TEACHING A LITERATURE CLASS - PART 2

My memory isn't as sharp as it used to be. Maybe it's all the books that I'm reading at the same time, maybe it's the constant interruption of life that breaks the concentration, maybe it's the brain of a 48-year,-old. Who knows. All this to say, I have a notebook next to me as I read, and I take loads of notes. Within that stream of notes, I'm also tracking my line of discussion. Meaning that within each book, I know why I've chosen the book and direct the discussion accordingly. We recently read The Secret Garden and a modern retelling, The Humming Room in my high school group. I had several reasons for reading these books. First, we read The Secret Garden in spring and sat outside as much as possible. As most of you know, it is a beautifully written, classic book. Life was breaking open around us in nature and we were able to enjoy it. Second, The Secret Garden is an amazing piece of literature, but it is very spiritual, and not from a Christian perspective. I was dealing with high schoolers, so we chased down the idea of the Magic that Burgess refers to so often. What is it? What does Colin mean when he says he wants to study it and perform experiments with it? Third, The Humming Room offers a version that the students could relate to easier. It's opening scene sounds like something we would hear in the news. Fourth, while the students said they enjoyed The Humming Room more than The Secret Garden, it had an unsatisfactory ending. Each student then went around and said what would have wrapped the book up in a more satisfactory way for each of them. It leaves gaps and questions, so we answered them. Fifth, I put up a huge piece of paper with markers labeled Compare and Contrast and I had the students call out and then go write down under the correct heading how the story was alike, how was it different, how were the characters the same, how were they different, etc. Sixth, while I don't catch everything, I do want these students to have a working knowledge of literary terms and their uses within works. We hunt and draw attention to literary techniques within works. I certainly don't claim to be a master at this, but with each book that we do, with each bit of study I put in, my abilities grow alongside the students.

Real life is calling again! I'll be back soon!