Tag Archives: Whole Class Novel Study

LLED 320 – Websites, Whole Class Novel Study, 6 Hats Thinking, Journaling, & Comprehension Strategies: Update for Tuesday, 28 February 2012

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Here’s all the news that’s fit to print from today’s session:

Learning Intentions

  • Show you great LA websites – NCTE.org & readwritethink.org & Rubistar
  • Experience Six Thinking Hats approach to content analysis
  • Critically consider the pedagogy of Whole Class Novel studies
  • Engage in a book discussion group
  • Understand the criteria creation process for a DE Journal
  • Describe a variety of comprehension strategies to use during LCs to help Ss understand literature features

After taking some time to show you several great websites – all available in a previous post – that could assist you in your pre-prac planning (NCTE, readwritethink, Rubistar, & Reading Power) we did the following…

Daily Write

I asked you to consider a decision your character has to make in today’s daily write.  We used this piece as a stimulus for conversation in our LC discussion groups later in class.

Whole Class Novel Study

Here’s the process we followed in the processing of Chapter 6: The Whole Class Novel from Student Diversity:

  • Meet as a hat group and, using your notes as a tool, consider the topic of WCNS from the perspective of your hat.
  • Come up with a slogan that suits your hat’s type of thinking
  • Now, consider WCNS through that lens
  • Jot your thoughts on the poster paper
  • Include a hat of your colour on the poster
  • Present your findings in this order – white, red, black, yellow, & green
  • We’ll do blue at the end to process the activity

Blue Hat Thinking


  • What did you think about the process of Six Hats Thinking?

Reading for Class on Thursday, 1 March 2012

Please read Chapter 7: Literature Circles and Chapter 9: An Integrated Unit in Student Diversity and process the text by creating a TOP 10 LIST – The Top 10 Tips for Teaching Lit Circles.

To get you in a TOP 10 mood, we watched this classic list from Letterman, the Top 10 George Bush Moments:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9w73dVVPRk0[/youtube]

Literature Circles…Revisited

We engaged in:

  • another book discussion group – this time with the character-based question from the daily write – as a stimulus for conversation
  • criteria building for double-entry response journals (based on the model outlined on page 25 of Brownlie’s Grand Conversations, Thoughtful Responses.
  • viewing a webcast by Brownlie on the use of comprehension strategies during lit circles time.  That webcast – along with one on formative assessment – can be found here.  You can find a list of all BC Min of Ed webcasts on the Index Page.  There’s some really good stuff there, if you’re interested…and have the time.

Here’s the handout to support today’s instruction.  It includes a day-by-day breakdown of how to work with Lit Circles in your classroom:

  1. Literature Circle Resources Handout – 2012

That’s all for today.

– Lawrence

LLED 320 – Group Presentations, Day 2: Update for Tuesday, 15 February 2011

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Whole Class Novel Study Reading for Thursday’s Class

In preparation for our work looking at the reading process, please read Chapter 6: The Class Novel from the Student Diversity text and process the important information using a graphic organizer.  Bring your graphic organizer to class on Thursday, 17 February 2011.

Here’s the link to an online copy of Chapter 6: The Class Novel.

I suggest applying the mind mapping strategy presented in today’s session to this task.  You could use Popplet, a different online tool, or old school pencil & paper to complete your mind map.  Here’s a primer on mind mapping found on the very useful Instructional Strategies Online website, if you’d like more info on this powerful strategy.

Also, Barrie Bennett, a renowned author (Beyond Monet & Classroom Management) teacher educator from U of T – OISE, plays a lot with Mind Mapping.  Here’s a handout with some useful tips on how to MM:

Also, here’s a sample of a 1st year university student’s first attempt at mind mapping:

If you’d prefer to use a different graphic organizer [This is me differentiating instruction to meet your needs, by the way 🙂  Same content, different processes], there are many G.O.s that could suit this task.  Check some of them out here at Teacher Vision: Graphic Organizers.

Group Presentations

Thanks to all those who presented this afternoon’s engaging presentations.  Here are the titles along with the supporting files.  The handouts should provide a valuable resource during practicum, as you look for ways to engage the learners in your classes:

Critical Thinking Strategies for Viewing Films

Mind Mapping

Sort and Predict

Building From Clues

Think of a Time

Anticipation Guide

That’s all for today.  Cheers,

– Lawrence

LLED 320 – Whole Class Novel Study & Unit Plan Group Share: Update for Tuesday, 23 March 2010

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Here’s how today’s class went down:

Mindful Breathing

Speaking of breathing, nothing will get you breathing harder than running a sub 4-minute mile.  I’m not speaking from experience, of course, but Roger Bannister’s collapse at the finish of the “Miracle Mile” race against John Landy (and others) on Saturday, 7 August 1954 at the Empire Games in Vancouver at long-gone Empire Stadium are my evidence.  Here’s the race courtesy of Mr. U. Tube.  Be sure to watch the interviews at the end with Landy and Bannister:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP_NzZP_LK0&feature=PlayList&p=88E0C2F9A12AB6F7&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=1[/youtube]

Here’s the statue on the southwest corner of the PNE grounds that captures forever Landy’s ill-fated over-the-shoulder glance.  Landy notes about the race and the statue that commemorates its most famous moment:

“When Lot’s wife looked back she was turned into a pillar of salt. When I looked back I was turned into a pillar of bronze!”

The Martha Game Warm Up

This activity caused a lot of laughter.  Here’s a link to online instructions for The Martha Game in addition to other Improvs and Warm Ups.

A Whole Class Novel Study… in Microcosm

The reality of your existence is that you will likely need to do a whole class novel at some stage.  We played with some approaches to doing this in the following ways:

  • Read “What Was” & “What Can Be” on page 71 & 72 in Student Diversity and considered what resonated.
  • Modeled the various parts of a novel study using the short, short, short story, The Choice by W. Hilcton-Young. Here’s what we did:
    • Connecting
      • Gallery Walk with Story Artifacts & Prediction
    • Processing
      • Listen-Sketch-Draft as I read the story aloud
      • Modified Sticky Notes & Group Discussion
    • Transforming
      • Hot Seat starring Williams, the time traveller, and the story narrator, Brian (my name for him)

I mentioned other options for exploring one novel in a class and set out a potential weekly time line.  Chapter 6 – The Whole Class Novel in Student Diversity has a lot more detail on the above strategies and much more.

Unit Plan Sharing

We took some time to have each of you mention the topic of your unit and one highlight.  After that, time was provided to speak to the unit’s authors about their product.  Feedback was given using the PQS – praise, questions, and suggestions – strategy.

At the end of the sharing session, I collected hard copies of each person’s:

  • Unit Outline
  • 2 Lesson Plans
  • 5 Resource Evaluation Sheets

Call Back to The 2- 3 Things You’d Like Out of This Course Piece at the Start of the Course

While we didn’t get to everything LLED-related on this list, I did keep the list in mind as I planned.  I think we touched on many of the key items over the course of the term.  You can check the list out here, if you’re interested:

LLED 320 What I Want To Learn Info Gathering List

That’s all folks…

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBzJGckMYO4[/youtube]

– Lawrence