The game is based on the astrologers' claim that the signs of the zodiac are indicative of a person's character; the pupils are, consequently, asked to guess the zodiac signs of some of the literary heroes they have studied, on the basis of their interpretation of the heroes' characters.

The assignment, therefore, requires a good knowledge of the heroes characters; it, furthermore, requires the pupils should look for specific examples in order to substantiate their choice of the zodiac signs. It also encourages oral conversation and debate, as the pupils are asked to work in pairs, compare their choice of the zodiac sign with that of their partner, and try to persuade him / her that their choice is the right one.

This unit is intended for the 11th and 12th grades , simply because the literary works that the pupils are asked to refer to ( "Eveline", "A Summer's Reading", All My Sons ) are studied in these grades. But the idea underlying this unit is applicable to any grade where the pupils are able to understand a relatively easy text and make themselves understood in English. In that case, the pupils will be asked to refer to characters they are familiar with, either from fiction or from real life. (Question IV marks, in fact, the transition from the world of literature to the real world, as the pupils are asked to comment on the fitness of the astrological description to themselves.)

From the technical point of view, this unit requires that the pupils should be familiar with Word and Windows, especially with Cardfile.

The same lesson, i.e. having the pupils try to guess the zodiac signs of literary heroes they have studied, can be carried out without a computer, and indeed it was, but the lesson was deficient because:

a) in the absence of cards with the summaries of each zodiac sign, the pupils had to rely on individual , sometimes contradictory, bits of knowledge about the horoscope.There was no common ground to refer to, and that caused problems.

b)the pupils were neither able to read, nor to react , to all their friends' contributions. The "musical chairs" method (see tasks III and IV in "Zodiac" file), in conjunction with a word processor, has greatly increased the scope of each pupil's exposure to his peers' work. The sharing of opinions has been maximized thanks to the computer.

c) It is my belief, moreover, that the graphics the computer offers may contribute to the pupils' interest in the lesson.

That is why this classroom unit has been designed with the help of the computer; hopefully , for the pupils'benefit and enjoyment.

Sincerely,
Sylvia Asher
ashersyl@netvision.net.il