I wanted to share one strategy on how will I teach Literature to my students in the future. My chosen selection was "The Last Leaf” by O. Henry. I focused on the creative level of reading wherein I asked my students to relate a quotation and illustrate by giving examples based on real life on how they understood the story. My sample finished product looked like this:
Illustration:
“The Last Leaf” by O. Henry is one our literary selections tackled when I was in third year which I can relate to the quotation above. The main character here loses hope in her life because of failures in painting which is her source of income and wanting to die, until her neighbor changes this when he painted a leaf which became an inspiration for her which caused the neighbor to die. The main character now realizes that she needed to continue her life with a purpose now.
I also can illustrate the life of a Manilyn Monroe. She should have been very lucky in her time because she had things more than enough for her. She had a very good life, she’s rich and popular. But at her peak of success she committed suicide. She is an example of a person living with out a sense and wasted her life easily. Her life must have been very bad. She is not only the person who commits suicide but many people around the world. These people may not know really how to live and these people may not know God.
Quotation:
“We are always getting ready to live but never living.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Explanation:
The quotation means that all people are living just because they need to live. They live because it is the fact of life and they don’t have any choice. They don’t have any purposes in living. They don’t know why and how living life to the fullest of what you are. In this world all of us are living because it is what we are used to but not realizing that living has deeper meaning than that. Life is a wonderful thing God had given us so we shouldn’t waste it after all. We must give the best shot in every moment we live because this life is only once that is given.
On earth each of us has a work to do before our lives have done. We are the ones who make out of our life and the ones responsible for it. Yet, we don’t really know the difference of live from living. Live for an ordinary person is like living with out a God. Their life doesn’t have directions and they are living in a miserable life, while living is having a beautiful life with God and a bright future.
In conclusion, we live because we have a purpose here on earth. That is why we are living because we believe that there is a God who made us having a plan for us.
This was the tangible product that I expect from my students to confer with. This shall be included in my lesson plan if I had given the chance to execute the teaching. I hope you can give insights on what should I improve and modify. Thank you and have a nice day.
Sincerely,
Kahren Sagun
3rd Year BSE Major in English
University of Santo Tomas Philippines