- In the first week of class the students will begin by reading
and analyzing one to three Shakespeare sonnets in class. The teacher
will help the students with analysis and discussion of the poems.
The purpose of this is to introduce the student’s to British literature
and give them some things to think about when the go on to analyze
other poems independently.
- For the next week the students will split into groups of 3-4
to read other poetry. Each group should be assigned a list of
poets to choose from (note that the list should include a diverse
range of poems), the list could include the most famous poems
of each of the poets. The students are then to read one poem per
day and analyze that poem. Notes and annotations will be collected
at the end of each day to ensure that students are working. The
teacher should walk around the room offering suggestions to each
group in their analysis and listening to the students to get a
better feel for the class. *note:
optionally, the teacher can assign different groups each day and
give each group a poet and a list of a couple of their poems to
work on during that period, the advantage to this method is that
it allows the students to work with more different people.
- By the third week of class students should be back into the
school routine and they should also be comfortable working with
their classmates. To further build a sense of community and give
the students practice analyzing longer pieces of British Literature,
the teacher should lead the class in approximately 3 weeks of
reading a relatively short novel or play. Reading will be assigned
as needed and the class time will be spent in teacher-directed
discussion of the novel. This is not to say that the teacher would
teach the book in the traditional manner but rather would motivate
and inspire the students to talk amongst themselves as a class.
Tests, quizzes, or reading checks are up to the teacher’s own
preference.
- The rest of the class will be spent reading anything the students
see fit in groups with a number of people determined strictly
based on interest. The only restriction is that students are expected
to read one poem, one play, one novel, and one work of non fiction
(usually an essay) OR one work from each time period. After students
have met this requirement they are expected to continue to work
on anything they see fit. If students choose to read anything
that is not on the curriculum (which they are welcome to do) they
are expected to add it to the list with critiques and discussion
questions.
- It doesn’t matter what you read; it is what you
do with the book that matters. If you can show that you have
learned something from reading “easier” books, then that is
fine. Don’t, however, read only the same types of books
because the purpose of the class is to learn about all the
different types of British literature. The only time you should
read many of the same types of books is if you are investigating
one type of literature or author.
- The final project, or my recommendation for it (it is subject
to the teacher’s alterations) is a paper or creative project analyzing
everything each student has read that semester. It should combine
information relating to each piece, explain what the student learned
from the work or their research of it, and compare/contrast the
works. The purpose of this particular final is to reward students
who read more and read more carefully and to allow the teacher
to assess exactly how much progress has been made in the class.
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