Guided Learning Activities Prior to Discussion of Literature

Abstract

A survey of Unterrichtspraxis from its start to date reveals numerous articles which discuss the teaching of literature in the classroom. Some treat general questions, while most offer didactic hints about specific works.' No article deals exclusively or in detail with the question of how a student ought to prepare for the discussion of a literary work and how the instructor might influence that preparation. The unstated assumption behind this lack of early guidance seems to be that a student's reading of the text suffices. Perhaps it does not. In an introductory German literature course, where students do not even read whole works in one sitting but in assigned segments, and these often with a dictionary close by, the proper perspective is easily lost. This article, therefore, suggests the use of work sheets to be completed as students prepare for discussions of literature. While all examples given below are from Introduction to German Literature I, the first elected course beyond the required basic language sequence, such work sheets, appropriately adjusted, could probably have wider application, e.g. in literature in translation or even in a school or college language course, where a literary text might be included only occasionally. Work sheets accompany each of the longer works in the course. Because they are intended to elicit task-oriented reading, students complete them while reading the corresponding section of a text. They are told that some of the work sheets will be collected at random for checking/grading. Having students engaged in this guided learning activity prior to discussing literature provides the following benefits: