I was reminded of a few classroom experiences when reading chapter 1 in Beach's book. When he talks about showing the 1968 Zeffirelli Romeo and Juliet film, I absolutely agree that students really start to love that play once they've seen in on the screen. Every year I teach the play, I wish that I could take my class to an outdoor theater, to see the play how it was meant to be seen. It's spring, the weather is nice, the students are starting to behave more sophomorically and not so freshman-like, and it would be a great opportunity to get out of the classroom. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened, and showing Zeffirelli's version is the next best option. I show it bit by bit, as we read the play, instead of after reading the entire thing. I also show parts of the 1997 version with Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes, just to show them how the play is interpreted differently by different directors. It's always interesting to see which students prefer which version; it's usually a pretty even split!
I also show To Kill a Mockingbird when I teach Harper Lee's novel. This one also gets mixed reactions from the 9th grade crowd; some claim it's too slow and boring, some are upset that it leaves so much out from the novel, and others insist that it is a wonderful movie. Beach asserts "Students also need to be able to judge media texts according to criteria unique to a specific media type or mode," (4) and I've realized that I don't teach my students how to do that in English 9. (I DO teach it in my Essentials 9 class [students with low reading and writing skills], since I've adapted the curriculum so that they do not read the book. They only watch the movie, and then they have to write a film review in which they summarize the film, critique the actin, and analyze different cinematography techniques.) I think that as I teach the novel this spring, I am going to show the movie in sections, not in its entirety at the end, similar to what I do with Romeo and Juliet. I'll spend a little more time discussing cinematography with them, and then hopefully they'll understand the effectiveness of certain scenes in terms of angles, sound, and lighting, and not dwell so much on whether it was a "boring" part of the story.
I'll finish up this week with a question. Beach cites Buckingham (2003) in saying, "In critiquing media texts, it is important for students to recognize that the meanings of these texts do not actually lie 'in' the text, but rather how audiences construct the meaning of media texts within specific social contexts" (5). When teaching concrete thinkers such as my Essentials students, HOW do I achieve this? Or, when teaching a class where nobody wants to talk unless they are absolutely sure of the answer, which wouldn't be possible with a goal like this, HOW do I help them reach this realization on their own? I know that to start with, they need all the background information possible. But what else?
