Rationale
The lesson on reading Gabriel Garcia-Marquez’s “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” is developed for students from Grade 9 in order to explore the principles of Magical Realism as a specific genre of literature. Students are self-motivated readers who prefer reviewing interesting and surprising stories. Therefore, strategies for the lesson are selected to involve students in discussing the most striking parts of the story with the focus on themes of Magical Realism. Much attention is paid to students’ discussions of the text with the limited involvement of the teacher in the process.
The ‘Bookmark’ technique used by students independently allows for encouraging the discussion of specific details of the text. The ‘Say Something’ technique allows for clarifying the vocabulary, making comments, and asking questions that demonstrate the understanding of the text. The ‘Red Light, Yellow Light’ and ‘Chalk Talk’ techniques are important to structure the work of students and draw their attention to the key aspects of the discussed topic. The use of these techniques allows for making the lesson that is based on the principles of active learning and scaffolding.
Lesson Plan
Reference
Ritchhart, R., Church, M., & Morrison, K. (2011). Making thinking visible: How to promote engagement, understanding, and independence for all learners. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.