Appendix A
Three Metaphors of Teaching — 10 points for creative responses, and successful uploading to the
“assignments” section of Blackboard.
Instructions:
A metaphor is a quick easy way for someone unfamiliar with a given topic to understand what you are talking
about. One of the most famous metaphors from a movie is Forrest Gump proclaiming something like:
“Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what is in each one until you take a bite.” -- Forrest
Gump from the movie Forrest Gump.
For this assignment, think of three metaphors you could use to describe:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
teaching
teaching students to read
learning to read
reading/literacy
reading assessment
other education related
After each metaphor try to explain your reasoning for your metaphor.
For example, you might first list the Forrest Gump quote. Then you’d list who said the quote. And then you might
give an explanation such as: “teaching is like a box of chocolates, because each student has a different sweetness
that makes the process of teaching interesting.” With regards to literacy assessment, the real box of chocolates is
to figure out what is inside the chocolate/brain without opening the wrapper/doing major surgery. The art is to
determine what types of books and skills lessons will help your student realize his or her potential.
Along with your metaphor, and an explanation please include the following information:
Your name and "metaphors" in the file name.
Your preferred name on the first page of the document.
Grading Rubric
Bonuses: For creativity of metaphors and explanations.
Deductions:
- 1.5 for each metaphor you forget to include.
- 1.0 for each explanation you forget to include.
- 0.75 for each citation you forget to include.
o Please at least mention that your metaphor came from your mom, Uncle Fred, the Bible, your high
school art teacher, your favorite TV character, or your reading professor
o If you made it up, that’s OK, but please say so.
o Just remember that the internet is a two-edged sword: there’s no real excuse for not listing the
website from which you got a metaphor, because:
You can easily find the origins of familiar metaphors from the web.
OR, you go searching for metaphors on the web it only takes you two seconds to cut and
paste the website into your paper.
- 0.5 points for not including "metaphors" and your name in file name.
- 0.5 for forgetting to put your preferred name on the first page
- Up to 1 point for annoying grammar and spelling mistakes that make it obvious you didn't bother to proofread.
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