Inspired by the New York Times

The resource I found introduces 13 new ways to respond to literature. Here are two suggestions I found useful and feasible:

1.     Book talk, with student as host

Students create a podcast around a book or author. A student acts as a host and introduces different segments and other students respond as various stakeholders, such as the author or an expert of the topic, or a new reader. The teacher can assign titles for the podcasts for boundary-setting. Some titles to consider are: “The Book That Changed My Life” or “Why (someone’s) Poetry is Worth Reading” I find this strategy quite exciting because students get to play with technology (the tape recorder) and work in groups. The idea is to sell the book or anthology of poetry to an audience. The teacher can assess different things when she sets the context and boundaries by adjusting the title, audience, speakers, etc.

2.     Shot on location

I find this strategy very applicable to assessing students’ understanding of local literature.  

Students choose key scenes from a text that is set in a real place and find photos or illustrations of those locations. This strategy can be used for all 3 text types, i.e. prose, plays, and poetry. Especially useful for visual learners who require visual stimulation to understand context and content. The article also suggests getting students to visit the actual location and recording themselves reading relevant passages or discussing the works in the very spot the author has written about. The teacher can make a list of discussion questions for students to complete in pairs or groups. Get students to take picture of the location that they think best conveys/expresses what is covered in the text. I find this approach useful because teachers can leverage on the authenticity of places featured in local writing. The failure to see the real-world relevance of literary texts is a common problem. Hopefully, this assessment can help students relate when they see pictures or visit the sites,  i.e. benefit from authentic learning in relevant contexts.

I like the ideas here because they advocate principles of Assessment for Learning as well as Assessment as Learning, rather than the traditional Assessment of Learning. Assessment is not so much the end-point of learning, but a means trigger for even more questions and thus more learning. The suggestions listed here move away from written assessments and encourages verbal responses. In this vein, setting guidelines allows the teacher to assess very specific things while enabling students to be creative and self-regulated learners within that framework.

A side note: This website makes references to the New York Times Models, which should supplement the teacher's own knowledge and understanding, rather than be made into material for distribution to the kids. Unless your students are really high-ability learners or GEP-ers, they might get bored with the extra material to read.

Here’s the URL: http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/10/beyond-the-book-report-ways-to-respond-to-literature-using-new-york-times-models/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0