Teaching the Classics in the inclusive classroom
Reader Response Activitiesto Engage All Learners
Teaching the Classics in the Inclusive Classroom offers teachers a practical resource for helping students in grades 6–12 connect to and appreciate classic literary works. The book is filled with high-interest and engaging exercises that work with a variety of learners (with a particular emphasis on students with special needs), utilizing "pre-reading," "during reading," and "after reading" activities. Many of these exercises help to strengthen reading comprehension while other activities are specifically designed to reinforce vocabulary skills, as these apply to selected classic texts. Using these exercises and techniques to teach the classics will help your students appreciate literature and become better critical thinkers, writers, and readers.
The strategies and lessons in this book—which combine current practices in teaching literature, adolescent reading, and multiple intelligences—have been proven to work with all levels of readers, from average general education pupils to exceptional students who are mainstreamed in a regular education classroom.
Teaching the Classics in the Inclusive Classroom uses the reader response theory to engage students in a dynamic process where they experience, explore, and synthesize meaning by actively connecting what they read to issues in their lives. With this book as your guide, your students will come to appreciate such classic works as The Canterbury Tales, Romeo and Juliet, The Scarlet Letter, Macbeth, The Odyssey, Antigone, The Crucible, and Great Expectations.
Praise for Teaching The classics in the Inclusive Classroom
"Educators with real classroom experience, McKnight and Berlage show the magic teachers can create when integrating 'classic' texts with progressive teaching methods. This refreshing book will give teachers the strategies and inspiration they need to create dynamic experiences for teaching classic literature that will empower their students as readers, thinkers, and human beings."
—Steven Wolk, Ed.D., associate professor, TeacherEducation, Northeastern Illinois University, andauthor, A Democratic Classroom
