eZB Workshops – Primary School: “The Wolf and the Lamb”

This eZB workshop lasted a full term. Participants were children aged 8 to 10. The goal was to introduce rewriting a text, showing the interconnection between similar or related works of literature (inter-textuality, and the differences of interpretation that arise from different versions. To do so, the teacher chose three different versions of the fable “The Wolf and the Lamb”. In addition to the most famous La Fontaine version, the teacher juxtaposed two other versions. The classroom activities included the following:

– rewriting of the story,

– illustrating the fables,

– recording the fable in different languages.

There was practically no homework given in relation to the project except the collection of more recordings in different languages. This benefit of the recording activity gave the class exposure to foreign languages and showed how the moral lesson of the fable translates into different cultural contexts.

Results

The collaborative eZB produced at the conclusion of the semester was a means to record and highlight the children’s work. When assembling the production, the different layers were defined, and arranged so that they presented themselves as tabs that also served as a table of contents.

Beyond the reading, grammar and vocabulary objectives, the project allowed students to participate in the illustration of the fable and the rewriting of a fable and to become aware of all the possibilities in rewriting, including the creation of a new version of the story where the meaning of the original text is purposely inverted.

This example shows how it is possible to create an eZoomBook after the launch and realization of class activities. In this experimentation, the teacher had total freedom to add to the pedagogical content in the course of the semester. The student input (rewritings, illustrations, recordings, etc.) was pre-defined, but not all workshop activities were carried out in class. Many recordings were done in the home context, affording parents opportunities to participate in the creation of an eZoomBook. At the conclusion of the semester, all of the student contributions were uploaded into the eZoomBook template.