History of Love 8 - Discussion: Row Reading 93 to 134
"The oldest emotion in the world may be that of being moved; but to describe it...must have been like trying to catch something invisible"
History of Love Day 8 -Discussion: Row Reading 93 to 134 : A discussion where every student gets to take part - posing a question, comment, quote or connection.
Lesson Overview
This time the discussion is much more student centered. For more on my different kinds of discussions, see this page. Using the projector, the students are told (and shown) that they are to write down THREE things. 1 & 2 are a comment or question (very specific - with page and text marked) from the section that their row is assigned. The third thing is a quote that they liked (they'll have to say why) or that they felt was important. Once they have their three things - because they are taking note sin their books it doesn't take too long (usually 5-7 minutes at most) - we start at the first desk in the first row and they give there question, comment, or quote - they explain and a discussion ensues. NOTE: If this is done AFTER a Group Work that covers up to page 111, you may want to adjust the Row Reading or tell the students to stay away from the questions on their Group Work (they should still have them).
We then go through the room until everyone gets to go (you need to pay close attention to time). I have also included my notes on the row reading - after each row I make sure that we cover all of the things that I believe to be crucial to that section. In most cases, we have gotten to them - and it is so much better that it comes from the students. When we get to the section that covers Leo's trip to Carnegie Hall and his hearing Alma play (on the violin) "Songs my Mother Taught Me" - I play a recording of one of my students (who has since gone on to become the concert master of a major orchestra. She played live for the class (on her own iniative). Check the links below for the recording.
Row Reading Slide & one with notes
Row Reading Slide. Row Reading Slide with notes
Row Reading Slide. Row Reading Slide with Notes. See the instructions above for how this works and why I've included the version with my notes. Remember what I call rows (in a classroom) most people would call columns.
Note in the unannotated slide there is a reminder of the next book - Candide. Because the students order the books themselves it's important to get a jump on it.
Handouts
Most Recent Handouts & Quizzes
(the most recent and an older) - Between these 2 quizzes - 3 periods could be quizzed.
Reading Quiz thru 119 Docx PDF (if you follow these lessons they've already been quizzed)
Two Part Quiz thru 119 AND thru 134 PDF it depends on how much you assign. Note, there is a Group Work that only goes through 119 if you want to break up the reading.
songsmymothertaughtme.mp3Audio Visual Content
"Songs My Mother Taught Me" The song that Leo hears Alma playing at Carnegie Hall - when you play it really brings a lot to the class - the music and tone are perfect. The version that is presented here is performed by my wonderful former student, Julia Dina. Both her and her brother Paul are accomplished musicians - and when we were reading this section, she came into class and played the song for us. We were spellbound - and I hope you are too. She is now the Concertmaster for the Huntsville symphony. Here is her YouTube page with so many amazing songs she's played and generously shared with the world.
Remote Enhancements
I did find a very useful slide were it was a picture of the Class in Grid Format and for each row they were labeled - Row 1, Row 2, etc. If I can find a way to protect the students' privacy I will post it here - or recreate with fictious students.
Links
Class Recordings (for registered members)
Audio
Video
The History of Love Day 9 - A lesson on "The Street of Crocodiles". It's a favorite text of two of History of Love's main characters. The students will get a chance to read and understand it together in a group.
Thoughts on the Lesson
Row reading is such a great way to have a discussion. Every student gets to contribute - sometimes I will ask that in addition to giving the question, comment, or quote - they also give the first response. The trick, from the teacher's perspective has to do with keeping your eye on the time - you want to make sure that every single student is gotten to - and that means gaging how long to talk about whatever the individual student brought up.