Extending students

I sat in and observed again with the Grade 9's.  The students have really grasped the concepts of the novel, and the teacher feels they are a group that really need extending, so she is planning on having the students focus on linking different literacy elements.  She is introducing diction to the class, which normally would not cover later. Diction looks at the specific use of language and how even one word can convey meaning and be significant in the development of the the characters, and/or the cultural setting of the novel.  It ties in with different forms of imagery, and looking at the mood of suspense, which also links to the irony and foreshadowing evident in the text. The Lodger is a novel that is full of auditory and kinesthetic imagery - not only visual imagery, and the students are encouraged to find evidence of the different forms of imagery.  When introducing something new, the teacher models the visual framework that the students will create, as well as clarifies new understandings with evidence form the novel.  The students have their previous graphic organizers displayed around the room, and they can refer to these as well as from the book to come up with specific examples of motifs, a quote, that they can draw examples of diction.  The quote also may exemplify the creation of characterization either directly (from characters themselves) or indirectly(inferred, or implied by another character's reaction etc).  Over the course of reading the novel and exploring the motifs and story, students continually refine their understandings through the use of graphic organizers and the development of questioning, before they need to write any essay or create any summative assessment.

The Lodger -

In the lessons following, the grade 9 students have answered set questions as part of class and home work. The teacher has clarified any misconceptions that they may have in relationship to the characters especially the Buntings and Mr Sleuth in a whole class discussion. The students have considered the place that the Buntings have within the social hierarchy of London of the time. They are servants, and as the reader, we have to delve into that psyche, of what would be proper/not proper for the Buntings, and Mrs Bunting in particular toward Mr Sleuth.

This has led on to the students doing a gallery walk, coming up with quotes from the novel that reflect a deeper understanding of the relationships and motifs within the novel. Class, saviour, luck etc.

The teacher and I have discussed the calendar for the rest of the Unit, including my suggestions for lessons I will teach,which will see the students creating a digital narrative of The Lodger.  A senior student has been asked to give a tutorial for the grade 9's on using Photo story and movie maker.

The Lodger by Marie Belloc Lowndes

Grade 9 are studying The Lodger by Marie Belloc Lowndes. A great read first published in 1914, which Hitchcock used as the basis for his first film in 1926. I have been sitting in again to observe, as the class work in pairs to learn about the processes of representation in the novel, in particular the symbols, images and motifs in the story. The students have been supported in their learning by the teacher who has given them questions to reflect upon, after they have identified the essential elements of the novel. By working in pairs, the students also support each other in their own understandings of the novel. The students, I am sure, take great pleasure in discovering examples of the different motifs that the teacher had not included in the framework that she gave them. The teacher also ensures throughout the lessons that indeed the groups are discussing the novel together, and not reading independently of one another. The questions mentioned earlier, all allow the students to make connections and show their understanding between what they have read, and the motifs in the novel.

In discussion with the teacher, as the provocation to introducing the novel, and building on the student's prior knowledge, she had the students delve into the culture of London as it was at the time of the setting of the novel - in the late 1800's. Students researched such topics as transport, sport, fashion, technology, lifestyle, music, politics, gender relationships, work in order to have a feel for the novel, and an understanding before they started reading the novel itself. Students had to submit a graphic organiser and shared their work with the teacher through using Google docs.

Lessons that followed have the students (working in different pair groups) spread out in the hall, with poster paper, rules, textas, in order to transfer their knowledge on to graphic organisers (format determined among themselves e.g. format/what happened), including incorporating quotes from the text to support their choice of language features and structures of the novel. The teacher observed that this particular activity has taken longer than she expected.

Dates: October 24, 25, 27