323 Supervised Reading

Overview:
This course aims to acquaint students with the study, analysis and
summary of literary texts. Students are given the opportunity to express
their personal viewpoints of the texts under discussion whether orally or in
written form. My students are sophomores majoring in English Literature in
King Abdul-Aziz University in Jeddah. I teach them 323 Supervised Reading
twice a week on Tuesday and Thursday. Each class lasts 1 hour and 10
minutes. The capacity of the class is 30 female students whose ages range
from 20 to 22 years old. This course is designed for high intermediate and
low advanced L2 Learners.
At the beginning of the semester, the students were given a list of
novels written in Victorian period. They have to select two novels from the
list. As a teacher, I believe that giving the students choices to select what to
read helps them enjoy what they are reading and engage with the literature.
Within the curricula focus of Victorian history with the theme, Children
Rights, I offer my students many titles to give them a chance to experience
different historical incidents and expand their critical thinking on what rights
the children should have from individuals and the whole society. This theme
will be supported with two related literary works form Victorian era. These
works had described how children suffer from poverty, employment,
mistreatment, and from their deprived rights such as education, insurance,
and protection.

In this course, two effective techniques will be integrated in the L2

classroom; literature circles, and posting class discussions and homework on
Flickr. In literature circles, I will assign small groups of students gathering
together to discuss a piece of literature in depth. The discussion is guided
by students' response to what they have read. The students talk about
characters and events in the book, the writer's craft, or personal experiences
related to the story. As they read, discuss, and respond to books, literature
circles provide a way for students to engage in reflection and critical
thinking. Collaboration is at the heart of this approach. Students add and
reshape onto their experiences and comprehension as they construct
meaning with other group members. Finally, literature circles guide and help
students to deeper understanding of what they read through structured
discussion and extended written and artistic response. (Katherine L. et al,
1999).
Through this lesson, students make comparisons between children
lives in the 19th century specifically Victorian period and children today in
order to explore how things remain the same and how they change. While
they are developing their comprehension of British history and its literary
work, the students will be encouraged to make personal connections. Plus to
the core texts that the students read with their literature circles, I will
support the technological tools such as watching a short video, from Flickr,
about the chosen story, writing posts and reflections, and commenting on
classmates posts on Flickr. Such sorts of activities will improve my students

critical thinking and writing skills. Moreover, these activities encourage them
to engage and have confidence to speak English in the classroom activity.

Reference
Katherine L. Schlick Noe & Nancy J. Johnson. (1999). Retrieved from: Getting
Started with Literature Circles. Christopher-Gordon Publishers, Inc.