Novel Discussion

1.26.10 Reflection from Courtney Humphreys on Vimeo.

Yesterday I tried a new format for our novel discussion (we are reading The Twenty-One Balloons). Usually we all sit on the carpet in front of the Smartboard and discuss the chapter page by page, and the boys share the marks they made as we add ideas to our character and setting posters. Instead of doing this, I broke the boys into groups and assigned them each a few pages from the chapter. They assigned their own recorders who took notes on butcher paper, and then they presented their ideas to the class. We talked about what makes a good group presentation, and they were all very organized and prepared. I don't think we discussed as much from the chapter as we usually do, but as their reflections show below, they were able to focus on specific pages. I've talked about giving my students agency, and I think this is one way to do that-- to let them determine the best way to organize our novel discussions.

See, Think, Wonder

We used the routine "See, Think, Wonder" to discuss the book The 21 Balloons. After we made a collage of images connected to the themes and content of the book, the students used "Think, Pair, Share" as they looked for connections among the images and tried to predict what the book might be about. They paired off with partners and then shared their ideas. After they shared their ideas with a partner, we used whole group discussion to talk about what they saw, thought and wondered about the images. I was surprised by the depth and complexity of their responses (one student pointed out that the book is probably about someone who travels in a balloon because the map would indicate traveling). I've seen they are now providing support for their claims without being prompted, which is exciting!