04 February 2011

Ciudad de las bestias: Guides public & streamlined

I wrote here about what I've done with the book Ciudad de las bestias by Isabel Allende in my AP class. I recently put all of the chapter guides with their "palabras claves" in one streamlined Google doc, public on the web. It should be easier to use and as always happens with time, more accurate as my students find mistakes (like incorrect page numbers) and I fix them. If you have any suggestions or comments, as always those are welcome.

A few notes about the guides/words:
- The guides get longer because 1) the students become more capable and less in shock and 2) the chapters get more complicated in regards to the plot
- I use a "did you read" question at the end of every guide, worth at least 10 points, more according to the length of the chapter
- sometimes there's a ¿? instead of a definition of a "palabra nueva" because while the phrase itself is new, it's related to words the students know, and so I think they should be able to figure it out (e.g. desangrar).
- at this level my students read mostly on their own but we try to make time for it in class, and the day it's due they come in with questions and we read through tough sections together - this lessens their frustration

Have you thought about writing guides to literature for your own class-- and sharing them for other teachers? Collaboration is the 21st-century skill. :)

1 comment:

Gina Covello said...

Thank you so much for sharing this. I am doing private lessons with an adult client and we are reading Ciudad de las Bestias. I have been preparing questions but am starting a full-time job and will be teaching her in the evening. I don't have time to lesson plan, read the book AND prepare questions, so this is a life saver. Wish I had found it sooner. We're on Chapter 9 now. I hope to use this book in the future. I think it is great for high schoolers too and now I've read it and it is not all new to me!