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I actually got this idea from an eSchoolNews Online article about using Amazon.com 's new "Search Text" feature. "Search text" is an extension of the "Look Inside" feature, and its availability is contingent upon publisher permission. "Search Text" is currently not be available in all selections. But when I searched, I found that browsing with "Look Inside"was possible for most of the books on college recommended lists. Since the "Look Inside"feature was designed as a marketing tool and not an instructional one, the excerpts available for viewing are limited. The pages themselves are formatted as image files, which makes accessing them via slow speed connections a little cumbersome. On the plus side, it costs nothing to access Amazon.com, and through online browsing, you can introduce students to works you won't have a chance to cover in class. It also provides a forum in which students can focus on stylistic issues, and how published authors make them work. Here are a few ideas:
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The classical style of writing such as that used by Hawthorne in The Scarlet Letter presents problems for students, even among the more skilled readers. Students used to more sparsely written modern work, will likely find it difficult to be patient with what they see as the excessive verbosity of the classical style, and find it a challenge to follow the plot. It might, therefore, be helpful to use "Look Inside" to preview this kind of writing with the class prior to beginning to read the book. Concentrating on a specific sample, students would have a chance to get acclimated to the longer, more complex sentences often featured in pre- twentieth century writing, and could brainstorm useful reading strategies.
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When reading major works from well known authors, students often cannot express why some writing styles seem more accessible than others. So much of their energy goes into keeping up with the plot line, that they have difficulty analyzing text from a stylistic point of view. Using short selections taken out of context from the main work frees up the students' attention from the task of following a story line, so that they can focus on the stylistic hallmarks employed. Studying and comparing how different writers craft their texts can enrich the stylistic repertoires students have available to use in their own writing.
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Using samples from "Look Inside" instead of workbook exercises, students can study how grammar and sentence construction contribute to craft in "authentic" texts.
Because reproduction and distribution of any text accessed through the "Look Inside" feature violates copy write laws, using it for homework assignments could be problematic. But as an in-class tool, there are any number of ways in which"Look Inside" could make itself useful. As an unexpected bonus, by functioning as the marketing tool it was originally intended to be, "Look Inside" could even spark interest in reading beyond classroom requirements. And who could argue with that?
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