The netbooks have arrived and are now in my classroom. They are so cute. Monday will be an interesting day. I'm looking forward to trying them out on Monday. I want to give the students an opportunity to use them, and I want to get my warnings out of the way. Cary keeps saying, "Don't look for tools, but rather start with what you want to teach them." This is a tough statement to follow. It is hard not to get caught up in the gadgets part of it.
British Literature: They are about to start reading Canterbury Tales on Monday. I'm thinking about giving them some time on Monday to research Thomas a Becket. I wonder if I keep it less formal if it will produce more geniune learning.
Humor and Satire: The students will finish reading Taming of the Shrew on Monday and I'm trying to think of a culminating assignment for them. They will have a take home test based on three essay questions that will force them to delve into the material and hopefully have a deeper understanding of the play. I want the in-class assignment to be based around the question, "Is this a sexist play?" Again I want them to think critically, collaborate, and enjoy Shakespeare. I just haven't come up with the assignment yet.
Monday opens up so many opportunities in my classroom. I feel like so many restrictions that hold teachers down have been lifted off of my classroom.
Lunn
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I am so looking forward to watching your journey, David. So, seeing as I'm not a secondary English content expert, I'm going to pose a few things for you to think about that are not content-specific but will provide you with ways to think about the work you're asking the kids to do and how technology can more effectively meet individual needs.
ReplyDelete1.) Some thoughts on differentiation
A teacher who incorporates technology greatly expands the pool of resources, means of instructional presentation and support, and modes of product creation available to students, and is thus better equipped to meet varying student needs.
Authors of "Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works."
As teachers, we are diligent in our efforts to differentiate the curriculum. Offering choices is an effective strategy to ensure that kids have opportunities to learn and express themselves. To the same end, the best learning tools have student choice built in, resulting in customizations that support access and engagement.
--Unknown
Instead of trying to adapt our lessons to meet each student’s need, we . . . create lessons that students can customize themselves?
--Unknown
2.) I remember being in high school and feeling as though I couldn't connect to anything I was learning. As you think about "Taming of the Shrew" and "Canterbury Tales", how can you help your students make connections to those pieces of literature? Why should they care? What is the deep, essential learnings you want your students to walk away with? How is the content relevant to their lives?
I hope to get into your classroom this week, David! I think you're doing incredible work.