Week 7, Pedagogy Forum

This week, I worked with my students to create sign inventories for their end of the Nine Weeks Paper. We have been working with signs without actually discussing or naming it. However, I listed everything we have read so far on the board. Then, I asked them to just give me words and things they remember from the literature. This became really interesting for me to see what they actually remembered and what they found interesting and worthwhile. Together, we made a huge list of ideas, characters, and objects. Some of the students were even historicizing the reading by asking, "Did this have anything to do with the Feudal System?" among other questions. Then, as a class, we chose which one seemed most intriguing for that class. I teach 6 different classes, and all of them selected a different sign or nuance of the sign to discuss. Although it takes much preparation, the students really appreciate the fact that they were able to select their topics. This also gave us an opportunity to talk about the nature of "work" when you are writing. One student said, "this didn't take too much time, but you really have to think." That was the best thing he could have said.