Prospero's Magic: Active Learning Strategies for the Teaching of Literature

by Michael Degen

Book Overview

Cover is in Quark 5 Interior is in Quark 4.11 This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0966512545
• ISBN13: 9780966512540
• Release Date: September 2000
• Publisher: Telemachos Publishing
• Length: 116 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 8.3" x 10.8"

Customer Reviews

Absolutely Excellent Resource

I had the pleasure of seeing/meeting Michael Degen at a College Board conference about two years ago. He is a wonderfully animated teacher with a passion for engagement. The games in this book are excellent links into literature and critical thinking. I have already used the Tournament of Scholars in my classroom with great success. These games do require a lot of explanation to the students, but after getting them started, the students pretty much run on auto. Even if students have never done anything like these games before (mine hadn't), they tend to do very well on their first run. Repeated games would only increase their analytical ability over the course of the year. The book is also set up so that you can use the other games in preparation for the bigger, more difficult games. The games presented in this book can also help for future tests. This is not a "teach to the test" resource. However, the straightforward analytical skills students will acquire from these activities will help them on any test where quoting/citing and analysis play an integral part. This book helps the teacher get away from worksheets and mundane activities that barely spark the students' minds. Another key feature of this book shows the teacher how to make grading easier for these different kinds of situations. The grading style is relevant and can help the students monitor their own progress and make improvements over time, while giving the teacher the ability to use simultaneous grading (20-30 students at a time). This book, along with his Crafting Expository Argument: Practical Approaches to the Writing Process for Students and Teachers Fourth Edition, are pillars in my classroom. (8th grade, PreAP and on-level) Whenever I need to update my curriculum or add in a breath of fresh air, this is one of the first resources I turn to. As an example, our department had been requiring students to memorize a passage from Romeo and Juliet. While this is a decent activity, it in no way helped the students read the play in class with any additional understanding. One of the ideas in this book is to show students, step by step, how to properly read and understand Shakespeare's work by having them become more animated. I use the "dramatic reading" activity in my class now and will never turn back. My students began to understand Shakespeare so well, that elements of the play started showing up in their other writings! Excellent, excellent book. I can't recommend this enough. English teachers, grades 7-12 will benefit tremendously. Some of the activities could probably be simplified for grades as low as 4 as well, with the help of a motivated teacher.