(L-r) CAREY MULLIGAN as Daisy Buchanan and JOEL EDGERTON as Tom Buchanan in Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Village Roadshow Pictures’ drama “THE GREAT GATSBY,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures © 2013 Bazmark Film III Pty Limited
At my school, the English 10 (sophomore) curriculum includes a study of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This year, with the much-anticipated release of the Baz Luhrmann film version of the novel, a greater emphasis was placed on the study of Fitzgerald's book, and we recently took the entire sophomore class on a "field trip" to view the film at a local cinema. Connecting the book to the movie was a rewarding experience which offered ample opportunity for discussion and comparative journaling.
Orlando, Florida teacher Lee Ann Spillane, however, points out that viewing the movie does not make students better readers of the prose, and so she offers several ideas in this blog about how to incorporate technology into the teaching of the classic 20th century novel.
Spillane begins by explaining the ways in which she teaches her students to "play with the text." By using Wordle to artfully arrange text in a word cloud, Spillane argues that her students are satisfying the Common Core standard of "analyzing the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone." Another, similar application is Tagxedo. The importance and frequency of words in a selection of text are represented by a larger font, and, according to the author, arrangement of text appeals to our sense of play and our creativity.
Another technology Spillane uses in teaching Gatsby is the "find" feature on Google Books. By pressing "control" + "f", students can type in text and search for patterns in text and locate the frequency of specific words. For example, the word "green" appears in Gatsby 13 times, while the word "white" appears 29 times. Fitzgerald's use of colors like green, to represent the longing Gatsby for feels Daisy when he views the green light at the end of her dock, or like white to represent Daisy's innocence and naivete, can come to the fore of a discussion using this feature.
"When we use Google Books to trace patterns in text," says Spillane, "students begin to wonder, to hypothesize, or as Brian Cambourne says, to 'approximate' what real critics do (Allen and Gonzalez 1998, 132). I can hear it in their voices and see it as they creep closer to the monitors to get a better look at the latest search results." This level of engagement is refreshing, especially when teaching a book like The Great Gatsby, with which students often find it difficult to navigate the vocabulary and syntax of Fitzgerald's prose.
All these different ideas are great to read about. Taking your kids to see the movie sounds great, but all these extra resources really allow the students to get into the writing. When they get to take part in dissecting a text as famous as Gatsby using these tools a classic text gets catapulted to a new generation. Cool resources, I hope I get a chance to see the movie.
ReplyDeleteGreat thoughts in your post. I believe too often that educators assume showing a movie creates a connection between the multi-media, reading and class lesson for students. Unfortunately, it doesn't. Students get excited because they're watching a movie. Afterall, who doesn't want to have a break and watch a movie in class? However, the benefits don't always exist for the student. I like the suggestions you talk about in connecting the Gatsby novel with the movie - and they involve different types of technology.
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