This document outlines a thematic course on mythical monsters, focusing on adapting teaching to the needs and capacities of students. The course aims to develop students' skills in writing, vocabulary, and creativity through a series of exercises and activities.
Extract
[...] This is one of the main difficulties in teaching in front of classes as heterogeneous as these. During this session, especially based on expression, it was then asked of the students to choose one of the monsters displayed (which was not their own). The students were invited to draw up an 'identity card' of the monster, the format of which was presented to them on the blackboard2. By providing short written information on the characteristics of the monster and indicating a simple anecdote, it allowed them to use writing to reflect. [...]
[...] Secondly, at the end of each excerpt, students were asked to freely illustrate the monster described in the box. The goal was once again to offer them a fun, personal activity based on understanding the characteristics mentioned. They were encouraged to draw the monster 'as described in the text'. The fact of linking drawing to the act of reading allows for the construction of advanced reading skills. This seemed to me to be a very interesting activity, as it not only invited students to visualize what they had read, but also to represent it in images. [...]
[...] In each cloud, the students had to indicate a theme and the associated terms in the text (part of the lexical field). This way of listing elements is rather satisfactory, as it seems to allow for better involvement from the groups who are looking to complete the forms created. This mind map technique facilitates the appropriation of knowledge by activating both hemispheres of the brain and bringing the student to structure and synthesize knowledge. What I have been able to observe each time I have proposed to the students to create their 'mind maps', is that it often stimulates their reflection and creativity. [...]
[...] The monster is a figure that fascinates and captivates, and it is a theme that allows for interesting work at both the reading and language levels (thanks to the description, portrait, use of vocabulary and adjectives) that will serve several types of writing. It is therefore an opportunity to encourage students to write and the difficulty was to produce enough diverse materials that do not only suggest a writing activity. Also, the challenge seemed to be, through the different sessions of the theme, to allow students to reflect on the figure of the monster. Indeed, the interest of this subject was also to engage a reflection on the difference, what we consider as a 'monster'. [...]
[...] Once the reading of the excerpt was finished, they were able to react orally to the sensations they had felt regarding the description of the giant spider. They were then asked to highlight in the text the vocabulary referring to monstrosity. This forced them to refocus on the text by focusing more on the words. Groups of three were formed by level. This is often how I form groups to allow for better homogeneity in the exchange with the rest of the class later on. This allows for a positive dynamic and to progress everyone (for example between students of good levels and NLS).7. [...]
