Module 1: Instructional Challenge

Responses to the passage provided:

1. What are the hocked gems? I am not entirely sure if I am interpreting this passage correctly, but perhaps the "hocked gems" are a metaphor for a person who largely instigates and irritates another; just like they are irritating or "financing" our hero. I think this is a possibility because as follows in the passage, the hero then "defied the scornful laughter," as though he is able to ignore the laughter and move onward.

2. What should we think of as an egg and not a table? I am not sure what they are referencing, but it seems to portray that the initial thoughts of "gems" or outsiders were incorrect and that "our hero" is correcting them. Perhaps the topic is more round and deep than just flat and basic like a table can be.

3. Who are the three sturdy sisters? The three sturdy sisters must be advocates of the hero who help him or her solve this predicament.

4. What kind of winged creatures appeared? The "winged creatures" must be whatever this new "egg" achieved and the hero succeeded due to a "monumental success" being achieved in the end.

Reflection:
You would have to educate your students on poetry and the ability for words and phrases to have many meanings other than what initially meets the eye. Also, the students would need to be able to "think outside the box," which as the teacher you could model through different types of poetry that are more similar to the students current knowledge, engaging their current schema along with helping it grow and expand. Poetry is a tough subject to teach at times, so using previous poetry the students have been exposed too would be a huge help in signaling a previous learning in the schema, making it easier for them to use that previously learned skill and apply it to a new poem they must interpret. With certain children, their schema may not be able to relate to poetry as easily as others, so you must find particular things they are interested in or have witnessed in their lives and make it as applicable as possible to give them a fair chance to engage and learn from the activity provided. This could be done through relating it to sports, food, moves, etc., common things that most people can relate to. Lastly, I think there is an importance of broadening children's learning and exposing them to new things, but you do not want to do that too often in the worry it could frustrate a struggling child. Therefore, a safe balance of two days a week, introduce new concepts to them to help their minds expand and learn, and then perhaps the remaining three days, relate back to the new topics learned but have the lessons be at their level, geared towards their interests and abilities, so that the child remains engaged and enjoys the topics being learned.