Strategies
Journaling / Socratic discussion / connecting to life
Each class period begins with journaling. Students engage in silent sustained writing about a journal prompt on the board; the prompts are relevant to the topics we will be discussing in class that day, for example:
Explain the significance of Cordelia's statement to her father that she loves
him "according to [her] bond, no more no less".
Explain why Edmund is determined to trick Gloucester into thinking that Edgar
is plotting to betray his father. Be very specific in your response. Explain the
apostrophe in I, i. Cite evidence.
Write a persuasive paragraph about how France sees Cordelia's "tardiness in
nature". Is her inarticulate nature with her father a source of human frailty OR is
it a vice? Choose one side. Be sure to cite evidence to defend your response.
Students share their responses to the journal prompts aloud in class, which promotes Socratic discussions about the characters and their actions. From there we launch into active conversations regarding the characters and how they fit into today's society and family dynamics. Students may share anecdotes that parallel with the actions of the characters and literary devices.
Vocabulary in Context / Frayer Model
Close reading of the play requires that students define words they do not know in the text. Students identify words and phrases that are unfamiliar to them and determine connotatively what they mean in context. Students have the Frayer Model format to use for defining words and phrases. This model offers students the opportunity to learn what the word/phrase means, the antonym, and a visual expression of the word/phrase. If a parallel text is used, like the Perfection Learning Edition of King Lear (13), many words are identified and explained.
Episodic Notes / Think in Outline Format
Students will take notes episodically in an outline format. This format will be modeled for them through the use of an Elmo and overheads. Since the play is, of course, in sequential order, episodic notes will be easier for the students to master to help them order events and improve their writing skills. This ability will allow students to get their list episodes as they occur quickly, examine transitions from one episode to the next, and synthesize their ideas when they have practice timed writings and finally, will enable them to be really successful when they have forty minutes to read a passage, pre-write a brief outline, and complete a full, focused essay on the AP exam.
Graphic Organizers
Allow students access to graphic organizers for: 1) the outline for writing about literature, 2) Cornell Notes, 3) Frayer Model, 4) Jane Shaffer essay format. When students are familiar with several options for graphic organizers, they are able to choose what works best for them to take notes, outline, define terms in context, and organize/write a comprehensive essay.
Think / Pair / Share
Students are assigned a theme or motif in the play concerning familial relationships, conflict resolution, bullying, or sibling rivalry. Each student will spend about seven minutes thinking and freewriting about their assigned topic. After this time, they will group together with the other students who have the same topic and brainstorm, making notes as they work. After fifteen minutes in their groups, they will share with the class how their group has analyzed and interpreted their topic as it is presented in the play. This again promotes Socratic discussion in the class and promotes Cornell notetaking. This activity allows students to think on their own, interact with a group, and present to the class by peer teaching.
Grammar
Through close reading of the play, students will look for patterns of grammar, like inverted sentence structures, shared lines, and short lines to see how this impacts understanding the text. We will also look at obsolete language to clarify meanings in context.
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