Lisa Yacomelli

Putting Hamlet on Trial

by Tiberiu Dragoiu-Luca

This week, the Blue Sky Project features two classroom innovations by Lisa Yacomelli: her Senior Trial and her iMovie project based on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Students who participate in the Senior Trial are engaged in the creation of a legal hypothetical based on literature they read, and they then choose either the prosecution or the defense based on the legal issues. Class members demonstrate collaborative problem solving as they assemble textual evidence to support and present their arguments in a collectively written “brief." They share responsibility and learn to work effectively and cooperatively as they present these arguments orally in the culminating trial. This project teaches students to work collaboratively as they critically examine world issues as related to the literature, plus it gives them a bit of a glimpse into a real-life working situation. Past trials have examined Hamlet’s sanity, Victor Frankenstein’s parental neglect, and literary censorship by the Republic of Gilead in The Handmaid's Tale.

The second project is a hybrid between Student Centered Learning and Digital Literacy. The class progresses to an open-ended essential question discussion, conducted in the Harkness method, during which students identify themes they can then relate to their own lives or apply to situations and problems they may encounter. The students divide into four groups, and each group selects one of those themes. Then each group uses an iPad or laptop to demonstrate its understanding of the theme, and then extend this to contemporary life. For example, one group examined superstition in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and then included movie clips demonstrating modern superstitions, as well as interviews with students and teachers regarding whether or not they have superstitious beliefs. The entire unit takes about a month, and culminates in a popcorn and movie day! The project helps promote not only student understanding of the book, but also increases students’ ability to express themselves through digital media.

Below is a video interview with Ms. Yacomelli, including one of the Huck Finn student projects.