Levels of Thinking: Little Red Riding Hood Analysis
Objective
Big Idea
SSR
We will begin class with reading time. While I am reading with the students, my teaching partner will circulate the room to check for completion of their history notes.
This time has become a really good way to start class. While I like to shake it up with other formats, I also really like how the reading puts my students into an academic mode right away.
Finish Archetype Overview
Red Riding Hood Close Reading and Analysis
Once we've finished the archetype notes, I will ask students to work with a partner to read and annotate the text of the Grimm Brother's version of Little Red Riding Hood. I will ask them to identify all the archetypes and then choose three to analyze (RL.9-10.1, RL.9-10.4 and L.9-10.5).
As I mention in my video overview of why we are doing this lesson, my teaching partner has been working with the AP strategy of leveled questioning. I have piggy-backed off of his instruction to provide students with a conceptual framework for why we are studying archetypes, mainly so that they are able to reach level two (inferential) and level three (analytical) understandings of all kinds of texts. I will reemphasize this today by making sure they understand that looking for archetypes will automatically propel them to higher levels of interpretation because of the deep symbolic roots of archetypal imagery.
As they read, I will circulate the room to answer questions and push thinking.
Wrap up and Next Steps
I am purposefully setting aside a little extra time for wrap up today to ensure that I have time and to allow for some verbal sharing of the archetypes that the students analyzed. I will use the Popsicle sticks to randomly call on a few pairs of students to have them share orally what they discussed about archetypes and their interpretation of the text (SL.9-10.1).
I will then spend a few minutes reading highlights from the interpretations presented by literary critics to show them that the archetypes might lend to a more twisted version of the story. I will ask students to reflect on how this double meaning might be important in regards to our reading skills. I hope that they will be able to tell me that sometimes an author has hidden meaning we might need to spend more time looking for OR that authors are always connected to their historical context and that it is important for us to analyze the history of a text along with it's literary meaning/significance (RL.9-10.6).
