As we conclude our lesson series, I feel eager to "dive" into unit planning. I feel that, perhaps, a broader look (and what I mean by this is looking at a four or five week unit versus a three day lesson plan) can be helpful and exciting.
Things I think can help me in the process:
I'm really not sure, but I find myself today trying to look at unorthodox ways for my kids to connect with Hamlet.
AND . . . As I keep thinking and thinking, (and googling stuff) I came across Sparknotes. One of the themes they claim is evident in Hamlet is the idea of "the Nation as a diseased body." Aha! How awesome (not really, but yes!) is that? Given the grand-assery of OUR state and the downright stupidity of our elected officials (more specifically here, I'm talking about the government shutdown), I think, "I can make these kids relate to Hamlet!"
Things I think can help me in the process:
- Utilizing the texts we've read thus far as tools. For example, I had been reading the weekly texts AFTER I've completed my assignments for this class, only to realize that, "hey! Had I read them alongside or before, I would have saved myself a ton of grief." To prove this point, I did just that in my final lesson for our lesson series. The Cooper text on cooperative reading was rather helpful on its own, but I also used it while I was creating my lesson. It served sort of like a guide.
- Fieldwork observations and lesson(s). So for ED 330, some of us have already been observed. Alex and I were observed this Monday she and I discussed briefly how we feel our classes went. In thinking about that, I feel that using these experiences can help us plan for a more specific outcome.
- Random, never would've thought it, sources. I read over Alex's post and thought about how interesting it would be to initiate a unit on Julius Caesar and connect it to students by means of something they can relate to or understand. What kid doesn't like superheroes, right?
I'm really not sure, but I find myself today trying to look at unorthodox ways for my kids to connect with Hamlet.
AND . . . As I keep thinking and thinking, (and googling stuff) I came across Sparknotes. One of the themes they claim is evident in Hamlet is the idea of "the Nation as a diseased body." Aha! How awesome (not really, but yes!) is that? Given the grand-assery of OUR state and the downright stupidity of our elected officials (more specifically here, I'm talking about the government shutdown), I think, "I can make these kids relate to Hamlet!"
Nancy, twitter as a text sounds pretty cool! I will definitely look into this! As to the psychoanalysis aspect, as I kept thinking about it, I started to think about Kanye West. I actually came across a few articles that try to psychoanalyze this guy. It's pretty interesting, in connection to Hamlet. Thanks! :)
ReplyDeleteBrenda,
ReplyDelete(Sorry if I repeat myself with this story!) A few years ago I started a Shakespeare reading group in EE. Brian Charest and probably five or six students were involved, and someone chose *Hamlet*. One of our most engaging discussions was around the fascination with making sense of Hamlet's psychosis, but dramatizing and writing off Ophelia's. Making her "crazy" the real crazy. I love this--we had a fairly heated debate where some folks really wanted to keep Hamlet the hero, rather than the very awful, mean jerk--and it makes me think, too, that we can invite students into conversations that we think are valuable, too, even as we ask them to invite us into theirs. For me, relevancy can easily be inauthentic if we don't extend it to make sense of why we're teaching in the first place. Sure--we can know our students: but what are we going to do with it based on what our goals, as teachers are, for learning? Maybe, for you, it starts with asking questions about why it might be valuable to have a larger conversation about PTSD and mental illness, and about the discourses that are used to shape these. Why? I can easily imagine that students have ways that they are constantly negotiating these, and dealing with stress, tragedy, trauma, and so on. And you could easily do an inventory about their interests when it comes to these topics. I also think you could make connections to the notion of state, or of politics, when it comes to these issues. That recent *This American Life* episode series on Harper High School did some interesting work in this regard, in that it focused on the political dynamics of the situation, but also the working lives of teachers and counselors, and also on the lived experiences--traumatic and communal--of the students in the community and school. And, this may be a source that you learn from, rather than one you have to use to instruct.
I also like the blog idea! How could you use a class blog to have students write reflectively, do research, and also join a larger conversation?
Interesting work! Looking forward to seeing more.
sarah