Classroom Contributions RW3
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Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Journal Task
Core Task = E-mail Journals
Center = VU
Semester
= Spring
Term = 2
Year = 2000
Instructor = Paul Oliver
E-Mail
= [email protected]
Report Text = I mix the curriculum's e-mail journals
with "old-fashioned" paper ones throughout the term. I also require some of each
to be doen in class as a warmup exercise. I usually suggest topics based on class
readings, or I give the "free topic" option. For e-mail journals I require a good-sized
paragraph. For paper journals I require 3/4 page single-spaced if handwritten
or double-spaced if typed.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Journal Task
Core Task = E-Mail Discussion
Center = ISU
Semester = Summer
Term = 1
Year = 2000
Instructor = Carolyn Mayo
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = We used a distribution list for the class to create discussion questions about the novel and answer each other's questions.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Journal Task
Core Task = E-Mail Journals
Center = ISU
Semester = Summer
Term = 2
Year = 2000
Instructor = Allyson Newport
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = As a variation on the e-mail journal. I signed students up at the beginning of the term for an e-mail discussion list. Each week students wrote three questions pertaining to the novel we were reading and submitted them to me through this e-mail list. The questions also went to all the students in the class. The questions were due by 8:00 a.m. on Thursday. I then chose 1-2 questions from each student, cut and pasted them for a discussion sheet to be used in class on Friday. In class, students worked in groups to answer the questions and also to correct any grammatical errors in the questions. I graded the students on whether they participated and on how grammatically correct their questions were. Students often have difficulty formulating questions, so this was excellent practice for them. Also, I was pleased with the content of the questions that they sent.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Journal Task
Core Task = E-mail journal
Center = ISU
Semester = Fall
Term = 1
Year = 2000
Instructor = Allyson Newport
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = E-Mail Journal C/S 3 This term my class read Having Our Say, so I based all of the e-mail questions on the novel as it related to their lives. Some sample questions were: What do you think causes prejudice? Have you or anyone you know ever experienced prejudice? What is your relationship like with your siblings and parents? Sadie and Bessie admired their parents greatly. Whom do you admire most in your life? The Delany sisters saw many changes and historical events in their 100 years of life. What changes do you think you would see if you live to be 100? Of course, there were many more, and I related all the questions to the reading for the week. I felt this helped them connect to the novel more but gave them a chance to give their own thoughts and opinions. We did this 2-3 times a week, depending on time. They changed partners every few times. Overall, it was a good core task.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Journal Task
Core Task = email journals
Center = CSM
Semester = Fall
Term = 1
Year = 2000
Instructor = Marcia Lane
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Email journals: Each week the group chose a topic to write on and emailed to everyone in the class. They had to respond to two of these to make a total of 3 email journals in the week. Three students had trouble with their email and only wrote about half the journals. I was surprised and disappointed that the responses were not in greater depth , even after I sent replies to use as an example. This was not highly successful and I have no suggestions for improvement.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Journal Task
Core Task =
Center = UNCG
Semester = Fall
Term = 1
Year = 2000
Instructor = Debra Johnson
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Journaling went pretty well overall. Students had email journals. There were some glitches, such as bounced messaged, incorrect addresses and email messages that arrived at the bottom on the inbox instead at the top. I suggest that teachers keep students abreast of messages not received as there were discrepancies. Students were able to prove that they had sent messages which I had never received.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Journal Task
Core Task = E-mail journals
Center = CSM
Semester = Fall
Term = 2
Year = 2000
Instructor = Johnson
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Students were asked to complete e-mail journals. I set up a discussion group at Egroups.com, which allowed me to monitor content while also delivering submissions automatically to all participants. I named a topic each week, and submissions were due once a week. Topics included how weather affects you, a dream you've had, your definition of good parents, something you're proud of, and others. Egroups.com allowed me to be a moderator; messages were sent to my account to be approved before the were sent out to all the students. In addition, all messages are archived and accessible by student users.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Journal Task
Core Task = E-mail Journal Partners
Center = VU
Semester = Fall
Term = 2
Year = 2000
Instructor = John House
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = I had a very small class of four students, and so it was easy for us to interact with one another in this way. The students were instructed to make a daily entry in their e-mail journal and send it to the other students in the class as well as to the instructor. The only requirement regarding content was that one of the entries had to be devoted to comments about the novel that he or she was reading. The other letters could have been about almost anything, i.e., questions or comments about what had been discussed in class that day, a critique of a movie or a television show that was seen, an interesting experience from daily life, etc. The students enjoyed discussing the letters on a daily basis in class, and seemed to agree that the task was beneficial in several ways. They liked the contact with their classmates outside of class, appreciated the daily writing practice, and found it helpful to use the journal entries about the novel to better comprehend what they had read by having to explain it to their classmates. I printed out at least one letter per week per student and made corrections for them. This task was well-conceived and well-received, and I would do it again the same way next time.
Course = CS
Level = 3
Category = Journal Task
Core Task =
Center = ISU
Semester = Spring
Term = 1
Year = 2001
Instructor = Jane Blyth Warren
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = I had students exchange email messages with RW 3 students at ILC-Valpo. This was not as good as it could have been for a couple of reasons. 1. There were 10 students in my class and 2 in the Valpo class. 2. My students initially were interested and participated, but later in the term 2 students did not send their messages when they were supposed to. 3. The students at Valpo. generally did not respond to the messages sent by the ISU students.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Journal Task
Core Task = e-mail journal
Center = ISU
Semester = Fall
Term = 1
Year = 2001
Instructor = Allyson Newport
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Since thinking of topics for the RW 3 e-mail journal is always difficult for me, I would like to share some of the ones that I used this term. Having Our Say provided many of the topics and elicited much discussion between the students. I have found that if my topics are interesting , I do not have as many problems with student participation. Here are some of the topics: -Who are you more like:Bessie or Sadie? -Tell about your relationship with your brothers and sisters. -Tell about a time when you or someone you know has experienced prejudice -Why do you think people are prejudiced? -Tell of an unfair law in your country -What is the role of women in your country today? -Tell about stereotypes people have about your country and what you think about them.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Episodic Story Task
Core Task = The Alchemist
Center = CSM
Semester = Fall
Term = 1
Year = 2002
Instructor = Laurie Cribb
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = The Alchemist is a short novel about the journey and learnings of a young man. It offers great opportunity for discussion of esoteric ideas and yet uses simple language so that lower students can understand the story and concepts. My all male group of Arab, Brazilian and Chinese students really enjoyed the story and discussion. I based my in-class essay and final exam on the facts, images, and application of Santiago�s self-discovery. The students related to Santiago�s journey in a new land and cultural observations well. I�d recommend it as a �safe� book for most Level 3 classes.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Journal Task
Core Task =
Center = UNCG
Semester = Spring
Term = 1
Year = 2002
Instructor = Lynn Bergschneider
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = I used a suggestion from Dean Daniels for the Journal writing task this term. She found a web site that allows you to set up a bulletin board for students to post to. It is really quick and easy to use. See urls below. I was able to set up a bulletin board in about 10 minutes and, once I gave the students the site address, they had no difficulty posting to it. I asked the students to write their responses to articles we read in class. I wrote the first one to give them an idea of what I was looking for. They could write their own opinion or respond to something someone else had said. The main benefit I see in using this are that it is a new way to do an "old" activity. The students are a little nervous about posting, but I assured them that nobody outside our class would be able to see what they wrote. Knowing that other students in the class would be reading their comments helped motivate them to try and say something new or significant about the topic. I responded privately to some of their postings and publicly to some. I did not correct their grammar, but I did look for patterns or structure problems to work on later in class or individually with a student. Getting the students more familiar with posting things online was another advantage to this way of doing journals. More and more courses are offered through the internet and the use some sort of online discussion is becoming more common even in university classes, so I think this helps students a lot. Go to the following web site and it will give you instructions on how to set up your own bulletin board. http://www.beseen.com/ If you want to see the one I set up, you can go to the following address: http://pluto.beseen.com/boardroom/n/59102/ Note: You can go in to delete messages at any time to reduce clutter.
course: RW
level: 3
category: Episodic Story Task
core+task: young adult novel
center: ISU
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2003
instructor: Margaret Hurdlik
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: This term RW3 students read Holes by Louis Sacher. I would rate this book as easier than the previous book I read with Level 3 (Having our Say) in terms of sentence structure and vocabulary. However, the themes in the novel are not childish, and the use of a story within a story provided a real comprehension challenge for most students. They seemed to enjoy Holes a great deal, and I would highly recommend it to other instructors. I had a particularly quiet group this term and felt that I was doing too much discussion leading during the first half of the book. In addition, I had some concerns about whether certain students were completing the reading assignments before class. So midway through, I started requiring students to e-mail me five discussion questions and five new vocabulary words (with page numbers) for each section of the book. Before class I would assemble (computer cut and paste) these into a handout for the class. Students would then discuss these in small groups (I would provide support as needed, but generally did not interrupt). Not only did this provide more speaking opportunities for students, but it also allowed me to gauge more accurately how well students were understanding the events and themes in the novel on their own. I also occasionally used their e-mail questions for grammar review (e.g. question formation). Another activity that works well with this text is reconstructing events in chronological order. To do this, type up the sequence of events from a certain section of the book (make a list with 1-2 sentences for each item). Be sure to use transition words and other guides (e.g. pronouns which refer to antecedents in previous sentences). Then cut up your list and put the strips in an envelope. Students then recreate the sequence of events. This activity tests both their comprehension of the reading assignment and their ability to use context clues to reconstruct a coherent text. As a final activity, we went to see Holes at the movies (which everyone seemed to enjoy).
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Journal Task
Core Task = online journals
Center = UNCG
Semester = Summer
Term = 1
Year = 2002
Instructor = Lynn Bergschneider
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = I continued to use the online journal at BESEEN for my students' journal writing this term although I also had them do freewriting as well. In order to encourage students to write more of their own opinions, I began replying to their comments via e-mail. I wanted to make it clear that I was reading what they wrote even though I wasn't making editing comments (as in their essay and summary writing work). I think they enjoyed the individual "conversation" practice and it helped me to get to know them better. I didn't answer every comment (that would be too time consuming) and I didn't write a lot in response. Just a comment or question that occured to me when I read their posting. Sometimes, I brought in articles related to something they talked about (just for the student to read..not necessarily for the whole class.) The only problem with the online journal is that the more they write on it, the more slowly it loads. That is why I only had them post answers about once a week.
course: RW
level: 3
category: Journal Task
core+task: email journals
center: CSM
semester: Fall
term: 1
year: 2003
instructor: Marcia Lane
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: The level 3 class was given a series of questions to discuss with email partners once a week. The class had 4 students so the partnerships worked well. The idea behind giving an assigned topic was to assist the students in knowing what to write about. Two of the 4 were new to ILC and perhaps unfamiliar with the idea of journal writing.
Teh students were required to CC their journal entry to me and I commented on the content. Sometimes I made comments about a major, repetitive mistake (such as S/V agreement). After receiving their partner's journal entry, the students were required to reply and send me a copy. It took a couple of attempts to get the idea of responding to the question and then replying, but by the end they did a good job of it.
Insturctions: write to your journal partner and answer the following questions. Explain your answers. Reply to your partner and comment on his/her answer.
Subjects:
1. Introduce yourself.
2. If you could have dinner with anyone in the world, who would it be and why?
3. If you could suddenly have a great talent in any of the arts, what would you like it to be?
4. If you could suddenly have a comfortable home in any city in the world (but you cannot sell it), where would it be and why?
5. If you could have permanent possessio of any single object in the world, what would it be? 6. If you had to live forever on a deserted island and you could only have one book to read, what book would you want?
(We started in week two and ended in week 8.)
course: RW
level: 3
category: Journal Task
core+task: Journal writing
center: ISU
semester: Spring
term: 1
year: 2006
instructor: Allyson Newport
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: In the past I have always done e-mail journal partners for this project, but this term I decided to try a blog. I signed up through xanga.com, which is a free blog site. Two or three times a week I assigned (or let them choose) a topic for them to write about. After a student went to the blog and wrote his/her entry, the next student could respond to him/her and write his/her own ideas for the topic. It continued from there. The last student was able to respond to all the students if he/she desired. I then gave feedback to each student, usually in the form of comments on their ideas. For me, the purpose of this project was for the students to practice writing without worrying about being perfect. It gave them a chance to formulate ideas with little pressure. The best part of this project was that everyone could see what the others wrote. With the e-mail partners, only the partners saw each other's writing. The downside was that I had to remind the students quite a few times to type correctly and not use chat room symbols. Overall, this project was successful, and I would do it again.
Course
= RW
Level = 3
Category = Reading Task
Core Task = YA Novel
Center
= VU
Semester = Spring
Term = 2
Year = 2000
Instructor = Paul
Oliver
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Students choose their
own novels to read. I bring a few bags full of books from the INTERLINK lending
library and let them judge the books from their covers. After their first assignment
of reading 10 pages or so, students have the chance to change to a different novel.
I require a couple of oral reports: 1)after the first couple of days, and 2)once
in the middle of the book as a progress report. When the students have completed
their novels, they write a report (1.5 pages typed, double-spaced). That report
includes: 1)a short summary, 2)favorite character and why, 3)difficulty in reading/understanding,
4)enjoyment level, and 5)recommendation for future students. I assign the novel
in week 3 and expect the written report in week 6. The novels I approved of probably
are a bit easy for level 3, but we already read "The American Ways" for one of
our textbooks. In this term students chose (and enjoyed): "The 290" by Scott O'Dell,
"The Old Man and the Sea" by Hemingway, "Stuart Little" by E.B. White, "Our Mutual
Friend" by Dickens [Heinemann Guided Readers], and "Round the World in Eighty
Days" by Verne [Longman simplified, 2000 word vocab].
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Reading Task
Core Task = YA Novel
Center = ISU
Semester = Summer
Term = 1
Year = 2000
Instructor = Carolyn Mayo
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = The class read The Giver by Lois Lowry. We had weekly discussions and quizzes on the content.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Reading Task
Core Task = YA Novel
Center = ISU
Semester = Summer
Term = 2
Year = 2000
Instructor = Allyson Newport
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = For their YA novel, the class as a whole read Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. I divided the novel into sections so that they were responsible for 20-25 pages each week. On Fridays, we spent the first hour discussing the novel using the discussion list created by the e-mail discussion list. This was an excellent novel for discussion and was also perfect for their reading level. Midway through the term, we went to the Holocaust museum here and listened to a presentation by a Holocaust survivor. The students were fascinated by this and talked about it for days. I would definitely do this book again.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Reading Task
Core Task = YA Novel
Center = ISU
Semester = Fall
Term = 1
Year = 2000
Instructor = Allyson Newport
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = YA Novel Core Task This term my R/W 3 class read Having Our Say by the Delany sisters. It is a very long novel, so I divided the pages to be read 3 times a week instead of the usual once a week. ( On the 2 off days, we did more academic reading.) The novel is a wonderful source of vocabulary and historical information about the plight of African Americans through the years. Every week the students were given vocabulary words from the book and were tested at the end of the week. Also I tested them on their reading comprehension. The students enjoyed the book very much, and it lent itself well to discussion. In addition, it was a great resource for paraphrasing and summary writing. The only problem I had was that it was a little difficult for some of the weaker students, and it took them longer to read their assignments. However, it was good for them to have to work at the task, and I highly recommend it to anyone to use.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Reading Task
Core Task = novels
Center = CSM
Semester = Fall
Term = 1
Year = 2000
Instructor = Marcia Lane
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Novels: two novels were read by each student and book reports were written. Some students went to the Golden library to find YA novels but most of them chose ones which were available ILC. Examples: abridged versions of Oliver Twist, Wizard of Oz, and Captains Courageous, The Client and The Pelican Brief. Each student gave an oral book report after turning in the written book report.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Reading Task
Core Task = novel reading
Center = UNCG
Semester = Fall
Term = 1
Year = 2000
Instructor = Debra Johnson
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = The novel we used was a suspense story, "Silent Night" by Mary Higgins Clark. There was no negative feedback about the book, all enjoyed reading it. Each week students were asked to read about 24-30 pages of the novel. We used a variety of techniques to summarize the reading: written summaries, small group oral summaries, quizzes, etc. Students were asked to keep records of new vocabulary. Vocabulary was reviewed in small group student teaching and whole group student teaching with teacher contributions. The language used in the novel was an appropriate level and used typical conversational patterns. Although there were many idioms and phrasal verbs, students were able to understand the gist of the story.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Reading Task
Core Task = Reading Task
Center = ISU
Semester = Fall
Term = 2
Year = 2000
Instructor = Krystie Wills
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = RW 3 - Reading Task - Fall 2, 2000 - Krystie Wills
I have used Having Our Say by Sadie and Bessie Delaney for RW 3 four times now and really love it as a biography and as a reading book. I use it for developing the following skills: vocab/idiom development, guessing from context, comprehension questions, paraphrasing, outlining, taking notes, summarizing, group presentations of chapters, discussion topics, essay topics, email journal topics, cultural and historical enrichment and, of course, tests. Thus, the students work on these skills as they proceed through the book. Also in using the book, I made a timeline and put it on the wall showing all of the important events in Sadie and Bessie's lives, including the historical events. Almost all of the students like this book and enjoy working with it. They learn about American culture and also themselves as related to the history and problems in their own culture's history and society. They also get a lot of indirect advice from two grandmother role models related to working hard, being proud of one's accomplishments and succeeding in difficult situations. For student reactions, check out What we learned from Having Our Say. Anyone interested should contact me for more information and how to use this book, but begin by looking at some of the worksheets linked above. Planning note: With this book, I used a writing book called Great Essays. I did not use any other reading text.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Reading Task
Core Task = J Novel
Center = CSM
Semester = Fall
Term = 2
Year = 2000
Instructor = Johnson
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = The novel read was The Old Man and the Sea. The students were asked to complete reading journals, a reading response technique where the student writes selections from the text on one side of a piece of paper and responses, including new words, emotional reactions, or content comments on the other side. The paper is divided into two columns marked ‘text’ and ‘reactions’. Students were encouraged to respond in the way that they felt most comfortable; past reading journals have included drawings and poetry as well as more prosaic content. Some students refused to complete the reading journals while others did an excellent job. We also had two tests on content; students were asked to complete short answer questions covering both content and opinion, and were allowed to use an open book on at least one of the tests. During class, activities included a press conference where students pretended to be characters from the novel, reenactments of scenes using silent way rods, and discussions.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Reading Task
Core Task =
Center = ISU
Semester = Spring
Term = 1
Year = 2001
Instructor = Jane Blyth Warren
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Students used Building Understanding for a core reading text. It contains a variety of articles on different topics. I used it for discussion, writing ideas, summaries, and vocabulary building. It was an interesting book in that sense.
For extensive reading, students chose a J-level novel from the public library with help from me. They were required to make their own plan for reading the book to finish the book by the end of the term. The students emailed me summaries of their books each Wednesday, which I read and commented on and emailed back by Thursday evening. Then the students gave a summary of their book to the other students on Friday morning. The students lined up the desks into two rows and sat across from each other. They each had 2.5 minutes to summarize their book while the other student took notes. Then they would switch roles. After 5 minutes (each student in a pair had a turn) the students would rotate chairs so that they had another partner to speak with. This continued until all students had spoken to all the other students. It took no more than 50 minutes each week, and the students gave their summaries 9 times. I collected the summaries at the end of class to make sure that they were getting the main ideas. Overall, I think the students enjoyed choosing their own book and controlling how much they read each week. They also enjoyed writing the summaries. Both their written and oral summaries improved a great deal over the course of the term. Most of all they enjoyed telling their classmates about their books each week. In a sense, each student got to follow the story line of 10 books.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Reading Task
Core Task = Fried Green Tomatoes
Center = UNCG
Semester = Spring
Term = 1
Year = 2001
Instructor = Robin Wise
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = My RW3 class read Fried Green Tomatoes by Fannie Flagg. Initially it was very challenging to the students because of the constant jumps in setting from past to present and the overwhelming number of character names they were presented with. However, this became a good exercise in separating minor from major characters. Throughout the term, the students kept track of the major characters by examining their development throughout the novel. In working with the novel we did several different acitivities. Once a week I gave the students a handout with quotes that I had chosen from the novel. In each quote, I highlighted a word or phrase that could be defined through the context of the full quote. Students worked in small groups to define or explain the highlighted portions of the handout. This activity frustrated the students in the beginning because I wouldn't let them use their dictionaries. By the end of the term they were better at using clues in the context to understand meanings. I also gave them quizzes based on the handouts. We also worked on summarizing using chapters in the novel. Students frequently gave oral or written summaries in class. This helped the students compare what they understood with what their classmates understood. The summaries often served as conversation starters giving more structure to the discussions of the novel. Overall the novel was a success. If anyone is interested in the handouts I used with the novel, please feel free to email me.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Reading Task
Core Task = Novel
Center = ISU
Semester = Spring
Term = 2
Year = 2001
Instructor = Jane Blyth Warren
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = This term I allowed students to choose their own novel. They were required to submit weekly summaries to me via email attachment, which I corrected on the computer and returned to them via email. Later in the week, students gave oral summaries of their novels to their classmates. The written summaries were a good exercise and students appreciated the opportunity to write so many summaries. The oral summaries were not as successful, and I am not sure if I would recommend it. One reason is that many students had pronunciation problems that made it difficult for them to be understood. Another reason is that with 13 students, it took too much of the class time.
Course = RW
Level = 3<
Category = Reading Task
Core Task = YA Novel
Center = ISU
Semester = Summer
Term = 1
Year = 2001
Instructor = Allyson Newport
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = For the RW 3 novel, I used The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. At first I was not sure if it might not be too difficult because of the slang. However, it was actually a huge success. The students adapted quickly to the conversational tone of the novel and ended up really enjoying the story. It was a great resource for teaching use of context clues to learn vocabulary. In addition, there were so many different themes in the book that discussion was always lively and thoughtful. The students could relate to the feelings of the characters since they also feel like "outsiders" to some degree living in a culture not their own. I was also able to use the novel as a basis for e-mail journal topics. The students always had a great deal to say about these topics. We discussed the novel twice a week so that students did not have to read so many pages at once. I think this also kept them interested in the novel. I would highly recommend using this book. Additionally, ! I have many discussion questions to go along with the novel. Anyone may e-mail me if they would like copies.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Reading Task
Core Task = YA Novel
Center = VU
Semester = Summer
Term = Year = 2001
Instructor = Eric Stalions
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = The entire class read Wilson Rawls' novel, Where the Red Fern Grows. The students were required to read one chapter per day outside of class. They read an average of 10 pages each day. Then the students were required to email me a daily summary and review of each chapter; they had to summarize the plot, provide their personal opinion concerning the plot and/or characters, and identify and define five new vocabulary words for each chapter. I emailed the students periodically to comment on their email entries. In the beginning, some students failed to summarize concisely and/or without factual errors, include their opinion or vocabulary words, or proofread their entries. As a result, I would often send them guidelines for improvement to help them along. Most of the students followed my advice, and their entries improved. I also encouraged them to email me any questions they might have about the novel. Two or three students took this opportunity to complain that because the plot bored them, they should be given the opportunity to read a different book. I encouraged them to continue reading and summarizing, and they all completed the entries. Most students asked me to help them with their summarizing skills. I also emailed those students who were doing an exemplary job, so that they would continue to keep up the good work. Every Monday, I gave the class a brief quiz over the chapters they had read the previous week. Then I gave each student the reading schedule for the week; each reading schedule included instructions for writing the entries and due dates. After the students completed their last chapter summary, I gave them a comprehensive exam over the novel. Then the class watched the movie, Where the Red Fern Grows, which was produced in 1974, and starred James Whitmore, Beverly Garland, Jack Gin, and Lonny Chapman. I had the class write a review of the movie with respect to the novel. After I went over a movie review from USA Today, I provided an instruction sheet for writing a traditional movie review that pointed out the similarities and differences between the novel and its movie version. The following instructions provide a brief summary of the guidelines presented in the handout: identify the name of the movie, actors, and director; explain the basic premise of the movie without revealing too much of the plot or the ending; describe the differences and similarities between the book and its movie version; identify your favorite and least favorite character in the movie; give your opinion of the movie; and rate the movie. All of the students enjoyed writing the review.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Reading Task
Core Task = YA Novel
Center = ISU
Semester = Fall
Term = 1
Year = 2001
Instructor = Allyson Newport
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = The novel I used for RW 3 was Having Our Say which has been written about before. However, I did a few new activities with the book. For example, I made up questions based on the reading for that day and typed these on individual strips of paper. Then I typed the answers on other strips of paper. In class I mixed up the questions and answers and gave a set to each student. They then had to walk around and try to find the classmates who had the correct answers to their questions. It really worked well because they had to know what answer they were looking for and they had to speak to one another in the process. Another activity I assigned was for them (as a group) to find information on a historical figure mentioned in the book (JFK, Rosa Parks, MLK, Booker T. Washington). They then had to report to the class about that person and tell why they were significant to the Delany sisters. They seemed to enjoy doing this and found this a good way to learn abo! ut a part of American history. I wish that I had allowed more time for them to develop their research. Next time I would start earlier.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Reading Task
Core Task = YA Novel
Center = VU
Semester = Fall
Term = 2
Year = 2001
Instructor = E. Harbin
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = I first gave the students short descriptions of three young adult novels. The choices were The Giver by Lois Lowry, When Zachary Beaver Came to Town by Kimberly Willis Holt and Down River by Will Hobbs. The students chose Zachary Beaver (2001; 227 pages).
I introduced the novel by having the students examine the cover (which has a trailer on it and it is in black and white) and the title and then we tried to predict what the book might be about. We then read the back of the book together and tried to imagine what Toby, Zachary and Scarlett might be like. [ The blurb is: “This year is not going well for Toby Wilson. His 13-year-old heart has been broken twice: once by his mother, who left him and his father to become a country singer in Nashville, and then again by his crush Scarlett Stalling… But when Zachary Beaver, "The World's Fattest Boy," comes to Antler…Toby begins to realize that there might just be people who have it worse than him.”] Since the book takes place in a small town in Texas, I also brought in a map of the U.S. and we brainstormed about what we knew about Texas and in general about small towns in the U.S. This preparation really helped the students, especially those who had not voted for this choice of novels, to get excited and interested in the book.
I generally had the students read about 30-40 pages a week and usually spent one day a week talking about what we had read and reading portions aloud in class. We worked on this from weeks 3 through week 8. I usually tried to give the students some vocabulary and things to look for before each group of chapters, but sometimes we actually looked at the vocabulary and points after the reading was finished. The students said that they preferred to have questions to answer after they had already read the book, but I think that next time I will make sure they have at least a few questions to answer for each chapter. The students seemed to do much better with questions than with general points or concepts to look out for.
In the beginning, we worked a little bit on the dialogue as that was difficult for the students to follow and on the concept of a narrator. The students wrote summaries for each chapter and it was great practice for them in distinguishing between details and main ideas as there are a lot of secondary and fleeting characters in the book. Also, this author, Kimberly Willis Holt, uses similes a lot as well as metaphors. This corresponded nicely with our work in the writing text, Transitions, as it introduced both similes and metaphors when the students were writing more descriptive paragraphs. The similes were also clear enough for the students to understand with a little help and we often took time to examine the similes. We did write some similes of our own, but in the future I would have us work even more on our own similes and I also would try to have the students do story boards.
There are a couple of challenges to using Zachary Beaver. One is that the book includes a lot of cultural references. Most of them aren’t really necessary for the overall meaning of the book, but a lot of them really are significant. The book takes place in 1971 so many of the references are from that time in U.S. history including the Vietnam War. One of the characters’ brothers is serving in Vietnam and this character and responses and reactions to Vietnam and war are mentioned here and there, though, not in a manner that would really be offensive. One of the students in the class was Vietnamese and I was a little sensitive to this, but he didn’t seem to be offended by any of the comments in the book (or at least he didn’t mention it if he had been offended).
The other challenge is that the book centers around a baptism and understanding the significance of that for one of the characters. Various denominations, specifically Catholics and Baptists, are referred to and some of the characters’ religious beliefs or actions are involved in a small part of the plot. I was very sensitive about this issue as well and understanding the meaning of the book required that we talk some about baptisms. We had actually already talked a lot about baptisms and religion in general in the class as one of the chapters from American Ways that we cover in RW3 at our center deals with America’s religious heritage. None of my students objected to the novel on these grounds and it can be a good cultural point for discussion of small Southern towns (as the novel takes place in one), but it might be something about which to be aware.
Even though the main characters were all 13-15 year old boys, the women in the class seemed to prefer the novel over the men. Most of the men felt like the novel went too slowly and didn’t have enough action for them. I would try teaching it again as I felt that it was pretty much the appropriate level and length and because it could also be used for a lot of prompts for both discussions, paragraphs, journals, and essay writing. I also would recommend complementing the book with the book on tape. Because this book is relatively new, our public library did not have Zachary Beaver on tape, but it is available in its unabridged form.
Here are some websites that I found useful: http://suzyred.com/2001zachary.html (Little Red Schoolhouse), http://www.previewport.com/Home/holt.html(info about the author), http://kimberlyholt.com/ (author’s website including teacher's guides)
I also have handouts with vocabulary, idioms, cultural references, questions, and points to think about with the page numbers for the paper back edition. Please just let me know and I'd be more than happy to e-mail copies to anyone.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Reading Task
Core Task = YA Novel
Center = UNCG
Semester = Fall
Term = 2
Year = 2001 Instructor = Dean Daniel
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = The class novel was Pay It Forward by Catherine Ryan Hyde. Students seemed to enjoy it, and the level was appropriate for RW3. I set up a website (www.uncg.edu/~m_daniel/PayItForward.html) with links to interviews with the author (one an interview transcript and one a video of an interview that appeared on CBS The Early Show). The website also links to www.payitforward.com, which has ideas for class projects and a forum where people share their stories. And there is a link to the Random Acts of Kindness Homepage. It's interesting to compare the two ideas and discuss the benefits/disadvantages of each. The film "Pay It Forward" is based on the novel, but is very disappointing in comparison and quite a bit different from the novel.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Reading Task
Core Task = Where the Red Fern Grows
Center = CSM
Semester = Fall
Term = 2
Year = 2001
Instructor = Laurie Cribb
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = RW 3
Fall II, 2001
Books: Where the Red Fern Grows, ISBN 0-553-27429-5, 249 pages, $6.50 A Teaching Guide to Where the Red Fern Grows, ISBN 0931993776, $6.95 I found this book to be an excellent tool for language development for all ages. I used Where the Red Fern Grows with a mixed group from 5 countries, older adults and very young students. The book works very well at this level because all students could relate to the boy’s experience, the family’s values, and the many issues he faced. Some of the pertinent issues were: a) feeling out of place, condemned and uncomfortable in town culture b) competition and meanness of boys in the community c) lessons of loyalty and determination d) dealing with loss and grief The vocabulary was mostly appropriate to this level. All students were challenged at first by the 10-25 page chapters and the number of new words confronted. As the chapters rolled along, the students became so absorbed in the story and adventure and drama that they didn’t want to stop where I had intended. This helped them learn to skip unnecessary words and understand the gist of the passage. Journal entries revealed their comprehension and insight. I generally had them choose 5 key sentences that particularly struck them OR key sentences that told the main ideas of the chapter. This was a great way to hear and see what they had understood. The text lead into a lot of grammar work and provided good examples of advanced grammar. The tests I developed were often long answer and one composition was based on the book. Their first composition for the class was a narrative about a time they’d wanted something and how they determined to get it. There are many comparisons to be made for another composition as well. The book was a natural springboard and common experience from which much discussion and cultural observation came. On Fridays, I usually held a discussion group, dividing the class in half, providing discussion questions and a monitor, a scribe, and a timekeeper. These discussions generally took an hour and the bell cut them off. Please contact me if you would like me to email the tests and materials that I developed. I found the vocabulary used in the Teacher’s Guide was not as important as other key words in the text.
Attachments:
Vocab and Modals Test 2
Rfern RW3, Quiz 2
Rfern RW Final Test
Rfern In-class Comp
Course
= CS
Level = 1
Category = Reading Task
Core Task = Novel
Center
= CSM
Semester = Spring
Term = 1
Year = 2002
Instructor = Laurie
Cribb
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = I used a series of journal
questions, email research on marlins and cuba, quizes and tests to support the
book Old Man and the Sea throughout the term. I found that long answer and multiple
choice questions tested comprehension best. The journal questions enhanced the
student's experience of the book and made them read carefully, more deeply. The
Olympics interupted two weeks of work on the Old Man and the Sea, which provided
opportunities to read and summarize. I am submitting one Quiz and the final exam
and in-class essay related to the book. Please see the attachments below. Athough
the students occasionally complained about the book being simple and having no
action until half way through , all students evaluated it as a good learning tool
and some really enjoyed the story and Santiago, the main character. They said
the vocabulary was challenging at the beginning, but the words were used repeatedly
and it got easier.
Attachment 2
Attachment 3
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Reading Task
Core Task = YA novel
Center = ISU
Semester = Spring
Term = 2
Year = 2002
Instructor = Allyson Newport
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = For the RW 3 novel, I used HOLES by Louis Sachar. This book is labeled RL 4.5 but seems a little higher than that. Some of the sentence structures were simple, but most of them were medium to difficult. The vocabulary was appropriate for the level and introduced many new words to the students. What made the story interesting was that there were many subplots that came together at the end. In the beginning, the students found it hard to follow the story within a story, but eventually they caught on. There were many themes in the book (friendship, family relationships, racism) that made for good discussion. The students really enjoyed the book. I would use it again and highly recommend it.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Reading Task
Core Task = novel
Center = CSM
Semester = Spring
Term = 2
Year = 2002
Instructor = Marcia Lane
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Abridged version of The Hound of the Baskervilles (ILC has copies) To review novel: students were given the following scenes and told to find them in the book (pages given), read them, and prepare to act them out. The scenes were written on strips of paper, which the students drew. They chose partners before the drawing. To put students into the mood, hats were brought in to represent the characters...each time Sherlock Holmes was presented, the actor wore the same hat, etc. Scenes: 1. Holmes, Watson and Sir Henry on the moor when the hound was shot...and afterwards (still on the moor). 2. Holmes and Watson the night the hound was killed--before Sir Henry was on the moor. 3. Holmes, SWatson and Beryl in Stapleton's house and on the moor after the hound was killed. 4. Holmes, Watson, Sir Henry meet for the first time, in London. 5. Barrymore, Sir Henry, and Watson when Barrymore held the candle to the window. This worked very well because the students had to make up their own dialogue but conform to the story. They became the different characters because of the hats. I had six students in my class so it worked out that everyone did two scenes.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Reading Task
Core Task =
Center = UNCG
Semester = Spring
Term = 2
Year = 2002
Instructor = ron engel
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Core task report for RW3, Spring II, 2002 Ron Engel ILC UNCG This term we read The Summer of My German Soldier. Throughout the term the students read the book, created their own vocabulary lists, took quizzes, wrote summaries, had discussions, and wrote letters back and forth to each other. In these letters, the students pretended to be characters in the book. These characters were writing to other characters in the book. The purpose of these letters was not to merely summarize what happened. The idea was to give the students the chance to think about what motivated the book's characters to do what they did and to explain why they did it. The objective was to get the students to "read between the lines", analyze, and make inferences rather than just merely understand the surface story. A further benefit to this activity is that it tends to allow the student to understand and "feel" what the author is hoping that the reader will understand and "feel". After doing this activity, it is probably a good time to discuss what the author's purpose was in having particular people act a particular way. Finally, to reinforce all of the above, as a part of the final exam on the novel, the students were able to choose to be a character in the book. As part of an in-class assignment, from the point of view of the character that the students chose, the students were told to write an opinion/analysis of the main character in the book. That was all we did with that activity because we ran out of time at the end of the term. A great follow-up to that activity would be to have each of the students be that main character and write a reaction to what was said about her by any one of the other characters in the book. The students seemed to react well to these kinds of activities. I feel that they felt that these kinds of activities, although more difficult than a traditional quiz in the sense that what was required was more determined by the student rather than the teacher, were rewarding because it gave the students the opportunity to demonstrate an ability to analyze and to use their imaginations in English.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Reading Task
Core Task = Novel
Center = UNCG
Semester = Spring
Term = 1
Year = 2002
Instructor = Jillian Haeseler
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = January 2002 marked the celebration of Afro-American history and culture. Instead of a novel, we read "A Raisin in the Sun" by Lorraine Hansbury which was also being performed by the UNCG Greensboro drama department. Using a drama instead of a novel yielded interesting results. Students enjoyed taking differnt parts and acting them out in class. They loved seeing it performed. It was a particular success experience for them to be able to watch a play in English and unterstand it. They also enjoyed discussing the differences between the actual performance and their own expetations (e.g., their preconception of what a character looked like). While reading the drama, we also saw excerpts of the movie version "A Raisin in the Sun", in which the main character is played by Sidney Poiter. Watching a dramatized version while reading made the play more "real" to the students. This particular play also served as a springboard for their compare/contrast essay which dealt with the controversial word "nigger". Students read two opposing argumentative essays written by Afro-Americans aboat the use of that word. ILC students wrote a compare/contrast essay which compared both sides
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Reading Task
Core Task = JA novel
Center = ISU
Semester = Summer
Term = 2
Year = 2002
Instructor = Allyson Newport
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = This term we read ROLL OF THUNDER, HEAR MY CRY for our level 3 novel. At first I was concerned that it was going to be too difficult, but it ended up being an excellent choice. The students had to get used to the dialect, but so much of the dialectal phrases repeated that it wasn't a problem after the first 50 pages. The vocabulary was very level appropriate and made for good vocabulary quizzes. There were many themes to discuss including racism, land ownership, family relationships, etc. The book was set in depression era Mississippi, so the cultural information was plentiful. There was a lot of action as well in the book, so it held the students' attention. The book was rather long, but I divided into two discussions weekly, so the students weren't so overwhelmed with long reading assignments. In addition, this is a popular book for schools to use, so you can find many teacher help materials. All in all, the students really enjoyed the book, and I highly recommend it.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Reading Task
Core Task = YA Novel
Center = VU
Semester = Fall
Term = 1
Year = 2002
Instructor = Julie Dean Jones
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = My class read PAY IT FORWARD by Catharine Ryan Hyde. I think it would have been more suitable for RW 4. Although one of the characters is an eleven-year-old boy, it is not a Young Adult novel. Other teachers have used it successfully in RW 3, but it was too difficult for my students because of its length and the complexity of the language. Other than that, I liked the book and would highly recommend it for students with stronger reading skills. Most of the students enjoyed the story (although they had only a superficial understanding of it). It did inspire some good discussions and journal entries. The book is somewhat confusing because the story is told from various perspectives and not in chronological order. However, I spent some time going over this at the beginning, drawing time lines on the board and pointing out that each chapter is named for its main character, and I think the students were OK with that part of it. Relevant Web Sites:
http://payitforward.warnerbros.com/Pay_It_Forward/
http://www.payitforwardmovement.org/
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Reading Task
Core Task = Novel
Center = UNCG
Semester = Fall
Term = 2
Year = 2002
Instructor = Dean Daniel
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Students read the novel Raney by Clyde Edgerton and created their own Raney webpages. Each student made his/her own novel discussion page where he/she posted comments/questions about the novel. Classmates and students in the other section of RW3, who were also reading the novel, responded. Each student made a characters page, which included a list of main characters with descriptions. As we progressed through the novel the students added to/fleshed out their character descriptions. For the two main characters, Charles and Raney, each student made a comparison/contrast page listing points of similarity and difference. Each student also made some sort of Raney-related links page. For example, one student chose to do Southern Food, including foods mentioned in the novel. The class as a whole searched for websites with information about Clyde Edgerton, made questions based on the information, posted site links and questions, and invited students in the other section to participate in a Clyde Edgerton trivia contest.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Reading Task
Core Task = YA novel
Center = VU
Semester = Fall
Term = 2
Year = 2002
Instructor = Maria Lisak
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = I incorporated the vocabulary inventory and an outlining activity for a comparison essay into the core reading task of the YA novel. For the other tasks, I used materials from Great Essays (Ch 1 & 2) and American Ways (Ch 1-6). I have chosen to relate my lesson planning for the YA novel core task. I allowed the students to choose from three novels. Because they chose the novel, they were more committed to reading it as it interested them. Their choice was Harry Potter and the Socerer�s Stone. By starting in Week 3, the students read about three chapters each week.
Week 3: Identify characters and initial plot in first three chapters. Chapter summary presentations modeled by instructor. Group discussion about details and what they liked and didn�t like. Gave students a list of inventory vocabulary words. Modeled 10 questions about novel, utilizing inventory words (ex: Who cropped Harry�s hair?). Students answer questions. To answer questions on their own, students were encouraged to go to the corresponding page in the novel to figure out from context the answer to the question. After discussion about the best answer, we looked at the vocabulary word and discussed if they knew other meanings for that same word. Students kept a matrix with this information. It became a study guide for them for the novel. The first column in the matrix was the inventory vocabulary word. Second column was the derived question. Third column was the answer to the question. The forth column was for a synonym of the inventory word. Students were encouraged to make a fifth column devoted to �Other Meanings� Over the next five weeks, students were assigned about 5 vocab words each week and asked to make questions about the novel. These questions were then grist for �quizzes� in the group discussions. I entered the matrix into a spreadsheet, which I used to choose questions for quizzes and exams.
Week 4 Identify characters and plot in next two chapters. Chapter summary presentation modeled by instructor ( I used a story board of pictures to solicit student participation in retelling the action.) Group discussion about details. Worked on vocab/question matrix. Introduced foreshadowing by asking prediction questions.
Week 5 Identify characters and plot in next three chapters. Chapter summary presentation by students � group presentation. Group discussion about details. Worked on vocab/question matrix. Portions of Midterm Exam included: vocabulary fill-in-the-blank using matrix material and an in-class paragraph about their favorite scene in the novel.
Week 6 Identify characters and plot in next three chapters. Chapter summary presentation by students � individual presentation. Group discussion about details. Worked on vocab/question matrix. Students were directed to www.sparknotes.com to review summaries and analysis by other American students regarding the novel.
Week 7 Identify characters and plot in next three chapters. Group discussion about chapter summary and details. Worked on vocab/question matrix. Watch scenes from Harry Potter, the movie, that correspond with the chapters for next week. Students to prepare a comparison of what happened in the book to what happened in the movie.
Week 8 Identify characters and plot in next three chapters. Group discussion about details and chapter summary. Worked on vocab/question matrix. In class outlining activity for a comparison essay of the book and the movie. (An essay is not written; the outlining is done as an exercise only.)
Week 9 Final Exam: included questions and answers from matrix in multiple choice or T/F format. Used www.discoveryschool.com to create worksheets for format.
What was successful from my approach was that the students mastered the vocabulary inventory in a fun way. They were determined to make sure their questions were fun for the class to discuss. The student presentations were insightful for me. One presentation in particular used a summary from www.sparknotes.com to create a written quiz for the class to take after her presentation. The only thing I would add to this is a weekly story board created by the students to be posted on the room�s bulletin board. If you have any questions, please don�t hesitate to contact me at [email protected].
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Reading Task
Core Task = YA Novel
Center = ISU
Semester = Fall
Term = 2
Year = 2002
Instructor = Brian L. Gay
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = I'm choosing to write about the RW3 reading task because my experience with it was a little different from what I had expected. This was my first session teaching in the new ILC curriculum, so I read the task reports and asked my colleagues' advice, then chose Lois Lowry's The Giver for our extended reading project. My idea was that the students would read the novel for homework, we would have brief in-class discussions once or twice a week concerning the general plot and characters, and I would give them periodic quizzes to test their comprehension and keep them motivated. It soon became apparent, though, that both the vocabulary and the science-fiction element of the novel were very challenging for them (the quizzes were particularly resented) and I realized that we would have to spend more class time on this task than I had anticipated. The choice as I saw it was between treating the novel like the other discrete-point comprehension task texts we were already doing in class or treating it like the pleasurable leisure-time read it for fun activity that reading a novel usually is...so I chose the latter. We agreed that turns would be taken leading brief group discussions every third day or so, and if it was clear that everyone was keeping up with the reading we would dispense with the quizzes and just enjoy reading the novel for the story itself. Each Monday the students also put together a list of 15 new vocabulary words taken from the novel for our weekly Friday vocabulary quiz. All of this worked out very satisfactorily, I thought, and in the end the students themselves submitted the questions which when pooled became their final exam on The Giver. I think (I hope) the students still enjoy reading!
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Reading Task
Core Task = novel
Center = UNCG
Semester = Spring
Term = 1
Year = 2003
Instructor = Lynn Bergschneider
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = We read Lord of the Flies this term. At first the students were a little concerned about this being a story for children…until they killed one of the boys. Then they really got into the discussion of underlying themes and assumptions about human behavior and the effects of power. We talked about the levels of the book and the importance of reading for deeper meaning and recognizing what the author meant by certain symbols. Students wrote “letters home” from the boys’ points of view about what was going on and we also discussed how life on this island was the same or different from real life. Considering the current political situation, there was a lot of food for thought. By the end of the term, the students were doing a much better job of making connections between events and inferring characters’ motives and feelings (as evidenced in their weekly quizzes). Their journals also showed increased critical thinking skills.
course: RW
level: 3
category: Reading Task
core+task: YA Novel
center: UNCG
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2003
instructor: Ron Engel
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: Rw3 Spring II, 2003
With the assistance of the book Elements of Literature, Annotated Teacher’s Edition published by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, we read the The Pearl by John Steinbeck. By looking at how Steinbeck develops particular themes and what stylistic techniques he employs, it was possible to bring a better understanding of the story to the class. With the assistance of teacher’s guidebook, we worked on identifying where and, hopefully, understanding why Steinbeck employed various writing techniques. It is possible to identify where Steinbeck is foreshadowing, developing a character, introducing and later referring back to a recurring theme, employing symbols, intentionally developing suspense, etc. An entertaining way to get the students involved in doing some critical thinking about what to consider while they are reading, is to introduce a limited number of the stylistic elements that are to be considered. Before class, the teacher identifies specific passages that serve as examples of the writer’s use of a specific technique. The students’ task is: 1) to match the passage to the stylistic technique and 2) to explain how it is that the particular passage is an example of the technique and 3) to suggest why the writer used that technique in that particular circumstance. With the above as a model, a very similar subsequent activity can take place. From a different section of the text, students can find their own passages that reflect specific stylistic techniques. Then, steps 2 and 3 can be completed. Although this activity can easily be structured as a written activity, it is probably most done more effectively as a small group discussion activity. A purpose of this activity is to get the students to think about, assess, and react to English in English without concentrating on the more usual issues of simple comprehension. Hopefully, this kind of activity will help the student realize that it is possible, even at this level, to analyze literature and be an active participant in whatever they read.
course: RW
level: 3
category: Reading Task
core+task: YA Novel
center: VU
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2003
instructor: Elise Harbin
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: This term our RW 3, 4, and 5 classes read The Giver in order to participate in the “Valpo Reads a Book” community involvement project. [Please see Julie Jones’s RW5 cyber report for details about other activities connected to this project.] One challenge I often have when working with a novel is finding interesting and productive ways to get all of the students to self-initiate discussion about the readings. This term I tried a method that worked particularly well for my level 3 class, which had one extremely active student combined with other students who were very shy, very hesitant, or very unprepared. We planned opportunities to discuss the readings about every three to four days so the students were reading about five pages a day, which turned out to be about three-four chapters per assignment. At the beginning of the class, I would make a column on the board for each chapter that we had read for that assignment. Each student was then assigned a chapter for which s/he had to write a few things about the chapter in that column. (Some chapters then were assigned to more than one student and they generally collaborated on what to write.) As students finished with their chapters, they began working on the other assignment for that day’s class, which could have been novel related or not. Then throughout the class, students were allowed to add to the columns of other chapters. Usually, the students initially did a good job at capturing the main events and the additional information tended to be small details or questions the students had about that chapter. After everyone had enough time to think about the information on the board and the other assignment was completed, we began to discuss the info on the board. The student(s) in charge of the chapter had to start discussion by explaining his/her column and why he thought those points were important. The other students joined in by agreeing, disagreeing, elaborating, or asking questions. I found that this style worked well because each student, even the shy ones, already had something to add to the discussion because of the chapter assignment but the pressure was lower than it would have been if they had been asked to discuss the chapter independently. Also, by giving the students time to let the ideas percolate, the discussion tended to be more fruitful and more inclusive of all students. One thing I might do differently is that I would establish certain types of things, such as themes or narrative points, to comment on earlier in the term instead of being rather vague and asking for “important points or events”.
course: RW
level: 3
category: Reading Task
core+task: YA Novel
center: VU
semester: Summer
term: 2
year: 2003
instructor: Heather Irene Bush
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin is a murder mystery, complete with 16 main characters. At the beginning, even I was struggling to remember who was who, and so were my students! I decided to devise an assignment that would provide a visual prompt for class discussions and also make each student responsible for important details concerning 2 specific characters. In the novel, the 16 main characters are divided into 8 pairs, so I delegated a pair to each of my 7 students and kept one pair (the least significant to the outcome of the book) and the remaining minor characters for myself and the class to share. The first part of the assignment lasted for two weeks and required each student to keep an ongoing catalogue of information about their characters: Appearance, behavior, important quotes, page numbers, clues, and events were to be included. The second part of the assignment was for the students to create a poster based on the catalogued information and what they imagined their characters to look like. The students printed, cut out, and even drew pictures of their characters. We taped the eight posters horizontally above the chalkboard at the front of the room for everyone to see. The visual representations really helped the students remember who each character was, as well as his or her role in the book. The cataloguing aspect of the assignment also helped by focusing the students for reading at home. Fortunately, this transferred into the classroom. I noticed an upsurge of participation during discussions, particularly when a student felt he or she could contribute some interesting or exciting information about his or her characters that the other students had missed. The best part of the assignment, though, was seeing the visual representations of the characters�one of which was a fat, Korean dictator wearing sunglasses. Can you guess �hoo� he was?
course: RW
level: 3
category: Reading Task
core+task: YA Novel
center: VU
semester: Fall
term: 1
year: 2003
instructor: Heather I. Bush
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: In order to better understand the complex character traits of the characters in Ellen Raskin�s The Westing Game, I had my students write Bio-poems about the characters. The students had already written Bio-poems about themselves in class, so they were familiar with the format of the poem. After writing their poems, I had the students write their poems on the whiteboard, and we read them as a class. Then the students considered the descriptions of the characters and decided whether they agreed or disagreed with the poem�s analysis. It was an excellent way to incorporate creative writing practice with new vocabulary from the YA novel, reading comprehension, and analytical discussion. Here is the Bio-poem format: First and middle name (4 descriptive adjectives about yourself or the character being described) Father/Mother/Daughter/Son (choose one) of�_____________________ Who loves�(3 nouns) Who feels�(3 adjectives) Who needs�(3 nouns) Who gives�(3 nouns) Who fears�(3 nouns) Who would like to see�(3 nouns) Resident of ______________ Last name
course: RW
level: 3
category: Reading Task
core+task: Reading Response Project
center: VU
semester: Spring
term: 1
year: 2004
instructor: Elise Harbin
e-mail: [email protected]
Using ideas from another instructor, Heather Bush, I decided to try reading response projects again. Previously, I had asked students to respond to the novel we had been reading in whatever manner that they wanted. Without specific examples, students were very limited and most wrote traditional essays. Writing essays in response to the novel was fine, but I wanted students to try response projects that might better suit their individual talents and learning styles. When Heather taught The Westing Game, she asked students to prepare either a cd cover or a bookmark to represent themes and ideas from the novel. The students had a lot of fun with this assignment and many of the products were quite interesting and they reflected strong comprehension of the reading. Some students actually chose music they thought fit the themes of different chapters to put on their cds.
With Heather’s students’ projects as examples, I tried the reading response project assignment again this term. My students and I read Of Beetles and Angels by Mawi Asgedom. It was a very successful experience. When I assigned the reading response project, I told the students that their goal was to reflect on their understanding of and feelings about the novel and then to demonstrate that understanding of and reaction to the novel in whatever manner with which they were comfortable. The result was one essay talking about the characters and the student’s likes and dislikes about them, a bookmark in the shape of Ethiopia (Asgedom’s country of origin) with adjectives and themes from the book on one side and a list of characters on the other, an investigative report into the refugee situation in Ethiopia, Sudan, and Eritrea, and a poster with pictures from the book, maps, and flags that when lifted revealed interesting quotes, themes, or main ideas from the chapter that picture represented. The students found the projects interesting and worthwhile and I felt like they were good representations of the students’ understanding of and thoughts about the novel.
course: RW
level: 3
category: Reading Task
core+task: Novel: The Maze
center: ISU
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2004
instructor: Nadine Nicholson
e-mail: [email protected]
This term my RW3 class read the young adult novel The Maze, by Will Hobbs. It is of very suitable length and level of complexity as well of topical interest for students at this level. I chose the book due to its lack of international popularity (and thus less likelihood to have been translated into our students' native languages) plus its storyline about a teen boy facing adversity in his life and growing up. The novel also provided a good source of "content-based learning" as it taught the readers quite a bit of information about condors, release projects, life in a juvenile detention center, the American West, and about hanggliding, in addition to helping them practice their reading skills and vocabulary. This novel provided particularly good practice for students to learn to distinguish between important and non-important vocabulary words while maintaining overall comprehension.
course: RW
level: 3
category: Reading Task
core+task: YA Novel
center: VU
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2004
instructor: Julie Dean Jones
e-mail: [email protected]
Our novel this term was Of Beetles & Angels by Mawi Asgedom, which we have used several times here at VU and has consistently been a success for the RW3 YA novel. At the end of the term, I asked students to reflect on the novel and prepare a �project.� I used this NOVEL PROJECT handout as a guideline for them (and which could work with any novel). Students had several options, and we ended up with one poster, one diorama, one essay, and three bookmarks. The projects were presented in class and then displayed at our graduation ceremony. I used this NOVEL PROJECT RUBRIC to give feedback.
course: RW
level: 3
category: Reading Task
core+task: YA Novel
center: VU
semester: Fall
term: 1
year: 2004
instructor: E. Harbin
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: The students read Of Beetles and Angels by Mawi Asgedom. Instead of working in a very detail-oriented fashion, the students were given around 30 pages (about 2-3 chapters) to read each week. Students could ask questions about the text at any time, but we only dedicated Thursday�s class to discussion and analysis of the novel. This worked well because students had plenty of time to read and reread if they wanted. Also, students were very focused because they knew when they would be expected to share their thoughts and questions about the independent reading. The main focus on Thursday was getting students accustomed to using context in order to infer meaning and using quotations and examples from texts in order to support arguments and opinions. This focus during discussion paid off in the informal and formal writing students did in response to the novel. Students were in the habit of using examples and quotations from the text and citing the page numbers so when they wrote their writing was much more developed than when writing on other topics. Students also did reading response projects in which they synthesized and reflected upon the novel and their feelings about it. These projects were actually very successful. They included the following types: a calendar that highlighted certain themes, a bookmark to promote the novel, a promotional poster with thematic quotations, an essay commenting on the most successful concepts of the book, a collage that combined pictures with quotations they visually represented, and a cd compiled with songs that represented different chapters in the text. Students enjoyed this project and felt that it was an appropriate ending to our discussion and treatment of this novel.
course: RW
level: 3
category: Reading Task
core+task: YA Novel
center: VU
semester: Spring
term: 1
year: 2005
instructor: Elise Harbin
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: I want to comment on one strategy that I used this term in order to assist students in completing the reading task. The reading task in level 3 is a young adult novel; but unfortunately this term, several of my students were not at the appropriate level needed in order to be successful reading a young adult novel. Some of the students were becoming quite discouraged so in order to develop their skills further and in order to rebuild their confidence, we started in-class reading and free-writing for 20 minutes at the beginning of each class. I would give each student a short reading chosen for that individual so during one session maybe 3 or 4 different passages were being used. [I used Reader�s Advantage, which has 4 levels, as a resource.] The passages were specifically chosen to be easy, but not too easy, comprehensible input for each student. The students didn�t need to answer any questions. They were only asked to read and then to free-write in an in-class �j ournal�. They were not required to free-write on that reading, but they could use it as inspiration and most of them did. I suggested that the students spend about 10 minutes on reading and 10 minutes on writing, but they were allowed to use the 20 minutes as they needed. After the 20 minutes had passed, I asked if there were any questions and then I took up both the reading and the free-writing journal, which I later skimmed but did not give comments on. The whole purpose of the activity was to give all of the students access to comprehensible input every day and free-writing opportunities that exceeded what was already being assigned for the core tasks. The students really enjoyed this part of class and it became a habit that positively affected the free-writing and reading that they did outside of class. Many of the students became more comfortable with both assignments and more confident in their skills.
course: RW
level: 3
category: Reading Task
core+task: YA Novel
center: VU
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2005
instructor: Julie Dean Jones
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: My RW 3 students this term had especially weak reading skills, so the reading task was extremely important. We read two ESL readers in the first half of the term (Amistad and The Client), and then in the second half the students selected individual Young Adult novels. Amistad was a fairly easy book to read, and so it gave the students confidence as well as a quantity of comprehensible input. The students seemed interested in the story and we read it pretty quickly. Then we moved on to The Client, which was a little more challenging but still very accessible and gave us the opportunity to discuss effective reading strategies. By this time, the students were in the habit of reading 5-10 pages every night. Because everyone was reading the same book, we could discuss it in class and I could easily monitor their progress. Near the end of The Client, we went to our computer lab so the students could research and choose their YA novels. I gave the students a lis t of suggested titles and websites where they could find book summaries and reviews. We could have gone to the library or a bookstore to browse, but this fit in with a series of research assignments I was giving to help students prepare for RW 4 (for example, in another assignment they looked online for historical information about the real Amistad). The students selected the following YA novels: Heartbeat by Sharon Creech, Any Small Goodness by Tony Johnston, The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket, Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo, and The Giver by Lois Lowry. Because we had spent so much time on the readers, some of the students did not finish all of their YA novels, but I think they were better equipped and benefited more from what they did read.
course: RW
level: 3
category: Reading Task
core+task: novels
center: CSM
semester: Fall
term: 2
year: 2005
instructor: Marcia Lane
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: There were three levels in the class: 1, 2, 3. I combined the novel exercise for 1 and 2; they read Rainman. They did work sheets and discussions among themselves if I were busy with the other level. Level 3 read The Hound of the Baskervilles and did the same--worked together as a group if I were busy. When the novel ended, I gave the students some scenes from each book to act out. They enjoyed the opportunity to show that they understood the book, although the lower level people didn't show much imagination and just repeated what was in the book.
course: RW
level: 3
category: Reading Task
core+task: Novel
center: ISU
semester: Fall
term: 1
year: 2006
instructor: Carolyn Smith
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: For the novel, Holes, I gave my students vocabulary lists each week. I chose 15 words from the novel and gave them to the students each week. On the handout I put the page number next to the word and encouraged students to look at the page to figure out meaning of the vocabulary from the context. We would then take a quiz on the vocabulary to test their understanding. Ch 1-7, Ch 8-14, Ch 15-23, Ch 29-35, Ch 40-46
course: RW
level: 3
category: Reading Task
core+task: Novel
center: UNCG
semester: Fall
term: 2
year: 2006
instructor: Sedia Macha
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: During Fall II term, I used The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky as our RW 3 novel. I found it to be an excellent way to introduce students to many of the nuances and quirks of suburban culture and suburban high school culture in the United States. The novel was particularly great for this level because of its easy style and complex topics. It leads to rich and deep discussions. During one such discussion, I was inspired to go out into the hallway and find some American UNCG students who were willing to come and join our discussion. I was excited that the two women who joined our discussion were US citizens of different ethnic backgrounds and, especially, that one of them happened to have read the novel.
The students loved having them join us and took the opportunity to ask many, many questions about culture here in the states, the idioms and slang in the book, and (to my amusement) to verify some of the answers I had given them in previous classes. I strongly encourage you to use this book, but I must forewarn you to be prepared to discuss sex, drugs, homosexuality, discrimination, homophobia, love, respect, and friendship. A summary of the book from Amazon follows.
Amazon.com
What is most notable about this funny, touching, memorable first novel from Stephen Chbosky is the resounding accuracy with which the author captures the voice of a boy teetering on the brink of adulthood. Charlie is a freshman. And while's he's not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. He's a wallflower--shy and introspective, and intelligent beyond his years, if not very savvy in the social arts. We learn about Charlie through the letters he writes to someone of undisclosed name, age, and gender, a stylistic technique that adds to the heart-wrenching earnestness saturating this teen's story. Charlie encounters the same struggles that many kids face in high school--how to make friends, the intensity of a crush, family tensions, a first relationship, exploring sexuality, experimenting with drugs--but he must also deal with his best friend's recent suicide. Charlie's letters take on the intimate feel of a journal as he shares his da y-to-day thoughts and feelings:
I walk around the school hallways and look at the people. I look at the teachers and wonder why they're here. If they like their jobs. Or us. And I wonder how smart they were when they were fifteen. Not in a mean way. In a curious way. It's like looking at all the students and wondering who's had their heart broken that day, and how they are able to cope with having three quizzes and a book report due on top of that. Or wondering who did the heart breaking. And wondering why.
With the help of a teacher who recognizes his wisdom and intuition, and his two friends, seniors Samantha and Patrick, Charlie mostly manages to avoid the depression he feels creeping up like kudzu. When it all becomes too much, after a shocking realization about his beloved late Aunt Helen, Charlie retreats from reality for awhile. But he makes it back in due time, ready to face his sophomore year and all that it may bring. Charlie, sincerely searching for that feeling of "being infinite," is a kindred spirit to the generation that's been slapped with the label X. --Brangien Davis
course: RW
level: 3
category: Episodic Story Task
core+task: Having Our Say-The Delany Sisiter's First 100 Years
center: ISU
semester: Fall
term: 2
year: 2006
instructor: Catherine Montgrain
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: Taking chapters 11 and 12 of this novel, half the class formed a group and discussed chapter 11 together, writing down the main ideas and putting all these together into one big article to then write a summary about. The other half did the same thing but with chapter 12. Chapter 11 is about Sadie's experiences and chapter 12 about Bessie's. This took about 50 minutes. Students then came forward (1 from each group with change overs possible) and wrote these group chapter summaries up on the board, next to each other. Editing and amendments were made by the whole class (students) then suggestions for improvement by the teacher. The students then copied down both summaries. Once the final summaries were complete, a discussion followed on the main characters of the book, Sadie and Bessie, and their different personalities. This led to a discussion about how personality influences ones life. We then compared the two sisters and why their struggles with lif e were different. We therefore not only summarized but found ways to organize our ideas into compare and contrast paragraphs amd even essays. This discussion also led to more critical thinking and students were able to discuss larger themes such as race, color, religion, feminism, psychology etc. The whole project took the two hour class period but involved both reading and writing skills and was enjoyed by the class.
course: RW
level: 3
category: Reading Task
core+task: Out of class reading project
center: ISU
semester: Spring
term: 1
year: 2007
instructor: Catherine Montgrain
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: I have taught RW3 a few times here at the ISU center and always struggled with students (who have such a high work load in this RW3 class) who felt that they did not have time (or the willingness )to do much out of class, for pleasure reading. To try to make this project work, I used a little bribery and corruption, that is, I offered a prize and award at the end of the term for participating in this project. This award was the "Avid Reader Award" and would involve a gift for the student doing and logging in their for-pleasure reading. The class novel or academic articles in any of their books did not count. Each week the students who had done outside reading logged in to me how much they had read and what they were reading.To check that this was indeed true, I questioned them very briefly about what they had read. I did not ask for a report or summary as after discussion with them, I concluded that this would DISCOURAGE them from wanting to do the r eading. I think that this was the secret to the project's success. If it became a burden to do, students would not want to do it, but just reading and logging in the number of pages and titles, authors etc was easy. Half-way through the term, three students told me how much they had suddenly started liking to read (In English). This was often for the first tines in their lives. If they did not know what to read, I gave them book lists to choose from that are easily obtainable for their level. One student read three novels during the nine weeks and another admitted to reading into the middle of the night because he got "hooked " on his book. The results were quite surprising for me as I did not imagine that so many students would participate (two-thirds of the class did). I insisted each week on how much this would help them, not only in their reading comprehension, but also in their writing skills. Students were allowed to discuss and attest to this in cla ss. One of the students who started this kind of reading for the fisrt time, impoved his reading comprehension grade by 15%. He was repeating this class so we could test this. I encourage you all to try it. It is simple, easy to manage and works well. I am going to keep developing this more as I know many of you do or have already done this. It is not new. I just wanted to share with you how well it actually helps them do better in their classes.
course: RW
level: 3
category: Reading Task
core task: Black Stallion
center: CSM
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2007
instructor: Jennifer Lopushok
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: In my RW class this term, I gave my students a choice of five YA books, one of which they would have to read as their independent reading assignment. They chose "The Black Stallion," and I have to say that it went extremely well. Though the level of vocabulary is a bit high for this class, it was just high enough that they were able to really focus on the skill of guessing from context without becoming frustrated by poor comprehension. Also, it is a very exciting, action-packed story, so even students who normally have very low motivation to read reported to me that the book held their interest quite well. I definitely would not use the book with classes below the intermediate level, but for level 3, it was a very good fit.
course: RW
level: 3
category: Reading Task
core task: Having Our Say Final Activity
center: ISU
semester: Summer
year: 2007
instructor: ron engel
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: The novel that we used in rw3 this term was HAVING OUR SAY by Delaney, Delaney, and Hearth. We read the book over a period of 5 weeks. Each of the 1st 4 weeks, we had a test on content and vocabulary. On these tests, students were given the opportunity to show what they understood about the book. They answered general questions in summary form (see attachment).
course: RW
level: 3
category: Reading Task
core task: The House on Mango Street
center: UNCG
semester: Summer
term: 1
year: 2007
instructor: Stephanie Rummel
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: I had students read two books this term. One was "The Giver" and the other was "The House on Mango Street". We used Mango Street as a source of in-class discussion and also for a response journal. Students wrote essays in their journals after reading assigned chapters from the book. I then used some of the chapters from the book to discuss the realities and struggles of immigrant communities in the US and elsewhere. Students discussed their experiences, brainstormed advice they could give the characters, and talked about the situation in their own countries.
course: RW
level: 3
category: Reading Task
core task: YA Novel
center: CSM
semester: Summer
year: 2007
instructor: Jennifer Lopushok
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: This term, my R/W 3 class and I did the YA novel, "The Giver," and I must confess, I do not feel that it was a glowing success. Because this book is so popular with junior high and high school teachers, and has such an emphasis on developing critical thinking skills, I felt it would be worthwhile to try it. Though the plot held the students' interest fairly well, its concepts were a bit advanced for this reading level. The subtleties here were a bit too nuanced for the reading comprehension level of the average R/W 3 student, and I would not recommend using this novel at this level again.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Writing Task
Core Task = Paragraphs to Essays
Center = VU
Semester = Spring
Term
= 2
Year = 2000
Instructor = Paul Oliver
E-Mail = Paul.Oliver
Report Text = At VU we begin level 3 by reviewing paragraphs and then move to
essays later in the term. We use the book "Transitions" in both RW 3+4; the first
half of the book covers paragraphs and the second half covers essays. I go through
much of the first half of the book and adapt the latter part of this first half
to essay writing. I supply students with handouts of exercises on and examples
of the parts of the essay. At this time ILC at VU does not include research (for
the essays) at the RW 3 level. Rather, form, organization, and development are
stressed.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Writing Task
Core Task = Essays
Center = ISU
Semester = Summer
Term = 1
Year = 2000
Instructor = Carolyn Mayo
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Students wrote three formal essays for this class including comparison/contrast, cause/effect and argumentative. The text Great Essays and the normal processes were used. As an introduction to the essay, I used a technique which seems to work well. First, I have the students read an article about a topic that has two sides (in this case large vs. small families). Then they divide into groups of three or four based on the side of the issue they prefer. They write a thesis statement and brainstorm a list of advantages for their side. Then they cluster ideas that belong together and eliminate irrelevant ideas. At this point I check their lists to make sure they have logical groupings. After this preliminary work, each student writes a paragraph with a topic sentence about one main idea. I read their paragraphs and make suggestions. (They usually have trouble with development.) Then they rewrite their paragraphs. After this, they sit in a circle and read a! ll of the paragraphs in their group. Then we talk briefly about introductions and conclusions. As a group they write an introduction and a conclusion that fits their essay. By cutting and pasting, we put the whole essay together. This process takes several days, but I think it helps students see the difference between a single paragraph and an essay. It also helps them learn how to expand ideas by using examples, or other support. In addition to these four essays, the students wrote five summaries.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Writing Task
Core Task = Essays
Center = ISU
Semester = Summer
Term = 2
Year = 2000
Instructor = Allyson Newport
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = This term students wrote a comparison/contrast, cause/effect, and 3 argumentative essays. We used the book Great Essays which is a wonderful resource. It helps explain each section of the essay with many practice exercises. One activity which I did was divide the class into three groups and assign a particular topic to each group. They then had to write an argumentative essay together, and the group was graded as a whole. I did not give guidelines, so one group wrote each paragraph together. Another group divided the essay into parts, and each person took a paragraph. It seemed to work well enough although next time I might set firmer guidelines so that each person in the group is responsible for something.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Writing Task
Core Task = Essay writing
Center = ISU
Semester = Fall
Term = 1
Year = 2000
Instructor = Allyson Newport
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Essay Core Task This core task for R/W 3 was very similar to last term. Unfortuately, I was unable to get Great Essays, so I opted for Weaving It Together-4 which combines reading and essay writing. However, I was not pleased with the presentation of the essay material in this text, so I supplemented with my own information. There seemed to be quite a few editing errors in this book, and I would not recommend its use. One activity we did do was to write an argumentative essay together as a class. Since there were only 6 students, this worked well and allowed me to do more individual instruction. I felt they were then more prepared when they wrote one on their own.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Writing Task
Core Task = essays
Center = CSM
Semester = Fall
Term = 1
Year = 2000
Instructor = Marcia Lane
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Paragraph and essay writing: Much emphasis was placed on the organization of the 8-sentence paragraph and then the 3, 4 and 5 paragraph essay. Only two types of essays were taught: compare/contrast and cause/effect because so much time had to be spent on the paragraph. Much was also done with brainstorming and outlining. By the end of the class everyone could write a good albeit simplistic 5 paragraph essay. Some editing was done, first of a peer's paper and then one's own. This enabled students to find their errors. Considerable time was spent on different types of sentences and on run ons and fragments.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Writing Task
Core Task =
Center = UNCG
Semester = Fall
Term = 1
Year = 2000
Instructor = Debra Johnson
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Students wrote three drafts of two essays. Through peer evaluation students learned how to edit using editing symbols. As always, there were problems when students did not attend or did not have their essays ready or editing ready. But students really improved their writing. The final exam was a take home final about the book we read and I'm convinced that one student's essay was written by his more advanced cousin. My next final will be an in-class final.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Writing Task
Core Task = Essays
Center = ISU
Semester = Fall
Term = 2
Year = 2000
Instructor = Krystie Wills
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = I used Great Essays (0-395-90425-0), which is a really good essay-writing guide. It basically and clearly walked the student through the process of writing an essay and includes: brainstorming, outlining, the various parts of an essay - hook, thesis, body and conclusion - and also editing. Students wrote three types of essays: compare/contrast, cause/effect and argumentative. For each essay, they wrote one essay based on the prompts in the book, and one essay based on questions from our reading book, Having Our Say. (For example: What are the differences between Sadie and Bessie? In the early 20th century, whose personality was better for success as an African-American woman?) So in each unit, they had to apply what they had read about in their reading. Each essay was revised at least once, (some twice) and they had to focus on content, form and grammar/mechanics. The last essay assignment, based on Having Our Say (see entry for reading task, fall 2, 2000), required that the students include page references and at least one quote for the reading book. This should help to a small degree for RW 4 when they do the mini-research paper.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Writing Task
Core Task = Essay Writing
Center = CSM
Semester = Fall
Term = 2
Year = 2000
Instructor = Johnson
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Our writing task was essay writing. We worked on overall organization, including process techniques like mind mapping, outlining, reverse mind mapping, and reverse outlining. The process techniques used in class were part of the final essay, done in class. Students worked on developing effective hooks and thesis statements. We wrote three essays total, and students were asked to turn in both first drafts and final copies. Peer editing was a large part of the process, meant to foster self-correction and awareness. Students were given different color pens and most drafts were read at least once by classmates.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Writing Task
Core Task = Essays
Center = ISU
Semester =
Term = 2
Year = 2001
Instructor = Jane Blyth Warren
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = This term I used Great Essays again, but I tried a different method for having them write the essays. The first essay of any given type, comparison, cause/effect, and argumentative, was done the way we usually do it with a first, second, and third draft with revisions in between each draft. For the second essay of each type, I had the students brainstorm the topic in class and write an outline. The next day I would check their outlines in class and discuss it with them. Then the following day I would allow them to use their outline to write the essay in class. They were given the full two hours to write the essay. This method really worked well, and I found that the students used better grammar and vocabulary in their in-class writing than in their out-of-class essays. One reason might be that they did not have the opportunity to use a native-language-English dictionary to look up unknown words during the class time, so they had to rely on what they alread! y knew to write their essays. They result was that they explained their ideas in simpler terms with much more clarity. While I don't believe the second method should be the only way that students should write essays, I do think that it was an effective method for students to learn to write essays within a short span of time.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Writing Task
Core Task = Paragraphs to Essays
Center = VU
Semester = Summer
Term = Year = 2001
Instructor = Eric Stalions
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = The first half of the term was devoted to paragraph development, which is covered in the first six chapters in Transitions. Each chapter gives the students the opportunity to write one well-developed paragraph. Students easily came up with ideas for their assignments because the topics were expository; students drew upon their own personal experiences for content. The topics included the following: writing about a treasured possession, writing about a special place, writing about a favorite activity or hobby, writing about a custom, writing about choosing a field of study, and writing about a family or cultural value. For each assignment, the students were required to prewrite, draft, revise, and edit. First, they read a narrative about the topic which the text provides; this selection is designed to give the students ideas for their own paragraphs. Then we discussed the topic in the context of the narrative. Although these pieces were excellent examples, some of the students had difficulty with the selections' advanced vocabulary. Next, the students participated in at least two of the following prewriting activities for each topic: clustering, mapping, free-writing, brainstorming, and listing. I would often have the students share their ideas with one another, and I frequently wrote their ideas on the chalkboard. During the prewriting process, the students generated so many ideas that they sometimes struggled to limit their topic. During the drafting stage, I emphasized structure. I focused on the unity of the topic sentence and the supporting examples and illustrations. We also reviewed the example paragraphs in the text and discussed their structural strengths and weaknesses. On peer review days, the students would critique one another's paragraphs by completing the peer response sheets, which can be found in the Appendix of Transitions. After the students gave each other their critiques, I advised the students to look critically at the comments before revising. After the peer review workshops, I would conference with each of them during class to discuss the content and structure of their paragraph. During the peer editing workshops, students would help one another correct grammatical and mechanical errors. During this time, I would conference with each student again and point out their most common surface errors. I never edited their compositions for them. Instead, my goal was to help them develop strategies for self-correction. At least once a week, we went as a class to one of the computer labs on campus, and they typed their paragraphs. I took this opportunity to help students become accustomed to using the campus computers and word processor, Word. I spent a lot of time showing them how to format their text and how to utilize Word's spell and grammar check features. The students usually turned in the final draft of their paragraphs at the lab. After completing the first six chapters in Transitions, I had the students write 5-paragraph essays. They still followed the following four writing stages: prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing. For the first essay, they wrote about a poignant learning event that significantly changed their lives. I gave each of the students a writing prompt which included a detailed explanation of the topic and questions that they might consider in their essays. After prewriting, the students selected a learning experience to write about. Then I focused on the structure of the 5-paragraph essay. I went over "Writing an Effective Thesis," which was written by Edric Thompson, a former graduate student at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and the section "Essay Defined," from the text, Paragraphs and Essays. I also went over the "Basic Tips for ESL Students: Writing for an American Academic Audience," a handout created by The Purdue University Writing Lab; this resource can be found at
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Writing Task
Core Task = The Biographical Essay
Center = UNCG
Semester = Fall
Term = 2
Year = 2001
Instructor = Haeseler
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = The biography as a writing mode serves as an excellent tool for students to make that jump from paragraph to essay. Further, it serves as their first introduction to paraphrasing and synthesizing information from secondary sources. In my RW3 class, we first read sample biographical essays (e.g. Mickey Mantle in Northstar Advanced, Reading and Writing). We talked about how they were structured (chronologically) and what content the author chose to include in the biography. I then divided the class into groups of four. Each group chose a person they wanted to write a biography of (my students chose Gandhi and Princess Diana). Each group member then looked for an article about these people, selected one and made a photocopy of it for everyone in their group and the teacher. In groups, they discussed the important events of this person's life which should be included in the autobiographical essay. They then wrote their outline (some presented theirs to the class which we all discussed and critiqued). We then went step by step (introduction, body, conclusion) and talked a lot about transitions. They were also instructed about plagiarism as they practiced paraphrasing and summarizing. This was a useful, and yet challenging task for RW3 students. The task took around 4 weeks.We also read an autobiographical novel. I chose "Born on the 4th of July" by Ron Kovic (filmed later by Oliver Stone with Tom Cruise)which served our needs perfectly. The students enjoyed the autobiography since it was not too difficult linguistically and also because it contained very current themes. As a supplement, we visited the Vietnam Vet Center in Greensboro and had a highly interesting visit with one of the counselors there. The Japanese and Korean students were especially fascinated for obvious political, historical reasons.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Writing Task
Core Task = Cause/Effect Essay
Center = ISU
Semester = Spring
Term = 1
Year = 2002
Instructor = Carolyn Mayo
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = RW3 Writing Task To introduce the Cause/Effect essay I prepared some strips of paper with a cause written on one and a corresponding effect written on another. For example, "a variety of viruses" was on one strip and "catching a cold" was on another. I prepared more than enough for the number of students in the class. Then I distributed the strips to the students, leaving the extra ones on my desk. The students had to find the person in the room who had the strip that logically fit with theirs (or find one on the desk) and write the complete cause/effect on the board. The purpose was to be sure they understood the difference between causes and effects. The next step was to read an article with cause/effect organization and answer comprehension questions. Another exercise involved distinguishing between cause/effect and time relationships. Then we discussed three patterns of cause/effect organization. With partners, the students practiced writing three causes for one effect, three effects for one cause, and finding a cause/effect chain in an essay about the balance of nature. They also wrote a summary of an article about the effects of aerobic exercise. I tried to emphasize that determining the pattern of organization in an article can help in choosing the main points for a summary. Next we discussed cause/effect transition words and did a fill-in-the-blank exercise using those transitions. Finally we were ready to brainstorm topics for their own essays, which we did as a group, writing the suggestions on the board. They each chose a topic and brought an outline to class the next day. After I checked their outlines, they wrote their essays in class. The usual steps of editing and revising followed.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Writing Task
Core Task = Argumentative Essay
Center = ISU
Semester = Spring
Term = 1
Year = 2002
Instructor = Carolyn Mayo E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = RW3 Writing Task - Argumentative Essay To begin the argumentative essay, we discussed the kinds of topics that are suitable and not suitable. We then did an exercise that involved recognizing argumentative thesis statements versus statements of fact and statements of preference. We discussed the necessity of taking a stand and the importance of understanding the opposition. With partners the students chose a topic and developed a list of arguments both pro and con. The next step was to identify different kinds of support, such as facts, examples, opinions of experts, and logic. We read several paragraphs together, picking out the main points and the support. As homework, students read an editorial and identified the thesis, the arguments, different types of support, purpose of the introduction and purpose of the conclusion. Then we discussed the meaning of refutation and read several examples. Students were given an argumentative paragraph to read after which they wrote a refutation in class with a partner. Next we discussed different patterns of organization in an argumentative essay. Again students practiced analyzing an essay and distinguishing arguments that supported the author's thesis versus refutation paragraphs. Finally, we reviewed transition words. I gave the students 15 common transition words and asked them to write correct sentences using those words. After asking them to brainstorm and choose their topics, I had them write an outline and an introduction in class. I checked their outlines and conferred with each student individually about any problems. The next day they wrote their essays.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Writing Task
Core Task = Essay
Center = ISU
Semester = Spring
Term = 2
Year = 2002
Instructor = Allyson Newport
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = As a lead-in to the argumentative essay, I divided the class into two teams and gave them the topic "Immigrants to the U.S. should be required to learn English." I assigned a pro side and a con side. Each team took some time to talk about their ideas, and then the students had an informal debate. After the debate, the students worked in their groups again and made an outline of the main pro and con points given. Then we put them on the board and used this information as brainstorming for an argumentative essay. They then wrote a six-paragraph essay on this same topic. This seemed to be a helpful exercise since it allowed the students to verbalize their thoughts first before putting them in written form. It also gave them a chance to bounce ideas off of each other.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Writing Task
Core Task = summary writing/paraphrasing
Center = UNCG
Semester = Spring
Term = 2
Year = 2002
Instructor = Lynn Bergschneider
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = In addition to the essay writing we focus on at this level, I have begun to work on paraphrasing and summarizing. I decided to dedicate more time to these skills because of a discussion we had at a teachers' meeting in January. Paraphrasing is probably one of the most difficult things for non-native speakers to do (not to mention native speakers). We thought that practicing some of the strategies earlier would give students more time to build the skills they need for research writing in level four. At the beginning of the term I choose an article that is relatively easy for students to get the general idea of but which has some difficult vocabulary. After reading and discussing the article, I give them a sheet with one original sentence from the text and two different paraphrases I've done myself. They work with a partner (or in groups) to see how I changed the wording but not the meaning. I elicit a list of changes the see (i.e. using synonyms, changing subject/focus of sentence, changing the order of information presented, etc.). These are strategies they can use when they must paraphrase something. On the bottom of this worksheet are two or three more sentences taken directly from the text. (I choose sentences I am pretty sure they understand and which can be explained with the vocabulary they have - usually main idea sentences). They work with a partner to change the sentences into their own words using the strategies we discussed. The students put their sentences up on the board and we compare and discuss different versions. We look to make sure they haven't changed the idea/meaning of the original and discuss which strategies they used to change the wording and how successful they were. While some students may already do this without thinking, I believe it helps some students "see" what we mean by paraphrasing. This is especially true for students from Korea, Japan, and other places where writing systems/styles are so very different. We practice this paraphrasing periodically throughout the term, and I have students summarize articles and give individual feedback...or do peer reviews. I think it has helped students gain confidence and, therefore, improve their skills in this area.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Writing Task
Core Task = Essays
Center = VU
Semester = Spring
Term = 1
Year = 2003
Instructor = Maria Lisak
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = The text Great Essays, chapters 1-3, were covered in class. The students prepared 4 essays. The first essay was generated from ideas from chapter 1. Chapter 2 covered narrative essays. Students enjoyed the options at the end of the chapter to generate the topic of their essay. Chapter 3 introduced comparison essays. For the comparison essays, students wrote 1 paragraph, and then 2 essays. Chapter 1 introduced 7 steps to writing an essay. Class time was spent building an organizational foundation that was built on in Ch2 & 3. For chapter two and three essays, the following layout worked well for the students. They didn't feel so much pressure to produce outside of the classroom. Day 1 of Essay: Choose topic and brainstorm first by themselves then with the rest of the group. Day 2 was spent outlining and starting their first draft. Informal, oral peer revision of outlines were shared. Day 3 was spent in the computer lab where students could type up their first draft. Day 4 was used for formal written peer revision using materials from text. After written revisions were completed students and teacher met to ask any questions generated by the peer review. Students then had one week to write a revision based on the peer response they received. Further revisions were encouraged; the students were encouraged to take the lead on making revisions. Reminders and questions about the essay were given as the term continued, but deadlines were not set for them to hand in further revisions. The student was given more feedback on any further drafts that were handed in regarding future improvements. At the end of the term, students chose 3 writing samples to include in their student porfolio.
Course = RW
Level = 3
Category = Writing Task
Core Task = Argumentation Timing
Center = CSM
Semester = Spring
Term = 1
Year = 2003
Instructor = Laurie Cribb
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Core Task Report: RW 3 This term, I timed the argumentative essay, reading and discussion with the Level 4 Debate which gave the Level 3 students a foundation for observing and judging the debate. This worked so well that Level 3 was able to take notes, critiques the arguments, follow the debate, and justify their vote for the winning team. It was quite a remarkable difference from the previous term when the Level 3 students were unprepared and unfamiliar with debate. It also helped them to see the importance of a counter argument and refutation, citing authorities, etc. I highly recommend that RW3 collaborate with CS4 on the timing of the core tasks. Because I had taught both courses, I wanted to try this. The result was quite effective.
course: RW
level: 3
category: Writing Task
core+task: 5 Paragraph Essays
center: CSM
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2003
instructor: Saussotte
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: Essays Combined into a Book: I think this would work well for any student in any writing level. In my case, I had two Level 3 students in this combined class that were both returning to their countries at the end of the term. Neither planned to attend an American university, and their motivation to increase their reading and writing skills was relatively low. When I suggested that they could write a series of essays on their experiences in the U.S., combine them into a book that they could keep as a souvenir of their stay and to show their friends and families back home, they responded enthusiastically. One student especially maintained his enthusiasm throughout the term and produced a beautiful little book including color photos. They both did comparison essays (of their culture and the U.S.), opinion essays, narrative essays (their first day of school or At the Airport). They wrote about eight essays each, with two or three drafts each. Cause/effect and procedure essays could also be incorporated. To produce the book, they cut 8-1/2 x 11" paper in half crosswise to make an 8-1/2 x 5-1/2" book. They used heavy card stock for the cover and back, and brass brads for binding. It was really something we all felt proud of.
course: RW
level: 3
category: Writing Task
core+task: essays
center: CSM
semester: Fall
term: 1
year: 2004
instructor: Marcia Lane
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: Levels 3 and 4 were combined in this term. While the level 4 students (2) were working on their reports/research papers the level 3's did essays. I found that they were very poor at following directions, so I began to include more specific directions and then make following the directions part of their grade. For instance, I wrote "Turn in your brainstorming and outline as part of your grade." The first couple of times students got caught by not turning these in and lost 20% of their grade. This is an essential skill to develop for academic students, and they did improve.
course: RW
level: 3
category: Writing Task
core+task: Essays
center: VU
semester: Fall
term: 2
year: 2004
instructor: Elise Harbin
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: Although we usually discuss free writing as a way of getting ideas, I generally have not used it actively or routinely in class. I have relied on students building fluency through the journal tasks. This term my students were not very invested in the journal task so the majority of the students were not gaining much fluency or language development while writing journal entries. For this reason, I tried doing free writing in a somewhat structured manner during class time and it was rather successful. We had already talked about free writing as a pre-writing technique, but not many of the students used this technique. In the second half of the term, I began almost every week devoting time to free writing as a class and during class time. We did it just like free writing is described. I told the students to write on a topic that was either connected to the reading or the current or future writing assignment. I then told the students they had 10 minutes to write and that they could not stop or put their pencils down. The students really followed the directions and for the most part did not pay attention to spelling or grammar. What happened was that the students who had been struggling with essay writing really were able to write a lot during free writing and they surprised themselves. Many of the students were able to write an amount that was fairly intelligible and logical that was equal to the amount they wrote after weeks of process writing. This was a real boost to students� confidence and the following essay assignments included much better paragraph development. I was quite surprised at the success of this quick, moderately structured activity, but I plan on using it more regularly in the future.
course: RW
level: 3
category: Writing Task
core+task: Argumentative Essay
center: ISU
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2005
instructor: Carolyn Mayo
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: To teach the argumentative essay this term, I used a combination of activities from Great Essays, Refining Composition Skills, Weaving It Together 4, and my own materials. The entire process took about one week. The first step was to introduce the purpose of the argumentative essay (persuasion), and to talk about who the audience is, and what kinds of topics are suitable. Next the students read an example of this rhetorical style, and answered questions about it (Great Essays). Third, they looked at some sample thesis statements and tried to determine whether they were argumentative or not (Refining Comp. Skills). For homework, I gave them several topics for which they had to develop both a pro and a con thesis statement (Great Essays). The next day, I divided the class into pairs or triads and assigned each group a topic. They had to brainstorm at least 3 arguments for and 3 against their issue (Refining Comp. Skills). The purpose of this exercise was to force them to think about the opposition, not just the side they believed in. We also discussed the fact that you must consider your opponents� views in order to convince them to change their minds. Then we discussed different types of support (examples, facts, statistics, experts� opinions, and logic) and looked at examples of them (Refining Comp. Skills). I used an editorial from the newspaper to have students identify the thesis, main arguments, and types of support as an assignment. Because it is new, the concepts of counterargument and refutation are generally difficult for the students. Therefore, we read an example of a counterargument and refutation from Refining Comp. Skills and then practiced writing one (in pairs) based on a paragraph in Weaving It Together 4. After this preparation, the students were ready to brainstorm, outline and write their own argumentative essay.
course: RW
level: 3
category: Writing Task
core+task: paragraph writing
center: CSM
semester: Summer
term: 1
year: 2005
instructor: Marcia Lane
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: In the summer it is easy to be out and about, so I had the students visit an art gallery within two blocks of our center. There they had to view a piece of art, write a descriptive paragraph about it, and share it with the others who in turn had to identify it.
course: RW
level: 3
category: Writing Task
core+task: auction
center: CSM
semester: Spring
term: 1
year: 2006
instructor: Marcia Lane
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: AUCTION: Need: pennies, OHP transparency with student errors on it, OHP. Preparation: Using students'papers, make a list of 14 or 15 sentences which have errors. Make a hard copy and an OHP copy; cut the hard copy into strips with one of the sentences per strip. Explain how an auction works. Then explain that the students will be working in pairs (or individually--your choice: I like pairs). Hand out pennies--20-25 per team works best. They will bid on the right to correct a sentence BEFORE they see the sentence. The winning bid gets to make the correction (be sure to take the pennies from them); if they are correct, they get the hardcopy strip of paper with that sentence on it. If they lose, the others teams get a chance to bid--and now they have seen the sentence. The original team does not get a second chance. Strategy: Don't use all your money in the beginning; save some for those second chances when you can more easily win a strip for less money and because you have seen the sentence. Winner: team with most strips. This is a great way to get the students interested in looking for errors. Any time there is competition, the students are heavily involved. Sometimes I have a piece of candy for a prize but that isn't necessary.
course: RW
level: 3
category: Writing Task
core+task:
center: ISU
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2006
instructor: Allyson Newport
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: In RW 3, the students were introduced to paraphrasing, and they did a lot of practice with it throughout the term. There was one particularly useful activity I used to give the students some practice. First, I divided the students into groups of two. Then I gave each group a sentence. They worked together to come up with the paraphrase and then put it on the board. After each group had written theirs on the board, we checked them together. I then assigned points. They could receive 1 point for grammar, 1 point for content, and 1 point for not plagiarizing. Obviously, the team with the most points at the end won. We did several rounds. This was an effective way to do paraphrasing, and it was more interesting since it was in a game format.
course: RW
level: 3
category: Writing Task
core+task: Summarizing/Editing
center: VU
semester: Summer
term: 1
year: 2006
instructor: Jami L. Carlson
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: As part of the weekly reading and writing assignments, the class read articles from the News For You student newspaper. We began by reading one article together and either read one entire article together followed by some comprehension questions asked by me (and the students) or practiced "scanning" the article looking for the main ideas. Next, the students worked with a partner and chose one other article from the newspaper to read and write a summary on an overhead transparency sheet. We put the summaries on the overhead projector and they read them and the class helped edit and look for any errors as well as pointed out what was done well in the summary. Part of this idea was given to me by the director of Interlink at VU, Becky Shelton. The students enjoyed this activity.
course: RW
level: 3
center: CSM
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2006
instructor: Diane Witters
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: I created the attached criteria for an R/W Level 3 course to help students and the teacher provide feedback on essays throughout the writing process. These questions can be used as students critique their own and their peers' essays. They were also helpful as I conferenced individually with students about their writing in general. diane witters CSM campus
course: RW level: 3
center: CSM
semester: Summer
year: 2006
instructor: Suzanna Gould
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: This past summer session I created a Yahoo! Group for my RW 3 class. It was very easy to do and allowed me to share information on writing various types of essays with my students, provide my students links to online writing labs and specific grammar topics, and communicate with my students outside of class. My students could also add information and put assignments on the group site. If you are interested in setting up a group, just go to Yahoo.com and click on the Groups link. The instructions are easy to follow, and once you have established your group, you can invite all your students to join. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at [email protected].
course: RW level: 3
center: CSM
semester: Fall
term: 1
year: 2006
instructor: diane witters
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: A writing project: emails asking for advice The Ss took turns throughout the term thinking about a problem that they would present to their classmates by email. Once a week, a student would write, in letter format, either a hypothetical or real life situation and ask for advice. Then the rest of the class would respond with ideas to remedy the problem. The responders would have to send a copy of their email to me and the student asking for advice. Of course, we could have all of the emails going out to all of the Ss, but sometimes I felt like this was a lot for Ss to read at once. I started the project with my own situation to give Ss an example. We would often have a separate focus each week related to either content or mechanics (for ex: appropriate letter writing format, the development of ideas, the helpfulness of the suggestions, correct verb tenses, clarity, or using complete sentences) Later in the week, I would make a copy of a few of the emails onto an overhead projector. I would have pairs discuss and improve the emails and then a volunteer would make changes / corrections for the whole group as we projected the copy onto a white board. Occasionally I would assign the editing of an email as homework and Ss would need to come prepared to defend / discuss their changes with a partner the next day. Because Ss knew that their emails would be viewed by classmates, they generally did a decent job with them. The types of problems were usually very interesting situations that many students could relate to. There were letters that dealt with fear of dogs, improving time management and study skills, friends who lie, roommates who oversleep, host family food, how to quit smoking, etc. Often the students would want to discuss and expand on their advice through discussions in class.
Course: RW
Level: 3
Center: CSM
Semester: Fall Term 2 2006-12-16
Instructor: James Clanton
[email protected]
Description: This is a listening activity. Its purpose is to give learners practice in giving directions and descriptions and listening to and recording directions and descriptions. On an A-4 sheet draw out a number of boxes, circles, squares, triangle etc. Place one learner in a location in the classroom where they cannot be observed. This could be behind a mobile whiteboard or at the back of the class. Tell the other learners they have to listen to the speaker and copy down on a sheet of paper what the speaker is describing to them. They cannot ask questions. Give the speaker the A-4 sheet with the design and have them begin to describe the designs and their relationships to each other to the class. Have the speaker facing in an opposite direction from their listeners. Monitor this activity and let the speaker continue for several minutes. If the speaker is having trouble ask a second student to join them and assist with their description. After 5-10 minutes allow the listeners to ask questions of the speaker. When they have finished compare their drawings with the original the speaker was using. This will be a good opportunity to introduce simple directions such as top, bottom, left, right, as well as locations next to, beside, on top of, touching, etc. Also monitor the speaker to see if they considered their listeners. If they have they should realize that their left was the listeners right when they were giving their directions and descriptions. This exercise can be used throughout a term to exercise student listening/speaking skills. More complex drawings and maps can be used. Student(s) can also listen and draw their sketches on the white board.
course: RW
level: 3
center: ISU
semester: Spring
term: 1
year: 2007
instructor: Allyson Newport
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: Here is a copy of the essay grade sheet that I have been using for a while. It is not a detailed rubrick, but it has proven useful for me. It shows students the basic information I am looking for when I grade their essays. I have used a more specific rubrick, but I found that it was too overwhelming for the students. This one has worked better for my classes.
course: RW
level: 3
center: CSM
semester: Spring
term: 1
year: 2007
instructor: McGinnis
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: Here is a 20 question Internet Treasure Hunt for the CSM web site. Students have to search and navigate the web site to get the answers. It may need to be checked to see if it is still accurate. Having students (especially new students) complete this or something similar in groups or individually can help them become acquainted with various aspects of their particular university as well as how to find information on a web site. Using this as a guide they can also create their own questions to be answered by other students. It could be about the university or anything else. And if the students prepare the questions themselves it should be level appropriate.
course: RW
level: 3
center: VU
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2007
instructor: Kate
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: I like to use materials that involve current events, so I made up this reading assessment that's about the 17-year cicadas, soon to arrive in this part of the country.
Seventeen-Year Cicadas
They will crawl out from underground, where they have been hiding in the darkness for 17 years. They will invade the midwestern United States, including the Chicago area. They will fill the forests and the skies. Thousands of them will cry out together day and night. They are Brood XIII. Should you be frightened? Should you try to prepare yourself? Not really. The only preparation you may need to greet the cicadas of Brood XIII is a pair of earplugs, because the worst they can do is keep you up at night. The average cicada is about the size of a shrimp. They are bad flyers, and they often run into things, if they can get off the ground at all. Cicadas have four wings and three pairs of legs. They aren�t good jumpers either. They have two red eyes, one on each side of their head and three tiny eyes on the top of their head. The cicada's mouth has four needle-like stylets used for feeding. Cicadas feed by piercing little holes in the plants with their stylets. They use them like a straw to suck up the sap from plants. The cicada is famous for its singing. The high-pitched song is actually a mating call sung by males to attract females. Cicadas are the only insects capable of producing such a unique and loud sound. Some larger species can produce a call in excess of 120 decibels. That is loud enough to hurt human ears. Smaller species sing in such a high pitch that it cannot be heard by humans, but may cause dogs and other animals to howl in pain. Cicadas usually sing during the heat of the day. In addition to attracting a mate, the loud noise actually repels birds. The cicada's song is painful to the birds' ears and interferes with their communication, making it difficult for the birds to hunt in groups. This keeps the birds from eating the cicadas. After the cicadas mate, the adult female cicada lays eggs. She pierces a hole in plants and then lays her eggs inside. When the eggs hatch, the young cicadas, known as nymphs, have no wings. The nymphs fall from the plants and then dig a hole and go underground. Here they stay for 17 years, slowly growing into adults. The nymphs live on the sap from plant roots while they grow. They shed their skin several different times throughout the 17-years. When the nymphs reach full size, they dig their way to the surface with specially adapted front legs that act as tiny shovels. They surface in late spring or early summer. The nymphs climb up trees and other plants and shed their skin for the last time. The nymphs are now full-sized adults with wings. A group of cicadas is called a brood. The brood that will hatch this year is called Brood XIII (13). Scientists don�t know the exact number of cicada broods, but they believe that there are at least 13 broods of 17-year cicadas, plus another five broods that emerge every 13 years. Do They Bite? Even though cicadas may fall on you or bump into you, you don't have to worry. Cicadas are harmless. They don't bite or sting in any way. The worst they will do is annoy you with their constant singing.
The life span of an adult cicada is short. As mysteriously as they arrive, they will disappear. Most will be eaten by birds and other predators. Even the nymphs are not safe below the ground, as they are often eaten by things in the ground.
If you live to be 75 years old, you will only have about four opportunities in your life to hear the song of the Brood XIII cicadas. If you live in an infested area, you won't be able to miss it. But if you don't, it might be worth your time to go out of your way to hear one of nature's most powerful performers.
Why will cicadas keep you awake at night?
How do cicadas protect themselves from birds?
How do cicadas eat?
Why do cicadas sing?
What happens during the 17 years that they are underground?
What is a nymph?
How many eyes does a cicada have?
What happens to the adult cicadas at the end of summer?
How many legs?
Why should you not be afraid of cicadas?
course: RW
level: 3
center: ISU
semester: Summer
term: 1
year: 2007
instructor: Carolyn Smith
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: At the beginning of the term when I am introducing the different parts of an essay, I use this handout to discuss writing introductions. It's also good for showing them some different interesting introductions so I get something other than, "Since the dawn of time�"
course: RW
level: 3
center: VU
semester: Summer
term: 1
year: 2007
instructor: Lydia Lachmann
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: This activity focuses on skimming and scanning (fast reading) skills. I did this activity with my RW3 class toward the end of the term and used newspaper articles from past issues of "News for You." Before class, I cut out over ten pages and numbered them clearly. Then I made up one question for each page, such as "Where's the story about a bank which is in financial trouble?" Finally, I put the pages on the wall all around the room. During class, I asked my students to walk around the classroom for a few minutes and skim all the pages on the wall to get a general idea of the content. Then I told my students to come to the center of the room, and I began to call out questions. The first student to find the correct page called out the number on that page and received a point. With large classes, students can be divided into teams.
course: RW
level: 3
center: ISU
semester: Fall
term: 1
year: 2007
instructor: Kim Schaefer
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: When I discovered that my students were having trouble understanding what a counterargument and refutation were, I brought in a bunch of odd objects. I gave an object to each pair and told one person to convince his/her partner that he/she really needs this object while the other person gives all the reasons he/she can for why he/she does not need the object. We then talked about whether or not the students were successful in convincing each other and why or why not. We then discussed which part of the activity was the argument, the counterargument and the refutation. By the end of the activity, the students had a better understanding of the parts of an argumentative essay because they had an experience to connect their knowledge to.
course: RW
level: 3
category: Reading Task
core task: Novel Sharing
center: UNCG
semester: Fall
term:1
year: 2007
instructor: Stephanie Rummel
e-mail: [email protected] report text: My RW3 students chose which book they would read this term. Three different books are being used: The Giver, A Lesson Before Dying, and The Quiet American. Every Friday, I first divide students into groups that are reading the same novel. I hand out butcher paper and allow them to map out the main events of the novel. After they have had a chance to talk together, I put them into groups with students who are not reading their noveland they explain it to the others. I then ask each person to tell me what they learned from their group about the other novels being read.
course: RW
level: 3
core task: Library Reading Activity
center: CSM
semester: Fall
term: 1
year: 2007
instructor: Grace Spivak
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: Promoting literary attitudes.
The purpose of this was to encourage students to read casually (a very fun way to acquire a language) by showing them the browsing section in the library and through some structured activities get them excited about new sources for reading material.
In our campus library we went to the Journal/magazine browsing shelves area. Students were told to pick up anything of interest and sit down with it. The first time I had them just read on their own for about 20 minutes (after a lengthy browsing period). Next, they had 10 minutes to discuss in groups anything they wanted to share with their classmates about what they read. They returned the journals or magazines to the shelves and later that evening they were asked to post a brief summary of what they remember from the entire activity. This included what they learned both from their readings and their classmates' readings. They posted their responses onto our “reading forum” discussion board which is on our 'blackboard' website.
The next time we did this, about 2 weeks later, the browsing time was just a minute or so since were already comfortable in this section. This time they were to sit down with one partner and read until they found something worth sharing, then they would stop reading and share it briefly with their partner. It was very loose and each group differed in the amount of reading versus talking but later that night they were to post what they remembered from what their partner said onto our “reading forum” discussion board.
This was a great way to get students into fresh material, add variety and hopefully help create a social pattern around reading. I also had them respond to each other’s posts the next morning in class since we were meeting in the computer lab.
You could do this at any level.
course: RW
level: 3
core task: Reading Activity
center: CSM
semester: Fall
term: 2
year: 2007
instructor: Grace Spivak
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: Find a quote
After reading the short story “To Build a Fire” by Jack London (on the first snowy day of the season) students selected a short quote or excerpt from the story. They brought it to class the next day prepared to explain what the quote meant to them and some kind of personal reflection. This was followed by another activity where they wrote a paragraph that incorporated this information.
Once we established this over the course of a few days, students were asked many times throughout the term to bring in a quote from their individual reading books. They wrote paragraphs that included the quote and a reflection. After posting them to the discussion board, other students could read and respond.
Several students claimed they had never read more than they did those nights they were looking for a special quote. This encouraged them to dive into their novels with alert intention without hindering the amount they read by assigning questions or page numbers. They also had a chance to create literary community with fellow classmates by teaching each other about their books and why they chose these particular passages.
This activity also complimented academic style writing since they were also required to use appropriate citations of their sources and a lot of great critical thinking skills necessary to expand on their ideas.
The reflection piece was extremely difficult for them at first and some students continued to just explain what it meant in the context of the story. However, eventually all students could connect their readings to the bigger picture and expand on the ideas presented in their chosen quotes.
This was just one reading resource for them, they were also required to read articles of their choice each week and provide summaries and reflections along with a variety of essays.
course: RW
level: 3
core task: Using newspapers for summaries
center: UNCG
semester: Fall
term: 2
year: 2007
instructor: Ellen Baumgartner
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: In order to help my students with writing
summaries, I brought in about six issues of the Greensboro local paper. With a
partner, they had to find an article to read and summarize together. The students
helped each other with vocabulary and comprehension and I was there to monitor
and offer extra help where needed. They then had to write down the main points
of the article and then I had each student pair up with another student who had
read a different article. The pairs then summarized their articles to each other
and asked questions if they did not understand something.
After this process,
I asked the students to report back about the other student's article that they
had not read. The students who had read the article then acted as the "experts"
and added anything that was missing.
The follow-up activity was to then write
a written summary of the article.
The students really enjoyed doing this because it gave them a chance to look at a real English newspaper and they could choose what article interested them. Surprisingly, none of the groups picked the same articles. They also enjoyed being the "experts" and they realized how important it was to be clear and concise and not to add unnecessary information that may confuse the other person.
course: RW
level: 3
center: CSM
semester: Spring
term: 1
year: 2008
instructor: Marcia Lane
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: Materials and activities: I had students read from the college newspaper's opinion page, in the belief that it would have topics of interest to the students. The assignments were varied: identify the author's opinion, summarize the same, comment on whether you agree or disagree with him. The curriculum asks that students at this level write opinion papers. In class, they pointed out the sentences that gave opinion and thus learned vocabulary for expressing opinion. The advantages of using the student newspaper are that it is available at no cost, it is topical, and it is printed every week so new articles are available. Also, the article was used for paraphrasing, especially with using passive voice, and for identifying different word forms. Since this is not a liberal arts school, the newspaper is not always the best written or edited newspaper; however, this can be used as an advantage because it demonstrates informal writing (such as incomplete sentences)which students can then re-write in a formal matter. The newspaper has many idiomatic expressions, another plus.
course: RW
level: 3
center: VU
semester: Spring
term: 1
year: 2008
instructor: Chuck Goesel
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: This term, my students worked a lot with Newsweek's 'My Turn'. The students learned how to "punch up their writing" by reading and dissecting several 'My Turns' throughout the term. This culminated with students writing their own 'My Turn'. Initially, the students were very wary of their ability to do this; therefore, I had them start slow. They began by writing an introduction in class and then passed their introductions around the room. Each student read every other students introduction, edited it (in pencil) and then made suggestions for two more possible paragraphs. This way, my class of eight students ended up with a lot of possibilities and the fear of not having enough to write turned out to be having too much to write. Then I had them read through all of the suggestions and pick several of the best suggestions and do some research on their topic. I was very impressed with their first drafts and am looking fo rward to reading their second drafts. Next term, I am planning on starting this a little early, with the hope of submitting them to Newsweek, for possible publication.
course: RW
level: 3
center: ISU
semester: Spring
term: 1
year: 2008
instructor: Michelle Parks
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: I used the following activity at the beginning of the term to discuss using context to determine meaning of unfamiliar words. http://esl.about.com/library/lessons/nblreadcontext.htm It's more fun than using something from a textbook for the same purpose in that it uses nonsensical words as the unfamiliar words. This ensures that all students will encounter the same unfamiliar words. I then followed up this activity with having students go to this website http://www.tv411.org/lessons/cfm/reading.cfm?str=reading&num=7&act=1 for homework to practice using this technique. It was nice to have something they could do on their own and get immediate feedback on. In order to see how they were doing, I asked them to keep track of whether or not they got the answer right on their first try. Most of them got about 80% or so.
keyword: teaching aid
submit: Submit Query
course: RW
level: 3
center: UNCG
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2008
instructor: Peter Frey
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: Two terms ago, I shared a writing class with a UNCG writing professor (and will do so again this week). The experience was very useful for both the UNCG Freshman Writing Class and my RW 3 group.
This term, with my current class, another layer has been added:
Two weeks ago, the writing professor taught one of my RW classes. He brought materials, Powerpoint, etc and spent the entire class answering questions and discussing what he, as a writing professor, expected his students to be able to do by the end of the course.
During this process, we all learned a great deal. Some key points were:
1. My RW students are now more aware of exactly what they will need to do when they attend university here (in terms of writing skills) and this has helped them to feel less anxious.
2. We all learned that the writing process in L1 is not the same as it is in L2 (from a psycholinguistic perspective). Therefore, native English speakers have different needs from second language speakers that should be relected in the classroom.
3. Both the writing professor and I have made adjustments in our classes in response to what we have learned.
In conclusion, we plan to continue working together regularly and it is clear that when teachers collaborate, everyone is a winner!
keyword: cause & effect
course: RW level: 3
center: ISU
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2008
instructor: Moore
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: Core task report Writing a well organized essay is one of the main objectives of RW3. I asked the students to approach a cause and effect task by combining group work searching for information, discussing the possible causes and effects of global warming and concluding with individual papers that used their sources for support. Students were positively engaged in the project. This allowed me to introduce several needed concepts including source evaluation, cause and effect, and the use of citations. The entire project covered four class periods and three homework assignments plus one additional homework assignment to correct any problems with the in class essay. The Group investigation of Global warming Your job is to: • Become an expert on global warming and El Nino/La Nina. • Prepare a one ' two page summary on the position that you are research • As you do you research, consider the source the information is obtained from- how 'expert' are they, how likely is it to be accurate. Remember - Just because something is published doesn't mean it is accurate or true. Consider the following questions as you do your research: Global Warming • What is global warming? • What trends have developed on global temperature? • What are proposed to be the primary causes of global warming? • What changes could be made to minimize the causes, if needed? • When looking at the various years data is available, is there a positive relationship between the proposed causes and the temperatures? • Could there be other explanations for an observed temperature increase? • If global warming is real, what are the possible problems that would develop as the temperature of the planet continues to increase? El Nino/La Nina (same questions apply for La Nina) • What is El Nino? • Where does it originate? • What are the effects worldwide? • Does it occur in other locations? • How long do El Nino's normally last? • What causes El Nino? • Is there a relationship between El Nino and global warming? Come together as a group. Discuss each topic, is global warming a problem. Now individually decide what your position is on global warming. Write an outline that includes your thesis statement and at least three major points you will discuss. You will need to support your position with accurate information. Your essay should be well organized and contain support and examples for your position. Resources Google. Search global warming You do not need to visit all of these sites, but I would recommend visiting at least 5 or 6 in each category, focusing on the position you are researching. In addition, many of the sites have valuable link to related sites. Global Warming Pro Sites • EPA Global Warming Site - This government site focuses on the science and impacts of global warming. It also examines actions by different governments. http://www.epa.gov/global/globalwarming • Student Research Page - This page provides information for students investigating global warming. http://www.globalwarming.org/brief/student/htm • NCDC: Global Warming - Answers to frequently asked questions about climate change. http://ncdc.noaa.gov/ol/climate/globalwarming.html • NOAA - National Oceanic Agency page on global warming • Global Warming: Early Warning Signs - also provides a map showing impact of temperatures. http://www.climatehotmap.org • Global Warming - UCS - Provides support that global warming is real. http://uscusa.org/enviornment/0warming.html • explorezone.com : Explore the Science of the Greenhouse Effect ... • Also provides links for global warming. • Scientific American: Article dealing with global warming and its impact on health • • CNN - Experts cite 'strong evidence' of global warming - ... • Global Warming -- Research Issues :General site operated by Stanford University providing information on global warming. Con Sites • CBS News | How Global Is Global Warming? | Thu, 03 Aug ... - CBS News Article on global warming, supports planet may not be getting hotter. http://www.cbsnews.com/now/story/0,1597,197102-412,00.shtml • Liberty Exposure: Global Warming? • Article that believes that global warming is a hoax. • The Global Climate Coalition - provides business perspective on global warming debate. http://globalclimate.org • Temperature from Space - NASA site which indicates data may not support global warming • NCPA page A nonprofit public policy organization • Heartland - Organization that has many policy papers on global change. • George C. Marshall Institute- leans against global warming being real, great articles El Nino • El Nino - An Introduction • StudyWeb: Science:Earth & Space:Oceanography:El Nino • Read about El Nino and La Nina ... • NASA - El Nino Watch from Space Homepage - Jet Propulsion Lab El Nino page • Is There a Connection Between El Nino and Global Temperatures ... • NCDC: Global Warming - Answers to frequently asked questions about climate change. • Further Information on El Nino - Provides general information on El Nio. • El Nino. What? When? and How? ... What is El Nino? Have there been other El • Nino events? How is El Nino affecting the world? What can be done? ... • El Nino and its health impact • NASA El Nino Page • Climate Variability and El Nino El Nino from an Australian perspective. • Spacelink - El Nino NASA page providing materials.
keyword: Argument essay and debate
submit: Submit Query
course: RW
level: 3
center: CSM
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2008
instructor: Judy Griebling
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: The RW3 class read the novel, The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton, during the term which dealt with gang violence. The students enjoyed its portrayal of teenage life in America (actually in Tulsa, OK), and they discussed two chapters each week. They saw the movie in stages as they read as well. Meanwhile, the class also read examples of argument writing from Reader's Choice and discussed the positions taken. Then they worked on an argument essay of their own, incorporating modal auxiliary verbs to show either a strong position of their own, or a weaker position in a counterargument. Finally, each student (with a partner) was given a position to defend from the perspective of one or the other of the two gangs in The Outsiders, the Greasers and the Socials. They used their novels as a reference for their in-class debates, and the rest of the class voted on whose position was the more convincing one. The wrap up was an in-class argument essay written by each student about the position he had just debated, again using modal auxiliary verbs and the notes he had just made.
keyword: news article
submit: Submit Query
course: RW
level: 3
center: UNCG
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2008
instructor: Stephanie Rummel
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: I found that my students really enjoyed reading the newspaper and sharing their articles. For this reason, I had them go to https://eslus.com/esl/resource6.htm where they could find English language newspapers from a variety of countries. They had to choose an article and print it out. They then had to write five questions to go with the article. When they got to class, they traded articles with a partner. They had to read the article and answer the questions. After that they discussed both articles and came up with a vocabulary list of new words and tried to guess the meaning from the context. We then discussed any words they still had questions about as a class.
Students really enjoyed sharing news from their country/region and they this led to some really great discussions.
keyword: My Turn quiz
submit: Submit Query
course: RW
level: 3
center: VU
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2008
instructor: Chuck Goesel
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: This term I split my students into two groups and read the titles of four different My Turns. Each group discussed the titles and then made a decision on which essay they would read. Each group was able to decide if they wanted to read the essay out loud or silently. Once all the students read their assigned essay, as a group they were instructed to make a quiz based on their particular reading. Once the quizzes were made and edited in the group and checked by the instructor, each student wrote one copy of the essay. All of this, ensured that each student read the essay, understood the essay, edited their own work and the work of their classmates, and rewrote questions correctly. Then the groups gave the quizzes to the other group and corrected them as a group. The students really got into this and enjoyed making the quizzes and grading their peers.
keyword: Reading Jigsaw
submit: Submit Query
course: RW
level: 3
center: UNCG
semester: Summer
year: 2008
instructor: Stephanie Rummel
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: David mentioned encouraging students to form groups for doing reading homework. When I mentioned it, students didn't seem to understand what I meant, so I provided an in-class example of how it may work. I took an essay that I wanted them to read for homework and cut it into 3 parts (I have a class of 6, so I made 2 groups). Each student was responsible for reading and summarizing their part. I then gave them some general comprehension questions to discuss in their groups. For homework I assigned the more in-depth questions that require students to analyze the reading. I asked students the next day if they had found it easier to analyze the reading after the group activity and four students said that they did, so I encouraged them to repeat the exercise for future reading assignments. Three students did form such a group and used it for several of their assignments.
keyword: Reader's workshop
submit: Submit Query
course: RW
level: 3
center: CSM
semester: Summer
year: 2008
instructor: Marcia Lane
e-mail: [email protected]
report
text: RW 3: The Alchemist by Paulo CoehloThis book prompted wonderful discussions
among my 10 male students and thus I would recommend its use. Of the 10, 7 were
Libyans, 1 Saudi, 1 Mauritanian, and one Chilean. Because of this makeup of people
who know the desert and who are mostly Muslims, this was a particularly good book.
The Chilean was the only Catholic Christian among them and he could advise them
about the references to his religion, while the others did the same for him about
Islam.I assigned the pages of the book for reading (there are no chapters.) In
the beginning I asked each student to sign up for a time to speak about the reading,
had one act as discussion leader, one as timer and one as summary giver. This
turned out to be too time consuming and didn't give everyone enough opportunities
for speaking and sharing. Thus, I changed the assignments. Each discussion day
the class gave a summary of the storyline but not the lessons or moral of the
story.
Then were reports from the literary luminary*, the connector*, and
the wordsmith*. They alternated these tasks. After these three made their comments,
the class was divided into two groups wherein they chose a leader for the day.
They then had the rest of the class to discuss the reading. I circulated and listened,
noting participation and asking a question now and then but they did not need
me to do more than occasionally referee a heated argument.This approach had the
students in charge and the teacher on the sideline, which fits into the ILC philosophy.On
computer lab day, they responded to one of two quotes taken from the test and
then read and responded to their classmates' writing. * Wordsmith: chooses five
words that are new to him, defines them and uses them in sentences. He has to
note the page number so the others can find it.Literary luminary: finds 3 particularly
expressive, meaningful or beautiful passages which appeals to him and tells the
others about it. Again, page numbers are important. Connector: tells the class
about three or four ideas from the passage that he can connect to his own life.
keyword: reading; My Turn; essay; Newsweek
submit: Submit Query
course: RW
level: 3
center: VU
semester: Summer
year: 2008
instructor: Julie Jones
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: The attached file lists some of the Newsweek My Turn essays that I used in RW 3 this term, with notes about supplemental activities and ideas. The articles themselves can be accessed through Newsweek's website. It occurs to me now that I ought to have had students locate the articles themselves through the university library databases, in preparation for the research they'll do in RW 4 and 5. A word of caution: in many ways My Turn essays are a great fit for level 3. However, when you read a bunch of the essays together, they can come across as really whiny. My students quickly lost sympathy for the writers. I recommend reading them in moderation, mixed with plenty of other kinds of texts.
keyword: undertsanding vocabulary dictionaries translators
submit: Submit Query
course: RW
level: 3
center: UNCG
semester: Summer
year: 2008
instructor: Anthony Prato
e-mail: [email protected]
I am constantly trying to discourage my students from using electronic dictionaries while reading. While dictionaries and translators are helpful, I believe they should be used as a last resort. Contextual clues and word structure (prefixes, suffixes, roots, etc.) are often more than enough to help students get the gist of a word, or understand its meaning.
I first discovered this idea in Tricia Hedge's Teaching and Learning in the Language Classroom (Oxford, 2000, p. 188). The Hedge activity is called My Father's Watch. It's a simple essay of only 6 paragraphs, and some of the words have been replaced by "nonsense" words, which are underlined (please see the attachment). The point of the activity is to help students devise strategies to understand the meanings of the nonsense words, and then replace them with acceptable real words. According to Hedge (p. 189) students can use various types of knowledge in order to understand this text (and others):
-
'syntactic knowledge'--to figure out the meanings of words. For example, in My
Father's Watch, 'barlim' follows an article, so it is likely a noun
-'morphological
knowledge'--to understand relationships between words. For example, just like
"farm" and "farmer" are related, so too are "barl"
and "barlim"
-'general word knowledge'--to eliminate certain word
types from the range of choices. For example, in the story, knowledge about "desks"
in general would help students figure out that there are very few alternatives
for 'dimp'
-'sociocultural knowledge'--for example, knowledge about churches
might suggest 'tower' or 'steeple'
-'topic knowledge'--knowledge of rural
life might suggest the possibilities for the father's employment
-'genre knowledge'--knowing
that the text is from a science fiction novel might help students envision the
setting and better-understand all or some of the words
By listing the information
above, I am not suggesting that you tell your students these various types of
knowledge. Rather, through My Father's Watch and other texts, students can come
up with these categories on their own. Together they will realize that there are
numerous factors that can help them understand a word in lieu of using a dictionary
or translator. They can devise a 'check-list' to use when they come across unfamiliar
words.
I recommend that after students understand the concept, you have them
bring in their own short texts with 5 or 10 words replaced by nonsense words.
Student can swap texts and try to figure out the meanings. The author of the text
serves as an authority, and can help his/her fellow students use the various types
of knowledge (described above) to figure out the real words. (The simple act of
creating nonsense words is a valid exercise in and of itself. For example, consistently
adding a nonsense prefix to certain words might indicate "not" or "large"
or something else. By creating these words, students are obliged to think about
word structure and the teacher can assess their understanding of the concept as
well). An alternative would be to take whatever novel you are reading in class,
and ask students to write short summaries of a chapter or section, and then replace
words in their own writing with nonsense words.
Obviously, there are many variations to the above-mentioned activities. Please feel free to share them with the ILC community.
keyword: Reeading Quiz
submit: Submit Query
course: RW
level: 3
center: UNCG
semester: Summer
year: 2008
instructor: Anthony Prato
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: Some of my students have been having trouble understanding the class novel, The Celestine Prophecy. Although I don't like the idea of giving reading quizzes, I think they are sometimes important to encourage students to read and understand the novel. In the past, I have tried several types of quizzes. The least effective—and most time-consuming for me—was making the quiz myself, based on my own understanding of the important ideas in the novel. This type of quiz is teacher-centered, and I have not done it this way in a long time. Another idea that I have used is asking the students to make the quiz in class. They make it together as a class, or, if it's a large class, they break into groups and write questions. Then they can share their questions with one another, and help one another find the answers. Then I take their questions and make a quiz and give it to them the next day. Sometimes the activity itself serves as the quiz, and I don't offer an actual quiz the next day. This week I tried a new quiz method. First, the class discussed the difference between an effective question (e.g. 'What did the character mean when he said…?') and an ineffective question (e.g. 'What color was the character's shirt?'). After this brief conversation, the students clearly understood the difference between a good question and a bad question. The night before the quiz, each student had to read the novel, write 5 questions based on what he/she thought were the main ideas, and then find the answers. On quiz day, each student brought his/her own quiz to class—just the questions, of course, not the answers. In class, they had to answer the questions that they had researched.I was amazed by the success of this type of quiz. First of all, my students wrote significantly more than they had on previous quizzes. Also, their answers demonstrated a higher rate of understanding than previous quizzes. One might argue that when the students write the questions and answers as I just described, they will simply write easy questions and then memorize their answers. While this is a possibility, I found that the quality of the questions themselves—without even looking at the answers—gave me a good idea about who understood the novel and who did not. The students understood coming into the class that the quality of the questions—not just the answers—would indicate whether or not they understood the book. The answers, of course, provided further insight. More importantly, the questions the students did not write and answer—the ideas from the novel that they avoided—also helped me assess them. Essentially, this type of quiz forced each student to think about the main ideas in the novel, and then read and understand those ideas well enough to be able to write about them the next day. I found this type of quiz refreshing because I really got an idea about whether or not the students understood the novel. A follow-up to this quiz might be to have the students share their quizzes with one another and/or informally quiz one another using the questions. While some students quiz questions were a little easier than others, I found that they were all questions that I might have used had I made the quiz myself. Everyone got a near-perfect score on this quiz.