Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Short Story Response
I thought Jago's article was rather enlightening. It helped me to think about Plot in a new way. Perhaps one of the important ways was Freytag's Pyramid. . .but that wasn't new to me. I've seen the Pyramid in every English class since sometime in elementary or middle school. What came to me in thinking about plot was more about how Short Stories often have the power to draw the reader in and get them quickly into experiencing "flow". If a year started off with a short stories unit that wasn't too bogged down in sucking details dry out of a short story, then such a unit could be useful in engendering reading endurance. I think after a class has read several short stories with high "tellability" that sucks readers in then, on a 3rd or 4th you start to tease out one or two details to help students build there ability to follow "rules of notice". I think in the case of reading, especially at the beginning of the year, less is more when it comes to learning. Students will appreciate short to the point stories that they can discuss and get more out of them than if they jumped straight to something hard and long. In time, their reading stamina will grow and more won't seem like so much more.
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Short stories are such a great beginning in the year--especially is they are engaging ones that you center around essential questions such as "What is worth fighting for?" Good that you noticed the "rules of notice." I went to hear Jeff Anderson, a grammar guru, speak at UCTE and he mentioned that we need to use the great texts around us and cause students to notice what is going on in them. That is what I think short stories do so well--they give us short examples of an art form that can make us sit up and take notice as to "how did the author do that?"
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