The second MET project video that I
tagged was a seventh grade Language Arts class, and during the class, the
teacher discussed the importance of reading about the author of a book before
reading the book itself. In this case, students were reading about and
discussing the life of Lois Lowry before they read The Giver. After observing the students’ interest in talking about
and relating to her life, I saw that providing this background information to
students could be a valuable investment tool before diving into reading a novel
with them.
For example, the class read about
how Lois Lowry grew up in a military family and was constantly moving around.
The teacher took the opportunity to have students make text-to-self connections
with this information. Students who were from military families shared their
experiences of moving frequently and discussed how it had helped shape who they
are. Students were actively engaged in this discussion, and because of the
connections they made, they seemed to enjoy reading about Lois Lowry’s life and
how it influenced her writing. I have learned that it is very important to
start readings, especially long ones, with a hook that grabs students’
attention and makes them want to know more. Getting students to relate to an
author is an effective way for them to realize that they are not just reading
words on a page, but rather a story that is personally influenced by someone’s
experiences.
In my Spanish for Spanish Speakers class, we are about to start reading the novella Lazarillo de Tormes. While the author is anonymous, the novel takes place during Spain’s Golden Age when there was a rigid class structure that determined people’s identities. I hope to introduce this background information and have students discuss how this may influence the life of the novel’s protagonist, who is from the lower class and has limited options for survival. In this way, students will become more familiar with the protagonist and the world in which he lives, which will hopefully interest them more in reading the book.
In my Spanish for Spanish Speakers class, we are about to start reading the novella Lazarillo de Tormes. While the author is anonymous, the novel takes place during Spain’s Golden Age when there was a rigid class structure that determined people’s identities. I hope to introduce this background information and have students discuss how this may influence the life of the novel’s protagonist, who is from the lower class and has limited options for survival. In this way, students will become more familiar with the protagonist and the world in which he lives, which will hopefully interest them more in reading the book.
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