I found a good source of teaching ideas at http://www.teachit.co.uk/index.php?CurrMenu=143&T=3031. You will need to log in to download the pdf files.
I focused on the activities in 20 ideas for comparing texts, 20 ideas for reading plays and 20 ideas for reading poetry. Here are some ideas from them that might potentially be useful
1. For introducing literary elements in poetry:
- Mix and Match poetry terms and examples from poems.
- Show relevant objects that relate to a poem and ask students to predict what the poem might be about (good for symbolism/ metaphor/ personification studies)
-Bang out the rhythm while reading the poem. Might incur wrath of teacher next door. Also relevant to this would be to use songs in class.
2. Possible assessment ideas. This might work as a creative assignment that takes a certain percentage in marks. Perhaps this is more feasible for lower secondary/ mid-term assessments.
-Modern Marketing (for plays). Students come up with the marketing concept and poster for either a theatrical production or film of the play. They must consider which stars are most suited to the roles, a striking tagline and which themes, issues and ideas would be emphasised to appeal to modern day audience.
I absolutely love this idea because this has such potential to tap to student's interest in popular movies. Not only does this activity required in-depth knowledge of the text, but it also encourages delving into various interpretation of text to stage. This activity is particularly good for plays as there is much to read in between the lines, and this activity could help students discover that.
On another note, I also like the idea of the frozen gallery- where half the class create provocative and original freeze frames for key moments in the play, and the rest of the class interpret the meaning of the poses. This is great for keeping energy level up in class, making the text interactive and also understanding body position/ placement within the text.
I focused on the activities in 20 ideas for comparing texts, 20 ideas for reading plays and 20 ideas for reading poetry. Here are some ideas from them that might potentially be useful
1. For introducing literary elements in poetry:
- Mix and Match poetry terms and examples from poems.
- Show relevant objects that relate to a poem and ask students to predict what the poem might be about (good for symbolism/ metaphor/ personification studies)
-Bang out the rhythm while reading the poem. Might incur wrath of teacher next door. Also relevant to this would be to use songs in class.
2. Possible assessment ideas. This might work as a creative assignment that takes a certain percentage in marks. Perhaps this is more feasible for lower secondary/ mid-term assessments.
-Modern Marketing (for plays). Students come up with the marketing concept and poster for either a theatrical production or film of the play. They must consider which stars are most suited to the roles, a striking tagline and which themes, issues and ideas would be emphasised to appeal to modern day audience.
I absolutely love this idea because this has such potential to tap to student's interest in popular movies. Not only does this activity required in-depth knowledge of the text, but it also encourages delving into various interpretation of text to stage. This activity is particularly good for plays as there is much to read in between the lines, and this activity could help students discover that.
On another note, I also like the idea of the frozen gallery- where half the class create provocative and original freeze frames for key moments in the play, and the rest of the class interpret the meaning of the poses. This is great for keeping energy level up in class, making the text interactive and also understanding body position/ placement within the text.
Thanks Steph for the ideas, and the emphaise on students themselves doing the interpretation. All too often, we see th product as the final product to be evaluated by the teachers but really, so much more can be gotten out of involving students in the process and evaluation.
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