Novel Study – Discussion Tasks



Novel Study – Discussion Tasks

On three occasions (after Ch. 9, 15, and 28), you will meet with fellow classmates and discuss what you have been reading. On each of these occasions, you will lead a portion of the discussion. Each time you meet, you will have a different task to prepare for the discussion.

The three TASKS cover the following skill areas:

Comprehension, led by the Discussion Director

Vocabulary, led by the Vocabulary Enricher

Analysis, led by the Literary Luminary

Discussion Director

*asks questions to increase comprehension

*use the handout provided as a GUIDE. You may create your own questions, but they should range in depth and difficulty. Your job is to get your classmates to critically think about what they are reading. Can they relate to it? Do they agree with it? Why did the author write something in a certain way?

*a minimum of 10 questions is required

*questions should focus on themes, character development, mood/tone, and symbolism/patterns/comparisons

Vocabulary Enricher

*clarifies word meanings and pronunciations.

*this person writes how the word was used in the story and looks up each word in the dictionary. They then TEACH the words and their meanings to their group members.

*vocabulary words may also include allusions (references to something that are unknown) For example, if the author mentions “Joan of Arc”, the Vocabulary Enricher would look up who this is and explain the purpose of the reference.

*A minimum of 7 words (max 10) is required for this task. Each group member is responsible for knowing and learning these words. The vocabulary is fair game for quizzes and assignments so keep a vocab list or flashcards for reference.

Literary Luminary

*The literary Luminary selects 4 sections of text to share with the group and states the reasons for choosing the selections. Selections may vary in length (2 sentences – 1 pg). Feel free to check with me if you are unsure what is acceptable.

Possible reasons for picking a passage to be shared aloud:

|Good dialogue |Surprising |Reveals character traits |

|Well-written |Figurative language |Humorous |

|Confusing |Sets a mood |Thought-provoking |

|Foreshadowing |Plot development |Connection to real life |

|Emotional reader response |Pivotal Moment |Opportunity to predict |

TASK 1 - Discussion Director

|4 |3 |2 |1 |

|Asked 10 questions |Asked 7-9 questions |Asked 4-6 questions |Asked 1-3 questions |

|Asked a variety of questions |Asked questions for |Asked questions for |Asked basic, easy questions that|

|that addressed student |comprehension, opinions, and |comprehension and predictions or|required little thought to |

|comprehension, opinions, |predictions. Had a few |mostly simple-to-answer |answer |

|predictions and analysis |thought-provoking questions |questions | |

|Was thoroughly prepared, always |Was prepared, focused, and |Was somewhat prepared, focus |Was unprepared and unable to |

|focused, and skillfully led the |competently led the discussion |faltered and managed to complete|guide the discussion |

|discussion | |the task | |

TASK 2 - Vocabulary Enricher

|4 |3 |2 |1 |

|Chose 7-10 quality |Chose 5-7 words and most were |Chose 5 words or less, or words may |Chose 3 words or less, or |

|words/allusions |higher level vocab |have been average |words chosen were not |

| | | |challenging |

|Thoroughly and correctly |Correctly defined each |Generally correct |Some terms/allusions were |

|defined each term/allusion. |term/allusion. |definitions/explanations. |incorrectly defined or |

|Clearly understands the terms |Mostly understands the terms |Understanding is basic or incomplete. |explained. Does not understand|

|and is able to explain them |and explains them decently |Hesitantly explains terms |terms or is unable to explain |

|well to peers | | |the concepts |

|Taught the terms in an |Taught the terms in a fairly |Made a weak attempt to teach the |Made no attempt to teach the |

|engaging and effective manner.|effective manner. Was |terms. Was somewhat prepared, |terms. Was unprepared and |

|Was thoroughly prepared, |prepared, usually focused, and|sometimes focused and managed to |unable to guide the discussion|

|always focused, and skillfully|competently led the discussion|complete the task |successfully |

|led the discussion | | | |

TASK 3 - Literary Luminary

|4 |3 |2 |1 |

|Selected 3 significant and |Selected 3 passages that were |Selected 2 or more passages but |Selected only 1 passage, or |

|interesting passages |generally important |they were not that significant |selected passages were |

| | | |insignificant |

|Evident that student had |Evident that student had done |Some prior analysis was evident |Insufficient analysis was |

|analyzed the text, had |some prior analysis and had some|but observations were |apparent as student was unable |

|meaningful observations and |meaningful observations and |inconclusive or simplistic |to share meaningful observations|

|conclusions to share |conclusions to offer | |or conclusions with the group |

|Was thoroughly prepared, always |Was prepared, usually focused, |Was somewhat prepared, sometimes|Was unprepared and unable to |

|focused, and skillfully led the |and competently led the |focused and managed to complete |guide the discussion |

|discussion. |discussion. |the task. |successfully. |

Discussion Director Sample Questions (Feel free to refer to, and copy the FORM of, the questions I gave you for the early chapters, but DO NOT use those questions)

1. Why do you think the author had _________ happen in the story?

2. How is _________ alike/different from ___________?

3. If you had been _____________, how would you have _____________?

4. How did you feel about ____________?

5. What do you think caused ______________?

6. Should the character have ________________?

7. What motivated the character to _______________?

8. Predict: What do you think will happen to/about _________________?

9. What is the significance of ________________?

Vocabulary Enricher (methods: flashcards, crossword puzzle, quiz game)

|Pg # & Paragraph # |Word |Sentence from Book |Definition / Explanation |Plan (how will you teach |

| | | | |these words?) |

| | | | | |

| | | | | |

| | | | | |

| | | | | |

| | | | | |

Literary Luminary

Passage #1

Page ___ Paragraph ________________

Why did you pick this passage?

What observations did you make that you feel are important for others to notice?

Develop questions to guide your group members.

How will you share these observations? (Ask questions you have devised? Read the passage aloud several times in different ways/with different readers? Other ideas?)

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