Creative Teaching of Foundational Skills
I visited two English classes early this week. The teacher in the ninth-grade class asked students to prepare for and stage a trial of Odysseus to determine whether he should be held responsible for the disaster with the cyclops Polyphemus. During opening statements, rebuttals, and cross examinations, students cited facts and textual evidence (from Book 9 and beyond) to make their cases. The tenth-grade teacher had asked her students to draw one of the pilgrims from the General Prologue to the The Canterbury Tales for homework. Students presented their depictions of their chosen characters and accompanying accessories to their classmates, supporting their choices with references to specific lines in the text.
Both exercises were quite fun; there was good energy and more than a little laughter in the rooms. But they were also lessons – if unconventional ones – in close textual analysis. Students were asked, in the words of our mission, “to read deeply.” Close reading is the foundation of great class discussion, compelling analytical writing, and critical thinking. In an age of infographics, 45-second videos, and even shorter attention spans, I am deeply grateful to work with colleagues who find such creative ways to teach this foundational skill of deep reading.