Tell me more! Using literature to start conversations in the English classroom

How can using literature in the classroom make students see the world around them through “mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors”? What kinds of questions can teachers ask to prompt students to express how a work of literature makes them think and feel? Teachers who want to use literature to promote spontaneous conversation in the secondary-school language classroom will find this session useful. 

Programma

This session will address ways of using literature to start conversations about identity, selfhood, diversity, and aesthetic preferences in the English classroom. Discussing the contributions of two significant children’s literature critics who are also educators, this session will suggest ways to use literature to engage diverse classes of students. Using Aidan Chambers’ “Tell Me” approach and Rudine Sims Bishop’s way of looking at literature as “mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors” can inspire students to engage and participate in conversation in English.

Doelstellingen

• Openness to having conversations about literature in the secondary-school language classroom;
• Ability to ask guiding questions in conversations about literature, following the “Tell Me” approach;
• Capacity to select literary works that reflect the identities of your students and your school community;
• Knowledge of key scholarly perspectives on literature pedagogy

Doelgroep

Teachers of English language in secondary schools. Teachers of other languages, including Dutch, who are interested in using literature in secondary-school classrooms may also attend.

Begeleiding

Andrea Davidson has a PhD in literature from the University of Antwerp. Her research interests include Young Adult literature, literature in education, and creative writing. She teaches English literature at the University of Antwerp. Her first collection of poetry, Eggenwise, is forthcoming in October 2023.

Praktisch

Lesmateriaal inbegrepen

Verwachte voorbereiding door deelnemer

Make a list of the literary texts that you often assign or teach. Reflect on the reasons why you selected these texts, what you do with them in the classroom, and how your students respond to them.