Assigned the task of instructing a split class of Grade 11 and 12 Workplace English (ENG 3E/4E), I wanted to take a different approach this semester to really focus on improving our reading skills. From quiet, independent reading, through a variety of reading together activities, we have spent a lot of time with our noses in books. The students are tired of it. Of course, with the temperature climbing beyond 18 degrees Celsius, and with the tulips, daffodils, and hyacinth in bloom, and with the orioles, purple martins, and yellow warblers returned to our local skies, the students are simply tired of being stuck in a dark classroom. Nevertheless, our latest reading activities revolved around Mark Haddon’s novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. With this novel I demonstrated snags and the students worked with words, connections, investigating, storytelling, and questioning. For these activities, taken from my usual literature-circle roles, this novel worked very well. It is an intriguing story that offers numerous connections for the students to make with their own lives. It also offers the opportunity for interesting mystery-parallels. I will read it with a Workplace English class again in the future, but much earlier in the semester.
