4.2 读书分享活动

4.2 读书分享活动

要求所有学生根据好策平台规划的阅读进度合理安排课外自主阅读时间,尽量做到每天完成一定的阅读任务,同时做好读书笔记,便于课堂分享。具体的读书分享活动分为两个步骤,第一步是根据好策平台的读书进度,边读边分享。把每次阅读的笔记拿出来分享。第二步是“期末大放送”。所谓“期末大放送”,就是要求学生读完整本书之后进行一次分享。具体操作如下。

4.2.1 根据好策平台规划的读书进度,边读边分享

首先给出一定的时间,让小组成员之间进行读书分享,然后进行全班经典读书活动分享,各个小组在组内分享完了以后,再推荐一名同学在全班分享。具体给出学生的分享指南如下:

Choose some sentences either with beautiful description or full of philosophy and read them loudly.

Pick out some new words or expressions and ask your team members to guess their meaning in context.

Pick out your difficulties and discuss with your team members.

比如,选择《老人与海》(The Old Ma n a nd the Sea)这本书的同学就提到了“But a man is not made for defeat.A man can be destroyed but not defeated”这个经典句子,感受到了作者海明威的硬汉精神。同时分析了defeat这个单词在同一个句子里既做名词又做动词的两种不同用法。类似的用法还有一句对老人衬衣上的补丁的细节描写:“His shirt had been patched so many times that it was like the sail and the patches were faded to many different shades by the sun”。前面一个patched做动词,后面the patches做名词;除此之外,句中对这些补丁的描写“faded to many different shades by the sun”(被太阳晒得褪成了许多深浅不同的颜色)给人留下了深刻的印象。举例的学生不仅分享了这些好句子,还请其他同学帮助分析如何理解此处“many different shades”(因为太多补丁,而且常年在海上暴晒,所以晒得褪成了许多深浅不同的颜色)。

再比如选择《怦然心动》(Flipped)这本书的学生,分享了这本书中朱莉父亲一段非常有哲理的话,以及在朱莉最心爱的梧桐树被锯掉的时候这段话是如何影响她的:“A painting is more than the sum of its parts,”he would tell me,

and then go on to explain how the cow by itself is just a cow,and the meadow by itself is just grass and flowers,and the sun peeking through the tree is just a beam of light,but put them all together and you've got magic”。举例的学生不仅分享了这个句子,还请其他同学根据上下文猜测“peek”这个单词的含义。

有趣的是,学生在《怦然心动》这本书中也看到了shade这个单词。他们给出了这样一个例子:The sycamore tree had been at the top of the hill forever.It was on a big vacant lot,giving shade in the summer and it was so much fun to ride down。这里“shade”是指梧桐树洒下的绿荫。

在分享过程中,还有学生挑出了该书中下面这段话:“Some of us get dipped in flat,some in satin,some in gloss.But every once in a while you find someone who's iridescent,and when you do,nothing will ever compare”。布莱斯的外公借这段话开导布莱斯看到朱莉的优点,让他明白朱莉是很优秀的。最有意思的是,学生在网上找到这段话很多种不同的翻译,加深自己对这个句子的理解。“有些人沦为平庸浅薄,金玉其外,而败絮其中。可不经意间,有一天你会遇到一个彩虹般绚丽的人,从此以后,其他人就不过是匆匆浮云”,或者“我们当中的有些人平庸,有些人像缎子一样光彩照人,有些人浮华于外表。但有一天,你会遇到一个如彩虹般灿烂的人,当你遇到这个人,其他人都只是浮云而已”。但是,我们搜索到一个特别有意思的解释,可以加深我们对这句话深层次的理解:

单词dip意为“比较随意地蘸一下”,女娲造人的时候会边造边笑,做人嘛,最重要的就是要开心,上帝也一样,捏着每一个人,往容器里随便蘸一下(dip)。

单词flat、satin、gloss、iridescent是一个暗喻,flat是哑光油漆,satin是平光油漆,gloss是高光油漆,这些就是容器里面的东西了,从这个色调来说,并没有厚此薄彼。iridescent是那种亮闪闪的光泽,如阳光下的泡沫一样,五彩斑斓;所以上帝造人的时候,随手那么一蘸,每个人就有了不同的外表、不同的灵魂,来到人间过着不同的生活。

4.2.2 “期末大放送”——读完整本书之后的分享

所谓“大放送”,就是期末,当阅读任务即将完成的时候,要求学生重新读一读自己的读书笔记,然后整理出读书报告。这次活动主要是从整体上对自己所读的书籍进行梳理总结,然后再分享。具体分享的内容包括:

Talk about the plot which impresses you deeply,and tell us why you are so attracted.

Talk about the protagonist of the novel:his/her characteristics and qualities,or his/her stories,which touch you most.

Talk about any inspiration you get from this book.

Recommend some other books worth reading.

比如,学生谈到《怦然心动》一书中关于梧桐树那一个情节中父亲对朱莉的教育和爱如何深深地打动了自己。首先,父亲告诉朱莉:“A painting is more than the sum of its parts”。然后,朱莉爬上树后终于明白,“Really,Dad.I understand now about the whole being greater than the sum of the parts”。当有人要砍树时,父亲爬上树告诉她,“No view was worth his little girl's safety”,让女儿明白自己对她的担心。后来,看到女儿那么伤心,父亲带着自己亲笔画的树来安慰女儿,“I want the spirit of that tree to be with you always.I want you to remember how you felt when you were up there”,然后把画递给自己的女儿,说“I made this for you”。然后,笔者试着引导学生思考,把小说中的情节放到我们的教育环境中,如果换成一对中国的父女,他们遇到这样的情景会如何处理这样的问题。

再比如,读过《肖申克的救赎》(The Sha wsha nk Redem ption)的学生提到了书中最后一部分安迪写给瑞德的那一封信深深地打动了自己。“Dear Red,If you're reading this,then you're out.One way or another,you're out.And if you've followed along this far,you might be willing to come a little further.I think you remember the name of the town,don't you?I could use a good man to help me get my project on wheels.Meantime,have a drink on me—and do think it over.I will be keeping an eye out for you.Remember that hope is a good thing,Red,maybe the best of things,and no good thing ever dies”。从这样一封看似很平淡的信中,学生看到了支撑安迪最终获得自由的还是“hope”这样永远不会消失的“good thing”。这也是这本书给读者的启迪。

很多喜欢悬疑小说的学生选择了阿加莎的《无人生还》(And Then There Were None)。在分享的过程中,学生从童谣Ten Little Indian Boys入手,分析了犯罪类型和犯罪动机,他们还引用了莎士比亚的《暴风雨》中的一句台词“Hell is empty,all devils are there”来描述小说中到处暗藏的杀人玄机。除此之外,学生还提出了“What is justice”这样的问题,在班上进行互动。其中有一个学生在分享之前还采访了一些司法工作者,了解相关的法学知识。

最有意思的是选择了卡耐基的《人性的弱点》((How to Win Friends and Influence People)一书的同学,还找到了《小谢尔顿》(Young Shel don)的视频,分析了Young Sheldon为什么在运用该书中“Principle One:Don't Criticize,Condemn or Complain”去交朋友的时候遭遇失败,然后再结合自己上大学交朋友的成功经历进行分享。最后学生引用书中作者的一句话结尾:“In our interpersonal relations,we should never forget that all our associates are human beings and hunger for appreciation.It is the legal tender that all souls enjoy”。这样的分享不仅是书中的理论知识,而且通过分享传递了一种正能量,让我们懂得在日常生活中要乐于赞赏别人,而不是一味找别人的过失,这本书教会了我们如何养成赞赏他人的习惯。