Week 7 Assignment Response

The Little Prince

(Per usual, the following is intended for intermediate level high school students)

At the surface, The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, is a children’s story about a pilot and the little prince he encounters while plane-wrecked in the Sahara. However, the undertones are of great philosophical inquiry concerning personal journey, development, and the maintenance of significant relationships with others. As such, it is a text that lends itself well to the language experience approach.

Because of its length, simple language, and entertaining illustrations, the students would be able to read the entirety of the book, rather than just excerpts. This would bring flow and consistently to reading, a significant aspect of any second language classroom. Additionally, it is my assumption that reading an entire book would bring students a great sense of accomplishment, and renew excitement for learning English. Because of its philosophical undertones, it also creates great opportunity for open-ended writing and discussion inside and outside of the classroom.

Additionally, the entire book (with illustrations) is online, making it easy for students to access. The link to its online form is below:

http://www.angelfire.com/hi/littleprince/introduction.html

I plan to make great use of journal writing within my classrooms. I have already discussed my plans for a Daily Observation Journal, and the following lesson plan makes use of a Reader’s Journal, which would be a mainstay in my classroom for the entire semester. I like the idea of journal writing because it is open-ended, personal, and adds a level of consistency otherwise not found in sporadic essay assignments.

There are 27 chapters in all, but they are very short, and many of the 83 pages contain vibrant illustrations. As such, it would be my plan to begin slow and read one chapter at a time. As soon as I am convinced that students are ready to read a little faster, I would start assigning more chapters at one time. It would be my hope that we spend less than ½ the semester with this book, making one day out of each week “Little Prince” day.

Below, I have formulated pre-reading, reading, and post-reading activities for Chapter 1:

Chapter 1 Summary: The author presents his first two drawings to grown ups (a boa constrictor eating an elephant). Criticism and confusion from the grown-ups causes him give up drawing and become a pilot instead of an artist.

Pre-reading activity: Open ended questions

1. When you were growing up, did you like to draw?
1. If so, what did you like to draw?
2. If not, why not? What did you do instead?
2. What did you want to be when you grew up?
1. Do you still want to be the same thing?
2. Have your goals changed? If so, why? If not, why not?

Reading activity: underline any words that are unfamiliar. DO NOT stop to define them while reading. Copy those words into your reading journal AFTER reading, and define them. Re-read the section where the word appears, and attempt to understand it in context.

Post- reading activity: Reader’s journal. Make an entry in your reader’s journal. Address one of the following questions, and compose /answer a question of your own.

1. Do you think the author is happy being a pilot?
2. Do you think the author misses being a child? Do you miss being a child?
3. Are you more like a child or more like a grown-up?

Also, please draw a boa-constrictor eating an elephant. You can do this anyway you like!

Students can volunteer to share their thoughts on the reading in the following class, and I will set the example by keeping my own reading journal for the class and volunteering to share if students are timid.

I would do the same for following chapter, making sure to include variety in activities. Sometimes we might do an art project as a post-reading activity, or watch a short video clip for a pre-reading activity. The possibilities are endless. I would also want to make use of writers’ workshops, turning various Reader’s Journal entries into more formal responses with the input and aid of peers.

Upon completion of the book, I will prompt the students with an over-arching question that addresses the themes of the book, to which they would write a well-supported, well-thought essay in response. We would share our essays with each other, and discuss what personal meanings we derived from the book.