From time to time even the most accomplished literature teacher needs new and fresh ideas for his/her lesson plans. Although lesson plans do not write themselves, there are many avenues available to help the teacher develop new ideas for projects and presentations. Showing the students visual media from the internet or other sources is a good start to helping them understand the literature. They then can perform to their best ability in the classroom assignments. If the literature section to be covered is Shakespeare's Macbeth, there are many resources and ideas available.
Using Visual Media to Inspire Creativity
Often before students can complete an original creative project for a literature class, they have to let the literature become a part of them. The high school teacher can assist in this process by using visual media such as video clips, pictures, and projects from past classes to inspire their creativity and participation. The Royal Shakespeare Company has many pictures, videos, and ideas as a supply for the teacher to use.
Resources from the The Royal Shakespeare Company available for Macbeth include:
- information on superstition and witchcraft in the play
- information about tragedies
- a summary of the story
- list of film versions
Turning Emotional Participation into Practical Projects
When the teacher is willing to supplement his/her lesson plans with visual media, a difference will be seen in the students' level of interest. After they have seen a sample of what they have been reading and discussing in class, they emotionally begin to participate in the story. The literature selection then becomes more than just a selection. The selection becomes a shared experience with their classmates and teacher.
Once the students emotionally experience and understand the material covered in class, creativity can be fostered by suggesting several different original project ideas. Project springboard ideas for teaching Macbeth could be:
- A newspaper article based on a scene from the play. For example, Duncan's Death Done by Dastardly Macbeth: An Insider's Story.
- A performance of 8-10 memorized lines from a well-known portion of the play. For example, "Is this a dagger which I see before me...?"
- A student group teaching session where 2-3 students read and discuss a scene from the play and explain it to the rest of the class.
- A Shakespeare Festival day where the students are assigned what to bring: food, costumes, games.
Enjoying the Project Presentations by Students
It is extremely important that all the stages of preparation and presentation of the students' projects are enjoyed by the teacher. They will throw more of their heart into learning and presenting if enthusiasm and belief are shown in them. Some ways to show enthusiasm could be:
- Video-taping the students' presentations/projects. They will feel like they have accomplished something worthwhile and worth remembering. Video-taping will also give teachers ideas to show to future classes.
- Laughing with (not at) the students during humorous moments. They will feel cared about as a person and not just a student.
- Displaying the projects that can be hung on a wall or set up on a table.
- Bragging about their achievements to other teachers.
Grading Project Presentations
Grading students projects can be difficult at best. Unlike a true/false quiz or a vocabulary test, projects defy consistent objective grading. It is important to establish a grading rubric that will be used as a guide for grading all of the students projects. A sample rubric for a Macbeth memorized presentation might be:
- 20 points for at least 8 lines
- 40 points. for complete memorization
- 20 points for understanding of text
- 20 points for creativity
- Allow for 5 points. extra credit for exceptional performances
- One point off for each word missed
Grading with a rubric this way will help the students to understand that there is reasoning behind their assigned grades.
Setting Yourself Up for Future Success
If the teacher is careful to help his/her students become visually and emotionally involved in literature, is enthusiastic about their successes, and is a fair grader, he/she will help to ensure his/her students' future attention and cooperation. Students are more likely to cooperate when they feel like the teacher is interested in their success, and they feel like they can accomplish what is required of them.
In short, both a teacher's present and future teaching career will be more successful if he/she uses emotionally stimulating visual media to assist in designing new lesson plans including projects and presentations. A wide array of material is available on the internet and elsewhere to assist the committed teacher. If the teacher assists himself/herself first with visual media, he/she will better be able to present it to the students. The students then are free to become emotionally involved in the literature, producing creative projects and presentations.
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