The 8th grade students in my co-teach class just finished reading The Outsiders. I had never read it before and fell in love with it as I read it with my class. However, we are in countdown to TCAP mode, so my co-teacher and I needed to hit as many birds as we could with the one stone we were holding. Literature was the area we scored the lowest on per the latest assessment, so I thought about the way Penny Kittle weaved writing and reading together in her class. I looked back in her book, Write Beside Them, for some strategies to put into place. I determined what I needed to focus on and decided to implement quick writes to help accomplish the goal.I looked at the learning objectives and created topics to satisfy the requirements. This is how I organized the quick writes:
Sub-category Quick write prompt
- Setting Think about the setting of the story, and describe it in detail. Compare and contrast the setting to where you live.
- Character Chose one character and describe their traits. Tell what you have in common with this person and how you feel connected to them.
- Theme What do you think is the theme of this story? Support your idea with evidence from the book.
- Plot Elements How did the climax of the story effect the resolution?
- Point of view Ponyboy tells this story. Choose another character and explain how the book would be different if it were written from his or her point of view.
We have one more week before state testing, and as soon as it's over I am going to implement another of Kittle's strategies: The Writer's Notebook. I am going to use it to have students create a memory book of their middle school experiences. I will have them include pictures and make it unique. I think this will be an awesome way for them to take a piece of childhood with them into their high school year.
I like this strategy. I also like that the students were engaged enough to continue writing and put their best effort into it. I know sometimes it is hard to tell if they were just really interested in the book or if they really liked the strategy. I like that you had them critically think and write how the story would have been different from another character’s point of view. I also like the part where the students had to not only identify the setting but compare it to where they live. This is a wonderful activity. Thanks for sharing and congratulations on higher test scores!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThis seems like a situation where not teaching to the test worked out just fine. You could have just drilled plot and setting facts and they may have gotten it by rote but they would have been bored and what would they actually have learned?
ReplyDeleteIt is difficult to administer TCAP skills while finishing up literature, especially if you want students to enjoy what they are reading. Hitting the different literary concepts in a writing style is a good way to let them explain their answer instead of just having a "right or wrong" style answer. I'm sure the students had a boost of confidence going into the testing and a feeling of accomplishment.
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