Lesson Plan
Lesson:
Semiotics (feminist critical approach + power relations/gender roles in Singapore society)
Lesson duration:
One hour
Students:
Secondary 2 express, average ability, mixed gender, visual and kinaesthetic learners
Learning environment:
Classroom with desks arranged in pairs
Prior knowledge:
none
Lesson objectives:
Students will learn about semiotics and it is applied to a text. Students will be introduced to the concept of feminist literary criticism and its real life application (vis-a-vis semiotics).
Resources:
Handout of 3x AWARE advertisement
http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/aware_helpline_verbal_abuse_1?size=_original
http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/aware_helpline_verbal_abuse_2?size=_original
http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/aware_helpline_verbal_abuse_3?size=_original
5 mins: Class settles down, teacher briefly recaps previous lesson
5 mins: Distribute handouts of advertisements and ask students to note their initial impressions of the advertisements (copy will be removed, students are provided only with the visuals)
10 mins: pair discussion/negotiation of the intended message of the advertisement (ideally made up of one male and one female student)
10 mins: Teacher will provide the missing copy to the students and explain the concept of semiotics (sign, signifier, signified) to the class.
20 mins: class discussion (facilitated by teacher). Teacher will invite students to explain how their process of initial interpretation follows (or not) the concept of semiotics. Students will present their process of interpretation and classmates will debate the various justifications of interpretations. Feminist interpretations will be offered to the students by the teacher as his/her own interpretation for students to critique. Emphasis is made of this particular reading in relation to the text (teacher explains why text is chosen for lesson)
Guiding questions include: who do you think the intended audience is? Does your gender result in a different reading of the text? Do you agree with the original message? Is this an issue which deserves such attention (and in a “dramatic” fashion)? Why are the males all not Chinese? Why are the abusers only males? Why the emphasis on the visual, is it to get the message to (supposedly) “less-educated” women who might not have been exposed to gender equality principles?
10 mins: summary of arguments and concept of semiotics and feminism. Follow-up activity (i.e. homework) given to students. They are to find one advertisement and provide a feminist interpretation of it (e.g. beer advertisement).
Rationale
According to Freire’s approach to education, critical thinking is at the heart of authentic education. Through authentic education, reality is transformed as individuals are exposed to the “truths” to which they are (subconsciously) subjected to. This is done through the presentation of “generative themes” which constitute an individual’s reality. It is only through a deconstruction and reconstruction of the understanding of these themes that dialogue occurs. This dialogic process educates the individual by providing a true lens through which to view his/her current position. I think to a large extent I subscribe to this approach. Although education is the accumulation of knowledge, there is more than just the “banking” approach. True learning occurs when an individual is able to manipulate the information he/she has accumulated, and this can only be brought about by situating learning in a context familiar or relevant to the learner. By engaging in dialogic education (such as through the use of real-world context) learning is made relevant and useful to the learner as education acquires value by virtue of its being “concrete” (set in reality).
As such, an introduction to semiotics is critical in educating students about “reality”. It is through developing their “critical eye” that they truly understand how society functions and is maintained. Education is about opening eyes and minds (like Adam and Eve after eating the forbidden fruit?), and the best way for students to learn is for them to discover on their own by constructing their own meaning and understanding (with a little help to point the way) as it is likely to remain with them for life. By engaging in a class discussion they also help each other to (de)construct reality, especially since they view it from more or less the same perspective. This then helps the process of dialogue along (in terms of stages of mediation, if you will).
Of course education (or rather educators) has their own agenda; education is never free from ideology, but students should ideally be aware of the existence of such ideologies. Whether they choose to turn a blind eye to it is another matter (you can lead a horse to water...). However, in a society with an ever-increasingly active and vocal female population they would do well to be informed.
I assume that the school is flexible in that as long as you don’t stray over the OB markers they leave the teacher to his/her own devices.
Hi Jude
ReplyDeleteFirstly, I like the way u removed the text in the ad and get the students to comment based on visuals only. I think it helps to focus students on their impressions and feelings without bias from the text.
You also included pair and class discussions. I always believe lit classes should include plenty of sharing sessions so that students have a chance to share and listen, building on each other's sharing, and hence learning from one another. You scaffolding questions are great for facilitating discussions :)
Lastly, the follow up activity is interesting and reinforces your lesson objective.
Hola amigo,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your rationale and would also like to conduct a lesson of my own in a similar fashion. As literature teacher, it is definitely important to allow our students the freedom to perceive and conceive on their own.Being able to chart their own path of understanding as you have mentioned is a very crucial part in them feeling more for the subject and remembering things better as well. Much like a flashbulb memory.
On a side note, I do believe it would be a very amusing and fun endeavour for you to teach this particular topic. After all, women are so difficult. ;)
Hey!
ReplyDeleteI think the lesson plan is well-written with details. It gives the teacher a very clear outline to follow in the lesson and it should be a lesson that students will be able to follow. The approach of using advertisements is interesting because this is something that not many teachers will do in the Literature class because most will have the impression that Literature is only about texts so giving them textual pieces would seem to tie to what Literature means. This is definitely pretty refreshing because I would not have thought that advertisements could be used in a Literature class.
However, maybe you can provide them with advertisements from other sources as well instead of just these articles from Aware. I am also not sure how the boys will react to this lesson and whether they can identify with it.
=)=)
(Ginny says to include xoxo and a pat on the back)
When I read this lesson I was like OMG WHY ARE ALL THE MEN INDIAN !! and then I realised that it was the point you were trying to make. This is a good lesson exposing students to the idea of feminine criticism which I feel is lacking in the curriculum of schools today. The fact that you paired them one girl and one boy is also good as it would allow an organic discussion with differing views to take place. However some of the students, being teenagers and relatively immature, it may lead to arguements. Something to note.
ReplyDeleteHey Jude,
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of using semiotics to introduce to students feminist criticism. However, all three images, were similar in imagery. Just wondering if it might be better to show students 3 different images. Otherwise, wouldn't just one image do?
In your lesson plan, you mentioned that feminist interpretations will be offered to the students by the teacher as his/her own interpretation for students to critique. Just a question, there are times when students find it uncomfortable for them to critique a teacher's interpretation and they merely accept the teacher's interpretation as the 'correct' interpretation.
The class discussion with the guiding questions, of course, will help to guide students in critiquing the interpretation, however, in class discussions, some students will not be contributing to the discussion, but merely taking others' opinions as 'facts'.
Other than class discussions, are there any other ways of discussing the feminist criticism of the image that would allow for all students to critically analyse and contribute?
Thanks all for your comments.. Nat: Yeah, I wanted to expand it to include possible racist references, but decided to limit it to feminism. Darrell: No choice, those were the only ones they provided. Also, I'm, merely suggesting, not providing the gospel truth. However, I feel that the girls will be quick to take this idea and run.
ReplyDeleteVery ambitious and interesting lesson, Jude (though not one that is explicitly about Literature). This is surely an "adult theme" that deserves the attention of young people. Let's consider the risks and learning opportunities that your lesson might engender: What kinds of responses would you expect from students who happen to come from broken homes torn apart by domestic violence? How would you deal with students who have been victims of parental abuse (particularly by their fathers)?
ReplyDeleteMy immediate reaction to your lesson plan was: Why would a semiotic lens be necessary to the task of interpreting those images? What "value is added by an approach that uses such terms as "sign," "signifier," and "signified"?
More trenchantly, to what extent is semiotic analysis relevant to literary interpretation?
Two more questions for your clarification: What is feminist literary criticism? And why/how would semiotic theory contribute to feminist approaches to literary appreciation?