Literature Unit Teaching experience
I can’t say that I have taught many literacy units in my science teaching. The closest example I can think of is a fractured fairy tales project which was used as part of a psychology and mental illness unit. Students studied many disorders in class and complied case notes for each disorder. They were then introduced to a selection of fairy tales – Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks and the three bears etc. Students had to analyse the characters within the stories and using their case notes to describe the illness, symptoms, and treatment options available.
The initial case note taking was modeled by the teacher then students were able to make their own for each of the studied illnesses. Students choose which books to analyse and were not limited to the selection brought into class. I had a couple of ESL student provide case notes on a manga they were more familiar with. Students discussed their thoughts on different characters and were able to provide each other with ideas or supporting quotes in the books. We didn't go into literacy techniques as this was not the aim of the unit but we were able to look at characterisation and common themes of mental illness in fairy tales.
I think the unit took a more constructivist approach as we wanted students to be able to discuss mental illness in an open and safe environment, discussion was not solely teacher centered. Students were able to share their understandings of mental illness and construct a more positive view as a class.
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