Submitted by: Julia Fuller and Jason Golos
Collaborators: Andrea Lund, Annette Marchioli, and Kim Morrison
School: J.R. Tucker High School
Summary
Students from a ninth grade English class will work collaboratively to create an instructional blog about universal archetypes and the manifestation of archetypes in world literature, from ancient epics to contemporary folktales from around the globe. Students from a tenth grade English class will then use the blog to learn about archetypes and to select an archetype they would like to research further. Students from both classes will then collaborate in class and over the blog to research world folktales that exemplify their chosen archetype, and create an original story that demonstrates the use of this archetype in a new way.
TIPC Ratings
APPROACHING – Students will conduct self-directed research, identifying, evaluating, and utilizing their own resources, to create their website. Students are on their own to find electronic resources to create their blog post, aided only by previous knowledge from a research unit on identifying valuable and credible sources. By constructing a blog post used for instructional purposes in another classroom, students are accomplishing a real-world task. Students must work together to identify archetypes from actual cultures and literature from around the world, focusing on our common humanity, which is indubitably a critically-needed real world skill. Students will also have to apply varied research skills in the library and on the internet to research a variety of archetypal media. They will conduct most of this research on their own, locating and evaluating their resources in their collaborative groups. Finally, students will evaluate the appropriateness of and select digital tools with which to create their original folktale.
IDEAL/TARGET – All three products of this lesson produce abundant opportunities for student collaboration, both in real and non-real time, in the classroom and beyond. The blog created in one class will be studied in another class to gain new knowledge and further instruction. The original folktales created by both real-time and asynchronous collaboration between classes will be posted on the blog for a global audience. Students will also evaluate their original folktales through peer review, using digital tools, viewing each other’s original creations posted to the blog, creating an environment of collaboration and reflection.
IDEAL/TARGET – Project driven by essential question “How does literature from around the globe reinforce our shared humanity?” which is based in the real-world of global literature and culture. The question has multiple correct answers and students are reflecting on answer as well. These original works produce new understandings. While creating the website, students will choose multiple resources to demonstrate the presence of their self-selected archetype in a variety of media. They will create a visual and written display of this new understanding for the purpose of instructing others. Others will provide feedback and allow the authors to reflect on their product.
IDEAL/TARGET – Creativity is the strongest area of our lesson. Not only will students apply creative uses of research to create their own original folktales, which help lead other students to a new understanding, which they will do so collaboratively. Students will research a variety of world literature collaboratively with the ultimate aim of producing their own original work, and will research a wide variety of traditional folktales with the goal of producing their own innovative literary creation, which explains our shared humanity.
Student Artifact
