This week we find Lizzy at a crossroads. She is trying desperately to work through the common novel study with her class when she finds that her students are not reading the novel as assigned.
Should she try to finish the novel? What should she do?
2 comments:
I actually really liked this one. So there, I'm not always predictably sarcastic :)
This is a realistic problem that I think every English teacher deals with. First, I'm going to answer the first question because it's a quicker one: Yes. If she doesn't finish the novel unit she will set a precedent that will be difficult to come back from. Honestly, she probably won’t get many more people on board at this point no matter what she tries, but that’s lightyears ahead of giving up in front of the students.
So, for next time...
-NEVER assign a book and simply use 10-question quizzes as reading checks (more later).
-Set clear, high standards before even passing the books out. Finishing the book is never a goal, it is a requirement. Period.
-Give a project/assignment along with the reading that will require analysis of the reading, not comprehension that they can get off SparkNotes. No kid can create a series of letters to Hester from different characters at different points in the Scarlet Letter without actually reading the book.
-Acknowledge that SparkNotes is a reading resource. If kids know you know, they know they can't "get one past you." Don't make it taboo.
-Help kids through the complex parts in the book so they don't feel like they have to give up.
-Connect the book to the current time. Most kids are going to think it's boring because it's old. Prove it's not outdated.
-Don't wait until you're half-way through a unit to ask for student response. Ask them how they feel about the reading. If they say it's boring, it's a red flag that they're not keeping up with it. This should be asked early and often so you can adjust your teaching accordingly.
First of all, home girl needs to change in big ways. Obviously there is a large problem at hand that needs to be addressed. Second, if she knew her kids weren't doing well, she should have done something to address the problems and struggles they had been having.
Yes, she should finish the novel, but she needs to find a way to cope with the situation at hand.
There are many things she could do, including hands-on projects and group/class discussions--pretty much anything to make it seem more real. Maybe, instead of showing the "sucky" movie, she could have the kids act out scenes or write their own, or even watch a movie like "Easy A." "The Scarlet Letter" is an extremely tough book to get through and she should have realized that at the get-go.
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