Cyberguides
The Cyberguides site is an excellent example of making literature instruction student centered. Produced by the state of California for its teachers and students, the guides cover areas of literature from K-12.
Take for example the cyberguide on Julius Caesar. Students participate in activities that enhance their understanding of this Shakespearian tragedy. Activites include using Internet resources to research the play and its characters; thinking about hypothetical situations based on the play (Students are asked to imagine that Rome is a true democracy and are asked to write a composition dealing with whether or not they would vote for Antony as president of the republic.); and solving a problem with logical reasoning (Students write a composition arguing for or against the assassination of Julius Caesar.) Much of this particular unit is focused on writing, so depending on the level of your students, you might need to modify or limit the number of writing activities.
If a particular cyberguide is not totally compatible with your curriculum, you may be able to get some ideas from the various cyberguides and makes some of your own modifications. A number of our teachers have used these and like them. Classrooms become student-centered when using Cyberguide activities.
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