Book title
The Aged Mother

 

Author
Matsuo Basho

 

Bibliographic information
https://americanliterature.com

 

Links (adaptations, reviews, full texts etc.)
https://americanliterature.com/author/matsuo-basho/short-story/the-aged-mother

 

Theme
Relationships between generations, respecting and helping older people

 

Short summary
A ruler of a country orders that old people have to be abandoned and left to die because they are just a burden for the society. A farmer is forced to leave his mother to die but they find a way to show the ruler his decision was bad and make him cancel it.

 

Why is the story appropriate for the targeted groups of RSP readers?
It reflects social themes, social diversities

 

What are the distinguished readers interests reflected by this book/story?
-

 

Why is this story motivational for the pupils?
The generation clash has been an immersed issue through all ages. Teenagers always have a lot to say about that. Follows the national curriculum - interpersonal relationships.

 

Is there a historical, political, multi/inter cultural, migrant or similar context recognized in this book/story? 
Good or bad political decisions, creating laws and following or breaking them. Possibility of connection with different historical and national movements.

 

Is there a principle of inclusion reflected in this book/story and does it promotes understanding of cultural diversities and heritage? 
The story emphasize the importance of family and humane principles.

Title of Activity
Project Billy

 

Description of educational activity
Duration: 90 minutes
Pupils’ age: 15-19
Organization of the class of pupils: individual/group work

The aim of the lesson: The aim of the lesson is to improve the reading literacy of the students. Another goal is to realize the difference between the real world and the world people live on the internet and social networks.

 

Support materials: The text of the story, ID cards forms.

 

Activities:

1. What does it mean when we say that somebody is living a double life?
2. Do you know any characters from literature or film living double lives? Describe them. Why do they live like that?
3. The students read the text. How many characters are there in the excerpt? What do you know about them from the text?
4. Describe the characters. Where are they?
5. Take the first part (Andy) and rewrite it as a dialogue. Read it aloud.
6. Prepare three living pictures illustrating your dialogue.
7. What is the relationship between the individual characters like?
8. Who is Chris talking to in the second paragraph?
9. Is it possible that Andy, Chris and Billy are living double lives? Explain.
10. What exactly is the actual Project Billy about? Describe your idea.
11. Try to feel in Billy and write down the missing part of the text – Billy’s inner monologue.
12. ID cards. Create your own second identity. Where are you going to use it and why?
13. Are you living your “second life” on the internet and social networks?
14. Why do you think that some people escape from their real lives to the virtual reality.  Do you think it is right? Why? Why not? Does it involve any kind of risk or danger?

 

Evaluation and assessment method: Throughout the lesson, ensure that all students are involved in the discussion and participate in the group work. In order to evaluate and assess the effective impact of the previous activities upon the students, they are asked to write down a short chapter on behalf of the last character - Billy.

 

Effect of the activity on RSP reading: Motivating students using a text including slang expressions and vulgarisms – the language of their everyday life. The environment of the internet and school should be close to their apprehension. Teachers can organize reading instruction to develop self-efficiency, competence, and engagement in teenage students.

 

Connection to curriculum

Grade: 1 – 4 grade of secondary studies

Curriculum: The study of literature is focused on reading and comprehending literary texts of historical and cultural importance and relevancy either in the world or Czech literature. Students are taught to work with texts and information in different ways, to adopt the processes of analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, generalization, abstraction, specification, comparison, organization, selection. The students should be able to interpret, summarize and evaluate the texts.

 

Knowledge:

• Understand the stages of development of a hero
• Develop reading fluency
• Improve reading comprehension
• Organise information in a specific way

 

Skills:

• Distinguish reality and fantasy
• Make predictions, deductions
• Compare and contrast
• Summarize
• Work effectively in groups, respecting others

 

Competences:

• Make connections between fiction and real life or personal experiences
• Be able to visualise material read
• Follow specific instructions and conventions
• Support and justify an opinion

 

 

Bibliographic reference to be used during the activity

Kharms Daniil

Incidences

Publisher: not published

 

 

 

Digital resources

The full text can be found on http://danielcharms.com/charms/plays/play1.html and a video on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sx21o6GRAfw.

 

Results

The expected outcomes of the lesson are:

• The students will be able to create illustrations of the text.
• The students recognize and are aware of the difference between the reality and fantasy (virtual reality).
• The students can see the risks of escaping to the virtual reality of the internet and the social networks.
• To offer observations, make connections, speculate, interpret, and raise questions in response to the excerpts.

 

Recommendations

Both the teaching method and the text can help in increasing students’ interest in reading. This text promotes three characters not far away from the students’ perception of everyday life. The teacher monitors the students so as to make sure they cooperate effectively.

Book title
Project Billy

 

Author
Martin Konyáš

 

Bibliographic information
not published

 

Links (adaptations, reviews, full texts etc.)
-

 

Theme
Cyber bullying, school, addictions

 

Short summary
Three schoolmates. One of them with mental issues, the other one trying to take a control over him, and the third one filming everything and posting it on the internet.

 

Why is the story appropriate for the targeted groups of RSP readers?
It reflects social themes

 

What are the distinguished readers interests reflected by this book/story?
-

 

Why is this story motivational for the pupils?
A modern story written in colloquial/slang language. School environment, social networks. All the themes belong to common issues of most teenage people.

Is there a historical, political, multi/inter cultural, migrant or similar context recognized in this book/story? 
-

 

Is there a principle of inclusion reflected in this book/story and does it promotes understanding of cultural diversities and heritage? 
Social inclusion among students.

Title of Activity
One Entry Per Person

Description of educational activity
Duration: 90 minutes
Pupils’ age: 15-19
Organization of the class of pupils: individual work

The aim of the lesson: The aim of the lesson is to improve the reading literacy of the students. To improve their fantasy and imagination. Another goal is to improve the vocabulary. The students reflect on our world in contrast to the worlds of fantasy.

 

Support materials: The text of the story. The pictures.

 

Activities:

1. The students are asked if they daydream and where. They are asked if and why they would like to enter a different world and how it would be possible.
2. The students prepare a role-play showing an entry to another world. They should describe the settings and their feelings.
3. The students read the story and identify the words they do not understand. They try to guess their meaning and think about the reason why just these words have been used.
4. The students think about what has happened to the narrator.
5. The students guess how long the narrator has spent in the other world and try to support their opinions finding some clues in the text.
6. They think about how the world is characterized and try to come up with a name of this world.
7. The students think about the structure of the story; why it has been used and what kind of effect it creates.
8. The students think of other names for a different, magical world and how those names change the notion of the world.
9. The students think of different names they could possibly get from the original inhabitants of those different, magical worlds after they have appeared there as visitors.
10. They predict what would await them home after their arrival from the different world. They are supposed to make their own lists.
11. The students look at the pictures provided and try to come up with as many adjectives, nouns, and verbs that describe the world in the best way.

 

Evaluation and assessment method:

• Throughout the lesson, ensure that your students are backing up their choices with accurate supporting details.
• Teacher's observations of student preparedness, student work samples, and participation.
• In order to provide the students with more time to think about the questions it is recommended to write down their ideas for the following discussions.

 

 

Effect of the activity on RSP reading:  

Practices that support students´ fantasy  and imagination and allow the students to feel free to join the discussions with any of their ideas.

 

Connection to curriculum

Grade: 1 – 4 grade of secondary studies

Curriculum: The study of literature is focused on reading and comprehending literary texts of historical and cultural importance and relevancy either in the world or Czech literature. Students are taught to work with texts and information in different ways, to adopt the processes of analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, generalization, abstraction, specification, comparison, organization, selection. The students should be able to interpret, summarize and evaluate the texts.

 

Knowledge:

• Develop reading fluency
• Improve reading comprehension
• Organise information in a specific way
• Learn new vocabulary – synonyms, opposites, metaphors, comparisons
• Understand metaphors

 

Skills:

• Deduction
• Use illustrations
• Distinguish reality and fantasy
• Make predictions
• Compare and contrast
• Summarize

 

Competences:

• Make connections between fiction and real life or personal experience
• Be able to visualise material read
• Follow specific instructions and conventions
• Support and justify an opinion
• Distinguish social stereotypes

 

Bibliographic reference to be used during the activity

Tom Hadrava

Publisher: http://dailysciencefiction.com

Year of issue: 2016

 

Results

The expected outcomes of the lesson are:

• The students will develop their understanding of the world they are living in comparing it to their own fantasy worlds.
• They will be able to deduct some outcomes from the text read.
• Make connections, speculate, interpret, and raise questions in response to the text.

 

Recommendations

Both the teaching method and the text can help in increasing students’ interest in reading. This text describes the environment which everybody is familiar with in different, magical way encouraging the readers to look for poetic meanings in the every-day world around. The teacher makes sure the students work effectively, come up with their own ideas and join the discussions.