Subject:
Professional Development/Literature
Grades: Adult
Length: 8 episodes @ 60 minutes
Distributors: CPB/Annenberg
Record Rights: 1 year
Website: http://www.learner.org/channel/workshops/isonovel/
For middle and high school educators, this collection of eight one-hour
workshops features innovative classroom activities, interviews with contemporary
novelists, and ten of the most popular novels on school reading lists.
Best of all, the series reminds us that teaching the novel can be just
plain fun.
1 Who Owns the Novel? This workshop probes the living nature of the novel by illustrating how each reader makes a novel his or her own. It shows that the interpretation of a novel changes, depending upon the reader's culture, class, generation, sex, and personality.
2 What's the Story? Many different ways of telling a story are discussed. What are the conflicts, the crises, and the resolutions? This workshop explores how an author spins a story and why it is the most important aspect of the novel.
3 Are Novels Real? Characters, their motivations, their stories, and the times and places should bear some likeness to reality. Or should they? This program explores how novels connect with the reader.
4 Where Do Novels Come From? This program explores the genesis of the characters, plot, themes, and interpretation from the novelist's point of view.
5 Why Do I Have to Read this Book? The qualities of the ten novels chosen are explored to see why they appear on recommended reading lists and what makes them award-winners. The program also looks at the essential elements of good writing and storytelling.
6 What's in It for Me? A novel can transport readers to other places and times, real or imaginary, allowing them to meet people and experience life in many different ways.
7 Who Am I in this Story? The reader steps into the novel in various roles: the protagonist, the narrator, the author, or another character.
8 Am I Getting Through? In this summary, teachers examine their own effectiveness in helping students comprehend and appreciate novels and in setting them on the road to become lifelong learners.