English teachers

Kudos and many thanks to Amy Lepore for recommending that I use the Socratic Seminar in my honors English 2 class (and for going above and beyond by sending me articles and how-to's). I used this method to review for a test on "Antigone," and the kids really enjoyed it. I altered it a little by creating two circles. The inner circle had ten or twelve students who had to answer questions. The outer circle was the remaining students, who were the questioners. To get out of the inner circle, the student had to answer a question correctly, and the questioner took his or her place.

When we finished "Julius Caesar," a couple of the kids asked, "Can we play that game again?" I couldn't figure out what they were talking about. We hadn't played any games. Then one said, "You know, that game where you get in the circles." Voila! They thought it was fun! If I had stood in front of the class and asked the same set of questions, they would have been bored to tears, but putting them in circles and letting them do the asking made it a whole different matter.

Thanks, Amy, for giving me a best practice that I can say works tremendously well for me.

Let's hear what works well for someone else. 

Great stuff!

I use small groups quite a bit in my classrooms.  This allows students to discuss the literature in an intimate setting without feeling intimidated about having to discuss it in front of the entire class.  Also, I assign different elements of a piece of literature to small groups and let them teach the class about their particular element or elements.  Students enjoy this experience.  They listen intently to each other, so by putting the responsibility on the student to teach the literature, they are more involved in it.

There's a statistic that says students will retain 90 percent of what they have to teach to others, and so I agree with kwoo1213 that it is an effective technique.

Something else I use a bit more practically and regularly, however, is the standard "question ball." Most of us are probably familiar with this tool: A simple six-paneled beach ball is labeled with an interrogative word on each panel (who, what, when, etc.) and the ball is tossed around a circle of students. Wherever the recipient's left thumb lands, that question word starts the topic they have to approach: "Who are the main characters in this story?" or "Why did the author use iambic pentameter?" You get the idea.

Kids also love this strategy because it is both kinesthetic and active. It feels more like a game than a review. They also tend to retain what they learn from the activity, in most instances.

I have taught English in the past and have come up with a set of products that may help folks encourage good grammar among kids and especially other offending adults.  Check out this boutique website www.grammarstuff.com  for some great English teacher gifts!!

Linda,  I am so thrilled that it worked for you!  I firmly believe that literature circles and socratic seminars are great ways to get kids to think for themselves and to support with evidence from the text why they think the way they do.  I would love an in-depth explanation of how you altered it...I may want to use your ideas as well.

You are so welcome, and I am happy to help.  What is a community of teachers if not a place where we can beg, borrow, or steal from one another's best practices?  It's all for the betterment of our kids and the future of our country.  One day, when we retire,  the kiddos we leave behind will be taking care of us...we have a vested interest, don't you think?  Ha!

I am a firm believer in "active reading" and my students always kept reading journals that encouraged them to keep track of Character, Plot, Setting, Theme, Conflict (CPSTC) in writing.  I would post "Think Abouts..." on the board before classes that would vary between the 5 elements in an effort to give them a focus for their reading and writing.  Much class time was dedicated to giving them time to read and write in class, as many of my students worked after school, had children of their own (8th graders!) and/or did not have "educationally supportive" households.

In order to reach the vast majority of learning styles/abilities, I used much grouping, much discussion, student teaching, role playing, and they never knew when I would collect journals to scan for understanding and effort.  I focused more on writing about literature rather than testing, and would use any and all the resources available to teachers to get some useful ideas for the "Think Abouts..." and writing prompts. 

I've been using the Socratic Seminar method with my Shakespeare & the English Renaissance class this year and the results are amazing!  I was highly skeptical, as I am such a control-freak, about letting go and letting them "just talk," but it is such an amazing way to make sure they actually read the material!  Having to write questions themselves, as well as be able to discuss other's questions, about the plays they're reading is forcing them to really learn the material.  It is also helping the shy students step up and participate, while at the same time helping the extroverts chill out a bit and let others participate.  I also love that it is dialogue, not debate - So far I'm just loving this whole method!

One great strategy that I've used with my students has been RAFT. R=Role, A=Audience, F=Format, T=Topic. This will work with Literature, especially if you're wanting the students to better understand a particular piece of work or certain elements of that particular work, or it can work well with writing assignments. It worked particularly well in my Creative Writing class. I would pass out PRE-MADE topics, giving the students their role, the audience they should address, and I gave them the opportunity to pick a format....(this channels their creativity)...(i.e. poem, song, short story, short play, etc), and sometimes I actually chose the format just to see if they'll be able to adhere to the specific guidelines of the strategy. The students enjoyed this assignment thoroughly, because they were able to work in groups, as well as be creative, funny (in some cases), and they have the opportunity to present the finished piece to the class as a group.

Below I've posted a good website that really gives you an idea of how this strategy works.  

http://www.greece.k12.ny.us/instruction/ELA/6-12/Reading/Reading%2 0Strategies/RAFT.htm

I've had great success in my AP English Lit class by establishing an anchor text, to which students compare the other books we read.  Last year I had a group that didn't have a lot of experience in textual analysis, so I showed them the program " The Legacy of Star Wars" from the History Channel.  It gives an excellent picture of what analysis "looks like."  It examines the story elements according to the Hero Quest, delving fairly deeply into all aspects of it.  It also compares other works of literature, mythology, the Bible, and history, which students need to be able to do on the AP English Lit exam.  Throughout the year, the students got very good of relating elements of our text back through Star Wars to the elements.  It peaked their interest from the start.

In response to #8:

I have also had great luck with SIFT (Symbolism, Imagery, Figurative Language, Theme) and with SOAP (Subject, Ocassion, Audience, Purpose).