I have been thinking about how students can "perform" literature a lot lately. In part this is the result of my own experiences creating a book cast, In part it is due to my preparations for my summer job, which involves doing lots of drama and creative writing with young people. And of course I am also preparing to discuss the topic during our first real-time class meeting.
My initial response is to say I love the idea of performing literature! As a kid, I loved doing skits, and I seized any opportunity to get up in front of the class and read, recite, or act. Creating a book cast was a little daunting, but I liked doing it, and I think I did a good job identifying the themes of the book and relating them to my own life. I can definitely see high school students reacting positively to book casting and other "performance" activities. Even something as simple as acting out a scene from a book could be a lot of fun and really get students engaged with the material.
On the other hand, not every student enjoys being the center of attention. And even students who *do* enjoy performing might end up focusing on the performance rather than the literature that inspired it.
Book casting offers a way to "perform" without being a "performer", but I'm not sure that it solves the second problem. For instance, a student could easily read Please Ignore Vera Dietz and create a book cast (or a skit or a speech or a website) about teen drinking or parental abuse. And while those issues are central to the story, I think a performance that focuses solely on either (or even both) of them ignores the nuances of the novel.
So, I think the first challenge for using literary performance in a classroom is to think about what the goal of the performance is. Do I want students to reflect on a text and connect it with their own experiences? Do I want them to demonstrate their understanding how two pieces of writing relate to one another? Do I want them to explore the language of the piece or the narrative voice or the time period or the characters? Each of these goals results in a different kind of performance. But if I don't have a clear idea of what I want my students to do, they will be all over the map (and probably frustrated, too!)
Incidentally, in addition to book casting, I also think there are other ways for shy students to perform comfortably. For instance, if students select their favorite passage from a novel and read it into a Voicethread, they do not have to speak in front of the class. If students create masks and then wear the mask while giving a little speech as the character they are portraying, they have something to "hide" behind. But no matter what method I use, I need to let my students know what the purpose of the performance is, so that they can connect the activity with the text substantively.
Blakely,
ReplyDeleteI agree that digital tools can make "performing" literature more accessible to students that may be uncomfortable performing in traditional ways. If teachers can use methods like Voicethread or bookcasting to engage students who rarely participate, then more power to them. I think an issue that this may bring up, however, is that traditionally, English/Language Arts classes have been places where students' verbal and performance skills are honed. By relying only on Web 2.0 tools, which take the face-to-face performance aspect out of participatory literary response, shy students may graduate high school without ever gaining confidence with performing in front of peers. This is crucial skill in countless professions, and I think we need to be wary of relying too heavily on performance with digital tools. Is that something that you're concerned about too? Thanks for an interesting post!
I'm ever reminded of how much I learn from these blog transactions. So Blakely makes the wise point about being sure you are certain of the purpose of literary performance and conveying that to students and Hannah follows through with a question about designing performance assignments so that students learn to perform well both in the actual and in the virtual -- face2face and online.
ReplyDeleteI know it's a real concern for me, Hannah, that students need to master traditional and new literacies. In online courses, I really think we need real-time LIVE classes so students can make presentations as well as digital performances.
Thanks for the transactions! Keep them coming!
Hannah, that's a really good point. I guess the way I see it is that not every "performance" must necessarily focus on speaking. I am often skeptical of so-called "new literacies" because I think the phrase is too often a catch-all that refers to anything Internet-related.
ReplyDeleteBut after thinking about your comment, and Prof Crissman's response, I think this is one of the few situations in which I believe we have an obligation to teach the "new literacy" of using Web 2.0 tools to construct meaning.
It is still important for students to learn to draft written documents that communicate clearly using appropriate language and format. It is still important for them to learn to speak publicly in an organized, confident manner. But in today's world it is also important for them to learn how to craft multi-media presentations that convey meaningful information in an accessible format.