Honors Theses
Date of Award
Spring 5-9-2024
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
Education
First Advisor
Ellen Shelton
Second Advisor
Ann Monroe
Third Advisor
Rosemary Oliphant-Ingham
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
Secondary English students often demonstrate difficulty in comprehending and finding relevancy in reading works of classic literature when the canon is taught in a prescriptive fashion, often further widening the gap between students who are considered smart enough to read classic literature and those deemed incapable. My hypothesis is that when used in a dialogic classroom, teaching challenging, classic texts in a facilitative manner can help bridge this classic literature gap while also encouraging diversity and supporting student learning. Under my clinical instructor’s recommendations and requirements in my student teaching, I designed a unit lesson plan focusing on Roald Dahl’s “The Landlady” which aimed to make this classic short story more accessible, relevant, and meaningful for modern-day students. Using teacher observations and assessment results, I evaluated where instruction was effective and ineffective. While instruction was mostly effective, some students demonstrated a need for more support throughout instruction. Creating a dialogic classroom requires more than teaching two weeks of a unit, but student results and engagement indicated a dialogic classroom would be both effective and meaningful for student learning and growth in the future of my own classroom.
Recommended Citation
Hall, Marika, "A Classic Problem: Engaging Secondary Students in Reading the Canon" (2024). Honors Theses. 3172.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/3172
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