Typically when students encounter a play in an English class roles are divided up and they slog through the play in a way it was never intended to be performed. A few years ago I decided to stop that habit and treat a play the way it was meant to be viewed - as an experience. Sure, students create a lens of study for the play - in this case a critical theory lens - and they use that lens to help shed light on one way to experience a production.
Students seemed to welcome this break from the traditional manner of studying a play. They were able to actually enjoy it! What a breath of fresh air to take the clamps off of a play to let is wash over us.
This year we have a unique opportunity to have a couple of days before winter break and I have decided to ask students to watch the play a second time. Multiple viewings of anything causes the development of insights to occur naturally. When students know what to expect in the play they can shift their focus to their critical theory instead of just trying to "get it."
Hopefully this strategy will help them to retain their insights over the course of our break, because I would like them to dive into project when we come back. I'm taking a risk, but am confident it will benefit student understanding of these complex ideas.
Students seemed to welcome this break from the traditional manner of studying a play. They were able to actually enjoy it! What a breath of fresh air to take the clamps off of a play to let is wash over us.
This year we have a unique opportunity to have a couple of days before winter break and I have decided to ask students to watch the play a second time. Multiple viewings of anything causes the development of insights to occur naturally. When students know what to expect in the play they can shift their focus to their critical theory instead of just trying to "get it."
Hopefully this strategy will help them to retain their insights over the course of our break, because I would like them to dive into project when we come back. I'm taking a risk, but am confident it will benefit student understanding of these complex ideas.