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I am teaching the novel The House of Dies Drear by Virginia Hamilton in summer school this year with sixth through eighth grade students. Originally, I had planned to teach the book like I have taught others in the past. I would read aloud a couple chapters and the students would do some skill work based on whatever I wanted them to work on. In fact, the first lesson was going to be a simple friendly letter.
When I came home tonight I was reflecting on getting the students to write tomorrow when I realized that what I really want my students to get out of this month is to have a fun time reading a story. I think that teaching a novel by breaking it up and working with skills takes away from the "flow" of the story. To a certain extent I think we lose the author's voice when we continually pull the students out of the prose.
I decided tonight that we are going to read the book aloud from beginning to end without stopping for skills work. I won't ask directed question, point out figurative language, or even talk about character development. I will simply share the words as the author has written them. (I will answer any questions students ask about the story, just like I would do if I were reading it to my daughters at bedtime.)
So here is the first written lesson plan for summer school:
Background: None
Objective: TSW enjoy reading the first couple chapters of The House of Dies Drear.
Activity: The student will listen to me read the first couple chapters of The House of Dies Drear.
Guided Practice: None
Independent Practice: None
I, for one, love this idea. I imagine you will engage in some dialogue about what you read even though it isn't in your lesson plan :)
ReplyDeleteIf you can reach these students and get them to enjoy, even for a little while, the act of reading it will be a solid investment. I am looking forward to hearing how it goes.
Thanks for the comment Sean. I agree, I think we reading class the joy out of reading books. If this works out well, it could change the way I approach reading novels through the regular school year.
Delete"To a certain extent I think we lose the author's voice when we continually pull the students out of the prose."
ReplyDeleteI can't agree more...
For years, I taught a novel by reading the first chapter aloud and then assigning the rest as daily homework followed by in-class questions. This produced noncompliance and moans about the book. This year, I read the whole book aloud, but I still had questions. I rarely heard complaints, students were eager for me to continue reading, and a few students said they liked the book. Was it simply because they didn't have to have homework, were they unable to connect with the book on their own, or was it something else? In any case, reading aloud made a difference.
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