Over break, I asked my fifth grade students to choose a book to read from two different lists I created. The first list included other books by Frances O'Roark Dowell (the author of Dovey Coe) while the second list included other books about crime and injustice (a theme of Dovey Coe).
When they arrived in my classroom today, I asked them to basically produce some "thought vomit" on their page about the two books. I know, not the best way to put it, but no holding back... all thoughts about the stories on the paper! Don't allow yourself to judge your thinking, just write it down, evaluate it later!
Not only did I want information about the characters, setting, and events, but I want them pushing themselves further. How are themes similar? How are the themes different? What about the point of view? Can they identify who was telling the story? Would a different character's point of view change the story? Are there things that let you know the same author wrote each story? Or is the author able to transform her style depending on the purpose of the book?
Next week, we will use our own creative juices to create representations of these two books, but for now, a few images!
When they arrived in my classroom today, I asked them to basically produce some "thought vomit" on their page about the two books. I know, not the best way to put it, but no holding back... all thoughts about the stories on the paper! Don't allow yourself to judge your thinking, just write it down, evaluate it later!
Not only did I want information about the characters, setting, and events, but I want them pushing themselves further. How are themes similar? How are the themes different? What about the point of view? Can they identify who was telling the story? Would a different character's point of view change the story? Are there things that let you know the same author wrote each story? Or is the author able to transform her style depending on the purpose of the book?
Next week, we will use our own creative juices to create representations of these two books, but for now, a few images!