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Extension: Classroom Connection
Student Activities
Try these activities with your students:
- Give students a list of activities and experiences they
have had with literature in the past. Ask them to rate them
1-3 (1 = they learned a lot; 2 = they learned a little;
and 3 = they didn't learn anything). Then ask them to rate
them as "Interesting," "Okay," and "Boring."
Discuss their ratings to find out what made certain activities
and experiences both fruitful and interesting and what made
them useless and boring. Consider their observations in
your planning.
- Ask students to write about unpleasant or uncomfortable
experiences they have had with literature — either
within class or elsewhere. As they share their stories,
use an overhead or chart paper to list characteristics of
such experiences. Consider these insights in your planning.
- Ask students to write about good experiences they have
had with literature — either within class or elsewhere.
As they share their stories, use an overhead or chart paper
to list characteristics of such experiences. Consider these
insights in your planning.
- Develop an evaluation tool that focuses on determining
what students found most interesting and most valuable for
them as learners. Ask them to complete it at the end of
a unit or at the end of the year. Consider these insights
in your planning.
Teacher as a Reflective Practitioner
Make a list of the classroom experiences with literature that
you feel have been most successful for you and your students.
For each experience, list characteristics including the kinds
of activities students were engaged in (e.g., writing, whole-class
discussion, small-group discussion, oral performance, etc.),
ways in which students demonstrated their engagement and learning,
and ways in which you knew it was successful. Use the Teacher
Resource "Four Principles of Envisionment-Building Classrooms"
to chart each experience. How can you use your analysis to
develop additional successful experiences? (See the Appendix in the Support Materials.)
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