App
- · https://www.commonsensemedia.org/app-reviews/shakespeare-in-bits-macbeth-ipad-edition
- · Shakespeare in Bits: Macbeth is an app for students to read the play in a completely new and interactive way. The text is written on the screen, read aloud, and accompanied by an animated depiction of each scene. The students can highlight and click on certain Elizabethan words to translate them into modern English. The app also includes literary analysis, summaries, and notes on the play to help students with their research and writing process. This is a great way for students to understand, interpret, and enjoy reading Shakespeare. The app is $14.99 for an iPad, however, which means students would need to share and could not be required to purchase it themselves to use at home.
Website
- · http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/lit-elements/
- · This resource on readwritethink.org is a set of interactive graphic organizers that map out literary elements of a text. Students can easily navigate between character map, conflict map, resolution map, and setting map, adding information about each element. They can go back and edit as needed and print out their graphic organizers to use in class or while writing a literary analysis. The site is free and easy to use. I quickly tried it out using Hamlet, and I can confirm that it is very useful and valuable.
Video
- · https://vimeo.com/46314038
- · This video, called “Colbert Sponsortunity,” is an excerpt from Stephen Colbert’s The Colbert Report. In it, he discusses a memo from Wheat Thins that explains how he is supposed to “plug” their brand in his show. Throughout, Colbert pulls out certain quotes from the memo and the document is shown on screen with zoom ins on the quotes. This video is a humorous and entertaining way to teach students how to integrate quotations from research into their papers. Colbert uses what English teachers call “the quote sandwich”: he introduces the quote, states the quote, and explains its relevance to his discussion.
Specific
Resource
- · I have used the Colbert video in my English 101 classrooms this semester. I prepared a PowerPoint presentation on how to effectively integrate quotations into a research paper. After discussing the format, I explained the “quote sandwich” to my students. I then interrupted the lecture to show the Colbert video as an example of the proper use of the quote sandwich. My students found it very funny and easily understood the moments in which Colbert used the quote sandwich. I then transitioned back to the lesson, where I explained how to vary verb use when introducing quotes by using the thesaurus feature. I also showed a video here from Friends, where Joey uses the thesaurus to write a letter of recommendation for Chandler and Monica to adopt. He overuses the feature, and the letter makes no sense. This was my comical way to caution students to pay attention to context. The use of humor in educational videos is so important, because students are engaged and are more likely to remember the content long-term.
Digital
Equity
- · In my classroom, I believe in giving students the freedom to choose which issues to write about. Like it says in the textbook, “When educators let go of the need to govern every aspect of how a lesson is learned and delivered, students who are typically left out have a chance to shine” (86). While my students much read and write about the same literature, what they choose to write about is ultimately up to them. They are required to conduct research on the internet; therefore, I will ensure that all students have time in class to use the computer lab, school library, or Chromebooks to work on their research. They may choose to write about gender stereotypes, racism, sexuality, or any other topic that interests them and is relevant to the text. In this way, my students feel as if their ideas and identities matter, and they have the opportunity to explore these topics in a safe digital environment that is facilitated by myself.
