Page 45 - FOCUS year 1

Learning process: learn – revise – learn again

Although many of us have a general sense of what it means to learn, there are often
many assumptions involved. Teachers often assume that, just because they are
“teaching,” students must be learning. Students assume that, because they have read a
text and memorized facts, they have learned something. Several recent studies have
shown that many students have neither good general knowledge nor the necessary
reasoning skills in today’s society. The results of these studies, and many others,
strongly suggest that our current instructional practices are not working and that many
students are not learning, or retaining what they learn.
The goal of these lessons is to acquire knowledge through the active involvement of our
students. In order to achieve this during the learning process, we apply the principles

of constructivism and try to recall the existing knowledge of the children, which lead
them to new concepts. This is accomplished in a variety of ways that motivate the
students and promote self-interest. In particular, the presentation of the notion of

symbolism in poetry will build on the existing knowledge of children in Greek
mythology. Occasioned by Ithaca, we present the homonymous poem of Constantine
Cavafy and begin to acquire new information. (LEARN) Children discover the

suggestive use of the terms, assimilate the function of the symbols and are called upon
to attribute the new knowledge in an artistic manner. (REVISE) The whole process
ends with a brief presentation of the new concepts in the form of a test, which students

have to deal with, in order to check the effectiveness of the process. (LEARN AGAIN)
The purpose of the activity above, besides theoretical knowledge, is the deeper
understanding of the text, which broadens the students’ horizons and becomes a guide

for their lives.

“Ithaca of C. P. Cavafy. Which is your own Ithaca?”:
a multilevel approach to the project with the ultimate goal of aesthetic enjoyment
and the recapture of personal experiences
General Purpose
The general aim, along with the aesthetic pleasure, is to get the students to empathize,
after they have understood the poetic writing, the role of the artist's personal
experiences, the value of the journey to Ithaca, reflecting on their own goals, their own
Ithaca. By embracing the role of artistic creation, we will achieve the expression of these
emotions.

Specific Objectives in the subject area and in the learning process
 The student’s enjoyment of the poem with alternative approaches

 Have the students come in contact with Cavafy's journey through their own
experience.

 Decoding the word Ithaca at the stage of the initial cause.