‘In literature courses, we are sometimes so busy trying to “cover all the material” or “expose” our students to “great literature” that we fail to take the time to focus in, develop connections between works and contexts, and explore the relevance of what we read to the present’ (Carey-Webb, 2001, p. 117). This quote aptly sums up the goals for Module A.
I have unpacked the syllabus and jotted down some of the key ideas underpinning Module A:
Module A: Textual Conversations
This is a comparative study of texts and their contexts. They study two texts from different time periods that have a direct connection.
Students must consider:
- differences and commonalities
- the texts written in their respective time periods
- the different objectives of their authors/composers
For the purpose of this assignment, this blog will be a curation and rationale of several multimodal resources to complement the teaching of Shakespearean text, The Tempest, Shakespeare's final play about a magician and his daughter stranded on a desert island. A companion prose fiction that will accompany the study of The Tempest is Margaret Attwood's Hag-Seed, a modern retelling of the former text.
The range of resources that this blog will offer will focus on language structures and features, Shakespearean text structures, as well as grammar and conventions. There will be talk about the story of the English language and how it has evolved over thousands and thousands of years. Let's face it: It IS important that Advanced students engage with Shakespeare's language to gain a complete understanding of how the text is constructed.
That said, apart from just learning The Tempest from its text, the resources found here would (hopefully) bring the book to live for my students and hopefully, would make learning more interactive and that they will take learning as more than just passing the HSC with a good grade. This means generating interest in literary reading by "connecting this experience with real-life concerns and then creating ways to turn that interest into ‘a fuller response’" (Carey-Webb, 2001, p. 2).
These multimedia resources and lesson ideas were inspired and drawn from many experienced English teachers that also reassured me that packing Shakespeare AND this companion text within 10 weeks is going to be OK! I hope this would give other new teachers (like myself) more ideas on planning out of the box lessons.
At the end of the day, my goal is for these students to engage with the text by exploring social issues and whatever we read be developed through "stimulating anecdotes and discussion that bring a particular issue to life" (Faust, 2002, p. 383).
References:
Faust, M. (2002). ‘Getting it right’: pragmatic approaches to reading and teaching English literature. Journal of curriculum studies. 35(3). 371-386. DOI: 10.1080/0022027032000050025
Webb, A. (2001). Literature and lives : A response-based, cultural studies approach to teaching English.