Setting Up a Transformative Experience

In my slow reading (or should I say close reading) of the book To Kill a Mockingbird, I considered my goal of using the transformative model of teaching and ways to incorporate these strategies into a much longer reading. Many of the writing-based methods for guiding critical-constructive reading appear most helpful for short in-class readings as opposed to those that require several days of reading both inside and outside of the class. After reaching chapter ten of the novel I decided to pause and think about how I could use these strategies to set up a lesson on the novel. One of the most important parts of any reading lesson is pre reading, which if introduced properly has the effect of drawing students into the novel and increasing motivation to continue their reading. I would begin by focusing attention on the reading through a 14-minute YouTube clip aptly titled, “To Kill a Mockingbird Historical Context”. The video was designed specifically as a pre reading activity to set the novels historic context amidst the 1930s Great Depression. It depicts real images of the times accompanied by the music and captions that tie the scenes directly to the novel. The effect of the video would be to activate their schema and prior knowledge of this previously studied era in American history. In an effort to set the tone for the transformative model approach I hope to follow as we read the novel, I would use the Intra-Act method along with the video. The objective is to develop their ability to investigate critical issues using evaluative thinking which the video touches upon. As they watch the video, I would instruct them to answer carefully formulated comprehension questions on a worksheet which would focus on values issues such as class, poverty, and social justice. At the conclusion of the video students would get into small groups, choose a chairperson, compare their answers and discuss their reasons. While they are engaged in this activity I would circle the room and assist groups that may be struggling with the direction of their discussion. After a few minutes they would complete a second worksheet with their own answers as well as the responses they predict from their group members. The chairperson would then lead a second similar discussion on their responses and their predicted responses. This is then concluded by an entire class discussion about their responses and how this ties into their choices on the value statements. The Intra-Act method would segue into a guided in-class reading the next day following the ReQuests Procedure of the first chapter in an effort to model comprehension strategies. After reading the first three paragraphs aloud I would instruct students to ask as many questions as they can about these paragraphs. Some examples of additional questions would be: What kind of narrator does the novel have? Do you think this story will be a flashback? Describe each of the characters introduced. I would continue in this manner with three or four sets of paragraphs before instructing the students to read on their own. With a carefully formulated pre reading techniques the novel To Kill a Mockingbird has the potential to lead students to higher levels of thinking, and may even lead to a transformative experience.