The diaries of Adam and Eve

Title of Activity
How many facets in one story!

Description of educational activity
Duration: 3 lessons (2 lessons to prepare activity – one dedicated to the performance in class)
Pupils’ age: 15-16
Organization of the class of pupils: individual, pair and group work

The aim of the lesson: This activity is aimed at making students aware of the endless responses to the reading of a story: once they have carefully read it and grasped the author's message, they will be free to get a closer insight into it, change it, compare it, picture it, reverse it, refuse it, perform it, apply it in their real life, make a film or draw a comic of it .They will realise that it is live matter in their hands. It is therefore clear it is of paramount importance to know all the details and narrative techniques included in the text, to use imagination and creativity and to devote oneself to reading as a pleasant and enjoying activity.

In order to achieve this goal, the cubing method appears to be the most suitable technique to this purpose. When drawing on it, more faces can be added to the main ones so that each student could foster his/her imagination

First cube

Describe it– Describe the main characters' physical features, habits and behaviours
Compare it – Compare this story to others dealing with the same theme, even belonging to other literary and artistic genres
Associate it – What are your thoughts when reading Adam and Eve's inmost feelings/diary?; name other real situations (girlfriends, sisters, mothers, grandmothers/ boyfriends, brothers, fathers, grandfathers) or literary / artistic contexts that you may associate the text with.
Analyse it – a complete analysis of the text (author, title, plot, characters, places, time, themes)
Apply it – Write one or more pages of a diary in which you outline a "bizarre" behaviour typical of a female/male figure you know
Argue for and against it/Debate it – Express and motivate your ideas, supporting your point of view related to Adam's or Eve's behaviours

Second cube

Dramatize it – dramatize a passage from the book, trying to imagine a dialogue between the two main characters (the book is made up of two diaries so, there is no verbal interaction between them)
Cast it – choose the actors to whom you would assign the different roles
Memorize it –choose a particularly meaningful passage from the book, learn it by heart and act it out in front of the class
Set it to music –choose some music which could be linked to the text
Illustrate it – choose a picture or a sculpture that may represent the text
Change it into a cartoon- draw a comic on a passage from the text

Third cube

Enjoy it – enjoy yourself while skimming and scanning the text
Turn it upside down – tell the story from God's point of view or from Cain's or the snake's perspective-
Change it – change and transform something you didn't like in the story
Satirize it –what would Adam and Eve argue nowadays? Imagine an ironic and funny scene on the most popular reasons for misunderstandings between girls and boys or on their different views of the world.
Conduct an interview – (interview the main characters. they are willing to disclose their experiences) imagine you were interviewing the main characters on the man-woman relationship. Provide the answers!
Make it known-- prepare a poster, highlighting a particularly meaningful passage

Support materials:

the book
Three templates to shape the three cubes
Cardboard to build the cubes
Students' works
18 worksheets corresponding to the faces of three cubes, devise dby the teacher to show students the different learning paths/tasks to carry out

Activities:

In order to make the most of the following activity, students have to read the book thoroughly.

1. each student will have to work individually and in pair on the activities shown on the 18 faces of the three cubes as well as to make appropriate references to some parts of the plot.

2. students will have to prepare a presentation of their works: ach of them will cast the different dice on every face and will have to present his/her output/work regarding the request and stick it on one of the billboards, already made in class

Great importance will be given to debriefing: a moment devoted to reflection, reassembling and analysis of the activity, thus promoting the collective exchange of opinions, the detection of difficult problems and, finally, the results of the learning process

Evaluation and assessment method:

In order to evaluate the activity, students are asked:

to orally present their works
to present their homework

The quality of the students' homework and their active participation in class will be taken into consideration for their evaluation.

Effect of the activity on RSP reading:

the main themes as well as the ironic and poetical way of dealing with them, the possibility of discussing the relationship between boys and girls, the suggestion of workshops closely linked to the text contribute to increasing young people’ interest and pleasure in reading and writing, as well.

Connection to curriculum

Grade: 2^nd grade

Scientific curriculum: during the second year the study of literature is focused on

improving oral and written skills and competences.
improving reading skills, understanding and analysing, specifically, literary texts, but also devoting attention to non-literary texts and non-verbal languages.
learning how to build up and understand the historical and cultural context regarding the texts

Knowledge:

Singling out the context, the aim and the addressee of the communication;
Learning the different reading techniques;
Developing reading fluency
Improving reading comprehension

Skills:

Dealing with different communicative situations
Understanding other people's point of view in formal and informal contexts;
Applying different reading strategies;
Singling out the different elements of communication;
Searching, finding and selecting information;
Expressing ideas and supporting arguments 
Selecting appropriate media
Reflecting on learning 
Learning by playing
Drawing conclusions 
Asking clarifying questions
Improving presentation before an audience
Improving use of vocabulary, spelling, syntax and expression

Bibliographic reference to be used during the activity

Italian version

Il diario di Adamo ed Eva

Mark Twain

Original title: The diaries of Adam ed Eve

Translator: G. Sordini

Editore: Stampa Alternativa

Collana: Fiabesca

Year of issue: 1999

(First published in the 1905 Christmas issue of the magazine Harper's Bazaar, with te title Eve's diary and in book format in June 1906 by Harper and Brothers publishing house).

Pages: 80

EAN: 9788872265338