4 replies to this topic

[J.Williams]

Hi All.

I am an unemployed NQT (done one term's worth of Induction covering a maternity cover in the autumn) who has an interview next week in which I have to teach Interpretation to a mid to high ability Y7 group which is I think about the ghastliest topic they could possibly have chosen. When I did my PGCE we were told that Interpretation was one of the worst taught concepts and History teachers are completely confused about what it means. We were told that it is NOT about the pupils coming up with their own interpretations but about the interpretations of historians that can be in many different forms e.g. we watched a section of a film in our PGCE session as an example of an interpretation. Then when I did my maternity cover the only Interpretation assessment on the SoW whilst I was there was a Y8 Cromwell 'hero or villain' task in which pupils had to use different sources in order to come up with their own hero or villain posters. From what I've read on this site that seems a bit hackneyed and not what interpretation actually is. I'm a bit confused as we only had the one session on it in our PGCE and if the only thing I've actually done in teaching it is wrong I'm at a bit of a loss as how to approach it. Done quite a few interview lessons now but never one on a concept so it's all a bit daunting. Any advice from the wise old sages on here?

[Sarah D]

A colleague of mine has just taught a fantastic lesson on interpretation looking at different interpretations of Robin Hood over the years and why they are different, eg maid marion being a damsel in distress in earlier movies, and being portrayed as more independent in later movies and how the culture of the day might have given rise to that portrayal.
You are right though - interpretation is hard, for the pupil to have a secure understanding of why different people thought / saw / things portrayed differently they need to be secure in their general knowledge of different time periods, and who has time to that on one lesson a week with lots of other skills, concepts and content!

Good luck with the interview

[arthur hull]

http://curriculum.qc...ory-level8.aspx

Consider looking at some of the exemplification folders here which will hopefully confirm to you what interpretation means. Your comments about interpretation as a concept are correct. The Rorke's Drift example should assist with planning by studying what a excellent grasp of interpretation means.

[JohnDClare]

A colleague of mine has just taught a fantastic lesson on interpretation looking at different interpretations of Robin Hood over the years and why they are different, eg maid marion being a damsel in distress in earlier movies, and being portrayed as more independent in later movies and how the culture of the day might have given rise to that portrayal.

GREAT!! A genuine 'interpretations' exercise (there are so few about)

[awithey]

A great interpretation film to prompt lively conversation:



Regards

Andrew