Target group:
-Secondary 2 Express students. High Ability. 40 Students who prefers group work.
Time Duration:
-100 minutes (2 periods)
Material used:
-To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Pre-requisites:
- students have already read the text and know the major themes of the story
Lesson objective(s):
By the end of the lesson, students will, in their groups of 5, be able to:
-imagine that they are in charge of a newspaper column and write an entry based on one of the main events in the text.
Lesson goal:
-students are able to identify the facts from one of the major events from the text.
- They are able to reproduce the facts in combination with their opinions to write an opinion piece on the event that happened.
-they work cooperatively with one another.
-as revision for their upcoming lit examination.
Procedure:
10 minutes:
-teacher enters class and splits the class into groups of five.
20 minutes:
-teacher informs class on the task they have to complete by the end of the lesson
-the class has to (in their own groups):
1) From the text, choose a major event which is contributes to one of the main themes that were discussed in previous lessons
2) Imagine that they are working for The Maycomb Times. They have to write on one of the social issues that are prevalent in ‘their society’ as submission for their weekly column.
3) Inform the teacher of their choice. The teacher is to make sure that the events that are chosen are not duplicated in other groups.
60 minutes:
-Students work in their own groups for their newspaper column. (The following requirements
mentioned will be relayed to the students before they start on the activity.)
1) Decide on the headline. The headline will be graded according to its ability to capture the readers’ attention.
2) Decide on the picture to include in the article. Students are to explore the internet to search for pictures. One picture will be chosen and it will be graded according to its suitability with regards to the event chosen by the group.
3) Work on their column. The main article will be judged according to the following criteria:
-accuracy and comprehensiveness in the coverage of their chosen event
-quality of their arguments with regards to their take on the particular event. Their arguments have to be well substantiated with textual evidence. Groups are also encouraged to use other sources from the internet to further substantiate their arguments.
-As the students are working in their groups, teacher will roam the classroom and monitor the progress of the various groups.-Groups are to submit their column to the teacher at the end of the lesson.
Rationale:
Dewey mentioned that ‘education is a process of living and not a preparation of future living’. Therefore, education is ‘life’ itself. I agree with Dewey that education should be designed in such a way that the students are able to experience what the ‘real world’ is about.Education in literature can help shape students’ beliefs, values and thoughts. It can teach them to view a particular matter from different points of view. It can also allow the students to experience what life is about, giving the whole notion of context of education a sense of realism. It is with this belief that this lesson plan is designed. Woo.
By working in groups, the students are able to experience the dynamism of human interaction. Quality of social interaction cannot be taught explicitly in classrooms, but learnt by the students through experience in such group tasks. These life lessons will be useful for them as they step out of the confines of the classroom and into the world outside. I object to the notion of education is for ‘future living’. These students are experiencing the ‘real’ life itself NOW. The classroom merely serves as a haven for them to experience such interactions and lessons, and is crucially, one that is tolerant of the mistakes that they will inevitably make.
The task that the students are asked to do also aims to develop the life skills that are essential for their experience of the ‘real’ world. Besides the skill of working effectively as a group, the task also trains their capacity to work under moderate stress as meet the deadline. Different people have diverse reactions to the stress of deadlines and such an experience will make them understand the importance of being calm under pressure as well as the advantages of teamwork.
Furthermore, their decision on types of words chosen for the headlines as well as pictures chosen also helps to develop their multi-literacy skills that are important in this digital age. I believe that literature should no longer be confined to the traditional pages of the books. The confines to which literature is appreciated and understood should be extended in this modern day and age. A simple picture can tell a more powerful message than a whole page of words. A captivating headline can shape the readers’ initial response to the event even before they begin reading. Modern literacy skills should then also be incorporated as one of the skills required for literary appreciation.
Lastly, the usage of textual as well as other outer-textual evidences trains students to not view everything from the ‘surface’ level, or from one point of view. This encourages students to have a more holistic view on things and enhance their experience of the world they are living in.
I like the idea of asking students to write a column for the newspaper. That is pretty authentic. However, I am not too sure if it is wise and fair to give the students all the freedom to just source out the picture on their own and then grade them accordingly. Perhaps you may want to show them an example and to subsequently have a consultation slot should they need to check with you if the picture they have chosen is alright?
ReplyDeleteAlso, will you recap on all the themes with them before allowing them to start the activity? Will that be better?
yes! yay!
ReplyDeletenice lesson plan! i like that there's a lot of group work- i think this helps students to work with other people (develop social skills) and also to learn to negotiate meaning and learn to agree to disagree at the same time.
ReplyDeletei think the scaffolding of the activity was well crafted. i'm just afraid that group work can get so messy and unmangeable because sometimes students lack "discussion skills".
Tian Hui - this is a very "do-able" lesson plan, and is a good way to combine learning outcomes for both "English Language" (e.g. for "functional writing") and "Literature in English."
ReplyDelete1) Your rationale (re: Dewey) justifies your emphasis on collaborative group work, but it doesn't address the content focus of your lesson. How does recounting and rewriting a novel's narrative incidents align with the view that "education is a process of living"?
2) You state that students should be "able to identify the facts from one of the major events from the text." Is "identify" the right word here? Is this a low-level thinking skill?
3) If students are "able to reproduce the facts [of the novel] in combination with their opinions to write an opinion piece on the event that happened," what are they learning to do? You might need to rethink your stated learning outcome here.
4) You later write in your rationale that "the usage of textual as well as other outer-textual evidences trains students to not view everything from the ‘surface’ level, or from one point of view." But what kinds of "outer-textual" evidence do students have to draw on in writing their news reports? And where in your learning outcomes do you state the need to link the facts of the text with information from outside it?