Have you ever thought about the mindset needed to be a successful learner? Carol Dweck, who recently won the Yidan prize for her educational research on growth mindsets and how children think about learning and it’s impact on academic success has learned through her research that “the most motivated and resilient students are the ones who believe that their abilities can be developed through their effort and learning.” (Stanford University, 2017.) So what does this mean for parents, caregivers, and teachers who want to provide the best opportunity for their children to grow into successful adults?
Think about your own experiences as a learner. When you are full of self-doubt, or low self-esteem, the ability to persevere, show “grit” and keep trying is tremendously difficult. Low self-esteem can cause a domino-effect and feed our negative self-perceptions. Low self-esteem then begins to spiral out of control, and depression and academic failure can be the result.
“ It usually is not difficult to pick out the ones that have lower self-esteem vs. those with higher self-esteem. The ones that have the lower self-esteem tend to be quiet, withdrawn, sit in the back of the class, and do not readily participate in class activities as those with higher self-esteem (Phillips, Smith, & Modaff , 2001)”
We all have low points in our lives –I certainly can remember a few. So how do we break out of this cycle –and help our children and others we care about to do so? I recently came across a great list, “20 Tips to Promote Positive Self-Esteem,” by Richard D. Lavoie. (http://www.ricklavoie.com/esteemart.html) First and foremost, you need to know the child – understand their unique strengths, needs, interests and skills, focus on these and celebrate the successes when they come. On the flip side, however, failure is inevitable, and it is how we learn. We all need time to play, experiment, try, fail, and try again. In this process, we develop decision-making and problem-solving skills. Choice, and opportunities to practice decision-making are opportunities for growth, and to build self-esteem.
As a parent, teacher or caregiver, it is essential that you offer unconditional acceptance of your child. Provide opportunity for playing, creating, socializing, and provide opportunities for growth in the areas they show skill or interest. Model and teach them good character, and help them fit in. Through these actions, you will be building their self-esteem, and pave the way for your child to be a successful learner.
When was the last time you felt an intense need to learn or understand something – something that went beyond a Google or You Tube search to learn how to change a headlight on your car, or performing the required research to get a good grade on a school project? Can you remember that feeling of wonder and intensity, and how that “need to know” had the ability to move up to the top of your priority list? You probably found yourself fully engaged in the pursuit of information, knowledge, and understanding, blocking out most everything else around you.
Many things can trigger a desire for deeper understanding or knowledge, but this level of ownership in learning suggests a deep and personal connection. This sense of wonder leads to questions, and seeking answers. It is the beginning of transforming from student to learner.
During my formal schooling, I was more of a student than a learner. I was good at school, and always made good grades, yet I spent a good part of my early adult life not knowing what I wanted to be when I grew up. I felt disconnected from what was being taught. The classes I most looked forward to were music classes, and so eventually, when I had to declare a major in college, I chose music for lack of any other idea at what I might do. I suspect that a lot of our youth find themselves in similar situations. School is not really set up to help students find their passions, nor give them the time to explore them deeply – at least within the confines of the “school day.”
But in this age of information, with access to the Internet and its 1.24 billion and growing number of websites, learning can happen anytime, anywhere. The hard part is developing the desire, and the passion for learning. Curiosity is something that is abundant in small children. Parents grow weary from the daily barrage of questions. Many times, the questions our children ask are impossible to answer. As they grow up, somewhere along the way, the questions begin to disappear. Why? What happens to that sense of curiosity? As Albert Einstein said, “The important thing is to not stop questioning.”
I propose that “curating” information can be a process to help us regain our sense of curiosity and wonder. Curating information is not unlike the work of a museum curator who collects artifacts based upon a specific topic and theme, and then creates a meaningful display for the purpose of increasing the knowledge of the visitors. In many ways, a curator is a storyteller, who artfully finds a way to help those who view the display to make a personal connection. If the curator is very good, then the visitors to the display will re-discover their sense of wonder. The display will inspire questions as well as answers. When we curate information, we are pursuing answers to our questions and intense information needs –our passions to know and understand. Questions and curiosity drive curation. Along the way, we learn.
What is the purpose of education? This seems like a simple question on the surface, but one that can yield many different responses if you queried a room full of people. Answers may range from a government’s responsibility and a citizen’s right to be prepared for life, to preparing a workforce for the benefit of society, and everywhere in-between.
I believe that no matter your point of view, there is common ground in the belief that education is essential to both the future success of the individual, and to the success of community in which the individual lives. Thomas Jefferson said:
“An enlightened citizenry is indispensable for the proper functioning of a republic. Self-government is not possible unless the citizens are educated sufficiently to enable them to exercise oversight. It is therefore imperative that the nation see to it that a suitable education be provided for all its citizens.”
How we go about the business of education, or schooling, is another matter, and opinions abound on this topic. When I am working with groups of teachers and parents to help them understand how to make learning more relevant and lasting, I often ask them to reflect on their own experiences as a learner to reveal the elements of their education that have made a difference to them. I ask, “What is the most memorable and powerful learning experience you can remember?” Small groups will have time to think and reflect, and then share these experiences with each other. Then I have them create a list the common elements. I have done this exercise at least a dozen times. The amazing thing is, that even though the stories of powerful learning are all very different, the elements that made that learning powerful and lasting are the same. These are the elements of powerful learning I consistently hear during this exercise:
Real world problem solving/
Opportunity for creativity
Thinking is stretched
Building skills along with knowledge
Choice/freedom of process and final product
Authentic/real world audience
Time & pace relaxed –not rushed
Surprisingly, when these same groups have reflected on the frequency of opportunity to learn in in ways that produce powerful and lasting results, the answer has been minimal. The focus in schools and education is covering content, and that takes time.
Right now, schools around the country are preparing to launch the 2017-18 school year and students will soon begin a new year of learning. Wouldn’t it be awesome if teachers and educational leaders designed learning that would incorporate these common elements of powerful learning?
In the summer of 2012, I began an exploration of the concept of Content Curation, and what this meant for teachers and students. Little did I know at the time that my journey would involve curating…about curating. Given the task of providing professional development for teachers to curate resources for backwards-designed units, I started researching to better understand why the word “curate” was being used – so I set out to define what curation meant in the field of education, and realized early on in my research that student curation is where our focus should be. My original post, where I shared my discoveries and understandings, has generated more traffic than any other post on my blog, with hundreds of cross-postings on sites in the fields of education, marketing and libraries.
For the past 5 years I have continued to curate information about curating, using the same Scoop It site I started in 2012. I investigated the skill sets that are practiced with content curation, and how this aligns with skills needed for the workforce. I collaborated with teachers to design learning that included content curation, and saw the powerful learning that this produced. As more projects were completed with students, I began to see the elements that were essential to really produce the passion for learning that was so evident in the first project I had done with 8th grade social studies students. As a result, I have adjusted my original infographic to reflect these elements.
There are three important additions to the infographic: personal connection, an increased emphasis on sharing with opportunity for comments and discussion, and the element of storytelling.
Students who are given choice in selecting a topic for curating are far more likely to engage in deeper learning, in my experience. Providing some parameters to keep the project aligned with content and standards is still possible, provided you offer a broad range of topics and give students the flexibility to take the curation project in a direction that they can personally connect with. This begins to resemble passion-based learning and genius hour. For more on these topics, I highly recommend the work of Angela Maiers.
Sharing, Audience – Comments & Discussion
A curator’s need for an audience and authentic feedback became apparent when I launched two nearly identical projects with two different classes of middle school students. The process for topic selection was the same -using a gallery walk of images related to the content and standards being addressed and Question Formulation Technique for students to select a topic that generated the most interest for them, and then having the students use a blog to share their curation work. One project was hugely successful in generating high interest, deep learning, and passion for the topics beyond the life of the project. The other was much less so. The primary difference between the two? The teacher in the highly successful curation project made a concerted effort to provide feedback and comments daily on the student blogs through the life of the project – enlisting the help of dozens of teacher friends to assure that students knew their voice was being heard. The other teacher had concerns about sharing student work publicly, and so students did not receive any outside visitors other than classmates who were required to comment on a handful of blogs as part of their grade. In my own curation work, I have found the need to share and seek feedback on the new directions of my thinking grow along with my passion for curating. The act of sharing and discussing a curation project adds more depth to my understanding and helps me make new connections. In effect, it is creating a community of learners who share your passion to understand the concept or topic at a deeper level.
This element first became apparent to me as I looked at curating through the lens of a museum curator. Beth Kanter used the phrase “cherry pick” to describe the process of curating, and this always made me wonder why this was such an important part of the definition of curation that sets it apart from “collecting.” I began to understand it better when I investigated what a museum curator goes through to select the artifacts that will make their way into a museum display. There are many items that are left in the archives. Why? Besides the fact that there would not be room to display all the collected artifacts, not all the items are needed to tell the story that the museum curator wants to tell. In content curation, it is the same. When we curate, we “cherry pick” the items that best tell the story that is forming in our minds. We arrange the content in such a way to tell that story, and we feel compelled to share the story as it develops. I believe this is one reason that a blog, or a curation tool that provides the ability to arrange, write, and reflect on the curated content is essential.
As I reflect at the 5-year anniversary of my curation journey, I am very happy to know that the education community now recognizes the value of students as curators. In the new ISTE Standards for Students, introduced at last year’s ISTE conference, the third standard is “Knowledge Constructor.”
“Students critically curate a variety of resources using digital tools to construct knowledge, produce creative artifacts and make meaningful learning experiences for themselves and others.”
I look forward to continuing my work with teachers and students to help develop content curation skills, and in so doing, help them find their passion for learning!
I wrote this piece for a school that wishes to transform teaching and learning for their learners. We used the Stanford dSchool design thinking process, combined with a thorough stakeholder analysis. When it came time to prototype, we decided writing a narrative would be most effective.
A Day in a life of an ABC Academy Learner
Jessie rose to the sound of her alarm going off at 5:30 am. This early rising gave her time for morning Yoga class via Google Hangout with a group of her classmates. She loved that she was able to get her PE credit this way! Karen, a 7th year student at the school, received her certification to teach Yoga through a previous PBL unit that was completed by learners interested in health and fitness careers. She was the Yoga instructor, and she utilized a tool called Swivl to keep the iPad camera pointed at her as she moves about the room. This morning, in addition to the regular kids attending, Jack decided to pop in to give Yoga a try. One of his PBL units involves working with a group of mobility challenged senior citizens, and he is trying to find solutions to help them maintain flexibility so they have an easier time standing, walking and moving. Jessie wanted to laugh at Jack’s obvious lack of coordination and balance, but out of respect for her friend leading the class and others in the Hangout, she kept it to herself, remembering how she struggled when she first started the class. One thing their group had learned through the six years at the ABC Academy was the importance of being good citizens -both face-to-face and digitally.
Once Yoga class ended, Jessie texted Jack to let him know she thought he did great for his first time out, and asked if they could meet over lunch to come up with an outline for their presentation later that week to the school board. They were both working on a project with several other students to present research on the impact on blended and personalized learning to the board on behalf of the principal. All learners in the school are expected to present to authentic audiences throughout the year, and Jessie and Jack had selected this project for the opportunity to share their voice and thinking with the school board about how this model of learning has inspired them to learn things they didn’t think were possible. They wanted to be able to help some of their friends in more traditional schools to perhaps have access to this model of education in their schools one day.
Jessie quickly showered and dressed, then checked her calendar and messages in the LMS to start prioritizing her tasks for the day. She noted that an algebra test was coming up in two days, and her group’s project design for the culminating activity in algebra was due by the end of the week. The task was to come up with a project to improve the Innovation Center grounds that required the use of the Algebra concepts they’d been learning to complete the task. For this she was partnering with Angela, who had some really cool design ideas, and also Breanne, who was just a math nerd at heart. Justin joined their group reluctantly, as the only boy, but he was really good at math and so the girls were happy to have him. He volunteered to serve as the engineer. Jessie sent a calendar invite to Angela, Justin and Breanne for later that afternoon to meet at the Innovation Center and work on their project design. She decided to make it a 2 hour meeting, so hopefully they could get the initial design drafted and schedule their conference with their teacher a day early. Jessie was trying to keep her calendar clear for Friday, so she could do some job shadowing at the new science center downtown.
Jessie began viewing the instructional videos and working some math problems in the LMS to prepare for the test. After 60 minutes, she was tired of drilling on the math problems, and was feeling reasonably confident in her ability to complete the test successfully, so she decided to jump into the Science Forums and see what her friends were chatting about. She brought up her Voxer walkie-talkie app on her phone, and navigated to the curated collection on “Fibonacci in Nature” in Google Collections. Then she remembered her Mom had to go into the office that day, so before diving into those posts, she ordered an Uber ride for 11:30 to get her to Chick Fil A to meet Jack for their planning meeting. They had special access in the Uber app to parent and community volunteers who helped shuttle students too young to drive to meet-ups for school projects. Jack’s Mom would be able to drive her to the Innovation Center after lunch.
Jessie began playing through the voice messages that corresponded with each of the pictures posted in Google Collections and realized that this was all giving her an idea to for her math project. What if..they applied the Fibonacci pattern to their design –whatever that turned out to be? She was excited to be able to share this idea with her project team later that afternoon.
Time passed quickly as she listened to the ideas and insights her classmates were sharing, and before she knew it her ride pulled up in front of her house for her lunch project meeting with Jack. When she arrived at Chick-fil-A she wasn’t surprised to see several other project teams from her school meeting at their favorite lunch hang out. This business partnered with the school district to offer nutritious meals at a cost equivalent to what most kids paid for a school lunch in a traditional school. It was one of many community partners who also provided minimum wage jobs and on-the-job business training to district learners who were 16 or older. Jessie’s older sister, Marla, had worked here before she graduated. Jessie and Jack hopped on the wireless network – certified as safe by the school district – and pulled up their Slides app. They built their outline as their teacher, Mrs. Brown had modeled for them, putting each of the main points on a separate slide. As they were working, they saw a comment pop up from Mrs. Brown, reminding them to be certain to cite their sources and mention the research base to their ideas when they did their presentation for the board. Jack rolled his eyes when he saw this, remembering that he lost some points on his last presentation for not including the bibliography. Jessie offered to set up a citation page in G Drive that they could embed in the last slide, and Jack thanked her profusely. They finished in under an hour, and Jack’s Mom came to get them, then dropped them off at the Innovation Center for their tutoring sessions, and project management conferences.
Jack took off running when he saw his buddy Steve, and Jessie stopped just outside to survey the grounds. She had an idea brewing from her earlier work on the curating project of Fibonacci in Nature, and wanted to see where her idea might best be implemented – maybe in the form of a flower garden? She wasn’t sure, but was excited to share her idea with the project team. She entered the building and headed for the center study pit- the one her team always tried to reserve because of the great view. She found Justin, Angela, and Breanne finishing up their brown-bag lunches and already chatting about their project. As project manager, she slipped onto the Hokki stool near the whiteboard and, as any 13 year old girl might do, picked up the hot pink dry erase marker and drew a giant flower. She smiled broadly and put her hands on her hips, looking at the group with satisfaction. Her team stopped talking and looked at her with puzzled looks on their faces. Justin groaned. He said, “Come on, Jess-we really want to build a basketball court on the south side of the building. You aren’t thinking of hijacking our idea, are you?” Jessie considered this for a moment, then remembered the Design Thinking process they’d been taught and decided that might be the best process to use. She picked up the blue marker and drew 5 circles then wrote inside each one: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test. She then reminded them of the data they’d gathered from students and teachers at the center, which indicated their wants and needs in terms of a physical improvement to the grounds. This was how they addressed the empathy step in the design thinking process. Together, they reviewed the survey responses as they sought to identify the problem. They learned that neither basketball court nor flower garden were what the community wanted. However, many had expressed a desire to move towards more healthy meals being offered in the center. As they began to ideate around this concept, Jessie shared her idea for using a design that included the Fibonacci sequence, and the team easily was able to narrow down the project list to one: creating not a flower garden, but instead a vegetable garden that could provide fresh vegetables for school meals. Angela captured their problem identification and ideation in a MindMap in Google Drawing, which she dropped in the assignment folder in the LMS. Their lead teacher, Mrs. Monroe, stopped by as they were finishing, and they brought her up to date on their ideas. They were able to schedule their conference with her a day early, just as Jessie hoped. With the early conference scheduled, the group decided to meet again the same time the next day to do the prototyping.
Jess glanced at her email and task list. After catching up on her reading for social studies class, she had just one more thing to accomplish for the day, and that was writing in her reflection blog about the day’s tasks. She found a comfortable quiet spot in the writing zone near an outlet, plugged in and fired up her laptop. She pulled up her techbook and found her spot, then opened the group notes for the class and did a quick scan. Karen was in her social studies group, and she had already dropped some notes and questions in the doc. Jess put on her headset and started reading, pausing to play the multimedia videos and quizzes. She navigated back to her notes doc and added some of her own thoughts, connections and questions. They were studying the social reform issues of the late 19th century, and she was starting to see a lot of connections with issues in her community today. She was excited to share some of this thinking in her blog. She had learned that with the blog she could write the way that she thinks, and she enjoyed the freestyle flow of ideas that often evolved. Plus, her teacher had connected her blog with several other students and retired teachers who always gave her good feedback and helped her develop her ideas further.
Jess finished up the last quiz then shifted gears and pulled up her reflection blog. She was really happy to find some comments on her last post, about her experience in her last job shadowing experience at the science center. The comment was from her old science teacher, who had retired 2 years ago. She wanted to know if Jessie had been able to use use any of her physical science knowledge when working in the exploratory laboratory with the younger kids visiting. Jess responded to her question, then settled in to write about her learning and accomplishments for the day.
Before she knew it, it was 4:00 and Jessie’s Mom was pulling up to the curb to take her to piano lessons. Jessie smiled, happy with her accomplishments for the day. She was looking forward to some work on her Minecraft city when she got home, as well as doing some reading in the new novel she picked up at the library. She opened the car door, and her Mom asked “How was your day?” Jessie replied, “Busy! Really good- you should read my blog post!” Just then Jessie’s phone buzzed alerting her to a new text. Her Mom smiled, seeing that her daughter would be focusing on her friends now, but happy to have the reflection blog to fill her in on all of the learning her daughter was engaged in. Simultaneously, Mom and daughter had the same thought. This school was the best thing that ever happened for Jessie.
My district superintendent ha created an initiative to become “Future Ready” as defined by the Department of Education and Alliance for Excellent Education. I will share some of my thinking here as I participate in the self evaluation process.
(Views expressed here are not necessarily those of my district)
Here are two of the indicators that stand out for me:
Strategies for Building College and Career Readiness: If a student gets a high score on a standardized test, such as the PARCC test, or the SAT or ACT Test, do you consider them to be College & Career Ready? In some informal research I’ve done, it seems to me that test scores are not a good indicator of future success. One of the things that bothers me, in the state of Colorado, is that test scores are accepted, under the new Graduation Guidelines, as an indicator of “College and Career Readiness.” I am hopeful, as our leadership committee addresses this misalignment, that we can do better in defining what College and Career Readiness looks like for our learners.
One of the activities I like to do with groups – parents, teachers, administrators, and students – is to have them think about the most powerful learning experiences they’ve ever had. Common elements of these learning experiences, that are revealed every time, involve learning that requires them to think critically, be creative, collaborate, problem solve, and has meaning or purpose, to the point that they were highly motivated and engaged in the task, and remember what they learned years later – still applying and transferring that learning as they seek to gain better and deeper understanding. I believe that we need to dramatically increase the opportunities for our learners to engage in this kind of learning. Then, we can truly know that they are college and career ready.
Research-based Practices for the Use of Technology in Learning: The reality is that there is still very little research that can isolate technology as the “thing” that brings success in learning. Rather, it is a tool used by creative teachers who design learning with the end in mind, and in ways that motivate and inspire kids.
I’ve explored many of the ideas set forth by the International Center for Leadership in Education. I love the Rigor & Relevance Framework, and we use that frequently to help teachers design learning that is meaningful, relevant and engaging. Another idea from this group that stands out for me and makes me pause about this portion of Gear 1 in the Future Ready Framework is their work around the concept of “Next Practices,” especially as we seek to move towards transformational learning. Not just “thinking outside the box” but “building a new box.” Technology tools come and go – often before any robust research can be conducted showing true value. It is a fast moving target. We shouldn’t be hung up on a particular tool, especially when we are gearing up for personalized learning. Let the students – who own their learning – select the best tool for the task. Teachers can learn to design learning that gives these kinds of opportunities. No longer do we have to “teach to the middle.” We can use technology to go beyond differentiation to personalize not just final project, but the time, place, path and pace of learning.
Good news! ISTE has included curating in their new standards! After 4 years of researching (curating!) this topic, I have a real appreciation for the importance of this skill and the depth of learning and connections that can be made through curating. Additionally, multiple other skills are practiced in the process of curating.
Curating is mentioned specifically in “Knowledge Constructor” Indicator 3c: “Students curate information from digital resources using a variety of tools and methods to create collections of artifacts that demonstrate meaningful connections or conclusions.”
Check out my wiki on this topic, with links to earlier posts:
At Colorado ASCD’s ESSA Symposium for Superintendents and district leaders, one particular remark by Dr. Ken Haptonstall, the Superintendent for Garfield School District has stayed with me as I ponder the role of “teacher leader” in a school or district. He said that 70% of his high school teachers have their administrator license, but none of them has any interest in being a principal. At the same event, district leaders were speaking with great concern about the teacher turnover rate. I started wondering: What if we created a program that extended the current Colorado induction program, to provide an ongoing peer coaching program, that could also provided a career ladder for those teachers who want to learn and grow, have an opportunity to advance, but don’t want to leave the classroom? Could developing this address these two needs at once?
As I sat in the Symposium, I tweeted my thoughts on this, and received this reply from Lisa Bejarano:
@NancyW Do we need another degree? Why wouldn’t @NBPTS certification & micro credentials serve this purpose?
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsI do think National Board Certification is a fantastic program, however, I see its focus as being on what happens inside of the classroom. The program I envision would be to build teacher-leaders who have additional skill sets that can serve in a leadership role outside of the classroom. What I envision is either a graduate level degree or certification program offered through our state universities that would help develop good classroom teachers into teacher-leaders. The types of coursework might include:
Designing professional learning for adults
State education law
Project based Learning
Understanding by Design
Teachers who receive this certification could become key voices in district and school development. Here are ideas for these important roles they could assume:
Standards alignment work
Creators of backwards-designed project based learning and units of inquiry
Writer of common assessments
Professional learning provider
Curator of learning materials (digital and print) aligned to standards
Advisor to school board
Of course, there would need to be some incentive offered by school districts to encourage teachers to participate in this level of career development. Here are some ideas:
Career Advancement for those who don’t want to be a principal: Promotion – pay scale –higher than teacher +MA – perhaps equivalent to a Dean or Assistant Principal
Recognition –with all stakeholder groups
Voice –in state, district and school decision-making
Paid release time to peer-mentor & coach teachers, design learning and assessments, and curate resources
What are your thoughts? Teachers, would you be interested in a career ladder that allowed you to earn more pay yet remain in the classroom? Administrators, can you see a benefit to having teacher-leaders in your school who can be peer mentors and provide support to teachers who are struggling to transform and build future-ready classrooms?//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Planning learning with the end in mind is a time-consuming task, but the results are definitely worth it. As a teacher, you have a clear idea of what learners need to understand and be able to do, based on the standards, and hopefully, how those ideas, concepts, and skills apply to the real world so that students are motivated, engaged, and an authentic performance assessment can be planned.
If the learners are able to transfer their knowledge and skills to a new situation to solve a problem or create something new, the teacher can know beyond the shadow of a doubt that the learners truly understand, and will be able to recall that learning and apply it whenever needed. To me, this is innovative, transformational learning – whether technology is used or not. Quite possibly, an authentic task will require the use of technology – as these are real-world tools. But it is not the focal point of the learning.
Recently, I had the opportunity to observe a group of 6th grade science learners engaged in this kind of transformative learning and performance task. The teacher, Laura Murray, had created a unit using Intel Education Transformation Model – a backwards design process. According to the Colorado Science Standards, students need to be able to understand that objects, processes and events are systems that consist of interacting parts, objects and events can be viewed at various scales, and that change follows patterns that can be directional, predictive, and/or cyclic. Students are to learn about the constructive and destructive earth processes.
Laura’s backwards plan was able to address these understandings and big ideas, and culminated in a performance based assessment where students had the opportunity to apply their understanding in a unique way. Students assumed the role of museum curator –in the far away future. They were able to choose –500,000 or 1,000,000 years in the future! Their task: Create a museum display depicting what the landscape of our area of Colorado might look like in that amount of time.
Prior to this culminating event, the students spent a good deal of time studying geologic periods. You can imagine, to the typical 6th grader, this can seem very abstract – perhaps even a bit dull. But it really came alive for these learners when Laura introduced them to an online resource provided by the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. They featured a special exhibition on Ancient Denvers: The Denver Basin Project. And –the task that they were given within the role of museum curator was exciting, creative, and engaging. Students had a connection because it was about their own landscape that they were challenged to make a prediction. The students worked in teams to research the exhibits the museum currently offered, read the descriptions, and then used their knowledge and understanding to predict their future landscape. This is a 1:1 iPad school, so they used the iPads to research, draw the landscapes for the exhibit, and write up the description for the museum placard.
The day I visited, the students were working specifically on their understanding of scale. Students were using rolls of cash register tape to physically see and understand the time distance between the geologic periods. They used a scale of 1 millimeter = 10,000 years and had to mark them all out on the tape. One of the things I loved about this as that Laura chose the best tool for the task at hand. Trying to create these models of scale using the iPad might have resulted in students not being able to see the physical distance from one mark to the next, and reduced understanding as a result.
What’s next? Seeking authentic feedback from real museum curators at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. Providing authentic feedback is the finishing embellishment on a unit that provided these 6th grade learners with a transformational learning experience that they may carry with them for a lifetime.
Laura has been teaching middle schoolers for 13 years at Academy District 20’s Challenger Middle School in Colorado Springs. She has taught Science and Social Studies in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade. She has earned Outdoor Recreation, Business, and Curriculum and Instruction degrees from Colorado State University and University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. In her spare time, Laura coaches Forensics, is a NJHS sponsor, and serves on many school and district committees. Laura also volunteers with theater programs at Challenger and Pine Creek High School.


Are you teaching Jane Eyre as part of a British literature unit with your high school students? Want some lesson plans for Jane Eyre that are easy, engaging, and low-to-no prep?
If so, read on. Today we’re going to showcase a range of teaching activities and resources for Jane Eyre. First, we’ll look at pre-reading activities for Jane Eyre, and then we’ll move on to while-reading and after-reading activities for teaching Jane Eyre.
Finally, we’ll list a few whole unit bundles because we know how little time you actually have, but that you still want to do the best for your class by organizing thoughtful, engaging lessons.
Pre-reading lesson plans: Jane Eyre
Before you get started teaching Jane Eyre, you probably want your students to be familiar with the historical context of the novel, the characters, the settings, and possibly the themes. Check out the activities below if that’s the case.
1. Introductory PowerPoint
If you want to take your students “on a virtual field trip”, you might like this introductory PowerPoint by The Green Light. The PowerPoint includes personal photos that the teacher-author took on a trip to England, including the Bronte parsonage.
The PowerPoint also includes photos from the Portrait Gallery in London, as well as a Bronte exhibit at the Morgan Library in New York City.
Topics that the PowerPoint covers include the conventions of Gothic literature and Bildungsroman stories. Similarly, the 18th-century Romanticism movement is explained, as is the position of women and governesses in the Victorian Era in England.
Other topics include
- Cowan Bridge School (the inspiration for the Lowood Institution in Jane Eyre)
- Haworth in the Bronte era
- an explanation of the Bronte name and the Bronte sisters’ use of pseudonyms
- Bronte’s appearance
- publication information about Jane Eyre
- mental health and disease in the novel
- breaking the Fourth Wall
- and Byronic heroes
2. Agree or disagree activity
If your students love to talk or struggle to sit still, this agree or disagree activity by The Lit Guy is another great pre-reading activity for Jane Eyre.
In the activity, students choose the agree or disagree side on various issues and themes raised in the novel by Charlotte Bronte. Once they’ve chosen a side, students need to be able to defend their position on the issue.
The download includes tips on how to use the activity in your classroom.
3. Introduction PowerPoint
Another introductory PowerPoint option is this one by English Classroom Solutions. The presentation covers
- Charlotte Bronte’s life
- Jane Eyre‘s publication
- women’s role in the 19th century
- Gothic influences on the novel
4. Activity mini-bundle
If you are wanting students to explore themes in Jane Eyre before reading, you might like this activity mini-bundle by English Bulldog. The first activity in the bundle, the pre-reading carousel, facilitates discussion of important themes in the novel by asking students to walk around looking at posters with statements related to the novel.
Students are asked to write a statement of agreement or disagreement at the bottom of the poster. Then students are assigned (or choose) a poster to focus on and explain the trend in thinking on the poster.
The other two activities aren’t pre-reading activities but are also great to have on hand. In the themes activity, students analyze important quotes from the novel to decide on a theme that connects them all. Students then create a poster and put the most important quote on it, and analyze the author’s use of language.
The final activity in the bundle is a fishbowl debate. This is another structured discussion format where students need to defend an assigned (or chosen) position on a topic from the novel. You can also get students to write an argumentative essay afterward.
All of the activities in the mini-bundle include teacher lesson plans for Jane Eyre, common core objectives, preparation steps, a classroom agenda, and assessment strategies.
The PowerPoints that are included also have student-friendly objectives, student directions, and activity time limits.
5. Crossword and vocabulary quiz
Another fun pre-reading lesson plan for Jane Eyre is this crossword and vocabulary quiz by TechCheck Lessons.
This 25-question crossword puzzle and vocabulary quiz will introduce students to new terms they will discover in Jane Eyre.
The vocabulary quiz could also be used for review or graded as an assessment. The file is editable, so you can edit it to suit your classes. An answer key is supplied.
The crossword puzzle can be used as a pre-reading activity, as homework, as an extra credit task, or as a study guide for the vocabulary quiz. You could even leave it for a substitute teacher. An answer key is provided.
While-reading lesson plans: Jane Eyre
Ok, your students are ready to read, but you want lesson plans for Jane Eyre that will keep them reading, comprehending, and engaging in the novel.
Below we have graphic organizers, an activity on Bildungsroman in the novel, task cards, bellringers, writing prompts, close reading activities, characterization mini-flipbooks, and more.
1. Comprehension and analysis bundle
If you want to check that your students are understanding the novel, and engaging in analysis, this bundle of common core-aligned organizers by LitCharts might be what you need.
Included in the bundle are
- character analysis organizers
- symbol analysis organizers
- theme analysis organizers
- close-reading organizers
- quote analysis organizers
- a quotes quiz, with an editable blank version provided
- themes visualization poster and project
- teacher review guide for Jane Eyre
2. Teacher guide
If you are wanting a teaching guide for Jane Eyre, you might want this one by The Resource Tree. The guide includes study guide questions for each chapter and student handouts on literary devices used in the novel.
There are also other activities and graphic organizers to help students understand and analyze the novel. Essay writing prompts and extension activities are also included.
3. Jane’s Bildungsroman journey PowerPoint
If you want your students to engage with the Bildungsroman genre in Jane Eyre, you might want this PowerPoint by TandLGuru.
The lesson plan for Jane Eyre will help your students understand the protagonist’s journey and character development throughout the novel. Students will plot Jane’s development against the different stages of protagonists in Bildungsroman novels.
In the activity, students will
- define ‘Bildungsroman’ and identify the key stages of the genre
- read extracts from the text and answer comprehension questions about Jane’s journey
- plot Jane’s development against the Bildungsroman stages
- consider Bronte’s message in presenting her ideas through Jane’s Bildungsroman journey
- use knowledge of protagonist development and structure to create their own Bildungsroman storyboard templates
- peer assess each other’s learning
In the download, you get a PowerPoint, a student worksheet about Jane’s character development, a close-reading extract from chapter one, a storyboard template, and a lesson plan.
Both PDF and Word Doc versions are included so you have the option of protecting formatting (PDF) or editing to better suit your classes (Word Doc).
4. Task cards and bellringers
If you are looking for adaptable teaching resources for Jane Eyre, you might like this set of task cards and bellringers by The Green Light.
With 160 cards, all thirty-eight chapters have four unique, open-ended, discussion-prompting questions that are designed to promote student critical thinking and analysis.
The cards are adaptable to your lesson plan for Jane Eyre because they can be used in a variety of ways, such as
- reading quizzes
- group work questions
- discussion questions for a Socratic seminar
- review activities
- exit tickets
- or as part of a review game
5. Writing prompts
If your students need practice writing, you might like this set of writing prompts by Paka Mdogo’s English Store.
The resource has a set of short writing tasks and formal essay questions in the style of the AP and IB examinations.
Some tasks focus students on significant aspects of each chapter in the novel. These prompts build into a fuller understanding of what Bronte is trying to achieve, how she approaches it, and how successful she has been.
Alternatively, the writing prompts can be used as class discussion ideas.
The essay questions are great to prepare students for exams. The prompts can also be used for distance learning through TPT’s Digital Activities extension or Google Classroom.
6. Close reading passages
If your students need practice doing close reading and analysis, you might want this set of close reading passages by The Digital English Teacher.
The activity has eight passages that students must read closely and respond to in the provided space on a Google Slides presentation.
In doing so, students must
- explain the passage in the context of the novel
- consider the implications of the passage in the real world
- and respond personally to the passage.
There is also a blank slide that can be duplicated if you want to add other passages for your students.
You can download this product straight into your Google Drive, so it’s great for distance learning.
7. Characterization mini-flipbook
If you want to focus on characterization while teaching Jane Eyre, you might like this mini-flipbook by Danielle Knight.
Easy to assemble with the provided instructions, you can also differentiate for students by modifying with guided practice, shortening the task, or using read aloud, pair work, and mini-lessons.
Included in the download are the mini flipbook cover and pages and characterization handouts for student notebooks.
8. Match.com profile
If you are looking for a fun activity to do while teaching Jane Eyre in high school classes, you might like this activity by Breeane and Ben Sette and Hellman.
In the activity, before reading the Thornfield section of the novel, students must analyze Jane Eyre’s character by creating a Match.com dating profile for her.
Working in groups, students must analyze Jane’s character and anticipate the characteristics she would want and need in a partner.
After meeting Rochester and learning about him, students then reflect on whether he is a good match for Jane.
The download includes the profile structure, questions for students to consider while creating the profile, and a marking rubric.
9. Crash Course Literature video worksheet
The video and worksheet cover
- biographical information about the author, Charlotte Bronte
- the major plot points of the text
- major questions the text elicits readers to ask
- genre conventions of the text
- important themes, such as the effects of patriarchy on women
The print-and-go worksheet encourages active listening and spurs students to think deeply about how to read, understand and interpret the text.
The worksheets are great to use to give yourself a break from talking, as a homework task or to leave for a substitute teacher.
After-reading lesson plans: Jane Eyre
So, your students have read the book and now you need to help them revise and prepare for some kind of assessment. If that’s the case, check out the activities below.
We’ve found tests, quizzes, escape rooms, group research tasks, essay writing tasks, soundtrack projects, and more.
1. Tests, quizzes, and answer keys
If you’re wanting reading quizzes as well as a final exam, you might want to check out this bunch of tests by Danielle Knight. Included in the PDF file are
- four quizzes and answer keys
- review and answer key
- final test and answer key, with question types including multiple-choice, short answer, and essay
2. Escape the room review activity for Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea
If you want your students to review both Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea, this escape room by O’Neill English Literature 9-12 might be exactly what you want.
In the activity, students work in teams and think critically to review the novel. And you can adjust the clues to suit your students’ ability and how much time you have in class.
3. Digital escape room review activity
If you want to do a digital escape room, then check out this one by Innovative English Instruction. In the activity, students will review characters, key plot details, and the chronology of the text, as well as gaining a deeper understanding of the text.
The escape room includes
- Directions and rules
- A timer (set for 45 minutes)
- A “start here” narrative
- Google Forms (which direct them to a character identification task and a chronology maze)
- 2 jigsaw puzzles
- Hidden pictures (which direct them to 2 sets of comprehension questions (5 for Thornfield; 5 for Moor House and Ferndean) and the final congratulatory note)
4. Group research project
If you’re looking for an alternative to a test for assessing student learning, you might enjoy this group research project by The Daring English Teacher.
In the common core-aligned task, students work in groups to create a research project. The research project includes a five-paragraph research paper that is written and cited in MLA format, as well as a PowerPoint presentation that students present to the class.
Included in the project are
- the research project assignment
- research topics and websites for students to use
- group member evaluation forms
- teacher rubric
- and an editable example PowerPoint template
5. Expository essay writing task
If you want your students to write an essay for assessment, you might want this expository essay writing lesson plan by Write On with Jamie. The lesson can be run in-class, for homework, as a flipped classroom lesson, or independently during distance learning as it can be uploaded to most learning management systems.
In the no-prep activity, students watch a video with an expository writing tutorial that shows students the process of writing an expository essay using supporting evidence from the novel. Aspects of writing an expository essay covered in the lesson plan for Jane Eyre include
- brainstorming ideas
- creating thesis
- introducing supporting evidence
- writing hooks, leads, and conclusions
- using appropriate transitions
- and incorporating the six traits of writing.
The common core-aligned Jane Eyre lesson plan has what you need to implement the lesson, including instructional procedures, lesson objectives, direct instruction, guided practice, enrichment, differentiation strategies, and essential questions.
Students also get worksheets to prompt their writing, brainstorm their ideas, develop their thesis, and take notes on how to write an expository essay. Students also use an interactive PowerPoint to identify key vocabulary, list essay ideas, develop their thesis, and identify what their essay needs using a checklist.
Finally, an essay rubric and graphic organizer are included in this Google Slides-ready lesson plan.
6. Soundtrack project
Another fun assessment option if you are teaching Jane Eyre is this common core-aligned soundtrack project by The Lit Guy.
In the activity, students must create a list of songs that will be used for a film version of the novel. The songs students choose must link to themes, character insights, or moods that are developed in Jane Eyre.
The activity includes instructions for students, a grading rubric, a student sample, and tips on how to use the project in your unit.
Whole-unit bundles of lesson plans: Jane Eyre
Now, if you’ve scrolled straight down here, we won’t judge. We know time is short and pre-prepared units can be a total lifesaver! We have two options to look at today.
1. Whole unit bundle by SJ Brull
The first option we have today is this five-week unit plan by SJ Brull. Included in the plan are
- an anticipation and reflection guide – a two-page handout with quotes relating to the text’s themes. Students need to respond whether they agree or disagree with the statement and then explain their opinion. There are teacher notes on how to turn this into a class discussion.
- quote analysis and reading quizzes – the reading quizzes help you gauge student comprehension and the quote analysis helps students learn to read for a deeper understanding of themes
- theme tracking notes – students research themes and track them while reading. They use this later to create an author’s theme statement.
- film and text essay – an elements of film handout, essay graphic organizer, grading rubric, and notes for the teacher that you can use while showing an adaptation of Jane Eyre.
- character analysis packet with three activities – firstly, a guided space for students to illustrate, describe, record, and analyze evidence about character development in the novel. Secondly, a character-theme graffiti table to help students understand how minor characters support the theme development. Lastly, a creative character review project that encourages abstract thinking and evidence-based writing
- post-reading discussion in the Socratic method: a semi-structured approach to class discussions with a 20-slide PowerPoint that explains the Socratic method. Students get a preparation worksheet and reflection. You also get instructions on how to hold a class discussion.
- author study – students create a Facebook profile, Facebook newsfeed, Facebook exit tickets, and Twitter exit tickets about Charlotte Bronte. There is also extra information on how you can use these in different ways throughout the unit.
- theme and quote poster – two different styles of printable posters that highlight key themes from the novel
2. Digital whole unit bundle by The Digital English Teacher
The second option for a whole unit bundle for teaching Jane Eyre is this unit plan by The Digital English Teacher.
The unit can be assigned through Google Classroom as it is created using Google Docs and Google Slides. You can simply assign the tasks to students, and students can complete their work in the documents’ easy-fill text boxes.
The unit includes
- Vocabulary tasks with 68 vocabulary words
- Reading guide w/answer key so students are held accountable for reading (and you can check student comprehension)
- Close reading tasks – eight passages where students must read closely, explain the passage in the context of the novel. consider the implications of the passage in the real world, and personally respond to the passage.
- Digital character notebook where students explore in/direct characterization, static and dynamic characters, stock characters, round and flat characters, and protagonists/antagonists
- Character development – students will describe character motivations and how they change throughout the novel, as well as how they advance both the plot and the theme
- Making inferences activity – where students choose significant pieces of the text, use the knowledge they have, and draw conclusions based on that information
- Types of conflict – students examine examples of the types of conflict in the novel and explore how they move the story forward. Types of conflict include person vs. self, person vs. person, person vs. nature, person vs. society, person vs. God/fate, and person vs. machine/technology.
- Plot chart – students use the chart to identify six parts of the story’s plot
- A self-grading final test on Google Forms – includes 50 multiple-choice questions and 20 matching questions.,
- and a bonus theme project worksheet – students select a theme from the novel, choose text examples to support the theme, and make connections to modern society.
That’s all folks . . .
Whether they’re lesson plans or other activities for teaching Jane Eyre in high school, we want to know what’s worked in your classrooms.
Want more English Language Arts activities?
Check out these blog posts for more ELA activities, lesson plans, and teaching resources:
- Fun, engaging, and easy Shakespearean insults lesson you have to try
- 12 excellent teaching resources for Macbeth – make Macbeth easy
- Teaching Pride and Prejudice: 10 easy resources
- 20 easy and exciting lesson plans for Things Fall Apart
- 25+ easy and exciting lesson plans for Frankenstein
- 25+ fun and engaging lesson plans: Their Eyes Were Watching God
- 9 quick and easy study skills lesson plans for high school


The Settlement and Culture of Iceland
The early medieval manuscripts containing the Eddic poems recorded on this disc, were found in Iceland, an island first settled by people from Norway and the other Scandinavian countries during the years 870-930. The unique Icelandic settlement was part of a general movement that is best known for the Viking raids and the settlement of the Scandinavians in other parts of the world.
The establishment of the Icelandic parliament (the Alþingi) in 930 gave shape to the pagan society of Iceland in which most people bore allegiance to the old Scandinavian (or Germanic) gods. The most famous of these gods are Óðinn (often called Odin) and Frigg, Þórr (Thor) and Sif, Freyr (Frey) and Freyja. It is important, however, to understand that the pagan religion of the Scandinavians was not institutionalised; people were not duty-bound to have the same beliefs. This religion did not evolve in a centralised society, but in conditions that make it natural for us to expect wide variations in beliefs and religious practice between one area and another, if not between individual family "clans".
The Pagan Religion of the Scandinavians
Any understanding of the Eddic poems demands some knowledge of the Old Nordic religion. The belief in the Nordic Æsir and Vanir gods is commonly discussed as if there was some form of standardised state religion that was followed by all the Scandinavian countries during the time prior to the Conversion. As mentioned above, this was far from the case. The gods that were most respected in each area probably varied. In some places, the highest in rank were the fertility gods, Freyr and Freyja. There is some evidence to suggest that their main area of influence was in the eastern part of pagan Scandinavia, possibly mainly on the fertile plains of Sweden, like Uppland for example. In many other places, people clearly declared most loyalty to Þórr, the guardian of the land, who was continuously defending Cosmos, the dwelling place of human kind and the gods, against the chaotic powers of Jötunheimr. It is thought by most scholars that the prudent farmers of Norway in particular placed their trust in this thunder god. Others, however, were more attracted by the cunning, worldly appearance of Óðinn, the god of poetry who had control over magic and other forms of knowledge. It is naturally tempting to connect this belief with the Viking explorers and adventurers, and first and foremost with the poets.
The moral code of the pagan Scandinavians was not based on any demands or laws that had been set by the gods. On the contrary, the individual bore total responsibility for himself, and in the clan system, this responsibility extended to include closest relatives, and eventually went farther and farther. In this way, people gradually began to place certain controls on human behaviour and set rules that should be followed.
It seems clear that special festivals were held in which the gods were praised or given some reminder of the needs of their charges, and that at these festivals they were offered sacrifices. Some of the texts of the Eddic poems appear to be well-suited for performance at religious ceremonies such as these under discussion here, where they might even have involved some complex staging. Recent research has given strong support to the idea that the dialogic poem Skírnismál (The Lay of Skírnir), for example, is actually a form of play that was designed for performance at a fertility or sun festival (probably close to the mid-winter sacrifice). As will be noted further below, it is easy to imagine conditions in which the other dialogic poems might have been performed at religious festivals.
A central part of religious practice seems to have been played by incantation and magic, but it must never be forgotten that at this time magic was used as much to aid people as it was employed for vengeful purposes. And magical incantations certainly appear to have been sung in a special way if we consider the Icelandic expression gala galdr ("to 'crow' magic"). There are very few descriptions of the commonly-referred-to magic ritual known as seiðr, and certainly none as striking as that given in Eríks saga rauða (The Saga of Eiríkr the Red) which tells of a woman called Þorbjörg who was known as lítilvölva (the Little Prophetess). This account is particularly detailed and surprisingly free of prejudice. It was recorded a long time after the Conversion of Iceland (the oldest manuscript of the saga is from the fourteenth century), but ideas were obviously still current about the special role of the so-called seiðkonur (prophetesses). It is clear that the act of seiðr was regarded as a religious rite in which people attempted to gain knowledge about the times to come. There is little question that the Eddic poem Vǫluspá should be viewed in the context of this rite.
The Prose Edda and the Eddic Poems
In the early thirteenth century, the Icelanders gained a new author and scholar among their ranks, a man who is still regarded as being one of the greatest Scandinavian writers. His name was Snorri Sturluson (1178/79—1241), and he was not only one of the most powerful leaders in his country, but also the cleverest of historians; a poet and a scholar of poetry, in addition to being an expert on Old Nordic mythology. His masterpieces in the field of history and mythology, known respectively as Heimskringla and Edda (generally referred to as The Prose Edda), are central works for anyone trying to understand medieval Scandinavia. The latter work, in particular, is a key to understanding the pagan beliefs of Scandinavia.
Snorri's Prose Edda is actually a kind of handbook designed to teach people about the poetic arts of Scandinavia, which, as was mentioned above, had very ancient roots. In order to understand this poetry, it was necessary to learn about the pagan beliefs. Snorri therefore relates a number of myths for his readers, almost all of which seem to be old. He also cites many ancient poems that have been passed down for generations in the oral tradition as evidence to support the things he is saying. Many centuries later, when people eventually discovered a near contemporary manuscript containing many of the poems Snorri quotes, they also named this manuscript Edda. That was a misunderstanding, but the name has stuck, and even today people refer to these Eddic poems as being a special type of ancient Scandinavian poetry.
At root, some of these poems are probably much older than the time of the settlement of Iceland, and it is logical to assume that the settlers must therefore have brought them to Iceland from Norway or some other area populated by Scandinavians. As will be stressed further below, it is pointless trying to make a guess about the moment at which some poet decided to make the "first draft" of this or that poem. We have to be satisfied with a different approach. Nonetheless, these poems were clearly so unique in their subject matter and form that people found reason to preserve them, and chant them for the coming generations in order to give some idea of how people used to think and speak, of how their ancestors understood the world.
The Eddic poems, though, often give very little detail about events of great consequence, and often help is needed to fill in the gaps. The information provided by Snorri is often our only key to understanding the wording of these poems and those myths that they only briefly touch on. Even though it is difficult to be certain that Snorri is always telling the complete truth, we would be in a far worse position if his work did not exist. This applies not only to The Prose Edda, but also to Ynglinga saga, which forms the first part of Snorri's work about the Norwegian kings, Heimskringla. Ynglinga saga tells of the earliest kings of Sweden in prehistoric times, linking them euhemeristically with the gods, and especially with Óðinn's who thus becomes the forefather of all the Scandinavian kings.
The Subject Matter and Classification of the Eddie Poems
In terms of subject matter, the Eddic poems can be divided into two groups: on one hand, heroic poems, and on the other, mythological poems about the gods. The former group is a collection of relatively short historical works dealing with people who are, to some extent, recognisable from other early Germanic sources. Sigurðr, killer of the serpent Fáfnir, for example, is really the same figure as the Siegfried who appears in the Nibelungenlied. Other recognisable figures from the same geographical area are Guðrun (Kudrun) and Brynhildr (Brynilde). From elsewhere we recognise Atli the King of the Huns (Attila), and Jǫrmunrekr, the King of the East-Goths (Ermanaric). Even though these earthly heroes are all tragic, emotive figures, they are characterised by a realism that has few contemporary parallels.
The gods of the poems, on the other hand, are in many ways more ordinary individuals, and in fact, much more down to earth. The main figures in this regard are Óðinn and Þórr, although many other gods make appearances here and there.
The mythological poems can also be divided into two general groups. First of all, there are the poems of wisdom, which are gnomic, didactic, even mnemonic pieces. Then there are the narrative works, which are short accounts dealing with the adventures of the gods. However, cutting straight across this broad subject classification we find yet another more stylistic division in which some poems take the form of pure dialogues, while others have a single speaker.
To some extent this stylistic classification is reminiscent of that defining the difference between plays and novels. The dialogic works, like Skírnismál (The Lay of Skírnir), Lokasenna (The Flyting of Loki), Hárbarðsljóð (The Poem of Hárbardr) and Baldrs draumar (Baldr's Dreams) all involve more than one speaker. People address each other, the speaker divisions are clear, and we even find the speakers displaying individual characteristics. The staging of these dialogues could have been both simple and powerful, as the recent dramatic performances of Skírnismál and Lokasenna in Iceland and elsewhere have shown. These works contain dramatic tension and little imagination is required to see some connection with holy rituals or sacrifical ceremonies.
The poems involving a single speaker are somewhat different. Depending on the circumstances, the speaker recounts events or gives shocking news to his/her listeners. Once again, as mentioned above, it is possible to imagine a religious context for the performance of these poems. This seems particularly obvious in the case of Voluspá (The Prophecy of the Seeress), for example. The speaker of the monologue in this case is a woman. She is apparently addressing Óðinn and her audience in general, the "greater and lesser descendants of the god Heimdallr", an expression believed by scholars to refer to all humankind. The woman tells her listeners a story to which she adds conviction because she is wiser than others, and has knowledge that is simultaneously exciting and terrifying. In dim light and flickering shadows (like that which would have existed in any ancient Icelandic farmhouse in wintertime) the performance of the poem would have been transformed into a kind of mysterious religious ritual in which the listeners would have found themselves faced with insight into ancient and holy mysteries. It can be no coincidence that the poem should issue from the lips of a woman, the völva (seeress) herself, who has access to all secret knowledge, has come to visit, and even has the power to threaten Óðinn by revealing the most sacred mysteries known to him.
The Preservation of the Eddic Poems
Most of the Eddic poems have been preserved in the early thirteenth-century manuscript mentioned earlier, which is called the Codex Regius (The King's Book: Gl. kgl. sml. 2365 4to) now in the care of the Arnamagnean Institute in Reykjavík. This is the text that Sequentia has used for the performances of Vǫluspá, Hávamál and Þrymskviða. Grottasǫngr (The Song of Grotti), is found only in Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda; and Baldrs draumar is found along with several other Eddic poems in the AM 748 I, 4to manuscript which is slightly more recent than the Codex Regius.
The Performance of the Eddic Poems
We know relatively little about how the mythological poems of the Poetic Edda were performed during the Middle Ages. The account from Eiríks saga rauda about Þorbjörg the Little Prophetess, noted earlier, gives a highly tempting picture, but we can never be totally certain about whether it is wholly trustworthy. It is natural to conclude that this might have been one form of performance.
Nonetheless, it seems certain that the text of these poems in performance was far from fixed. Concerning the text, it is naturally pointless trying to guess the actual degree of freedom that the original performers would have allowed themselves. It is clear, however, that once the poems were written down, they probably gradually gained a kind of stability, a clear shape, meaning that the usual freedom, originally granted by the oral tradition, was no longer valid. Nonetheless, we are lucky enough to be able to attain some insight into the methods employed by the oral performer, partly because of the three differing versions of Vǫluspá that came to be recorded on parchment. Each of these versions of the poem must at some time have been recorded on the basis of an oral performance. Partly for this reason, there is little point in attempting to use the usual literary comparative methods in order to try and establish an "original" text for the poem. Each editor has to choose the version that he/she thinks best, and most agree that the version contained in the Codex Regius is more poetic, and to some extent older than that found in Hauksbók. That is the reason why Sequentia chose to use the version of Vǫluspá for this disc.
Scattered examples telling of the recital of poems give a clear indication that the performance of the poetry was different from that of prose. The poems might not have been "sung" literally, but people certainly regarded poetry as being a holier form of language than prose, and felt that the performance should be appropriate for both the form and its contents.
The language in which the poems have been preserved is Icelandic. Since Icelandic was originally a western Norwegian dialect, this alone tells us little about the origin of the poems. However, the conditions in Iceland are so unusual that changes in the language and thereby also the declension system between the Middle Ages and our own time have been relatively limited both as regards prose and poetry. In other words what was recorded in the Middle Ages might be regarded as being comparatively easy to read for any relatively literate, intelligent Icelander in our own time. The actual pronunciation of Icelandic, on the other hand, has changed greatly since the thirteenth century, not only with regard to the vowel and consonant systems, but also the rules governing lengths of vowels which have altered radically. Even though our source material on these changes is comparatively extensive, a great deal still remains uncertain. No one alive today could recreate with any certainty the pronunciation or the poetic rhythm that was used for the Eddic poems during the first centuries of the Icelandic settlement.
When considering the performance of the Eddic poems, as Sequentia have done for this disk, many things need to be borne in mind. The recreation of probable medieval music and song is one aspect of this and naturally demands some form of recreated pronunciation. Even though Icelanders in our own time are used to reading the poems with a modern Icelandic pronunciation, it would be ridiculous to use a modern pronunciation for an attempted recreation of the original sound of poetry. The route chosen was of course just one of many. An attempt was made to avoid all linguistic changes that are known to have taken place since the thirteenth century, but for logical reasons, no attempt was made to guess at the pronunciation and rhythm of the ninth or tenth century. The basis for the performance is the recorded manuscript-text, and that is no earlier than from the thirteenth century. It is therefore totally pointless to try and take the pronunciation of these poems back beyond that point.
Heimir Pálsson, Iceland, 1998; English translation by Terry Gunnell
The Reconstruction of Eddic Performance
Although we know that medieval epic poetry was the domain of bards and singers, no written musical sources of the Eddic poems dating from the Middle Ages are known to exist; indeed, we would have no reason to expect such sources to have been written at all. The milieu in which these poems were originally transmitted, sung, and acted out was that of a uniquely oral culture, and professional minstrels (leikari) passed on repertoires and techniques from generation to generation without the hindrance and expense of writing. As is almost always the case with medieval song, the use of musical notation is linked to the world of the scriptorium and the noble or ecclesiastical collector, not to the world of the practicing musician.
We can assume that the performing traditions of the Edda were probably already in decline by the time the main text manuscript, Codex Regius, was copied in the late thirteenth century. Given this situation, how can we possibly reconstruct sung performances of Eddic poems as they would have been known before the time of Snorri Sturluson in twelfth-century Iceland?
The earliest witness which we possess to musical settings of poems from the Edda is an account found in Benjamin de la Bordes Essai sur la musique ancienne et moderne, published in 1780. Among other examples (collected by a musician at the Danish Royal Court, Johann Ernst Hartmann), we find a strophe from the Vǫluspá set to a simple melody. Unfortunately, we will never know if this melody represents part of an unrelated Icelandic folk tradition of the 17th and 18th centuries, or if it indeed survived in this form from its origins as an oral formula for the vocalization of Eddic poetry.
In searching for paths to the vocalization of these texts, it was obvious to me that more musical information would be needed than this scrap of melodic material from the late 18th century, and I decided to make use of the techniques of "modal language" which Sequentia has developed over the years in work with medieval song. Briefly, we identify a mode not as a musical scale, but rather as a collection of gestures and signs which can be interiorized, varied, combined and used as a font to create musical "texts" which can be completely new while possessing the authentic integrity of the original material. But like the magic mead which gives Óðinn the gift of poetry, this "modal mead" is a concoction which is both inspiring and dangerous. We need a strong knowledge of the practice of singing epic poetry as it still exists in various world cultures to show us how such performances must be given a form and a soul, to temper the limitless freedom of modal intoxication.
Having temporarily put aside Monsieur de la Borde, where did I turn first for the basic ingredients of this modal brew? Iceland, of course. To give one example: in the sung oral poetry known as rímur—which in itself is a tradition dating from the late middle ages, but whose roots may touch much earlier skaldic poetry—I found a vast repertoire of modal material, which clearly could be grouped into several types. During our research residency in Reykjavik in May, 1995, I was graciously permitted to work in the tape archives of the Stofnun Árna Magnússonar, where I listened to hundreds of recorded performances of rímur and related song-types, making notes and analyses of the types and uses of modal materials. The result of this process of digestion (which included a weeding-out of obviously later melodic types) was a series of modal vocabularies grouped by structural "signals", which could then be taught to the other singers and applied to the metrics of the Eddic texts as taught to us by the philologist Heimir Pálsson. Everything was learned in a process very much resembling oral tradition: we have only worked with our Edda texts and our memories; there were never any musical scores. And in light of this knowledge, even the melody found in de la Borde began to make sense. However one chooses to see its transmission, the fact is that this melody demonstrates characteristics which point to the use of a specific modal vocabulary consisting of a few limited elements which are repeated and varied. And so, the attentive listener might hear its "genetic code" echoed in these performances, just as an experienced Icelandic rímur-singer hearing these poems might find at times that some undefinable element makes him feel he knows the unknown piece being sung.
In cases where two or three singers declaim the same text, different versions of the modal gestures may sometimes be heard simultaneously, resulting in a kind of heterophonic texture (verging on improvised polyphony) typical of traditional musical cultures. We still hear a vestige of such ancient practices in the traditional two-voiced tvisöngur sung in Iceland today.
Other aspects of the reconstructive work include a study of Icelandic sources besides rímur, as well as a study of the ancient dance-song melodies of the Faroe Islands. As the Edda project continues in years to come, the research will certainly expand to include sources from the entire Viking world, with particular emphasis on Finland and other Baltic countries, as well as Saami lands. Equally important in these musical reconstructions are the instruments which play independant pieces and sometimes accompany the vocalists. In the twelfth century, the two most important European instruments for courtly entertainment were certainly the fiddle and the harp, although other types of instruments (for instance, wind and percussion) were certainly known in popular culture. Elizabeth Gaver explains in a separate essay about her reconstructions of fiddle music. The harps which I use in this production are copies from remains of instruments found in seventh-century germanic burial sites, researched and reconstructed by Rainer Thurau (Wiesbaden, Germany).
This type of "lyre" would have been known throughout the northern world, together with the related triangular cithara which we recognize as the most common harp form. These instruments have very few strings (the lyre, for instance, has six gut strings), and the tuning systems, based on medieval theories of consonance, yield a series of basic intervals which in turn can inform the text being accompanied. The tuning system of the instrument is closely related to the mode which the singer has chosen, so that the instrument must be re-tuned to accompany in a new mode. Regarding playing technique, it hardly needs stating that an instrument of six strings is not suited to playing chords and elaborate melodies. Instead, we have here a harp type (such as is still known in several non-European musical cultures) which has as its means of expression the use of pattern and variation, and on the "playing out" of modal vocabularies. Just as the singers rely on a small repertoire of potent modal gestures for the vocalization of their texts, the harp makes a virtue of its seeming limitations and, like an interlaced Viking design, brings a richness of articulation to the expression of the mode.
Imagining the context of performance
Although it is certain that in ancient oral traditions such as the Edda represents, pieces were always "vocalized" and even acted out before gatherings of knowledgable listeners, we are obliged to imagine performance contexts which were never specifically described by contemporaries. In our performances, we represent a performing tradition as it might have existed in both Iceland and Norway (and perhaps as far afield as the Continent) during the time of Snorri Sturluson (ca. 1200). The performers themselves are not local farmers, but rather professional minstrels (Icelandic: leikari), possibly joined by other Nordic, Celtic or Saxon minstrels who travel widely in northern lands (which would also account for the use of the fiddle); and the performance itself could be taking place either in the dwelling of a powerful Icelandic chieftain or the hall of a Norwegian lord.
The music and texts they sing represent last vestiges of the ancient oral traditions of the pre-Christian north, now performed by specialists in a nominally Christian society which still has strong links to the archaic world of the myths and the worship of the old gods.
And so, in this recording, the voices can be heard alone, as in parts of the long visionary tale of the Völva; or the fiddle, playing solo, can conjure up a world of mythological beings; or the fiddle accompanies the singers who re-enact the story of Óðinn's ride into the realm of the dead to question the seeress about Baldur's death. There are ritualistic moments of mystery: the singer with his lyre speaking in the voice of Óðinn, retelling the myth of the runes; or hilarious storytelling, as in the famous tale—half-spoken and half-sung to lyre accompaniment—of Thor's vengeful transvestite voyage to the realm of his enemies, the giants, to recover his stolen hammer. In the story of Grotti's mill and the two giant slave-girls, the fiddle provides both the modal fundament as well as the relentless turning of the millstone; and in the final description of the end of the gods, Ragnarǫk, all three voices join with the fiddle in a homophonic texture of visionary terror.
As there are no extant medieval manuscripts containing Nordic
instrumental music, in order to create the fiddle music for this Edda
production I turned to the flourishing folk music tradition in Norway,
both for information and inspiration. It has been my aim to find the
particular aspects in the current folk violin tradition that are
idiomatic to the medieval fiddle as well.
During two research trips to Norway, I was able to explore the hardingfele tradition, by listening to countless hours of field recordings in the Norsk Folkemusikk-samling of the University of Oslo, and by meeting with several well-known performers and teachers, in Oslo, Valdres, and the Ole Bull Akademie in Voss.
The hardingfele is essentially a violin with the addition of four or five resonance strings running under the fingerboard. The body of the hardingfele is highly arched, and the bridge is nearly flat, allowing the player to easily bow two or even three strings at once. The characteristic sound of the instrument depends on its resonance, which is enhanced by the use of open tunings similar to those used on medieval fiddles. Although the hardingfele originates in the seventeenth century, there are aspects of the music itself that could be part of a much older tradition. Many dance tunes, or slatter, are clearly Baroque in nature, with triadic melodies and regular phrase structures. Other slatter, however, have characteristics in common with much earlier musical forms. They are constructed from short melodic motives that are varied and repeated during the tune, often resulting in uneven phrase lengths and a certain ambiguity in the beginnings and endings of phrases. Although these tunes are passed from teacher to student through generations, remaining unchanged in essence, there is also room for improvisation according to the style of each player. There is often an interaction between the player and dancers, and the dance gains in intensity and excitement as phrases spin out endlessly, strong bow articulations are used, and upper and lower bourdons are added.
The hardingfele is also used occasionally to accompany songs, or to play an ornamented version of a song alone. It is in this repertoire that one hears quite clearly the use of unfamiliar scales with various neutral tones. Most commonly, the placement of the third and seventh tones of the scale results in intervals that are between major and minor, giving a very particular coloration to the melody.
The three medieval fiddles used in this production are typical instruments of twelfth-and thirteenth-century Europe. Unlike instruments of the modern violin family, the bodies and necks of these fiddles are carved from single blocks of wood. This simple construction, often with no additional soundpost, results in a clear, highly resonant tone quality. The tunings of the gut strings used here are characteristic of the medieval period with open intervals of fourths and fifths resulting in a resonant tone quality enhanced by the frequent use of bourdon strings.
The fiddle pieces created for this production incorporate many aspects of hardingfele repertoire and playing style. Some are rhythmic and dance-like in character, while others are meditative and lyrical. The melodic motives are derived from the Icelandic rímur tradition, from the ballad tradition of the Faroe Islands, or are simply idiomatic to the instruments themselves.