Book Introduction (Pride and Prejudice) |
2. Read the biography 3. In class, pair students with different biographies to present the character of the biography they read and compare the two. 4. Reveal that the two biographies are of the same person (but have vastly different biographies). |
1. Give each student online access to one of two (contrasting) two-page biographies of the same real person. 5. In an online discussion, group four people together (two for each biography) and discuss what they learned from the exercise. |
Comparison/Contrast |
1. In a full class explanation (with video backup) explain what it means to compare and contrast two items. 3. Have the groups meet in-person in the classroom. Have them make two lists, one of the comparisons and one of the contrasts, adding evidence from the text (or movie) to support their claims. |
2. Divide the class into small groups (4-6 people) in an online discussion. Give each group two things to compare and contrast (two paragraphs about the same topic from two different writer, a scene from a boook with a corresponding scene from a movie of the book, or two poems with the same author, time period, topic, or theme.) Set the discussion up so that students cannot see posts of those who have written before them until they have posted their own ideas. |
Role Playing 1 |
1. Have students meet in small groups, assigning each group a character from a novel you are reading. The students brainstorm character qualities of their person using evidence from the text. 3. Discuss new insights the students gained about the character and about characterization as a class. |
2. Divide the students into new groups with a representative from each character in the group. Give the students a scenario. Members of the group respond to the scenario in the discussion board as if they were the character they were assigned. (You may wish to follow up by having students create a video of the situation.) |
Role Playing 2 |
1. Students read a non-fiction text. As a class brainstorm key ideas and takeaways from the text. 3. Regroup students according to the role they performed (putting all of one role--conformer, for example) into one group. Discuss insights they gained from acting in that role. |
2. In the discussion board assign students one of the takeaways/ideas and give each person a role: defender, devil's advocate, peacemaker, summarizer, encourager, conformer, rebel, teacher, etc. The students react to the takeaway representing the roles they have been assigned. |
Role Playing 3 |
2. Students who had the same literary elements gather to create a poster of their findings. |
1. Students in a discussion group read the same text, each one looking for different literary elements: setting, symbol, alliteration, vocabulary, literary point of view, similes/metaphors, characterization, motifs, etc. They share what they found in the discussion. |
Giving Peer Feedback |
2. Students individually brainstorm and record the following in a Google doc: a topic/argument and explanations and evidences to support their views. They write an introductory paragraph, including a hook. |
1. Students watch a video about how to write a persuasive paper. 3. Students share their documents with a small group, who comments on what they have written and asks questions. |
Thoughts, Questions, and Epiphanies (The TQE Method) |
2. To prepare for the in-class discussion, the students write thoughts, questions, and epiphanies they have had from the reading on different white boards. 3. Using the boards for ideas, the students discuss the work in-person. |
1. During in class reading time, students read a text online (such as Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" for example). They respond to the text online in a "They Say, I Say" document. (See below.) 4. Each person follows up in an online discussion, adding new or different insights, experiences, thoughts, questions, or ephiphanies. |