Saturday, August 29, 2009
Group D Reader Response Discussion
Please make a plan as to how you might share this book with the rest of the class. To what does the book lend itslelf? How can you develop a feasible and engaging group share:PoemsCharacter websPerson on the Street InterviewDifferent Endings: ABC book (electronic format?)Act out a dramatic scene from the bookPlease respond to each other's entries on how to share this book.
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I believe this book best lends itself to either writing the next chapter(s) of the book or an interview. If one was to create the next chapter(s) of the book, it could be done in a couple ways: it could be Raman's response to Vidya's letter in the last chapter (and maybe the next couple letters from each character) or it could be written about when Vidya and Raman are reunited in America. Another option would be to have people interview either a person from the Indian culture or a person with any traditional heritage. Questions could be asked that are similar to events and/or dilemmas in Vidya's life (i.e. What role does the family play in a couple's marriage?) A nice comparison could then be made between Vidya and the person who was interviewed (and that comparion could be shared in the form of a poster, a Power Point, etc.).
ReplyDeleteI think that the book could be shared by completing a character tableau. I found out about tableau's in a workshop I attended last year at C.C.S.U. I would have the class chose an important character from Climbing the Stairs and students would have to cut out pictures, images, and words from magazines to convey the characters beliefs, thoughts, actions, and feelings during the book. Next, students would have to discuss why they chose the images, pictures, and words they cut out and added to their tableau. Also, the class would have to share the placement of the images, pictures, or words on their tableau with the class because the placement of images in a tableau is just as important as the images chosen and cut out.
ReplyDeleteHeather, I was at that workshop as well. I think the tableau is a great idea! I keep thinking about Vidya's character and the struggles she had to go through. Since this story is set in the 1940's, it might be nice to find information about the treatment of women in India today. What customs and traditions have held the test of time? Are there changes that have occured within the culture? Or a time period study could be done to see how women were treated in other cultures during the 1940's. With either research assignment, one could compare and contrast the information found with the information in the book. But as I read Dr. Kurkjian's post, I see I am thinking more about what students in my class could do. If we are focusing on what we as a group could share with our 588 class, I would say an ABC book would be a good choice. There are so many Indian words used in the book, and luckily they are always explained. An ABC book of the new words, with pictures to represent them, would be helpful in introducing the Indian culture and would allow the setting, plot, and themes to be outlined visually.
ReplyDeleteAn activity that might supplement this novel would be expert groups, where groups would research further on some aspect of Indian culture or history that is represented in the novel and then present this to the class, or through a gallery walk. Food and music could also be brought in , as well as speakers that could explain the marriage ceremony or even the religion. This would be a neat interdisciplinary project for a middle school.
ReplyDeleteLiz,
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of expert groups. Do you mean like a jigsaw? I participated in a jigsaw in Dr. Weiss' class and thought my students would really enjoy this form of teaching one another, so I tried it in my class and they loved it!
Heather
I feel that this book lends itself to character interviews. There are such contrasting point of views, that I feel interviews would help students and readers to get inside the heads of the characters, especially those whose beliefs and opinions differ from their own. In my own class, we have conducted mock talk shows, in which one of the students from the group acts as the host and interviews different characters from the story. They develop interview questions that will help their classmates to understand varying points of view, conflicts, emotions, etc. I feel it would be valuable to have students think about the reasons behind the beliefs and cultural differences, rather than simply making judgments about a culture that varies so significantly from our own.
ReplyDeleteLiz,
ReplyDeleteExpert groups does sound like a good idea. I'm speaking from experience, because I enjoyed reading about the topics that you guys had researched and shared about... arranged marriages, etc.! It makes sense to teach history around a work of literature, because the readers are already invested in the topic and the learning is more meaningful.
OK- great ideas to consider the book again- to resee the book and revise thinking.
ReplyDeleteLauren,
ReplyDeleteI think the idea of character interviews would work well for this book - especially with the underlying conflicts that never get resolved. Think about what students could do with putting two characters back together after some years have passed. They could write the dialogue between Malati and Vidya when the two are in their twenties!
Lisa,
ReplyDeleteI think the idea of ABC books is great both for us in our 588 class as well as for our students. There are so many new vocabulary words and concepts introduced in this book. I think displaying those words and concepts in a creative way using an ABC book is a great tool, especially to help students gain a better grasp on their meaning and importance.
I also like the idea of the tableau that Heather and Lisa mentioned. I have heard of them before (under a different name), but have not done them with my students using that exact format. I think they, too, would be a great tool to help students visualize key concepts discussed in the book. Somewhat going along with what Lisa said, perhaps different students or groups of students could be assigned different topics on which to create their tableau (i.e. the 1940's, Indian culture, importance of women's rights, etc.). Having such different tableaus created could be a great conversation starter for the text.