Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Sharing my thoughts

What benefits can I gain by sharing what I have read with others? There are a lot of benefits that I get from it. Personally, by sharing what I know, I realized that I have understood better about literature. I learnt how to understand the plot or theme of the book, the role of protagonist and the antagonists and many more. The most important thing is that I can share with my other friends what problems usually occur among young adults. To me it is important for us as a teacher to understand their problem.

There are 3 phases of involving us or our students in reading YAL. They are initiating, internalizing and connecting. While sharing is the ongoing dimension of the phases. The most enjoyable way of sharing my thoughts was by telling my friends what I understand about the book. For example, why it is called ‘Chinese Handcuff’. Once we have read certain YAL, we can also try to relate the situation with ourselves, others and to the world around us.

Sometimes, by using the same YAL and the model of involvement, we can create a framework that is useful for a literature classroom. I feel that sharing is a powerful tool to enhance students’ ability in creative and critical thinking. The program in the classroom can be structured using a few approaches including elements of literature, genre, author, topic, issue and theme.

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