English Students Use Art to Build Personal Connections to Literature
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The page Terry chose for students to create their response to Lord of the Flies was the scene where Golding juxtaposes the beauty of nature with the first attempted killing of a pig. Some students focused on the pastoral beauty of the mountain and flowers. Others zeroed in on the knife and the attempted kill. Although some of the outcomes were dark, Terry said, "Considering that the text pages were from Lord of the Flies, I wouldn't expect anything different." Overall, Terry expressed pleasure with how art encourages her students to explore the layers of meaning in a story and to build personal connections with it.
Created by English Language Arts students enrolled in courses taught by Mrs. Julie Terry, art decorates the walls in the junior high wing at Chinook High School. This art represents literary responses to students' reading.
Mrs. Terry's students are required to read one outside novel a quarter and to complete a project/report. The one-pagers on display are book reports, some reflect a more traditional approach while others lean more towards the nontraditional.
According to Terry, considerable research supports how creating art can be motivating. It can take the emphasis off of accuracy...
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