Studying
Last Thursday, the students listened to a CD of "The Most Dangerous Game" while I attended a seminar on Prescription Drug Abuse. They didn't have time to finish it in class, and only about 5% of the students took the initiative to go home and finish.
On Tuesday, we attempted to discuss some of the basics of the story, such as who is the protagonist, but many of the students did not know.
Today, I tried to have the same discussion but still, many students did not know the basic facts of the story.
Most students in Regular English do not have a grasp of the concept of studying or active reading.
When a student is sitting in class, he or she should take notes over what is being discussed. If the teacher asks a question, the students should write it down along with the answer. They should then go home and look over these notes, clarifying, correcting, and amending. When they are reading a story, they should always be looking to identify the
protagonist
antagonist
basic situation
conflict
complications
climax
resolution
point of view
Everything they know they will be asked about, they should be looking for in advance.
Parents can help their students prepare for my class by using my site to read the story themselves. Then the parents and students can discuss the stories together. Do more than just discuss the facts of the stories (though they definitely need to have that down pat). Discuss the ideas of the stories, the "why" of the story, the "what if" of the story.
This ACTIVE participation will help your child do better in class.
My students have homework every night. They should be studying vocabulary and studying the literature for that day.
Here's a list of all the short stories we will be reading, or have read, with clickable links to the text.
The Sniper
The Most Dangerous Game
The Interlopers
The Cask of Amontillado
The Necklace
The Gift of the Magi
Poison (I haven't found an online copy, so it must not be in the public domain.)
On Tuesday, we attempted to discuss some of the basics of the story, such as who is the protagonist, but many of the students did not know.
Today, I tried to have the same discussion but still, many students did not know the basic facts of the story.
Most students in Regular English do not have a grasp of the concept of studying or active reading.
When a student is sitting in class, he or she should take notes over what is being discussed. If the teacher asks a question, the students should write it down along with the answer. They should then go home and look over these notes, clarifying, correcting, and amending. When they are reading a story, they should always be looking to identify the
protagonist
antagonist
basic situation
conflict
complications
climax
resolution
point of view
Everything they know they will be asked about, they should be looking for in advance.
Parents can help their students prepare for my class by using my site to read the story themselves. Then the parents and students can discuss the stories together. Do more than just discuss the facts of the stories (though they definitely need to have that down pat). Discuss the ideas of the stories, the "why" of the story, the "what if" of the story.
This ACTIVE participation will help your child do better in class.
My students have homework every night. They should be studying vocabulary and studying the literature for that day.
Here's a list of all the short stories we will be reading, or have read, with clickable links to the text.
The Sniper
The Most Dangerous Game
The Interlopers
The Cask of Amontillado
The Necklace
The Gift of the Magi
Poison (I haven't found an online copy, so it must not be in the public domain.)
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home