British Literature -- Spring Grades

This British Literature class was a great pleasure for me.  Not only did I get to re-read some of my favorite pieces of literature, but I had the opportunity to discuss and “unpack” these with a wonderful group of students.  Each week they came prepared; not only had they read the sometimes challenging material, but they had insightful discussion questions that we used as a group to explore deeper meanings in the novels, poetry, and dramatic works; they all contributed to our discussions and added many perceptive opinions.

Because this class required a lot of reading, I didn’t assign any writing assignments.  At the beginning of the semester, I modeled the kind of discussion questions that would help us examine the assigned readings.  After those initial weeks, the students themselves were assigned to bring in questions for the class to consider and explore.   Some days, we had so many discussion questions that we couldn’t get through all of them. 

Their grades are then somewhat subjective.  This was not a class in which a student could sit back, not read the assignments, and refuse to participate.  A small class like this demanded much more interaction.  I don’t have any percentages or specific scores to use to determine a letter grade; however, as I considered each student’s grade for the semester, I asked myself these questions:

·         Did he/she come to class having read the assigned portions?  Could I tell the student’s comprehension via his/her comments and participation?

·         Did he/she bring thoughtful and insightful questions for the class to discuss?

·         Did he/she think carefully over the discussion questions and share individual comments?

·         Was he/she resistant to participating in the discussions?

·         Over the course of the class, did he/she grow in his/her abilities to analyze fiction, poetry, and drama?

Each of the students did marvelously, and my suggested grade for each is an “A.”  I hope they enjoyed the class as much as I did.   If they ever need some ideas for more good British literature to read, I’d be more than glad to help them find more good books, drama, or poetry to read.

British Literature Class Notes -- Week 15 (May 7)

Greetings!

We had a wonderful final class for our British Literature class.  We finished our last reading selection, The 39 Steps by John Buchan.  While the book is full of implausibilities, the action of the plot made it a fun read.  One student expressed the wish that it would make a great longer book with more of the details filled in. 

We only took about a third of our class time to discuss the book because I had planned a final exam.  I had written last week that it would be a Bingo game.  I lied.  It was a Jeopardy game instead.  (You can go here and play it for yourselves.)  The students did well and were rewarded with prizes.  

There was some confusion about the Reflection Papers.  In my other classes, I had the students write their reflections as part of the class.  If any of the students didn't write one, they can write one and e-mail it to me.  

My goal is to have grades out by next Thursday.  I have to say that this is one of my favorite classes to teach. This year's group of students were especially loquacious, making the class discussions fascinating.

Assignments for Next Week:

-- ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!

Links for this week:

Class Notes

Jeopardy Game

Have a wonderful summer!

Mrs. Prichard

British Literature Class Notes -- Week 14 (April 30)

Greetings!

Once again, the weather was beautiful, and my garden was calling my name.  As we're winding down our school year here at CHAT, students and teachers are getting ready to change gears.

We are on our final book, the 1915 espionage/thriller The 39 Steps by John Buchan.  The class seems to like the book.  Not only is it shorter, it has an engaging plot and feels more contemporary in its style.  In class we not only discussed the the questions that each student brought to class, but we watched excerpts from a 2008 BBC version of the book and a scene from a stage play.  The movies made from this book follow the serious, dangerous tone found in the book while the plays are more farcical.   We will finish the book for the last week in class.

This week, our final week together, we will finish our discussion of The 39 Steps and will also have a final exam.  I haven't decided if this exam will look more like a Bingo game or a game of Jeopardy.  At any rate, no studying will be required; on the other hand, students have mentioned that treat would be nice, so they may bring something to share with the class.

This Thursday is also the National Day of Prayer, and my community hosts a city-wide Prayer Breakfast; I will be playing on the worship team for this event.  Because of this, there is an outside chance that I may be a few minutes late.  I usually leave Northfield quite early to avoid heavy traffic, so I'm not sure what I will encounter leaving a bit later.  Students have been forewarned.

Finally, I've given the students one writing assignment for this semester:  a Reflection Paper.  I would like them to take time to think about what they've learned in this class.  They can include thoughts about styles of writing, themes, periods of literature, their personal opinions about various pieces, assignment lengths, and class discussions.  I'd prefer these reflections go deep rather than broad.  In other words, instead of a bullet-pointed list of all the particulars of the class, they could choose one aspect of the class and "unpack" it a little deeper.

Assignments for this week:

-- Finish The 39 Steps

-- Reflection Paper

Links for this week:

Class Notes

The 39 Steps (BBC version)

Drury Lane stage version of The 39 Steps

The Value of Reflection Papers

Looking forward to our class,

Mrs. Prichard