
in the flecked black ash
where the people are become
as lizards or salamanders
and, blinded, she will complain
Mother you are late. So late
Later in dreams he will look
down shrieking and see
ladybirds
ladybirds
Lesson Rationale
John Dewey states that “Education is a social process. Education is growth. Education is, not a preparation for life; education is life itself.”
I do agree with Dewey that education for any individual helps to shape the individual’s values, beliefs, thoughts, feelings and emotions. An individual’s authentic real-life experience in itself is a form of education for the individual. The formal education an individual receives should help to add on to his learning of what life is about, and give him a holistic education.
I believe that the education system in Singapore does attempt to subscribe to Dewey’s theory. As such, it is mandatory for the school curriculum to include Civics and Moral Education lessons for students, as well as the emphasis on co-curricular activities where students are exposed to experiences beyond the classroom. In addition, teamwork has been greatly incorporated into the school curriculum because it is recognized that there is a need to inculcate social skills in students and help them communicate and work better with others in the society.
The above lesson plan brings across to the students in the class that different people bring with them different prior knowledge and different historical backgrounds. This is a reflection of how interactions are like in real-life situations in society. We need to understand when we meet and interact with others, that we each bring along different skills and understanding, which accounts for difference in opinions. The understanding of the above will help students respect the opinions of others when they interact and work together. This is a life skill that helps with group interaction and work.
I like how students experience the differences between various methods of criticism first hand. :)
ReplyDeleteReading your lesson plan, the image of a science experiment comes to mind where there's a control group and two other groups where variables are tweaked. Through a comparison of findings, one can tell easily identify the contributing factors towards the results observed. Though it does seem that the amount of time the groups have to work on the analysis is different, and there's a good chance those in Group 1 will be bored quickly. Especially when they look at their peers in the other groups who have their headphones on, happily watching youtube videos. I'm not sure if they can be given some 'placebo work'?
I'd be very happy in your class, being able to differentiate easily and negotiate both methods of criticism. Nothing beats actually riding a roller coaster to learn that it isn't too scary afterall!
I like how you divide the students into 3 groups. The problem I have is- it's a little confusing to have everyone present at one go! Perhaps the teacher can step in after the groups doing practical criticism have finished presenting their discussions. This will give students time to absorb whatever they have been presented with and also allow teacher to tie in the 'nitty gritty' things they need to know about practical criticism before moving on to historical criticism.
ReplyDeleteAlso will 2 minutes per group be enough to present their discussions?
Hmm.. so what are three differences between the two forms of criticism (i.e. practical criticism and historical criticism)? What answers do you expect from your students?
ReplyDeleteIn general, this is a tight lesson plan, well-conceived but a little ambitious for a secondary-two class, perhaps. The poem you've chosen is complex enough to be dissected as an A-level "unseen" poem. So i'm not sure if 30 minutes is sufficient for students to produce an equally complex reading of the poem, whether with or without the knowledge of its historical context.
How is Dewey related to the poem's themes and concerns? Why would students be connected to their own lives through war poetry?