E P OR T RESUMES ED 017 191 TE 000 294 STRUCTURE AND TEACHING, BUILDINGTHE ENGLISH CURRICULUM. EUCLID ENGLISH DEMONSTRATION CENTER,OHIO ERRS PRICE NF-61.00 HC- $10.48 260P. DESCRIPTORS- *CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT,*CURRICULUM GUIDES, *ENGLISH INSTRUCTION, *JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLSTUDENTS, *LITERATURE, ENGLISH CURRICULUM,SECONDARY EDUCATION, SYMBOLS (LITERARY) , AVERAGE STUDENTS, SUPERIORSTUDENTS, EUCLID ENGLISH DEMONSTRATION CENTER, PROJECTENGLISH, THIS GUIDE FOR GRADES T, 8, AND 9 ISINTRODUCED BY TWO PAPERS--APPROACHES TO MEANING, A BASIS FORCURRICULUM IN LITERATURE' AND"THE THEME-CONCEPT UNITIN LITERATURE, BOTH BY GEORGE HILLOCKS--WHICH DESCRIBETHE BUILDING OF A CURRICULUM IN ENGLISH UPON THE STRUCTURE ANDPRINCIPLES DEVELOPED BY THE EUCLID ENGLISH DEMONSTRATIONCENTER. THE PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTING A TEACHING UNITIS EXPLAINED, AND THE FOLLOWING UNITS ARE INCLUDED--(1) ALLEGORYAND SYMBOLISM (GRADE 8 HONORS),(2) ANIMAL STORIES (GRADE 7 AVERAGE),(3) THE OUTCAST (GRADE 9 AVERAGE), COSURVIVAL (GRADE 9 AVERAGE) ,(3) PROTEST (GRADE 9 AVERAGE), AND(6) ALLEGORY AND SYMBOLISM (GRADE 7 HONORS). INDIVIDUALPAPERS ON THE FIRST FOUR UNITS ARE PROVIDED AND UNITS CONTAINOVERVIEWS, BIBLIOGRAPHIES, AND LESSON PLANS WHICHSUGGEST TEACHING PROCEDURES, EXERCISES, AND STUDYGUIDES. COPIES OF THE SIX UNITS ARE ALSO AVAILABLE (LIMITEDSUPPLY) FROM CHARLES C. ROGERS, PROJECT UPGRADE, SCHOOL DISTRICTOF AIKEN COUNTY, P.O. BOX 771, AIKEN, SOUTH CAROLINA29801, 50.50 PER UNIT. (DL) "IP .......... a THEEUCLID ENGLISH DEMONSTRATICNCENTER PROJECT ENGLISH MATERIALS Qrig 1.1.4 uJ STRUCTURE AND TEACHING BUILDING THE ENGLISH CURRICULUM U.S DEPARTMENT Of HEALTH, EDUCATION & WELFARE OFFICE Of EDUCATION THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRODUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FROM THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORINNATI*3 IT.POINTS Of VIEW OR OPINIONS STATED DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT OFelCIAL OFFICE OF EDUCATION POSITION OR POUCY. Distributed by The School District of Alken'County Office of the Superintendent "PERMISSION TO REPIODUa THIS Charles C. Rogers COP MATERIAL HAS GRANTED Project Upgrade BY se ..- P.O., Drawer 771 O DE TIM Aiken, S.C. 29801 UM AMS KMTHEUOTINGOffICE Of EDUCATION. FURTHER REPRODUaKMIOUTSIDE j THE OK SYSTEM 1101115 PIM= Of THE COPIIKAT MEV 1 irram r Pe emeitkilitkere PAPLC %Jr bVly I GII J .1111111111. v APPROACHES TO MEANING: A BASIS FOR CURRICULUM IN LITERATURE by George Hillocks, Jr 1 S. THE THEME - CONCEPT UNIT IN LITERATURE by George Hillocks, Jr 12 A UNIT ON ALLEGORY AND SYMBOLISM FOR EIGHTH GRADE HONORS STUDENTS by John C. Ingersoll 20 A UNIT ON ANIMAL STORIES by Jack L. Granfield 24 A UNIT ON THE OUTCAST by Lynn Reppa ... ........ ... 28 A UNIT ON SURVIVAL by Betty Lou Miller 32 et APPROACHES TO MEANING: A BASIS FOR CURRICULUM IN LITERATURE by George Hillocks, Jr. By the time the average student enters junior high school he has verynfrarly attained all the skill in reading he will ever need to glean the contenta.hit daily newspapervhis magazines, and whatever other popular literature he may encounter.. His basic sight vocabulary has been,long establishedcedhe does not block or unfamiliar words. He can read for main ideas and important detailsord. can make simple inferences about what he reads. Fromthe seventh grade on, many curricula, if they focus on skills at all, simply proliferatewhat ha% :already been learned and frequently,- ina zealous attempt toforce the:student to. kead with -care, rAl the skill of reading for unimportant details.This:writer once -. witnesseda test on The Scarlet Letter containing fifty questions,such as "Wig" was the,narne of HesTiPsWff7Ccurricula such as these: the real problems of meaning are either ignoredor handled by the teacher inaserieS of lectures abstracteckfrom his collegeor graduate school. notes. The student:is deprived.ofan opportunity of interpreting meaning for hirnifelf,but is unci.outhe, necessity of adherinato the interpretation suggested by the teacher.' -Mut the student soon-believes that the: meaning oforporimor story. isakin-to:the *Soots of ancientreligions, closelyrguarded bya high priesthood intheinnerniest . sanctum of.-aStone temple far from the .viewof the peasant world. Theritudent is content.to listen to the interpretations.of the priesthood, iand,after ybors of . acclimation to this procedure he is revolted:brany-unerthodoie driest -Who may ask him questions without everaruwering them:. And IOW priesti bosujiht-qp:in this tradition develop guiltcomplexes if they:do;lot systematically pride*the predigested daily integxetation. '1 . What is it then that .leads the teacher. to believe that he ansbhis<colleagues but not the studentsor capable, of dealingwith: problems of meaning. and interpretation?Is it that students are innately incapable of interketation? Is it that below, CI certain level of "maturity" o.studentissinable jO cope;with problerntiofmeaning? is' it simply that .the student does notpasest the techniques:for inakingicystematic inquiry. into meaning Egecluse he has never- ). been-exposed too systematic ilpprocsah to problems ofmeaning4 the studies on reading difficulty.have '61'0*confined themselves to. elementaryschool- material and define difficulty in tenni of sentence length andvo'pabulary: One : publication purports to-teach inference skills.by.arranging.problems in aOwned sequence of easy to'cliffictelt; hay/ever, thesimptiCity or difficulty yS irri.-! the inference:itself but in the relative familiarity of vocabulvy 4emstorin.the relative abstiactneei of *he-concept. -Doesii curriculum deal adequately with meaning and the'interioretation.of literati/re- if if simply increases:the difficulty of vocabulary an**. abitractiiess of the material ? Most teachers will agree that this alone is net adecit!ote..- :4$ If one of ourobjectives as teachets.oftneliskistateach so-that-our students will read o iiotic of literature independently with full understanding ; We; we had best discover clicylv this putioase mayleaccomplished. had. better ask ourselves Sarni pertinent questionsi. /1) -Is it ,enough' to encourage. stucreiitt to mad for entertainment and diversionV2)NShoiild we also encourage the:" student to read for Meaning? 3) If so; bre. care this be accomplished? remainder of this paper is aCattompt :to,,oetsweetheicrthreitiestiont.- 7. : 'As cortairia*eitords in the titles of literature anthologies suggest; theamefor goal in reading Is adventure, fun,or good times.' No one will argue that these are not laudable goals, but unfortunately.they are goals that canbe achieved by the student with much less effort in mediaother than books and magazines: movies, television; radio; -andcomics. The difficulty lies not so much in the goal itself as in theapparent fallure-of the adent proponents. Of reading interest and good timesto realize that the 'grad leasur.t and reward of reedingcomes through the revelation which-an 'author onakes throughhis craft and-because of his genius; Butto grasp the revelation fully, the reader cannot remain passive. and demand entertainment;on 'the. contrary; 'he mist- ,.. interact with the work; he must read and think .creativielyi..'But through this process he will be both entertained and -illuminated, '-andrhe will 'know the s' pleasure of accomplishment. Literature-whichis essentiallientertainrient 7 tends o-avoid reality, burs that whichis more than entertainment tends. to bring the tinder:41amto euericei.ond to ti* realities, of-existorice: ' How can the student' be taught-to-Aniderstand therhea ling of 'aliterary ,:.. work whetherait beImprint or.piodueedon stage or in the movies? -.Whet - toolsor concipts.murt he, as an educated reader, have acquired ?' lament:- Bruner in The PeCceu of Educationsuggests' that the structure 'of the iubiect matter 'shad Wirrntr7to our teaching. He.aassumes that learning structike is more important than learningidetallsbecalm, a knowledge of,structure may- be traneertett fromone probleogsalving sitUation'to;arsother.If Palmeri': assumption is correct and if literature hasIs discoverable-structure,' *should be possible to teach thatstructure thereby.giving thestudent an irwaluobliks tool for the. continuation of his -literaryeducation beyond the formal school =a.. 4 situation. : a,- .'! In literature three structuial. area preanf theta/elves immediately.4' - The first dials with thi picture ofman produced by a writer, the Second with levels of meaning, and thethird-with- form or genre. Familiarity with tier concepts' of each of theseareas willprovide thereader with:a background:and on awareness for making complex inferences' and far asking himself the kinds-: of questions whose answers reveal -alulinet: ' k Man in his-Environment. Theserious writer is,concernedwith.the relotion:Milifirtarios erlarivircrnment, which for the sakeof simplificiationf ccrn be-separated into.three foci/70r physical, the social, and the cult/1.GL'. environmentsJ. In reality,. ofcounft these three are ineePeroblike. each: contributingit and interacting with the otherstofornit-o mot* of-influences which operate dynaticany.ie the &motion:010echaracter, mires, and aspirations of man. Since the author's task. involvesa,commentety.onman, ' his work necessarily involves thkrirlatiOnship:ofman to hisonoicirortmentr* **: a relatioriship,which May be teen lying somewhere. the,continuum extending from man as controller ofhisenvironment, as InOS coo ofthe .mythic protagonist In .works.suchas the Promethean stories, to maitostsebleat of . his environment, as inthe case of the-,protagonist in works such ass;!. s, Death of a Salesman. No chatacler-in.anywork canbk.aampletely abstracted.