Chapter 4 describes my favorite part of English, the stories. I love every aspect, element, and device. I love the way different things are revealed as the story progresses, and I especially love the way Jago describes the process as gaining power over the text.
Jago also brings up a point I never thought of before, "books that demand hard thinking on the part of a reader are more likely to be remembered that those students breeze through," (67). In order for a student to gain anything from a piece of literature it must challenge them.
Jago uses excellent examples with The Call of the Wild and The Grapes of Wrath. It is important to identify helpful passages that convey specific ideas necessary to a student's learning. As Jago states you don't want to ask trivial things such as "find the simile, identify the alliteration, spot the allusion" (68) instead provide the students with a passage that possesses these devices and let the reading do the rest.
Students are capable of analyzing text and identifying devices, what they need help with is understanding why it is important to know how to do these things. If students understood that already half of our job would already be done. They need to make the connection between what we are trying to teach them and how it comes into play in the real world. It all really boils down to critical thinking skills.
A hero on a quest is how Jago describes the basic story structure, for the most part this plot could be applied to just about any story. Students can identify with conflict and obstacles, they face them everyday, the teacher just needs to make sure they can see past that into the deeper meaning behind the way the author presents the hero's quest.
I agree that the harder a student works to understand a text the more memorable that text will be. My senior year I read The Sound and the Fury. It easily could be one of the hardest novels that I have read, but it still remains today one of my favorite books. Investing time into a book, makes the book even more real. It truly can become an escape for the reader.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to literaty devices (my facorite part of English) I love the way words can jump off a page and jump into your brain and stay with you forver. I agree with the both of the that efforts makes something stick, but also what I call "ah ha" moments makes learning memorable. When students learn something and begin to take knowledge in, then proceed to use that knowledge that end with a sensation of full accomplishment. Literary deviced giving with a passage as such example in the book, giving them the first taste and leeting their understanding and the deviced do the work for them, "ah ha" moments are much easier to grasp.
ReplyDeleteYes, like anything else, with more experience and practice you will become more skilled at lesson planning. Being a critically reflective teacher is crucial.
ReplyDeleteI agree, teaching students to recognize, use, and think about literary devices definitely gives them “power” over their reading.
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