Reading the classics is not boring. The picture of Dorian Grey

From IES Vicente Medina in Archena (Murcia), Inmaculada López, the English teacher, tells us about the interesting work her students have done in class.

Who says reading the classics is boring? The way I see it, it all depends on how you present literature to your students. One more year, and I guess under my influence (I have been their teacher for 3 years now), students from 4º ESO made a wise decision and for one of their readings chose the only novel by one of the greatest writers in the English language (and probably in universal literature), Oscar Wilde.

Keats and Yeats are on your side, but Wilde is on mine (Morrissey)

How could I present such a complicated novel as attractively as possible … and in English? Easy, let’s go back in time and try to understand the period in which he lived, Victorian England, and the morals of his time, what was accepted and what wasn’t. To such an aim, at the moment students are working on several tasks related to Victorian crime, Victorian fashion and Victorian entertainment which will be shared on different social networks as soon as they are ready … no rush. They are having fun, they are using English, they are learning! Therefore, why worry about time?

In the meantime, they have been reading a B1 adaptation of the novel and actively participating in literature talks which you can listen to by clicking on the photo:

Literature Talks

In addition, they have all collaborated on these Google presentations in which 4ºB had to write a short description of Dorian Gray from the point of view of a young gentleman who wants to copy Dorian while 4ºC’s description had to be written from the point of view of a respectable Victorian gentleman who refuses to mix together with Dorian in London fashionable parties.

4ºB

4ºC

All in all, reading this novel has been a great experience and working these tasks a way to show that reading the classics doesn’t have to be a difficult, boring, impossible task.

Once more, I am super proud of my 4ºESO students for their hard work.