Generating Effective Discussion Questions In addition to answering the bookmark questions, some teachers may find it worthwhile to have

students generate their own questions to enrich discussions. This helps students develop critical thinking skills and provides for more open-ended discussion. It is suggested that each student prepare one additional discussion question for the first meeting, two for the second, and so on. In order for students to understand what makes an effective discussion question, the following lesson may be used. Discussion Question Concept Attainment Lesson Reproduce the following table onto a transparency.

Yes

No

How might the main character in What is the main characters the story react if she hadnt name? known the details about the fight? Why might the narrator choose to to turn himself in even though he could have gotten away with the crime. What did Laura say to her mother when she talked to her on the phone?

How will the main characters Why does Jimmy claim to be mother cope with the fact that her afraid of heights? son has rebelled against the familys wishes? What would you do if you were in the main characters position? When can the main character leave the hospital?

Explain to students that you will present them with a series of questions. The questions will have some things in common but some of the questions are Yes examples and some are No examples. Ask students to think about the difference between the two types of questions. Reveal one pair of questions at a time. For the first couple, ask students to think about the difference between the two. They may jot down some thoughts on a piece of paper. By the third set, have students share their thoughts with a partner and invite students to share their ideas. Then reveal the fourth set and ask students if they can add any more ideas about the difference between the two.

You can then provide students with some of the following testers. Ask them if these are Yes or No examples, by giving a thumbs-up to indicate yes and thumbsdown to indicate no.

Testers

When would it be acceptable for the main character to resort to violence?

Where did Yusef find the hidden key?

How would the villain justify his actions?

How can Kristina redeem herself?

What is Jakes explanation for burning down the convenience store?

How would you describe the authors attitude toward the subject matter?
Students should begin to understand that the Yes examples are more complex questions that do not necessarily have simple answers. They require students to combine knowledge of the text with their own life experience and prior knowledge in order to formulate responses. These are questions that deal with the higher levels of Blooms Taxonomy.

In order to help students develop rich discussion questions, they can use the following Q chart. Students questions should fit under the Analysis, Prediction, Synthesis/Application quadrants in order to promote rich discussion.

Is What Where When Who Why How

Did

Can

Would

Will

Might

Knowledge/Comprehension

Prediction

Analysis

Synthesis/Application

Qualities of Effective Group Work

1) Ask students to think about a time when they worked in a group and it didnt go very well. What went wrong? How did they feel in that situation? Students can do a short free write on this topic and then pair up and share their experiences. 2) Record the students responses on a black board and then repeat the process but have students think of a positive experience. Remind them that the group work experience does not have to be school-related. 3) As a class, create an anchor chart that outlines what effective group work looks like, sounds like, and feels like. Their responses might look something like this: 4) Post the chart somewhere visible and have students refer to it to evaluate how effectively they worked. Effective Group Work Looks like Face to face interaction Nodding heads Open body language (arms not crossed, smiling, etc.) Sounds like Thats an interesting idea. Have you considered? Thanks for sharing that. Has everyone had a chance to talk? One person talking at a time Feels like Safe Inclusive Friendly Productive

5) You may wish to run a practice book club session with a short non-fiction article or short story. Then have students evaluate their performance. Discuss whether or not there are any additions they could make to the chart.

Issue

Novels/ Short Stories

Non-fiction (articles, news, books, websites)

Movies or TV

Music

1.

2.

3.

4.

Conclusions about reliability of the source, and reasons

Very reliable Somewha t reliable Not reliable because

Very reliable Somewha t reliable Not reliable because

Very reliable Somewha t reliable Not reliable because

Very reliable Somewha t reliable Not reliable because

Additional/Supplementary Lessons Blogging Blogging allows students to reflect more personally on their novels but it also allows them to write for an authentic audience of their peers. Since students may not have the time in class during book club meetings to learn about the ways in which similar issues are explored in other books, blogging allows students to make connections in a virtual space. It is probably most effective for students to blog after each book club meeting as a way to reflect on and synthesize ideas discussed during the meeting. The teacher

may wish to generate prompts for the blog posts, or leave them open-ended. See sample rubrics and guidelines. There are a number of different platforms available for setting up student blogs such as Blogger (http://www.blogger.com), Edublogs (http://www.blogger.com), and Tumblr (http://www.tumblr.com). These sites will all allow students to create personalized blogs. They can then link to their classmates blogs in order to read and comment on their posts. For more information and tutorials on blogging, see the Free Technology for Teachers website (http://www.freetech4teachers.com/p/creatingeffective-blogs-websites.html). Digital Citizenship Blogging also provides the teacher and students with opportunities to talk about good digital citizenship. Its important to remember that when you post something online, it leaves a kind of footprint. Students should think about the kinds of footprints they are leaving online. This is an opportunity for them to create a positive digital identity. As a class, brainstorm guidelines for posting information online. Possible ideas might be: Never post personal information: address, phone number, email Use first name and last initial only Do not use other peoples work without permission Never say anything online that you wouldnt say to a persons face Never post something you wouldnt want your grandmother or a future boss to see Be supportive and constructive Post these guidelines somewhere visible. You may even have them post them as a practice blog post. The following handouts and rubric are provided as suggestions for how a teacher might begin to incorporate blogging as part of the Book Club unit.

Book Club Blog Day 1

You will blog after each book club meeting to extend your book club beyond the borders of the classroom. A blog is an online journal that allows you to share your ideas with each other so that you will be able to make connections between the books read in class. It is public, so please remember to practice good digital citizenship. Any behaviour or talk that is inappropriate for class is also inappropriate for our blogs.

Todays instructions:

1) Go to the following website: www.blogger.com 2) If you already have a Google account, you can log in and get started. If you dont have a Google account, click Get Started. Follow the instructions to set up your blog. Tips: You can decide what youd like the title should be but it should give your reader some sense of what your blog is about. Remember this is public so when you set up your profile, use a first name and last initial only for your display name and make sure you have show my email unchecked. Under Settings turn on comment moderation. That way you will get an email when someone comments on your blog and you can choose whether or not to publish it. If you ever get a comment from someone that makes you uncomfortable, come and see me.

1) Write your first blog post! Aim for about 200 words. Try writing about your first impressions of the book. What do you like about it? What dont you like? What predictions can you make about how the story will unfold? 2) Once your post is finished, tag it to help your classmates find out what your topic is about. Tags are key words that help users locate information. Tags are also known as labels on Blogger. 3) Start following the other bloggers in our class by going to your Dashboard. Then scroll down to Blogs Im Following and click Add. You can ask your classmates what their URLs are for their blog, or wait for your teacher to compile a class list.

Book Club Blog Day 2

By now you should have your blog set up and should have started to follow the other bloggers in class. Today youre going to jazz up your blog post and comment on at least two other posts. If youre not sure how to do any of these things, ask a classmate for help or check the Help button at the top right corner of your screen.

1) Jazz up your blog post! Add a picture or video that reminds you of the novel. Make sure you cite the source for the image or video. You can do this by Typing the word source highlight the wordclick the link icon paste in the URL for the source of your image or video. 2) Make sure the list of blogs youre following is complete. Ask your teacher for a copy of the class blog list if youre unsure. 3) Read at least four blog posts, preferably from students who are reading a different book than you. 4) Choose at least two blogs to add a comment to. Your comment should do the following: Make specific reference to something the blogger mentioned. Eg/ I like how you made the connection between your like and Kristinas. Add to the discussion by making a connection, politely disagreeing and providing reasons, or raising a question. Demonstrates proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation (no smilies or text-message lingo). 1) When you get a comment, reply and thank the person for commenting. Your reply should indicate that youve read and considered their comment, so rather than just saying Thanks! you might say something like Thanks for your comment. I hadnt considered that Craig might be putting a lot of pressure on himself at school. 2) If you have time left, check out the comments on your classmates blogs and see if you can find an example of what you consider to be a really good blog post and a really good comment. Make a list of criteria for a good post and comment.

ENG4C blog rubric Student self evaluation Name:__________________ Criteria Level 1 5.5-6 Blogging conventions (Knowledge)
Some of my blog posts have an effective title, tags, and referenced images, but some are missing a number of conventions Some of my blog posts demonstrate connections between ideas studied in class and my own thoughts/ experiences

Level 2 6.5-7
Most of my blog posts have an effective title, tags, and referenced images, but a few maybe missing multiple conventions

Level 3 7.5-8
Almost all of my blog posts have an effective title, tags, and referenced images

Level 4 8.5-10
All of my blog posts have an effective title, tags, and referenced images

/10

Connections (Thinking)

/10

Most of my blog posts demonstrate good connections between ideas studied in class and my own thoughts/ experiences Most of my blog posts are at least three paragraphs long (or very close) and demonstrate appropriate spelling, grammar, and punctuation for this medium

Almost all of my blog posts demonstrate good connections between ideas studied in class and my own thoughts/ experiences Almost all of my blog posts are at least three paragraphs long and demonstrate appropriate spelling, grammar, and punctuation for this medium

All of my blog posts demonstrate excellent connections between ideas studied in class and my own thoughts/ experiences All of my blog posts are at least three paragraphs long and demonstrate appropriate spelling, grammar, and punctuation for this medium

Content/ writing conventions

Some of my blog posts are at least three paragraphs long (Communicatio (or very close) and n) demonstrate appropriate spelling, /10 grammar, and punctuation for this medium

On the back of this sheet, please reflect on your achievement and set some goals for next time. If you were unable to meet the expectations at a level one, please explain the grade you feel you earned and fill out the reflection

on the back of this sheet.

Reflection

Strengths: ________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________

Weaknesses: ________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________

Next steps: ________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________

Is there anything I can do to help? ________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________