The objectives of the unit of work were provided in the course syllabus given to the trainees at the beginning of the course; these were later used to design the questionnaire for data collection, and they are listed in the following section.
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2.4 Assessment
The unit of work included two types of assessment: formative and summative. Formative assessment is meant to monitor students´ learning and provide ongoing feedback on personal strengths and weaknesses as writers, as well as to identify problems and areas for improvement. This type of assessment was instrumental in monitoring the process of text production and was carried out cooperatively by means of class discussions, peer-correction and instructor-student interviews. Summative assessment was used to grade students‘ productions using the analytical scoring instrument devised for this particular unit. As this instrument was used with trainee teachers, it is worth mentioning that it has the extra benefit of evidencing the way genre and text analysis can guide the formulation of objectives and desirable outcomes.
Fairy Tale assessment criteria Task: 10
Recognizable relation with the source tale
Introduction, climax and resolution
Use of dialogue
Use of stock characters
Use of description for both characters and setting Content: 10
Originality
Clear relation with the clues or instructions provided
Resolution consistent with characterization, conflict and conventions of the genre
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Coherence: 10
Complete sentences
Consistent point of view and referencing
Clear narrative cohesion
Consistent tone Grammar: 10
Accurate use of narrative tenses
Subject-verb agreement
Accurate use of adjectives, adverbs, gerunds and infinitives.
Functional use of emphasis and relative clauses.
Direct speech Vocabulary: 10
Informal register
Idioms that express comparison and phrasal verbs
Specific verbs, nouns, adjectives and adverbs.
Accurate use of simple collocations 2.5 The activities
The task sequence for this unit of work has also been designed following the task cycle proposed by Feez (1998) and explained by Hyland (2007). In this case, this arrangement has resulted particularly suitable because of its flexibility. Since the outcome for the unit is not a single text but a brief collection of stories, students were able to re-enter the task cycle at any stage after producing the first re-narration.
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Building the context: revealing genre purposes and the settings in which it is commonly used.
Discuss students‘ knowledge about Folk literature in general and Fairy tales in particular
Share ideas about favourite characters and what makes them special
Discuss the moral of each of the tales and personal feelings about those teachings from an adult perspective.
Read and discuss ―Fairy-Tales Discourse: Toward a Social History of the Genre‖ by Jack Zipes; ―Peasant Tell Tales: The Meaning of Mother Goose‖ by Robert Darnton.
Modelling and deconstructing the text: analyzing representative samples of the genre to identify its stages and key features and possible variations.
Analysis of representation of children, women, men, family relationships, social order, generic conventions, narrative strategies and linguistic features of famous fairy tales: ―The Gingerbread Boy‖ , ―Snow White‖, ―Rapunzel‖, ―Sleeping Beauty‖, ―The Twelve Dancing Princesses‖
Analysis and comparison of representation of children, women, men, family relationships, social order, generic conventions, narrative strategies and linguistic features in fractured tales: ―Thorns‖ (re-narration of ―Sleeping Beauty‖), ―Blood Red‖ (re-narration of ―Snow White‖) ―The Popsicle Boy‖ (re-narration of ―The Gingerbread Boy‖)
Joint construction of the text: guided, teacher-supported practice in the genre through tasks which focus on particular stages or functions of the text.
Fractured Tale 1 Students carry out these tasks:
1. Brainstorm ideas for a re-narration of Snow White for a specific rhetorical situation (speaker: first person narrator, audience: teenagers or adults, and purpose: entertain). Main element to include: Snow White is a male.
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2. Share and discuss ideas in class and get feedback and suggestions on content, originality and plot.
3. Produce a plan.
4. Write draft 1: Include different narrative tenses, flashbacks and dialogue.
5. Share draft 1 in class and get feedback on plot, characterization, intertextual relation with original story, use of narrative tenses, flashback and dialogue.
6. Write draft 2: Edit and improve draft according to feedback received, including specific vocabulary and idioms.
7. Email draft 2 and get feedback on improvements and use of language. 8. Edit and email final draft.
Fractured Tale 2 Students carry out these tasks:
1. Brainstorm ideas for a re-narration of ―The Gingerbread Boy‖ for a specific rhetorical situation (speaker: first person narrator, audience: teenagers or adults, and purpose: entertain). Main element to include: edible girl. Humorous tone.
2. Produce a plan to share and discussed in class and get feedback.
3. Write draft 1: Include different narrative tenses, flashbacks, chant or repetition, and dialogue.
4. Share draft 1 and get feedback on plot, characterization, intertextual relation with original story, use of narrative tenses, flashback, colloquial dialogue, etc.
5. Write draft 2: Edit and improve according to feedback received and include structures of emphasis, specific vocabulary related to food and cooking, and idioms. 6. Email draft 2 and get feedback.
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Independent construction of the text: independent writing by students monitored by the teacher.
Fractured Tale 3 Students carry out these tasks:
1. Brainstorm and produce a plan to be shared and discussed in class.
Re-write “The Twelve Dancing Princesses” using as a cue the following introduction:
Detective Gardener Climbs Royal Ladder
“It’s a dream come true! This is the proof that wit and ingenuity can beat social order,” explained Mr. Locke, professor of philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. The news of the young gardener who managed to marry into royalty has made the headlines around the world...
2. Write draft 1.
3. Share draft 1 with a peer and get feedback on plot, characterization, intertextual relation with original story, use of narrative tenses, flashback, colloquial dialogue, etc. They use the assessment criteria as a guideline.
4. Write draft 2: Edit and improve using peer‘s feedback and include structures of emphasis, verbs followed by gerunds/infinitives, specific vocabulary related to family relationships and household and idioms.
5. Email draft 2 and get instructor‘s feedback. 6. Edit and email final draft.
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Fractured Tale 4 Students carry out these tasks:
1. Brainstorm and produce a draft to be shared and discussed in class; peers provide feedback on content, originality, plot, characterization, intertextual relation with original story, use of narrative tenses, flashback, colloquial dialogue, etc.
Re-write your favourite Fairy Tale, change the setting (19th century, London) Point of view (1st person narrator or 3rd person limited narrator)
2. Write draft 2: Edit and improve using peer‘s feedback and include all the structures studied in the unit plus specific vocabulary on a topic of their choice (Selected from
English Vocabulary in Use Upper-intermediate/advanced) 3. Email draft 2 and get instructor‘s feedback.
4. Students edit and email final draft.
Linking related texts: relating what has been learnt to other genres and contexts to understand how genres are designed to achieve particular social purposes
1. Students choose one of their stories to be samples of fractured tales for future students, and – if they are willing – publish them in the instructor‘s webpage for the subject.
The final stage in this cycle is only completed once the students need to apply their knowledge of genres to analyze other types of texts. In this case they will compare fairy/ fractured tales with discursive essays.