[etni] Fwd: Teaching HOTS

From: ETNI list <etni.list@xxxxxxxxx>
To: Etni <etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 20 Feb 2012 10:42:03 +0200
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Daniel Ashkenazy <yosefdaniel99@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Teaching HOTS

Friends and colleagues

In a effort to explore how to teach the new HOTS program in my tenth
grade next year I reviewed books by both Eric Cohen and AEL Press.
While the latter is more appropriate and more intelligent for my
English speakers classroom both fall short in the category of
maintaining interest and motivation. Am I the only one who after
reviewing the new English program still believes it sucks the fun and
enjoyment out of learning literature by making it into a mathematical
formula for analysing and interpreting too much and in the process
boring students and teachers to death? It seems to me this program is
designed by graduates of Mathematics not English majors. This is not
teaching English. While our students should know how to interpret,
analyze and understand literature and even know the basic definitions
do we have to do it so formally?

I have been teaching the same skills with formidable success for
nearly twenty years without dissecting every element, nuance and word
of the piece of poetry or short story or play. Is this really
necessary and why do we accept it? My students started falling asleep
when we studied Ozymiandis using the new approach. Last year in tenth
grade my students enjoyed my approach to the poem. Oh, yes, the
classic poem "A Road Not Taken" lesson plan by Eric Cohen made me cry
when I read it and looked at how HOTs would like me to teach it next
year.

Just food for thought or in this case words for thought using my
pre-reading, basic understanding, analysis and interpretation,
bridging text and context, post reading activities, and reflection and
summative assessment garnered from nearly twenty years of teaching
English in Israel and Canada combined

--
Daniel Ashkenazy
Educator, Writer, Guide
[etni] Fwd: Teaching HOTS

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