Chance – Module 3
Scenes and Themes
Ms. Tejanek’s class demonstrates what a student-centered class might look like. “For her, it was as if the material existed to suit the students and not the other way around. In most other classes, Jeremy felt that a lesson was like a train zipping by. You had to make sure you jumped on it, no matter how fast it was going. If you missed it, you were out of luck. The train would arrive at its destination whether you were on board or not. But in Ms. Tejanek’s class, the lesson was like a limousine. It was there to serve and transport you whenever you decided to climb in.” Her assignments were designed to engage students by relating to what they already knew and liked and her goal was not to fill her students’ minds with with opinions but to enable them to think clearly and critically. The goal of this section is to point out how story elements in Chance can be used for activities that have meaning and relevance for students.
Relevance is not an absolute quality. A topic may hold no interest whatsoever for an individual and then suddenly become very relevant. For example, the acquisition of a car or license might make the ability to read a road map, heretofore a matter of little interest, something very useful and relevant. To a great extent, a teacher’s challenge is to make relevant to students things that previously aroused little interest. There is basically only one strategy for accomplishing this difficult task and that is to find points of connection between the students and what is being introduced. Students may, at first, find little they care about in the story of Hester Prynne, but if a skilled teacher helps them explore their own experiences of shame, ostracism and guilt, they might come to recognize that a story written more than 150 years ago has something important to say to them.
The notes that follow suggest discussion and activity ideas based on scenes and themes from Chance. The basic idea is to use elements from the novel as jumping-off points for students to engage in meaningful interactions relating to their own circumstances and experiences. Jeremy’s dreams, for example, provide opportunities for students to discuss dreams they have had and what interpretations or reactions are associated with them. Jeremy’s visit to a hospital or cemetery offers students the occasion to talk about their own experiences of illness and friends or relatives who have died. While a student may have no particular interest in Jeremy and what happens to him, because the novel provides an opportunity for the expression of personal ideas, fears and hopes, its value is increased. What’s presented below should be seen as a palette for teachers to develop their individual activities suitable the the circumstances of particular classes and not as a regimen of topics to be discussed.
Discussion Starters
What do students think the characters in the novel look like and do those perceptions change as the story progresses? Students can compare their individual ideas of how they imagine the characters look using written or oral descriptions, pictures that they draw, comparisons to well known people such as celebrities, or pictures from newspapers, magazines or the Internet. This little exercise helps students relate characters in the novel to people they actually know or can imagine.
Sometimes we form ideas about people even before we meet them. Students may have conceptions about Mr. Abizol both in terms of physical appearance and temperament even before he himself appears in the story. What is the basis of such conceptions and are they reliable? Students can discuss instances in their own lives of hearing about someone or something first and then having firsthand impressions that either confirm or refute what was first imagined.
In this novel, many of the students may form impressions of characters and events based on what is said by the narrator? Who is the narrator in this novel and is the narrator reliable and objective or perhaps biased and less than completely trustworthy?
The novel takes place over the course of a single week but not everything in the story occurs in chronological order. At the start of the story Jeremy recollects something that happened the previous evening (page 2). In a movie, a flashback might be used to show a scene is happening out of sequence. Students could discuss movies they have seen which use flashbacks and also consider what devices movies use (music, scenery, video effects etc.) to show that something is a flashback. Considering movies that students choose to talk about helps get them engaged and without their even being aware of it might help them become aware of and appreciate narrative techniques in writing and film.
The recollection mentioned above occurs in the form of a daydream. What is a daydream? Students may be more comfortable talking about their own daydreams in small groups as opposed to a full class discussion, but such questions as what kinds of daydreams they have, how frequently they daydream, and what conditions or circumstances are likely to lead to daydreaming can produce interesting and productive conversations.
Robert Service’s poem Fleurette is read in Jeremy’s English class (page 6) and that brings up the opportunity to read that poem and perhaps other pieces by Service. Throughout the novel, various poems, songs and historical events are referenced, which provide opportunities to read and discuss many other works and topics that help broaden students’ knowledge and awareness.
The poem Fleurette brings tears to eyes of some students. Everybody is moved on occasion by something seen or heard. What stories have students heard recently that they were impacted by? Why did they feel moved in the way they were?
Jeremy and his classmates are sometimes subjected to collective punishment by their teachers. Can students recall any incidents in which they were punished for someone else’s misdeeds? How did it make them feel? In relation to collective punishment, the Geneva Conventions are mentioned (page11). Students might do some research to learn more about the Geneva Conventions.
At the end of the every chapter students can discuss what they got out of it. Did they learn anything new that interests them? What did they like and what did they dislike? Did anything make them laugh? Did anything bring back a memory or trigger an emotion or idea?