Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Week 1 2
Week 1 2
Week 1 2
HERCOR COLLEGE
Km. 1 Lawaan, Roxas City, Capiz 5800
ACADEMIC YEAR 2020-2021
Course Description:
This course allows pre-service English teachers to explore the nature of literature and the theoretical bases,
principles, and methods and strategies in teaching and assessing literature. It aims to provide them with various
strategies for pre-lesson, during lesson, and post-lesson which will develop their learners’ higher order thinking
skills in the use of the English language and will respond to their various backgrounds. Also, they are expected to
design developmentally-sequenced lesson plans and provide a range of assessment strategies to communicate
learners’ needs, progress and achievement in literature.
“Don't be pushed around by the fears in your mind. Be led by the dreams in your
heart.” ― Roy T. Bennett
W EEK 1-2
CONTENT
OVERVIEW
In the first two weeks in this subject, you will study the Nature of Literature and an Overview in Teaching
Literature and what it involves. Also, you will encounter terms and definitions often used in a literature class and
other related English major subjects. These terms are useful to fully understand the whole course.
Along with these concepts, you will encounter activities that will gauge and evaluate your learning and
comprehension regarding the subject matter. Materials for your references are also available and attached in this
module. For this week, you are expected to gear yourself with the basic understanding of the course in preparation
for a larger scope of commitment to learn Teaching and Assessment of Literature Studies.
1. explain the purposes and genres under the literature umbrella; and
2. recognize important concepts in teaching literature in English.
WEEKLY SCHEDULE
This week, we will utilize blended learning method. Upon receiving this learning module, you shall be guided with
the lessons, discussions, and tasks need to be completed. The DISCUSSION part of this module is for your
independent reading. Make sure to read and understand the provided notes and feel free to use books or online
references provided therein if you can access online. Prepare your inquiries and questions regarding the topics in
our scheduled limited face to face class. Also, you can reach me out for your clarifications through my email or you
can reach me out via messenger just in case we cannot meet in person.
DISCUSSION
NATURE OF LITERATURE
What you mean by literature?
Literature, a body of written works. The name has traditionally been applied to those imaginative works of
poetry and prose distinguished by the intentions of their authors and the perceived aesthetic excellence of their
execution.
Values of Literature
What is value?
The phrase "values of literature" refers to those qualities of poems, stories, novels, etc. that make them
worthwhile to read. If we feel our time reading is well spent, we can say that a work has value for us. If reading the
work was a complete waste, then we might say it has no value for us. And there is a spectrum between the two
extremes. Of course, if you simply do not like reading, then you really have no say in the matter.
evolved.
Philosophical value explores human knowledge, how we know and what
we know.
Moral value teaches a lesson that will inspire the reader to live a
better life.
Ethical value helps us asks questions related to the standards of a
"good" life.
Entertainment value
Literature has entertainment value if reading it gives occasion to enjoy yourself. This type of value is
inherently subjective because not everyone will enjoy the same kinds of stories, styles, or themes. Being
entertained is important, but being bored does not give anyone license to reject a work outright. I can put the
book down and not read it anymore, but I should be careful not to assume that my boredom is somehow a
characteristic of the work I tried to read. Rather, I was bored, plain and simple. Someone else might not be. At the
same time, if a work is awesome to me, exciting, intriguing, etc., I should not assume that my interest is somehow
a characteristic of the work I enjoyed reading. Rather, I was interested, plain and simple. Someone else might not
be.
Political value
Literature has political value if reading it gives occasion to change how a person thinks or acts. Politics is
about the management and flow of power. And power, like electricity, flows from one end of a circuit to another
to make things happen. Reading a work can jolt someone into action. It can reveal an injustice, outrage its readers,
give voice to the oppressed, ridicule those who are corrupt, etc. The main idea here is to think about what the
work of literature is trying to do. It has political value if it attempts to persuade people or the world to start acting
and thinking in "this" way. We can see the political leanings of a work without necessarily being persuaded
ourselves. But most of the time, we will like a work for its political leanings if we are in fact persuaded to align
ourselves with the author.
Artistic value
Literature has artistic value if reading it gives occasion to contemplate the nature of beauty and human
creativity. There are many works of literature that experiment with the limits of language and its expressive
power. If I like how words can be manipulated to create beautiful works of art, then a work that tries to use words
that way in a new and unique way will have artistic value for me. I would say that every work of literature that we
read in this course has artistic value because they are all works that have remained important over the years for
the way they extended the power of language in a new direction. If you don't like words, it will be difficult to see
the artistic value of any poem or story. The value will still be there even if you don't see it, however.
Cultural value
Literature has cultural value if reading it gives occasion to think about the place and time of the author
at the time the work was written. Authors might seems like supernatural beings or at least people who are way
above us, transcending the world down here to live among the heavens with their artistic visions, but they are
actually regular people like the rest of us. They care about what is happening in the world around them, and they
have experiences in life that shape their attitudes toward various issues. If their work addresses the attitudes,
customs, and values of their time (or another time), then the work has cultural value. The work becomes a window
into a world that is unfamiliar, and we are encouraged to compare cultural differences.
Historical value
Literature has historical value if reading it gives occasion to think about the past, how things changes
overtime, and how the world has evolved into what it is today. Historical value sometimes overlaps with cultural
value; if a work is really old, then it can give us insight into a culture so far back that we can also think about how
that culture might be a foundation for our own. The cliché about history is true--the less we now about how things
were, the more likely we are to relive them. Of course, some things might be worth reliving, and we might regret
5
some of the history we have left behind, but other things we want to avoid repeating. Works of literature can help
us learn about the past, process the past, and use the past to our advantage. Sometimes the historical value of a
work is that it shows us what we have gained and what we have lost.
Philosophical value
Literature has philosophical value if reading it gives occasion to explore the nature of human knowledge,
how we know and what we can know. These questions are central to the production of art because any artist
must interact with the world in order to represent it, whether lyrically in a poem or through storytelling in fiction;
he must, to some extent, know the world. But it is hard to be certain about what we know or even whether we can
know anything at all. Some writers explore philosophical issues pretty deeply because they are often a source of
crisis that can create great drama and raise intriguing questions. If a work invites us to think about perception,
making sense of our place in the world, or self-awareness, then we can say that it has philosophical value. In
response to such works, we tend to look inward and wonder, "who am I?"
Moral value
Literature has moral value if reading it gives occasion to learn a lesson. If a story or poem TEACHES us
how to live, or attempts to teach us, then it has a moral dimension. Is the work still valuable if we do not like the
lesson it teaches? Perhaps so. The best readers will see the moral value of a work even if the morals it endorses
are somehow distasteful to them. Moral value is a dangerous value to measure. The history of censorship, for
instance, is based on the idea that if a work teaches the "wrong" thing, it should not be read at all. This idea goes
all the way back to Plato, one of the earliest philosophers to explore the moral dimension of stories and poetry.
We have to be careful, I think, not to hold moral value as the most important one. If we reduce a story or poem to
a moral lesson, or require that a story or poem BE a moral lesson that we can endorse, then we are USING
literature to back up our own beliefs. To avoid this mistake, we must learn to appreciate works of literature for its
various kinds of value. "To appreciate" means "to measure the value of something," and we need to try to find
value in a work if we are inclined to reject it simply because we think it teaches the wrong lesson. Here is where
ethical value comes into play.
Ethical value
Literature has ethical value if reading it gives occasion to think about ethical questions. If a story
dramatizes conflicts and dilemmas, it is not necessarily teaching us how to live, but it encourages us to
contemplate the codes that the characters live by. If a poem has a speaker who promotes a particular world view
or seems conflicted about the world he lives in, the reader can try to look through the eyes of that speaker and see
what he or she sees. We may not agree with a speaker's or character's morality, but seeing that morality in action
can shed light on what it means or how it changes the world. If we reflect on a moral code, instead of simply
rejecting it or embracing it, then we are thinking ethically, and literature that promotes such thinking is ethically
valuable. Here are some important ethical questions: What is the good life? What is the excellent life? Where do
the definitions of good and excellent come from? Why do different definitions come into conflict? On what basis
do they conflict? Remember: works that raise questions do not always answer them. To measure the ethical value
of a work of literature, we need to ask the following questions:
Do the characters make choices in the work? What are those choices?
Do the characters or speakers defend particular beliefs or points of view? What are they?
What motivates those choices or beliefs or points of view in the work?
Where does the confidence in that motivation come from in the work?
Is there a crisis in that confidence in the work? Why?
To what place do those choices or beliefs or points of view lead in the work?
Young children are repeatedly in a position where adults choose their books. Teachers and parents pick
books with the best intentions, usually for reading development, but not always to develop a love of reading. We
need to teach them how to choose books to read by themselves.
Children who have opportunities to choose their own books have an early advantage. It helps them:
make independent choices
develop literacy preferences
understand their own reading ability
choose books for specific needs
Training students on how to choose books to read independently, the sooner they will recognize their
reading preferences. As they get older, they will have strategies to determine the best material for their own
academic endeavors.
Children may pick books that are too hard or too easy but this is part of the process. They won’t
understand their own reading preferences and ability until they choose books that they can’t read or don’t want to
7
read. Very young children will not choose books to read independently but they can start the process from an
early age.
Children who read for pleasure are more likely to be successful in school. Part of developing this success is
giving them the skills on how to choose books to read independently. They are more likely to want to read a book
they have chosen rather than a teacher or parent.
Choosing a good book can be an overwhelming task for many children. As teachers, we can guide them
through the process. With a few effective strategies, it gets easier and becomes a habit for a lifetime. So, how do
we help children make appropriate, independent choices? Here are a few strategies to help.
Have a quick chat to discover their thought process. You may find you have a class of fantasy lovers or
ones who enjoy nonfiction.
Did they pick the book from the cover
Have they read it before?
Did they pick up any book because they felt overwhelmed by the task?
Take note of any common preferences and interests to inform your read-aloud choices. Teachers are
influential in developing a love of reading in children. This means we need to promote their access to a varied
selection of reading materials. For example, graphic novels and magazines can have as much impact on reading as
traditional books.
Give them time to explore books in your classroom or school library. Ask them to choose a book just from
the front cover. What book covers interest them? Colourful, bold, realistic, fantasy, muted, animals, people, etc.
Once the children have chosen a book by the cover, teach them about the benefits of a book blurb. Even
though the blurb on a picture book or an easy reader is small, there will be enough information for them to make
an initial decision. Does the book still interest them? If so, get them to explore random pages to further gauge their
interest.
Ask your students questions for inspiration and help them narrow down their interests. Here are a few
examples:
Do they like scary or funny books?
Who is your favourite character or author?
Do they enjoy fiction or nonfiction?
What kind of movies and TV shows do you like to watch?
What type of books don’t you like?
If you are lucky enough to have a school library – take advantage! Libraries are full of fiction books, but
they also carry nonfiction books for all ages. You will find books on every topic that a child gets obsessed with,
8
including dinosaurs, transport, animals, sports and natural disasters. Adding non-fiction into the mix can be a
game-changer for some struggling readers and make them more likely to pick up a book for pleasure.
The problem arises when they finish the series and find it hard to move on. Do some research of your own
on different series so you have suggestions to offer. Some authors write more than one series which will help
children move from one series to another.
Being unable to move from one series to another is a phase for some children. A book series can be like a
comfort blanket, especially if they are struggling to integrate new reading strategies.
The 5 Finger Rule is one way for children to gauge whether a book is within their reading ability. It is a
versatile strategy and can be used with any reading material.
PROCESS: After choosing a book, students select a page at random and read it. When they come across a word
they don’t know or understand they raise a finger.
If they have 4 or 5 fingers up the book will be too hard.
If they have 0 or 1 finger up the book will be too easy.
IN CONCLUSION ...
There are no rules on how to choose books to read, but these strategies help children make appropriate
choices. Each child is different so they can determine the best strategy to help them discover the best book for
their needs.
Reading should be fun otherwise what is the point! As children get older they will read for learning, but
we don’t want them to lose their love of learning in the meantime. That’s why we need to embed a positive
attitude while they are young.
9
I know I am preaching to the choir, but don’t push children to read what they are not ready for. You are
only reinforcing the message that reading is a chore. When children choose a book they don’t like, they can put it
back and choose another one. The goal is for reading to be about pleasure not forced enjoyment.
Reading should be fun otherwise what is the point! For children reading should be about enjoyment and
entertainment. As they get older they will read for learning, but we don’t want them to lose their love of learning.
That’s why we need to embed a positive attitude while they are young.
ANSWER THESE!
Direction: On a sheet of yellow paper, copy the following questions and answer with honesty.
1. How does literature relate to humanity? How does it shape the perspectives of humans?
2. How does literature become a reflection of life? Cite instances that apply to this idea.
3. What is there to value literature?
4. Enumerate the factors both positive and negative that affect the interest in literature.
5. What do you think is the most important concept in teaching literature?
GRADING
[Scoring Rubrics for Task and Evaluation]
SCALE DESCRIPTION
5 Points Facts are consistently detailed/precise and very relevant. Uses correct spelling and grammar
effectively almost all of the time. Addresses the question completely.
4 Points Most facts are detailed/precise and relevant. Uses spelling and grammar with considerable
accuracy and effectiveness. Addresses the question, but left out few details.
3 Points Lacks few substantial details and examples to support ideas. Spelling and grammar require
moderate editing. Addresses the question, but provided few details.
2-1 Point/s More specific details and examples are needed to support opinions. Spelling and grammar require
considerate editing. Addresses the question, but in very few details.