The focus skill in this technology module is reading (specifically, reading modern poetry), but students will be drawing on all four skills as they discuss interpretations of their assigned poem. The module will be taught to a mixed-level 3 & 4 Chinese language class at the high school level.
From a link in the class blog/wiki, students read the poem assigned to their group. All poems are from the Web Site www.shigebao.com (Shi Ge Bao translates as Journal of Poems and Songs), which features a large array of modern poets. Each poet is featured on a page with a brief biography and several representative poems. At the bottom of the page is a link to reader comments.
Students will first read the assigned poem on their own; students who have access to software such as Wenlin can have glosses appear next to words they highlight, other students will be provided a handout with vocabulary they are likely to need.
To encourage students to move beyond reading efferently (for surface meaning) to reading aesthetically, their first task will be to find at least one visual image that represents a meaning they picked up from the poem, and to prepare a short statement of how the image relates to the poem in their view.
In the next class period, students who read the same poem will share their images, and how they interpreted the poem, or questions they have. They will be encouraged to develop and question their own interpretation. After class, they will post their image(s) and written interpretation of the poem on the class blog, drawing on group discussion to fill it out. They will also read comments on the poem from the original Web Site, and classmate's work, and be required to post comments.
Their next assignment will be to choose a native speaker to interview about the poem from a list provided by the teacher of some in the community, and some willing to be interviewed online, or to find their own source. They will ask the native speaker to read the poem (unless the interview is by email), and then explain how they interpret it. Students will discuss it, clarifying what they don't understand, and share their own interpretation. If possible, they will make a digital audio recording to post on the class blog.
Students will next write a synopsis of their interviewee's interpretation, comparing it to their own. In class they will share how the interview went, strategies that worked well for negotiating meaning, their feelings about the process, and of course their interviewee's interpretation.
Their viewpoint as a non-native speaker should be honored, as they also learn to see the poem from the viewpoint of some native speakers. As a culmination, students will have options to create a dramatic reading of the poem, a short film or slide with images and audio, or some other presentation of the poem, working individually or with group members as they choose.
| Learning Outcomes |
| Students will be able to comprehend a Chinese poem on a deep level. |
| They will be able to converse with a native speaker about their interpretations of the poem. |
| They will be able to read classmates' and native speakers' comments on the poem, and respond in writing posts to a poetry Web site as well as the class blog. |
| They will perceive the importance of reading deeply for meaning, and of sharing meanings with others in writing and spoken discussion. |
| Students will gain understanding of how native speakers might interpret poetry differently than non-native speakers, honoring both viewpoints. |
Sample of Student Page
(the actual blog is part of the class Moodle, which is private. This is an example of what one group's page will appear).
PoetryprojectStudentpage
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