Task 1 – The Book: Basic Facts

Title The GiverAuthor Lois Lowry

Number of pages 179

Publication House Dell Laurel-Leaf

ISBN number 0-440-23768-8

Grade level Secondary 4

Type of program Enriched

Genre Novel

Categorization American Literature for children

Task 2 – Getting the Students into the Novel1. Pre-activities

Making Predictions - Introducing “The Giver”

Steps – Teacher Steps – Students

1. Ask students to take out their copy of The Giver by Lois Lowry.

1. Students take out their copy of The Giver by Lois Lowry.

2. Ask students to look at the title and the images on the front cover. Students then record their observations in the first part of the chart: Compare and Contrast. In the second section, in the My Ideas column, students write down their predictions on the book. Make sure to tell them that there are no right or wrong answers.

2. Students write down what they think the book will be about based on their observations of the front cover of The Giver. They write whatever comes to mind on the chart: Compare and Contrast, in the My Ideas column. There are no right or wrong answers.

3. After 5 minutes, pair the students up (groups should be no more than 2 people, maximum 3 if there is an odd number of students). Tell them that they will discuss their predictions with their partner using the chart: Compare and Contrast. They must complete the chart by taking note of what their partner predicted in the My Partner’s Ideas column.

3. After 5 minutes, the students pair up in groups of 2 or 3 (if odd numbers). Students listen to their partner’s predictions and share their own on the book and write them down in the Compare and Contrast chart, in the My Partner’s Ideas column.

4. After 5 minutes, stop the activity and have one person from each pair or group come up to the board for a blackboard share. The students chosen by their group to be the reporter write their group’s predictions on the board.

4. After 5 minutes, students stop discussing, designate a reporter who will go to the board to write down the predictions.

5. Have a whole group discussion. What predictions came out the most often? Which ones didn’t?

5. Whole-group discussion. Which predictions are the most common to all groups? Which ones aren’t?

Name: Group:

Title of the novel:

Author:

Describe the front cover of the novel: (images, words, colours…). Use point form to

take notes.

Compare and Contrast

My Ideas My Partner’s Ideas

Tellbacks - Introducing “The Giver”

Steps – Teacher Steps – Students

1. Pair the students with a partner or, in case of odd numbers, in a triad.

1. Students get into pairs or into a triad.

2. Have students take out their copy of Lois Lowry’s The Giver.

2. They take out their copy of The Giver by Lois Lowry.

3. Tell them that they will read the first page of Chapter 1 for 2 minutes. Tell students that they will tell their partner/triad about the main character afterwards.

3. Students will read the first page of Chapter 1 for 2 minutes and then they tell their partner/triad what they learned about the main character.

4. After 2 minutes, stop the reading. Students begin to tell their partner / triad what they learned about the main character. Walk around the classroom, reminding students to speak in English when necessary, and to answer questions.

4. Students stop reading and tell their partner/triad what they learned about the main character. This must be done in English.

5. Stop the first tellback. Tell students that they will read for another 2 minutes, but that this time they will tell their partner/triad about the setting (the place where the story takes place).

5. Students end the first tellback. Students read for another 2 minutes, but they will tell their partner/triad about the setting (the place where the story takes place).

6. Stop the second reading. Begin the second tellback. Make sure students are using English.

7.

6. Students stop reading after 2 minutes and begin the second tellback. This must be done in English.

8. Stop the second tellback. Have students refer to their Compare and Contrast chart. Have a whole-class discussion. Do some of the predictions made earlier seem to be coming true? Which ones aren’t?

7. Students end the second tellback. They refer to their completed Compare and Contrast chart for a whole-class discussion. Which predictions seem to be coming true? Which ones aren’t?

Surveying activity - Introducing “The Giver”

Steps - Teacher Steps - Students1. Place the students in teams of two (if odd numbers, in triads). → One student is team member 1 and the other is team member 2. → Give a number for each team. → Mention that any team number can be called on to give the answer.

Make sure they answer the following questions.

2. Give the book to the students. → Ask them to look at the title and the image and reflect individually first. → Have them exchange their answers within the teams (Think Pair Share) and then to the class. → Team member 1 will tell the class what they found out.

* Write their answers on the board for every step.** Make sure to give the students enough time to find information, but not too much so they have the time to read.

→ Why is the title “The Giver”? → Why do you think there is an old man on the cover?

3. Explain what surveying is and how to do it.Give an example.

4. Have the students survey the back cover, individually. → Think Pair Share and then share with the whole class. → Team member 2 will tell the class what they found out.

→ What have they learned?(Name of main character, role of the main character…) → Did they confirm any of their previous hypothesis?

5. Have the students survey the abstract, individually. → Have them underline new information. → Think Pair Share and then share what they found out with the whole class. → Team member 1 will tell the class what they found out.

→ Is there anything else that is learned about the main character, the setting, the community?

6. Have them survey the first chapter, individually. → Allow them to underline some information, new or confirmation of their previous hypothesis. → Make sure they do not have the time to read the whole chapter, every 15 seconds tell them to move on to the next page. → Think Pair Share and then share what they found out with the whole class. → Team member 2 will tell the class what they found out.

→ Underline some information, new or confirmation of previous hypothesis.

→ What is the name of the main character, where does he live, how old is he and so forth…

7. Allow them to use the rest of the class to start reading the first and second chapter. If not finished by the end of the class or if not enough time to start reading, give what is left as homework for next class.

Reflecting on Utopia - Introducing “The Giver”

Steps - Teacher Steps - Students

1. Explain the social context of the novel.

2. Place the students in teams of two.

3. Distribute the activity sheet.

4. Have them think about 5 items that would be part of their utopian world.

→ Activity sheet , #1

5. Think Pair Share→ Have them fill the venn diagram.

→Write down a list of items that are part of the utopian world of the novel.C(Colorless, everyone has a job, quiet, everyone is equal, no bad memories, lots of rules, no fighting, no good memories, emotionless, everyone has enough food, no war)→ Ask the students to include those items in the venn diagram.

→ Activity sheet, #2

→ Then, in teams the students discuss where to put the new items in their diagram.

6. Have the students write one item that they have in common within their team on the board.

→ They have to agree on the item they will write on the board.

7. Have the students write a paragraph about the class’ utopian world and how they would feel if those would all be taken away from them.→ Have them use the conditional

→ Activity sheet, # 3

8. Have them reflect as a group when they are done writing their paragraph. → They have to share their reflection with the classroom.

Name: ______________________________Group:________Date: ______________

Utopia“An imaginary perfect world where everyone is happy”

1. Write down five (5) items that would represent your utopian world.

a) _______________________________________

b) _______________________________________

c) _______________________________________

d) _______________________________________

e) _______________________________________

2. Think Pair Share- Use the venn diagram to compare your utopia with your partner’s.

Place the ideas you share in the middle and those you don’t share on the sides.

3. Write a short paragraph about your utopia and how you would feel if these items

would be taken away from you.

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

2. Reflection

A) The purpose of pre-activities

The purpose of doing pre-activities is to prepare the students for the central

activity. Pre-activities are used to activate the students’ prior knowledge about the topic

discussed in the main activity. Also, Underwood (1989) mentioned that pre-activities are

beneficial for students to acquire a sufficient knowledge on a topic in order for them to be

successful in later activities. Moreover, success in the pre-activities leads the students to

be more confident for the main activities (Underwood, 1989). In other words, the pre-

activity stage prepares the students to make them aware of what will come up next.

The pre-activity stage plays a role in the schema theory, which stands for “the role

of background knowledge in language comprehension” (Carell & Eisterhold, p.220,

1987). The schema theory says that the comprehension of a text lies between the reader’s

background knowledge and the text, and that the information in the text guides the

students to what they already know about the subject (Carell & Eisterhold, 1987). In

other words, the schema theory refers to the ability to interpret the information from the

text according to the knowledge one possesses. The schema theory is relevant to the pre-

activity because they are closely related to one another; one is involved in the other. The

pre-activity helps the students activate their prior knowledge, which will lead to the

comprehension of the topic (schema theory).

The pre-activities created for this project are valid because they allow the students

to make predictions about the book and the story of the book. Plus, they allow the

students to open their minds to the other students’ ideas. The ideas that come out from the

pre-activities would be the starting point for the activation of background knowledge and

would lead to an awareness of what the book would possibly be about, then, leading to

more confident readers.

B) The use of tellbacks

Tellbacks is an opportunity to acquire and exchange information. It forces the

mind to organize and manage output. It gives importance to significant data and does

away with less important material. It is a type of preparation for writing using speaking

abilities. Student tellbacks allow collaborative input from a variety of sources. Multiple

sources help develop different points of view. This allows for rapid discovery and

attentive incorporation of information into the student's memory depositories. Tellbacks

help students learn how to read effectively, understand, and remember given material.

For example, if a student is able to read a text, the next step is to read the material

for details. For instance, answering the questions who, what, where, when? Using a

variety of materials, from a children’s encyclopaedia to a novel, the student reads one

paragraph and then, mentally outlines what they will tell their partners during their

"tellbacks" without looking back to their notes. That is, he or she reads a paragraph and

tells their partners what he or she read, without looking back at the book. The goal here is

for students to recall 75% to 100% of what they read.

Most students are capable of reading a paragraph and of telling what they have

read after a few attempts.  Guidelines and information from the teacher on how to recall

are useful.  These include forming visual images, stopping often to re-evaluate

mentally, calculating details on fingers, and saying unfamiliar words, like nouns out

loud. Students may like to keep a record of the facts they were able to recall.

Task 3 – Getting the Facts: Basic Comprehension Questions

1. Comprehension Questions

Chapter 1

Instructions

1. Read chapter one carefully.

2. Answer the following questions with the help of your book.

1. What is the name of Jonas’ sister?

_____________________________________________

2. Who is Asher?

____________________________________________________________

3. What period of the year is the story situated in chapter one?

________________________

4. *At the beginning of chapter one, why is Jonas scared? Explain.

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

5. *What does the family do at suppertime?

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

6. *Why is Lily feeling angry? p.5

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

7. *Who is a nurturer in Jonas relatives? What do nurturers do?

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

8. **What do you think the title of the book means?

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

9. **What do you think ‘HE WILL BE RELEASED’ means?” (p.2)

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

10. **What do you think happens at ‘The Ceremony of Twelve’ for Jonas to be

apprehensive?” (p.10)

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

11. ** Why are newborns referred to as ‘it’?

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

Chapter 2

Instructions

1. Read chapter two carefully.

2. Answer the following questions with the help of your book.

1. How many newborns are there in each year?

______________________________________

2. In what age group is Jonas?

____________________________________________________

3. When do the children receive their bicycles?

______________________________________

4. *How did Father find out about Gabriel’s name?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

5. *Describe life after the Ceremony of Twelve for Mother.

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

6. *What are the Committee of Elders’ responsibilities? Explain the tasks they do.

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

7. ** Why did they have to bring the change of a rule to a committee?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

8. **If you were Jonas, how would you feel about the Ceremony of Twelve ?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

9. **Why is Jonas worried about the Assignment that the Elders will select for him?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

2. Correction – Coop Learning

A) Coop Leaning Choice

The cooperative learning strategy that we chose to correct and come to a

concensus on the answer of the questions in teams is RoundRobin. As it is the oral

version of the RoundTable, we feel it is the best way to bring them to discuss about their

answers as to defend their answers within their own teams. Moreover, as the goal of the

communicative approach is to have the students communicate in English through

meaningful material, it would be well suited to share answers to questions about a book

that they are reading.

B) Correction through RoundRobin

Steps -Teacher Steps - Students1. Place the students in teams of 4. → Explain to them that they will share their answers in RoundRobin.Each student tell their answers to question 1 and then they see if they agree or not.→ Give the following roles to the students: Gatekeeper, Taskmaster, Secretary and Checker.

Students’ rolesThe Gatekeeper(makes sure everyone takes their turn to speak) The Taskmaster(makes sure the group stays on task) The Secretary(writes down group answers) The Checker(makes sure everyone has the right answer).

2. Have the students share their answers to the regular questions (without * or **)→ Give them 5 minutes to share and come to a consensus.

When it is their turn, they say their answer to the question, if the all agree, they can move on, if they don’t they have to find the answer in the text and agree so they can move on.

3. Have the students share their answers to the second type of questions (*).→ Give them 10 minutes to share and come to a consensus.

Same as above. However, as it is more probable that they do not agree they have to tell each other why they wrote the answer they wrote (evidence from the text, etc).

4. Have the students share their answers to the third type of questions (**).→ Give them 15 minutes to share and come to a consensus.

Same as above. Plus, more argumentation as it goes more with interpretation from each student.

5. Collect the work sheet from the secretary in each group. Secretary hand in the sheet to the teacher.

3. Review – Heads Together

Steps - Teacher Steps - Students1. 1. Ask students to form teams of four to participate in

small group interviews, collaboration, and writing.1. Students form a group of four.

2. 2. Assign a role to each team member: team member 1 will be the recorder, team member2 will be the reporter, the team number3 will be the time manager, and the team member 4 will be the synergy and subjective manager.

2. Each team member is assigned a number and a role.

3. 3. Give students handouts with some questions to evaluate what kind of community is Jonas’s community and why the community valued sameness and had eliminated color from individuals.

3. Handouts are given to students.

4. 4. Ask students to fill out an evaluation form of each group in order to evaluate how well they worked collectively in their teams

4. At the end of the activity, students fill out an evaluation form.

5. 5. Tell students that each one of them will have to talk, discuss, and agree upon the answers.

5. Students take into considerations these instructions.

6. 6. Give students 15minutes to work on this activity. 6. Students start working.

7. 7. After 15 minutes, stop the activity. Name a team number to answer.

7. The student designated answers.

8. 8. Give participation points for doing the activity, for the effectiveness of their responses and how well they answered the questions as a group.

8. Students fill out an evaluation form. They must evaluate how well they think they themselves worked in their groups as well as the how well the whole group worked together.

Questions

1. What type of individual is Jonas?

2. What are some of the rules in Jonas' community?  What are the consequences for

breaking them?

3. Depict the House of the Old and what life is like there.  How are the rules altered?

4. Why was Jonas' dream important?  How did his parents handle it?

5. What happens each year at the Ceremonies? How are assignments selected?

6. A number of rituals, such as using a standard apology phrase and the nightly sharing

of feelings are described. Say why these rituals are utilized in the community.

4. Reflection – Chart

CL Principles Heads Together1. Positive interdependence

Goal “Students perceive that they can achieve their learning goals if and only if all

the members of their group also attain their goal” (Johnson & Johnson, An

Overview of Cooperative Learning, p.33). In our Heads Together activity,

students work together to accomplish a goal: finding the answers to the six

review questions. Moreover, this goal is part of the teacher’s plan to see how

well they remember the book after having read and completed activities on

half of it.

Reward “Each group member receives the same reward when the group achieves its

goals” (Johnson & Johnson, An Overview of Cooperative Learning, p.33).

Each group is awarded participation points. The number of points awarded

depends on how well each group completed the missing information.

Resource “Each group member has only a portion of the resources, information, or

materials necessary for the task to be completed; the members’ resources have

to be combined for the group to achieve its goals”(Johnson & Johnson, An

Overview of Cooperative Learning, p.33-34). Each group member relies on

his or her group mates’ knowledge and memory of the events of the first half

of the book. Students must work together, referring to each other’s

knowledge, to complete the questions accurately. They need to discuss the

answers and choose the best one.

Role “Each member is assigned complementary and interconnected roles that

specify responsibilities that the group needs in order to complete the joint

task” (Johnson & Johnson, An Overview of Cooperative Learning, p.34). In

our Heads Together activity, students were numbered 1 to 4. Team Member 1

was the recorder, Team Member 2 was the reporter, Team Member 3 – the

time manager and Team Member 4 was the synergy and subjectivity manager

responsible for ensuring that all team members spoke English, contributed to

answering the questions and that no one was judged harshly for their answers

or contributions. Assigning roles to each team member helped to ensure that

everyone stayed on task. Moreover, these roles ensure that every team

member feels they are important and necessary to the functioning of the team.

Other N/A

2. Face-to-face Promotive

Interaction

“Promotive interaction may be defined as individuals encouraging and

facilitating each other’s efforts to achieve, complete tasks, and produce in

order to reach the group’s goals” (Johnson & Johnson, An Overview of

Cooperative Learning, p.34). In our activity, students depend on one another

to complete the task in order to achieve their goals. Moreover, their assigned

roles: recorder, reporter, time manager and synergy and subjectivity manager,

ensured that each person had a hand in making the team work run smoothly.

3. Individual

Accountability / Personal

Responsibility

“Individual accountability is the key to ensuring that all group members are,

in fact, strengthened by learning cooperatively” (Johnson & Johnson, An

Overview of Cooperative Learning, p.35). Since all members in the group are

responsible for knowing the information found in the book, all members are

accountable for the group’s success or failure. Moreover, members are also

assigned a role in the team and the team cannot achieve its goals without the

team members taking responsibility of not only themselves but of their role

within the team.

4. Interpersonal & small

group skills

“In order to coordinate efforts to achieve mutual goals, students must: 1) get

to know and trust each other, 2) communicate accurately and unambiguously,

3) accept and support each other, 4) resolve conflict constructively” (Johnson

& Johnson, An Overview of Cooperative Learning, p.36). Within their

groups, students must decide which answers are correct. This requires them to

communicate well and effectively in order to make their point. They also

must be respectful and consider their team member’s answers in their group

in order to complete the activity. Indeed, having a synergy and subjectivity

manager helps to ensure that everyone’s contributions to the work is respected

and that every team member communicates appropriately and effectively.

5. Group Processing “Effective group work is influenced by whether or not groups reflect on (i.e.,

process) how well they are functioning” (Johnson & Johnson, An Overview

of Cooperative Learning, p.36-37). At the end of each class, students are

asked to fill out an evaluation form. If they worked in groups, they must also

evaluate how well they think they themselves worked in their groups as well

as the how well the whole group worked together.

5. Reflection – Type of Literacy

According to Ada there are four different types of literacy and, consequently, four

phases of literacy. These four phases are as follows: the descriptive phase, the personal

interpretative phase, the critical analysis phase and, finally, the creative action phase

(Cummins p. 52). Indeed Ada’s four phases of literacy “outlines how zones of proximal

development can be created that encourage students to share and amplify their experience

within a collaborative process of critical inquiry” (Cummins p. 52). We have attempted to

encompass all four of these phases of literacy in our comprehension questions as outlined

in Task 1.1.

During the descriptive phase, students focus “on the information contained in the

text. Typical questions at this level might be: Where/when/how did it happen? Who did

it? Why? These are the type of questions for which answers can be found in the text

itself” (Cummins, p. 52). The comprehension questions for chapter 1 in Task 3.1: What is

Jonas’ sister’s name?, Who is Asher?, What does the family do at suppertime?, Who

among Jonas’ relative is a nurturer? What does a nurturer do?, are the type of questions

illustrated in the descriptive phase. These questions ask students to find information that

is explicit within the text.

In the personal interpretative phase, students are asked to relate the basic

information in the text “to their own experiences and feelings. Questions that might be

asked by the teacher at this phase are: Have you ever seen/felt/experienced something

like this? Have you ever wanted something similar? How did what you read make you

feel? Did you like it? Did it make you happy? Frighten you? What about your family?”

(Cummins, p. 52). In Task 3.1, one comprehension question for chapter 2 illustrates well

the personal interpretative phase: If you were Jonas, how would you feel about the

Ceremony of Twelve? This question draws on students’ personal feelings about the

fictional situation in the text and has them relate those feelings to a similar situation

they’ve experienced.

The critical analysis phase “involves relating what has been presented in the text

to broader social issues as well as drawing inferences and exploring what generalizations

can be made. Appropriate questions might be: Is it valid? Always? When? Does it benefit

everyone alike? Are there any alternatives to this situation? Would people of different

cultures/classes/genders have acted differently? How? Why?” (Cummins, p. 52). In Task

3.1 we did not include any questions that fall into the category of the critical analysis

phase. However, students could have been asked (pertaining to later chapters in the

book): Do you believe that the elimination of the capacity for seeing colours by the

genetic scientists in Jonas’ world was necessary? What would be the benefits of this in

our world today? Would there be any drawbacks? Do you think that the idea of sameness

in Jonas’ world is a good thing? Why or why not?

Moreover, because Lowry’s The Giver paints the portrait of a totalitarian state

where the leaders, in this case, the Elders, are in complete control of the population and

the goings-on of the society, we could ask students to research other historical totalitarian

regimes (Hitler’s Nazi Germany, Lenin’s Socialist/Communist Russia, the Khmer Rouge

in Cambodia, Kim Jong-il’s North Korea today, etc.) and compare some of the rules or

aspects of Jonas’ community to those regimes.

Task 4 – Literature Circles

1. Setting Up Teams Part A & B

For this literature circle activity, the best way to set up the groups would be to

group the students in teams of four. The students are working on one book only, “The

Giver.” Because of that, grouping students by book choice is not an issue. Thus, what we

want is small, heterogeneous and functional groups. There is no need to put more than

four students in groups together because we are working in this literature circle with

secondary IV, enriched English as a second language students. The students are at ease

and should be quite proficient in English, so there is no need for larger groups. In a

context where the students were less proficient, we would perhaps tend to make teams of

five instead of four, to allow for more interactions between group members during the

discussions, since less proficient students tend to be more hesitant to use the language.

Furthermore, depending on how much time one has to devote to literature circles, teams

of four is a good choice because complicity can be developed. In other words, with short

time periods, teams of two would most likely be needed. With longer time periods, larger

teams are not a problem.

As mentioned by Harvey Daniels in “Literature Circles; Voices and Choices in

Book Clubs & Reading Groups,” it seems that the favourite group size for the

intermediate groups and higher is groups of four or five students (2002, p.76). “This

allows a good variety of voices and perspectives without the group’s getting so big that

distractions and inefficiencies take over” (Harvey, 76). Moreover, teams of four are

usually the best way to go with advanced students in cooperative learning interaction.

The bigger the teams get, the more interactions are possible. Therefore, the experienced

and proficient students can handle being placed in larger groups, as they usually are more

responsible and autonomous. In our case, setting up quite small teams will help you with

your classroom management. As mentioned by Johnson, Johnson & Holubec, larger

groups need to have skilful group members (1994, 3:2). Also, the less time the teams

have to get organized, the smaller the teams should be (Johnson, Johnson & Holubec,

3:2). In this case, because more time is allotted to literature circles, the number of

members in each team can be four.

Moreover, for this literature circle activity, we would set up the teams randomly

in order to have heterogeneous teams. We would simply divide the total number of

students by the number of students we want in each team (ex: 30 divided by 3 is 10).

Then, students can be assigned with a number up to the one obtained once the class has

been divided into the number of teams desired. The students with the same number get

together (Johnson, Johnson & Holubec, 1994, 3:5). As the teacher, one can always

change some students to different groups if any difficulties are observed and that cannot

be resolved with the original teams. This way of assigning students to groups is not time

consuming and very useful. It will also be useful with classroom management.

2. Assessment

As a team, we decided that the most effective assessment strategies to use with a

Secondary IV, enriched English class would be observation and book projects.

Using observation as an assessment strategy provides an “opportunity to assess

the progress of both individuals and the group, as thinkers and as a team” (Harvey

Daniels, Literature Circles: Voice and Choice in Book Clubs and Reading Groups,

p.190). Teachers can observe first-hand the progress that their students are making as

well as observe what difficulties, if any, some or most of the groups and individual

students are encountering. These observations can set the stage for mini-lessons in social

skills or preparation strategies at the beginning of every class devoted to literature circles.

Moreover, this kind of assessment strategy provides teachers with “great formative input”

and also with a tool that “can help generate a long string of grades” since many schools,

school boards and especially parents still place a great deal of stock in formal, summative

assessment (Harvey Daniels, Literature Circles: Voice and Choice in Book Clubs and

Reading Groups, p.192).

Using book projects as an assessment strategy can also be fairly effective but only

if it is done in a meaningful way for the students. We must keep in mind that through

literature circles we hope to foster the love of reading in our students and to do that we

must also foster authentic lifetime reader habits. For instance, real readers, once they’ve

finished a book, “find someone to talk with about the book, to share their enthusiasm and

to walk that delicious tightrope between getting someone interested in a book and not

ruining the story by telling too much” (Harvey Daniels, Literature Circles: Voice and

Choice in Book Clubs and Reading Groups, p.194). This idea is crucial to developing

successful and meaningful book projects. Book projects should help students enjoy the

sharing of books and stories and if they meet this requirement then we can be sure that

they are going to be authentic and have positive results for fostering autonomous reading

on the part of the students.

3. Use of English vs French

A) Functional Language – Role Sheets

See our project binder

B) MELS Curriculum

Literature circles role sheets are a strong classroom strategy because of the way

that they combine collaborative learning with student-centered surveying. The MELS

Curriculum explains the ways that this strategy helps students become effective readers.

Students learn to take responsibility for their own learning, and this is reflected in how

effectively they make choices and take control of literature circle groups. Moreover by

assigning a role to each student, they take charge of their own discussions; hold each

other accountable for how much or how little reading to do, as well as for the training for

each session.

The use of functional language, the choice of vocabulary, and the choice of

strategy or strategies help them to carry out these roles. Indeed, the positive peer pressure

that the members of each group place on each other contributes to each student’s

accountability to the rest of the group. When students engage with texts and one another

in these ways, they take control of their literacy in constructive and satisfying ways.

4. Planning

A) Realistic Schedule - ** See project binder for the calendar

The literature circle activity using Lois Lowry’s The Giver will last ten weeks.

The students will really start working on the novel during the third week of September.

The classes on the first and second week of September will be used to introduce the

concept of literature circles to the students. Then, on the third week, one period will be

devoted to pre-activities concerning the novel. The first homework activity is set by the

teacher and as the students group in their teams; they decide how many chapters they will

have to read every week in order to be finished at the end of the tenth week. As for how

students will respond to the readings, for the first three weeks students will have to try

three different ways to respond to their readings: role sheets, response logs and post-it

notes. Then, as a team, they will be allowed to choose which way they will respond to the

readings for the following weeks.

The teams will meet every English class day during the first two weeks and then

they will meet once a week until the end of the ten weeks. In order for them to be able to

plan their literature circle, they will be provided with a schedule of the periods where

there will be a literature circle (see literature circle calendar).

The structure of the literature circle

We decided to structure our literature circle with The Giver by using a mix of two

structures detailed in the book Literature Circles: Voice and Choice in Book Clubs &

Reading Groups in Chapter 5. Hypothetically, this would be the students’ first try with a

literature circle; therefore, the first three classes of September would be to learn about

literature circles using short stories.

Training

The training will take place during the first and second class (Sept. 3rd & 4th). On

the first day, students will read the fun short story Louis by Saki (http://www.short-

stories.co.uk/). During the second phase, in small groups of four, the students discuss the

short story. Then, one person in each group will tell the class what they talked about in

their groups. In the third phase of the period, the first mini-lesson is introduced to the

students, which is about ways to respond to readings. Although the teacher talks about all

of them, they will be practicing only one: the role sheets. Every team of four will be

assigned one role sheet (e.g. The connector) to fill in as homework. Hw: With the

explanation provided by the teacher, they will re-read the short story, filling in the

role sheet that their team has been assigned as they read.

On the second day, during the first phase of the period, students will discuss in

teams only the topic that their work sheet represents. The second and last phase

concerning role sheets will be to share the teams’ individual role sheets with the class.

That way, everyone will see at once what each role sheet is used for.

** This will be done using role sheets from the project binder

On third class (Sep. 9th), the first phase of this period consists of a mini-lesson on

reading response logs. The teacher will show students a detailed model and go through

the process of reading response logs. In the second phase, the students read the short

story The Cellmate by Crystal Arbogast (http://www.short-stories.co.uk/). Once they are

done reading, they complete the response log model provided. Then they discuss it within

their teams and, finally, in a whole-class discussion. In the third phase of the class, the

teacher can ask if anyone responded to the readings differently and if so, how, etc.

** This will be done using the model found on http://hey2teacher.wordpress.com

/2007/09/09/reading-response-logs/response-log-sheet-2/.

** http://www2.newton.k12.ma.us/~Brad_Hammer/subjects/reading/reading-

logs/reading-logs.htm

For the fourth class (Sep. 12th), the first phase of this period will consist of a mini-

lesson on post-it notes. The teacher shows students how they can use post-it notes while

they are reading to point things that strike them as important, words, concepts, etc. The

teacher also points out that they can mark anything that they want with the Post-its; it is

what they will use to feed their discussions. In the second phase of the period, the

students will read Return to Paradise by Eliza Riley (http://www.short-stories.co.uk/). As

they read, they have to mark elements with the Post-its and then they share within their

teams using them as discussion elements. After sharing within teams, students then share

with the whole class. In the third phase of the period, the teacher will have the students

share how they used the Post-its, what they wrote on them, etc.

** What is written on the Post-its can be shorter versions of role sheets, or

elements they would also put in their reading response logs.

By the end of the four classes, the students will be familiar with the literature

circle process and will be ready to be introduced to their novel. The teacher should make

posters of everything that was discussed so that students can use these posters as way to

remind themselves of each way to respond to their readings. Moreover, students should

copy these guidelines somewhere handy, so they can access it when reading, adding

along the way as needed, so the students can always refer to the list when they need

ideas.

We decided to show students three ways to respond to their readings so they can

choose the ones they feel most comfortable with, after they tried each one with the novel.

The goal is to make them as independent as possible from the directives of the teacher.

However, keeping in mind that the teacher chose a single novel for the whole class, the

literature circle idea is already harmed a little. It is also important that, since the teacher is

supposed to be a facilitator, the students are as free as possible, but with a time limit,

which is suitable and expected for secondary IV students.

Introducing the novel and planning

On the fifth class of September, the students will be introduced to the book using

the tellbacks pre-activity and the Reflecting on Utopia pre-activity (see task 2.1). After

they are done with the pre-activities, have them start to read the novel for the rest of the

class. As homework, students have to finish the reading of the first and second chapters

and they will have to answer the comprehension questions on those chapters (see task

3.1).

On the sixth class, the students meet with their teams, and do the correction

cooperative learning RoundRobin (see task 3.2) to check their answers to the

comprehension questions. After the activity is finished, let the students plan their

readings using the calendar for their ten-week reading circle on The Giver.

B) The Routine

Homework

As stated earlier, the students will be deciding within their groups how many

chapters they will have to read every week in order to be finished with their reading by

November 21st. Students will be the ones to choose which way they want to respond to

the readings for the fourth literature circle as well, after they have tried each one of the

possible ways of responding with the novel. The number of weeks was chosen so that

students have to read approximately two chapters per week, in order to be done reading

the novel and the activities related to it by the Christmas break. They will also have to

answer to the comprehension questions for every chapter (see task 3.1).

Class routine

As for the class routine, there would be procedural and literacy mini-lessons

according to what is needed by the group (see list of suggestions on p. 87 of Literature

Circles: Voice and Choice in Book Clubs & Reading Groups) at the beginning of every

class. These mini-lessons would be related to something important for the phase at which

the students are and possibly a return at the end to point out more information about the

topic. At the beginning of class, the mini-lesson would take 5-10 minutes.

The second part of the class routine would consist of the literature circle itself (the

group meeting) and would possibly last 30 minutes. If some groups are finished

discussing before the end, they can start reading for the following week’s meeting.

The third part of the class routine would involve a sharing of the reading

impressions, what the teams have discussed during the meeting, what they found of

interest, etc. This part would last 10-15 minutes.

Finally, if a return on the mini-lesson is needed, the teacher should allow 5-10

minutes for it.

The reading and responses would be mainly done at home as homework, unless,

as stated, students have time to start it in class.

Task 5 – Vocabulary

1. Resources - Internet

Strategy 1

1. Vocabulary Word Strategies - Decoding and Listening to Vocabulary Words:

Provide the student with a list of new vocabulary words that will appear in a

passage. Have the student sound the word out loud. Read it aloud to her if she does not

read phonetically. Ask the student if the word sounds like other words she knows. Do

parts of the word suggest what it means?

2. Vocabulary Word Strategies - Gleaning for Clues to Understanding:

Have the student read the sentences surrounding the new word. Do the sentences

give the student an idea of the meaning of the word? Ask her to make suggestions about

the meaning. For younger students, provide visual depictions of the words whenever

possible though illustrated books.

3. Vocabulary Word Strategies - Create a Personal Dictionary:

Provide students a list of new vocabulary words from the passage. Older students

can scan the passage and make their own lists of unfamiliar vocabulary. Have students

create their own personal dictionary by looking up words and writing the definitions in a

notebook. For younger students, consider having them also draw an illustration of the

words as appropriate. Have students occasionally review their personal word lists to

reinforce their learning.

4. Vocabulary Word Strategies - Skip It:

Sometimes it is best to allow students to read passages and simply skip words

they cannot decode or read. Consider having students make a slight mark by words they

do not know and continue reading. This allows them to finish the passage without

disrupting the flow of text. Have them address the words they missed after they are

finished reading the passages. They can address them using the strategies above at that

time.

Resource:

http://learningdisabilities.about.com/od/instructionalmaterials/ht/nwvocabinreadin.htm

Stategy 2:

Word knowledge is an essential component of communicative competence (Seal,

1991), and it is important for both production and comprehension in a foreign language.

Knowing a word involves knowing:

- a great deal about its general frequency of use, syntactic and situational limitations on

its use,

- its underlying form and the forms that can be derived from it,

- the network of its semantic features and,

- The various meanings associated with the item.

Gu and Johnson (1996) list second language (L2) vocabulary learning strategies

as metacognitive, cognitive, memory and activation strategies. Met cognitive strategies

consist of selective attention and self-initiation strategies. F&SLLs who employ selective

attention strategies know which words are important for them to learn and are essential

for adequate comprehension of a passage. Learners employing self-initiation strategies

use a variety of means to make the meaning of vocabulary items clear. Cognitive

strategies in Gu and Johnson’s taxonomy entail guessing strategies, skillful use of

dictionaries and note-taking strategies. Learners using guessing strategies draw upon their

background knowledge and use linguistic clues like grammatical structures of a sentence

to guess the meaning of a word. Memory strategies are classified into rehearsal and

encoding categories. Word lists and repetition are instances of rehearsal strategies.

Encoding strategies encompass such strategies as association, imagery, visual, auditory,

semantic, and contextual encoding as well as word-structure (i.e., analyzing a word in

terms of prefixes, stems, and suffixes). Activation strategies include those strategies

through which the learners actually use new words in different contexts. For instance,

learners may set sentences using the words they have just learned. All these suggested

strategies can be summarized in a table as follows:

Strategies

Metacognative Cognative Memory Activation

* Selective

Attention:

Identifying essential

words for

comprehension

* Self-initiation:

Using a variety of

means to make the

meaning of words

clear

* Guessing:

Activating

background

knowledge, using

linguistic items

* Use of

dictionaries

* Note-taking

* Rehearsal:

Word lists,

repetition, etc.

* Encoding:

Association

(imagery, visual,

auditory, etc.)

* Using new words

in different contexts

Resource: http://www.novitasroyal.org/Ghazal.html

2. Learning Strategies

Successful language learners use language-learning strategies to facilitate their

acquisition of language. However, unsuccessful or less skilled language learners also use

learning strategies, “such as translation, rote memorization, and repetition” (Oxford,

p.19). If language learners, successful and unsuccessful alike, both use language-learning

strategies, how do we explain that some are less skilled than others?

According to Oxford, “less effective learners apply these strategies in a random,

even desperate manner, without careful orchestration and with targeting the strategies to

the task” (p.19). It is our duty then, as language teachers, to make our students aware of

the link between the different strategies and the tasks to be completed in the L2. In this

section, we will outline five effective language-learning strategies that we believe would

be useful to our targeted students (secondary IV, enriched English) when dealing with

new vocabulary in their readings. Moreover, these strategies will also help students

remember new vocabulary later on. The strategies outlined are as follows: personalized

vocabulary lists, placing new words into a context, associating/elaborating, semantic

mapping and grouping.

There are two classes of language-learning strategies: the direct and indirect

strategies. Direct language-learning strategies encompass memory, cognitive and

compensation strategies. Indirect language-learning strategies, on the other hand,

encompass metacognitive, affective and social strategies. The five strategies that we will

be exploring are part of the direct strategies, more specifically, the memory strategies.

Personalized vocabulary lists

Personalized vocabulary lists are lists of new words that the students encounter

during their reading. Students make a note of the word and then look up its meaning in a

dictionary. They then write down a short definition of the new vocabulary word.

Because we are dealing with Secondary IV, enriched English-level students, we

can safely assume that they have a relatively high vocabulary for second language

learners. Therefore, it stands to reason that not every student in the classroom will

encounter exactly the same unknown vocabulary words. Having students create

personalized vocabulary lists has the advantage that students, first of all, take their

learning into their own hands as well as personalizing and adapting what they learn to

their own needs. Moreover, having students look up these new words in the dictionary

and writing down their definitions will help them commit them to memory for future use.

Placing new words into a context

Once students have made note of new vocabulary words and looked up their

meaning in a dictionary, students can now put the word into context. Student can do this

by using the new vocabulary word in a sentence of their own which illustrates the

meaning as well as the function (noun, verb, adjective, etc.) of the word.

This is an effective language-learning strategy because it helps second language

learners internalize new linguistic information. Using these new vocabulary items in a

sentence helps to illustrate their meaning as well as solidify these words in the students’

memory.

Association/elaborating

Another effective language-learning strategy is association/elaborating. To use

this strategy, students must associate new vocabulary words to something else. This can

be a synonym or another word related in meaning or a key word from the definition.

Moreover, students could also link a new vocabulary word in the L2 to the equivalent in

their L1.

The fact that making links between words helps to not only illustrate its meaning,

but also to make new vocabulary items easier to remember, makes the

association/elaborating strategy a truly effective one for second-language learners.

Semantic mapping

Semantic mapping, according to Thomas H. Estes “is a strategy for graphically

representing concepts. Semantic maps portray the schematic relations that compose a

concept. It assumes that there are multiple relations between a concept and the knowledge

that is associated with the concept” (Estes,

http://www.readingquest.org/edis771/semantic_maps.html).

Second-language learners can use this strategy by associating in writing concepts or

other vocabulary words associated with the new, unknown one. For instance, if the

unknown word were lucrative, then some words and concepts associated with it would be

money, banking, work, investments, etc. Not only does this strategy serve to further

illustrate the meaning of new vocabulary words but they also serve to create links with

already known words and concepts that, in turn, help students remember and understand

new vocabulary items.

Grouping

Grouping involves the grouping of similar words. Words can be grouped

according to their functions (verbs, nouns, adjectives, adverbs, etc.). Moreover, new

vocabulary words could also be grouped according to their related meanings. For

instance, if a new vocabulary word were environment than it could easily be grouped

with pollution and ecosystem under the heading ecology.

Grouping could be useful to second-language learners as a language-learning

strategy because it allows students to associate words according to their functions in the

language as well as their link to other words or concepts. This helps students learn how to

use the various new vocabulary words they will encounter in their readings as well as

help them to remember them by associating them to other, already known words or

concepts.

3. Metacognition

A) The Article on Metacognition

See project binder

B) What is Metacognition?

Put simply, metacognition refers to “thinking about thinking” (p.1). This concept is

linked closely with learning strategies as it represents the process learners go through

when verifying that learning has occurred. It is of a higher order thinking as it has “active

control over the cognitive process” (p.1). In other words, metacognition involves

planning how to perform a certain task, verifying comprehension and evaluate one’s

progress. It can happen after or before cognition, but both are interlinked together.

According to John Flavell (p.1) metacognition is both metacognitive knowledge and

metacognitive experiences. Moreover, he divides metacognitive knowledge into three

categories which are: knowledge of person variables, task variables and strategy

variables. Metacognition is also an important variable in the successful outcome of

learning as it serves to validate that learning has occurred or how to get there.

Especially for our choice of learning strategies to new vocabulary, metacognition

becomes important as teachers want their students to learn and remember new

vocabulary. To provide students with templates of how to deal with the encounter of new

vocabulary and to learn them is of great importance in the task of reading a novel. It is

important that no matter which strategy they choose, that they transfer and learn how to

use the new vocabulary. In using those strategies, students will be able to deal with new

vocabulary more easily and without interfering too much with the actual task, which is

reading. Moreover, most of the strategies chosen as learning strategies to new vocabulary

involve looking for the significance of the word after the students are done reading. That

way, the flow of reading will not be touched and they will have more chances of guessing

the meaning of the word in context than if they would stop every 3 lines to look up a

word in the dictionary.

4. Reflection – Reading and Vocabulary Development

As teachers, we should promote the development of students’ vocabulary

knowledge through reading because “it is an important source of input for second

language acquisition” (Gee, 1999,3). The role of teachers in reading is to foster the love

of reading in children, so that they start to read on their own (Gee, 4). The more the

students enjoy reading, the more they feel confidant, and the more they read. Usually,

these students have a larger vocabulary (Gee, 3) because reading is a free access to a

bank of vocabulary and various lexical aspects. Furthermore, learning vocabulary is

considered incidental when done during reading and easier than regular vocabulary

teaching (Schmitt&Carter, 2000, 4). Incidental learning is said to be more efficient when

occurring frequently through reading. That is why it is important for the students to read

as much as possible to get more out of reading. Another benefit of learning vocabulary

through reading is that, you not only learn the meaning of a word, but you gain access to

a greater exposure to the language, and you learn many lexical aspects such as grammar,

and synonyms and antonyms (Schmitt&Carter, 2000, 4). Moreover, reading facilitates the

integration of language skills (Ghosn, 2002, 172). Literature helps the readers to

“internalize the new language by providing access to a rich variety of linguistics items”

( Ghosn, 2002, 174). Therefore, reading provides huge advantages to learning a second

language, especially learning new vocabulary.

Task 6 – WEB QUEST

1. WebQuest

See webct posting containing it.

2. Presentation

Gallery Tour ‘Exploring The Giver’

The cooperative learning strategy that we would suggest to present the WebQuest

project students would do is a Gallery Tour ‘Exploring The Giver’. This structure was

chosen because we believe it puts less stress on the students to present in a more natural

context. Plus, their speech becomes more natural as they present their project to more

than one team.

The idea behind it is that it is an interactive way to present a project without it

being in front of the whole class and only one time. Students interact together and

evaluate one another. This way of presenting the projects will have the touring teams

answer some questions prepared by the presenting team in order to make sure that they

have understood the presentation. Moreover, the touring teams also have to ask questions

about the projects.

This is also a way to have students give each other feedback following the

evaluation grid that they would have to complete after the presentations. (The presenting

and the touring teams)

Visual aid and scaffolding

As for the way to present their project, we thought it could either be on a poster, a

model (maquette) or a PowerPoint presentation, but given that there probably would not

be more than one projector per classroom, if one at all, we thought that it would be better

to go with the poster or a model.

We believe that using these visuals will help the teams to present and structure

their presentation. As it would be the only help that they would be allowed to use as a

memory aid, they would have to minimize the text and make the information clear and

obvious. Fist of all, they research the subject of the WebQuest in its many areas and

choose one aspect of it which they wish to discuss for the Gallery Tour. Then, they

choose relevant ideas that they think are worth portraying on the poster or the model.

For the scaffolding part, every day teaching can inspire them as how to be able to

present something without reading a text. Moreover, there are many ways that a teacher

can have his/her students model what is needed for the project visuals. For example, give

the how-to list, or an example of visuals that they could rely on. The important aspect of

scaffolding is that they learn how to use the visuals as their memory aid for the

presentation.

3. Presentation Strategies

As second language teachers, one of our main concerns is getting our students to

speak in the L2. This may take the form of oral presentations. However, many students

are so unsure of their abilities that, when they prepare an oral presentation, they

memorize it and spout it out by heart when it comes to the actual presentation. Moreover,

they may simply copy and paste information off the Internet. This information is often at

an inappropriate level for their actual language abilities. Students may use words that are

too complicated, which would make their presentation hard to understand for their peers.

Our goal as language teachers is to have students use language as spontaneously

as possible. However, for many students, presenting something orally, even in their first

language, in front of a group of people is quite nerve-wracking, let alone in their second

language. Many students feel a lot of pressure to memorize their presentation so as to

avoid making any potentially embarrassing mistakes. In order to diminish this pressure;

we must equip our students with strategies that will make them feel more comfortable

presenting something orally in the L2. In this section, we will be discussing a few of

these strategies.

First of all, it is important to stress the importance of proper preparation to

students. To give a good presentation, students need to be organized. Being organized

will also help students to remember what they will talk about during their presentation.

Indeed, according to Yin Ling Cheung, in the article Teaching Effective Presentation

Skills to ESL/EFL Students, organization can be divided into two subdivisions: macro and

micro organization.

Cheung defines macro organization as the outlining of the “purpose, objectives,

outline, introduction, and conclusion” of a presentation (Cheung, Teaching Effective

Presentation Skills to ESL/EFL Students, The Internet TESL Journal Vol. XIV, No. 6,

June 2008 http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Cheung-PresentationSkills.html). After choosing

their topic, students can use graphic organizers or charts to outline what they want to talk

about in each of the sections: the purpose, objectives, outline, introduction and the

conclusion of the presentation. This will help students get their ideas out on paper and

help them research their ideas effectively.

Micro organization, on the other hand, “refers to textual coherence, transitions,

and connections from one part to another” (Cheung). Here, teachers could provide

students with a word bank of transitional phrases or connectors that they could use in

their presentation. By teaching students appropriate vocabulary to use for presentations,

they are less tempted to copy-paste whole texts from the Internet. They already have

some of the vocabulary that they require to write their notes for presentations.

Another good strategy to use with L2 students is to tell them that they will need to

engage their peers during their presentations. For instance, “practical strategies to involve

the audience are questions, comprehension checks, and tasks” (Cheung). Moreover,

because students are asked to make sure their peers/audience understand, forces students

to use more natural and level-appropriate language. Furthermore, because the audience

will be encouraged and urged to ask the presenting student questions, this forces the

presenter to not only understand his/her material, but also be prepared to answer their

peers’ questions.

Finally, it is important to give students ample time to practice their oral

presentations. For example, students could give their presentation to a small group of

their peers before presenting to the whole class. Students would listen to their teammates’

presentations and fill out an evaluation form. The evaluation form would include

questions such as: Did you understand the presentation? Was there vocabulary used that

you didn’t understand and that the presenter didn’t clarify? Did the presenter engage you

while presenting? Did he/she ask questions? Check for understanding? Give you tasks to

do? Could the presenter answer your questions during/after the presentation? What

advice would you give to the presenter to make his/her presentation better?

All in all, the strategies of preparation, presenting necessary vocabulary, engaging

the audience and ample practice are quite effective in diminishing how much students

memorize and copy off the Internet or other sources when preparing and giving oral

presentations.

4. Criterion-based Evaluation - Presentation

Team Members:     ________________________________________________

CATEGORY Excellent Very Good Good PoorTime-Limit Presentation is 10

minutes long.Presentation is 7 minutes long.

Presentation is 5 minutes long.

Presentation is less than 4 minutes.

Preparedness Student is completely prepared.

Student seems fairly prepared.

The student is somewhat prepared.

Student does not seem at all prepared to present.

Collaboration with Peers

All team members share equally the task of presenting. They work together as a team.

Some team members speak a little bit more than the others. They seem to work together as a team.

One or two team members seem to speak more than the others. Little or no team work is shown through the presentation.

Some team members barely speak. No team work is shown.

Attire Attire is linked to the subject. A lot of effort has been put into the concept.

Attire seems to be related to the presentation. There seem to be some effort put into the concept.

Attire is not really linked to the presentation. There seems to be little effort put into the concept.

Attire is not appropriate nor related to the presentation and not liked to a concept.

Content Shows a full understanding of the topic.

Shows a good understanding of the topic.

Shows a good understanding of parts of the topic.

Does not seem to understand the topic very well.

Comprehension Student is able to accurately answer almost all questions asked by classmates about the topic.

Student is able to accurately answer most questions asked by classmates about the topic.

Student is able to accurately answer a few questions asked by classmates about the topic.

Student is unable to accurately answer questions asked by classmates about the topic.

Speaks Clearly Speaks clearly and distinctly all (100-95%) the time and makes effort to pronounce English sounds correctly.

Speaks clearly and distinctly all (100-95%) the time.

Speaks clearly and distinctly most ( 94-85%) of the time, little attention is given to pronounciation.

Often mumbles or can not be understood.

Uses Complete Sentences

Always (99-100% of time) speaks in complete sentences.

Mostly (80-98%) speaks in complete sentences.

Sometimes (70-80%) speaks in complete sentences.

Rarely speaks in complete sentences.

Vocabulary Uses vocabulary appropriate for the audience. Extends audience vocabulary by defining content words.

Uses vocabulary appropriate for the audience. Includes 1-2 new content words, but they are not defined.

Uses vocabulary appropriate for the audience. Does not include any vocabulary that might be new to the audience.

Uses several (5 or more) words or phrases that are not understood by the audience.

Stays on Topic Stays on topic all (100%) of the time.

Stays on topic most (99-90%) of the time.

Stays on topic some (89%-75%) of the time.

It was hard to tell what the topic was.

Volume Speaks loud enough to be heard by all audience members throughout the presentation.

Speaks loud enough to be heard by all audience members at least 90% of the time.

Speaks loud enough to be heard by all audience members at least 80% of the time.

Volume of voice is often too soft to be heard by all audience members.

5. MELS Program

ESL Competencies

Interacts orally in English

The presentation based on a Web Quest aims to have students interact orally in English

(Gallery Tour ‘Exploring The Giver’). They have to convey ideas and communicate

naturally and confidently when presenting their work. They are expected to give each

other feedback.

Reinvests understanding of texts.

In the Web Quest project, students are given texts and information about `capitalism and

socialism`, Once students have understood and interpreted the texts, they can perform

tasks where they reinvest what they have learned. Students learn how to find meaning

from written texts and they show their understanding through writing.

Cross-Curricular Competencies

Uses information and communications technologies.

The Web Quest is presented in Web page format and intends to get students to use

information resources from the World Wide Web. Indeed, The Community Web Quest

provides the context of two different economic systems based on socialism. Students are

assigned to one of three projects in the web quest and are asked to read short texts and

answer questions according to their project.

Exercises critical judgement.

By the end of the Web Quest presentation, students give each other feedback following

the evaluation grid that they would have to complete after the presentations; so that, they

develop an understanding of the topic, critical awareness and become familiar with

concepts and methods of analysis. In addition, the Web Quest presentation allows

students to convey their points of view and justify their positions. It helps students to

communicate their judgements and qualify them by comparing and reconsidering their

position.

Cooperate with others

The presentation of the Web Quest project is a collaborative activity where the teams in

the classroom are divided in 2 sections and each team has to prepare a set of questions

that the other teams have to answer.

Communicate in an appropriate manner.

Clear communication is essential to negotiating points of view, discussing ideas, and

justifying choices or opinions. During presentations, students will share their information

in small groups; they will be evaluated on their clarity of speech and use of sentences,

choice of vocabulary, and organization of thought.

Uses information.

The Web Quest project aims at getting students ready for interaction using information

from the Internet in order to learn about two notions of economic systems. Indeed, it is

perceived as a strategy for learning with Internet resources.

Adopts effective work methods.

To start an activity or project or embark on any task, learners must adopt effective work

methods. Such methods involve selecting appropriate procedures according to the nature

of the task and the available resources. For instance, in the Web Quest presentation,

students have to prepare themselves for the presentation. One section has to be ready to

present and have their questions ready. They have to make sure that their presentations fit

within the criteria. The presenting teams present and the touring teams answer questions.

Broad Areas of Learning

Media

Students use the Internet as a means to search for information; they completed their

projects through the use of computers, Internet, websites...Through media, students

develop an understanding of media representations of reality (message, images,

movement).

Adoption of strategies related to a plan or project

In the Web Quest project and presentation, students develop an aptitude for making

decisions, to search for information, express their opinions and planning - they become

more confident and better performers.

Task 7 – Deconstruction/Text Analysis: Stylistic Features

1. Internet Search

Site 1:

http://www.orangeusd.k12.ca.us/yorba/literary_elements.htm

Site 2:

http://www.kimskorner4teachertalk.com/readingliterature/literary_elements_devices/

foreshadowing.htm

2. Lesson Plans

Steps - Teacher Steps - Students

1. Ask students to take out their copy of Lois Lowry’s The Giver and turn to Chapter 3, p.25. Prior to this class, students should have finished reading the novel in its entirety.

1. Students take out their copy of Lois Lowry’s The Giver. Students should be finished reading the novel completely before coming to class.

2. Tell students that they will have 10 minutes to read the page individually.

2. Students have 10 minutes to read p. 25 in Chapter 3 individually.

3. As students read quietly, write the following question on the board: “Based on what you now know about the novel, what things do you notice about this passage that relate to the ending of the book?”

3. Students continue reading quietly.

4. Stop the reading. Draw students’ attention to the question on the board. Tell students that they will get into groups of 4 to discuss and answer this question. Make sure everyone understands the question then separate students into their teams. Number them 1 to 4.

4. Students stop reading. They read the question that has been written on the board, asking questions or for clarification if they are not quite clear on its meaning. The teacher numbers them 1 to 4 and they get into their teams. In their teams, they must discuss and answer the question.

5. Before they begin, tell students that team member #1 will be the secretary and that you will call on any random team and team member to answer the question. Tell students they will have 20-25 minutes to discuss and formulate their answer.

5. Before beginning, students are told that team member #1 is the secretary for the group and that any random team and team member may be called on to answer the question. Students have 20-25 minutes to discuss and formulate their answer.

6. Stop the activity after 20-25 minutes. Call on 3 or 4 groups randomly to share their answers with the whole class. Write them in point form on the board.

6. Students stop discussing after 20-25 minutes. They are prepared to answer if the teacher calls on them.

7. Ask questions based on students’ answers: Why do you think the author included this part so early in the story? What was the author’s goal in including this particular part? Students may answer freely or you may call on them at random.

7. Students answer questions asked by the teacher based on their previous answers.

8. Present the stylistic feature of foreshadowing. Explain that sections of a novel or story that, once reread after finishing it, reflect important elements or events of the outcome of the whole novel, are foreshadowing. Explain that foreshadowing “is the use of hints or clues to suggest what will happen later in literature” (http://www.orangeusd.k12.ca.us/yorba/literary_elements.htm).

8. Students listen to the explanation given by the teacher.

9. Hand out the worksheet Foreshadowing Chart. Tell students that in their same teams of 4, they will work together to find passages of the book that could be considered as foreshadowing. They must paraphrase the event, (i.e., Jonas would become someone special), and provide the clues from the text given by the author that this event would happen. They must also write the page numbers in which they found their clues. Students will have 25-30 minutes to find 2 or 3 foreshadowings from the novel.

9. Students receive the worksheet Foreshadowing Chart. They get back in their teams of 4 and work together to find passages in the book that could be considered as foreshadowing. They must paraphrase the event, (i.e., Jonas would become someone special), and provide the clues from the text given by the author that this event would happen. They must also write the page numbers in which they found their clues. Students have 25-30 minutes to find 2 or 3 foreshadowings from the novel.

10. Stop the activity. Call on one student from each team to write one clue, its related event and the page number on the board. Discuss these answers. If there are any doubts about any one answer, have students discuss whether or not the clue can be counted as a foreshadowing.

10. Students stop their discussion. One student from each team goes and writes one of their clues, its related event along with the page number on the board. Students discuss these answers in a whole-class discussion. If there are doubts as to whether or not some clues are actually foreshadowing, students give reasons for why it could or couldn’t be counted as a foreshadowing.

TITLE: ____________________________ AUTHOR: __________________________

EVENT CLUE IT WOULD HAPPEN PAGE NUMBER

Source: http://www.kimskorner4teachertalk.com/readingliterature/literary_elements_devices/foreshadowing_chart.pdf

3. Metacognition

Metacognition is necessary and is present in task 7.2. The previous activity requires the

students to reflect on the way they understood the story. They have to make relationships

between what they are reading and what they understood from the ending of the book. In other

words, they have to use what they know to “make inferences about how to apply one’s strategic

knowledge to a particular situation” (http://academic.pgcc.edu/~wpeirce/MCCCTR/

metacognition.htm#I).

Moreover, metacognition is introduced in the activity, as the students must reflect on the

answer that they came up with. In other words, they have to accomplish the task and then think

about why they wrote what they wrote (see task 7.2).

Furthermore, the activity requires the students to control many elements at the same time

such as concentrating on the reading and on the comprehension of the book, understanding the

concept of foreshadowing from the teaching, and linking all this together (see task 9). In order to

accomplish this, the students have to be aware of useful learning strategies, and focus their

attention on the goal of the activity while using these strategies.

Therefore, students need to be thinking about and aware of what they are thinking in

order to be successful at metacognition

(http://academic.pgcc.edu/~wpeirce/MCCCTR/metacognition.htm#I). The more consistently

and effectively students become at reflecting on their learning, the more effective learners they

will become.

Task 8 – Character Analysis: Strategy – Body Biography

1. Body Biography

2. MELS Program

The Body Biography is not only a fun and stimulating activity for students; it also

touches on the three cross-curricular competencies as outlined in the MELS enriched ESL

program. In this section, we will discuss how exactly the three cross-curricular competencies are

involved in the Body Biography.

Competency 1: Interacts Orally in English

In the MELS program, Competency 1 is outlined as “students and the teacher use

English as the language of communication in the classroom for all personal, social and task-

related purposes” (MELS program, English as a Second Language, Core Program, Enriched

Program, p. 14).

Since students are asked to present their Body Biography to their peers, there is a great

deal of oral interaction being done in English. The presenting students would have to explain

their choice of images, colours, symbolism, words, etc to their audience and the audience could

be encouraged to ask the presenting students questions about their creation. Moreover, while

designing and creating their Body Biography, students would be expected to interact with one

another and the teacher in English only.

Competency 2: Reinvests understanding of texts

Reinvesting the understanding of texts is defined as “students construct the meaning of

texts through the response process. They make use of their understanding of these texts in

meaningful reinvestment tasks” (MELS program, English as a Second Language, Core Program,

Enriched Program, p. 22). Indeed, because the Body Biography is a form of character analysis,

students must reinvest what they learned about the character in their readings and apply it to the

Body Biography. Students must associate character traits with either images, symbols, poetry,

lyrics or descriptive words. Moreover, associating this acquired information with the students’

own choice of symbols, wording, drawings or poetry makes it a meaningful task. This could also

help students to broaden their understanding of a particular character as well as the text itself.

Competency 3: Writes and produces texts

The MELS program defines Competency 3 as “gives students an additional means to

communicate in English and provides them with an authentic purpose for writing and producing

texts, as well as a real audience to address” (MELS program, English as a Second Language,

Core Program, Enriched Program, p. 30). Indeed, in the Body Biography, students may be asked

to write a poem about their chosen character, associate song lyrics with that character as well as

write descriptive phrases or paragraphs for that character. This gives students another occasion

to communicate in English. Moreover, because they will be presenting their Body Biography to

their peers, this also gives students a real audience for their written as well as graphic work.

Students put in more effort into making a project interesting and captivating if they are told that

they will be presenting to their peers.

Task 9 – Character Analysis: Strategy (Graphic Organizer) – Venn Diagram

1. Venn Diagram

** See printed version in our project binder

2. Presentation

The ‘Inside-Outside Circle’ would work perfectly to share this activity with many other

classmates in pairs. The students would form two circles facing each other. The students share

their Venn diagram with the partner. Then, the inside circle moves to the left and the outside

circle moves to the right. With a new partner, they discuss their diagram again.

Young

Wise

Creative

Open minded

Unique

Caring

Adult

Student

Teacher

Music

Different

Like children

Think of

others

Ask questions

Courageous

THE RECEIVERBOTH OF US ME

Task 10 – Character Analysis: Strategy – Chart

1. Chart

Chapter, Page and

Paragraph number

Quote Trait Interpretation

Chapter 1, p. 1, paragraph 1

“No. Wrong word, Jonas thought. Frightened meant that deep…”

Pensive Jonas is pensive because he takes the time to think out his feelings and problems.

Chapter 1, p.2, paragraph 2

“Instantly, obediently, Jonas had dropped his bike on its side…”

Obedient Jonas is obedient. He always listens to his parents and the Elders. He doesn’t want to cause trouble.

Chapter 2, p.17, paragraph 1

“I worry a little about Asher’s Assignment…”

Concerned Jonas feels concerned about his friends.

Chapter 3, p.20, paragraph 1

“Jonas glared at her. He didn’t like it that she had mentioned his eyes.”

Self-conscious

Jonas’ light coloured eyes make him different from most of the community and that makes him self-conscious.

Chapter 3, p.25, paragraph 2

“He had held a magnifying glass to it. He had tossed it several times across the room, watching…”

Curious When Jonas sees the apple as red for the first time, he is curious about the change and takes it home to study it.

Chapter 4, p.26, paragraph 1

“He didn’t often do his volunteer hours with his friend because Asher frequently fooled around and made serious work a little difficult.”

Serious Jonas is very serious about his volunteer hours and anything else he undertakes.

2. Poster

Jonas is a very mature boy. The twelve-year-old boy works hard at school and is

never disobedient because he always listens to the Elders and his parents. Jonas is obedient

and he is very serious compared to his other friends. He is a good friend; he listens to

others and tries to understand the world. He likes to be helpful towards the smaller

children and the elderly. He cares about his parents, sister and friends. He thinks of others

a lot; he is not self-centered. He doesn’t judge others when they don’t have the same

opinions. He is not a troublemaker but rather a problem solver. He has a very structured

mind and likes to reflect and find answers to his problems, which makes him a very

curious person. He likes to give to the community by helping and volunteering at different

places and he is very serious about that. Compared to other children, he can predict the

consequences of his actions. Jonas is different form the other children of his community

and he knows that, which makes him self-conscious. He can feel and see things that his

community cannot. Jonas had to go through a lot when he was assigned to Receiver. Being

the Receiver, he is officially different from everyone. He has a very different way of seeing

life than other people of the community and he feels odd about things he knows and

cannot say to his family and friends.

3. Multintelligencies

In the poster project, two of Howard Gardner’s eight multiple intelligences types are

most relevant. These are the linguistic intelligence type and the visual spatial intelligence type.

According to Gardner, the linguistic intelligence type “involves the ability to read, write,

and communicate with words. A student may be expected to use their linguistic skills to

communicate what they already know or what new information they have learned” (Howard

Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences, http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/articles/ multiintel/start.htm). Indeed,

in the poster project students are asked to use the information they have gathered from the

character analysis chart in Sub-task 10.1 as well as their knowledge of the entire novel and

transfer that knowledge to create an analysis of the main character on paper. What they include

in their poster must reflect the character’s personality, tastes, experiences, etc. All this implies

that students should be skilled not only in communicating with words in a written form, but also

in reading. Students must be able to read passages and pick out certain personality traits that

might not be made explicit by the author.

As for the visual spatial intelligence type, Gardner describes this type as “the ability to

think in pictured and visualize outcomes” (Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences). In the

poster project, students are asked to decorate and design their poster in a way that best illustrates

the main character. Students must be able to use appropriate imagery in such a way that it will

effectively bring out the character’s personality traits, tastes or experiences.

4. Multiliteracies

A) Website

The Multiliteracy Project

http://www.multiliteracies.ca/

B) Define Multiliteracy

According to the website The Multiliteracy Project, the term multi-literacies can be

defined as “…two related aspects of the increasing complexity of texts: (a) the proliferation of

multimodal ways of making meaning where the written word is increasingly part and parcel of

visual, audio, and spatial patterns; (b) the increasing salience of cultural and linguistic diversity

characterized by local diversity and global connectedness” (The Multiliteracy Project).

In other words, the term multiliteracies refers to the variety of texts available to us

through a panoply of mediums. Indeed, we are no longer limited to oral and written means for

communication. Especially with the advent of the Internet, today’s society is expected to be

more and more computer literate; that is, people rely on computer skills to function in many

areas of life. Moreover, because our society is becoming more and more diverse culturally and

linguistically, all of us must adapt to these new “multimodal ways of making meaning” (The

Multiliteracy Project) ways that might not have been familiar to us before.

C) Poster

http://www. gmu.edu/departments/economics/bcaplan/museum/musframe.htm

Same for everyone

Everything is Grey….

5. Differentiated Instruction

A) Web Search

http://www.members.shaw.ca/priscillatheroux/differentiating.html

According to Priscilla Theroux, differentiated instruction can be defined as the act of

“creating multiple paths so that students of different abilities, interest or learning needs

experience equally appropriate ways to absorb, use, develop and present concepts as a part of

the daily learning process. It allows students to take greater responsibility and ownership for

their own learning, and provides opportunities for peer teaching and cooperative learning”

(Priscilla Theroux, Enhanced Learning With Technology).

B) Explain Poster Project

A poster project could be set up in such a way as to take the concept of differentiated

instruction into account quite easily in the classroom. For instance, the teacher could vary the

medium with which students could be allowed to work. Students who have less developed

artistic skills could have the option of creating a computer or digital version of the poster, using

graphics and wording appropriate to the project. Also, students with particular learning

difficulties could do a modified version of the poster project, one that does not make the same

demands on performance as students who perform more strongly. Moreover, because the poster

project requires a certain amount of planning before producing the final product, students could

be introduced to a variety of planning strategies, such as graphic organizers. Students would

choose the strategy or strategies that best suit their own, personal needs in preparation for the

poster project.

All in all, as long as the main goals of the poster project (using the information from the

character traits chart and knowledge from the novel to produce a character analysis) are met, it

does not matter in what way students accomplish this and, indeed, adapting to their various

needs may help them meet these goals.

6. MELS Program

ESL Competencies

Competency 2: Reinvests Understanding of Texts

Students in the Enriched English program are expected to “construct meaning of texts

through the response process. They make use of their understanding of these texts in meaningful

reinvestment tasks” (MELS, English as a Second Language, Enriched Program, p.22). In the

poster project, students are expected to transfer their knowledge of the novel that they have read

into an analysis of the main character. Completing this task effectively implies that students

should have thoroughly understood the novel.

Competency 3: Writes and Produces Texts

In Competency 3: Writes and Produces Texts, writing in English should “give students

an additional means to communicate in English, and provides them with an authentic purpose to

write and produce, as well as a real audience to address” (MELS, English as a Second

Language, Enriched Program, p.30). In the poster project, students must write-up an analysis of

the main character, making use of their writing abilities in English. Moreover, because of the

form that the project takes on (i.e., a poster), students get the chance to experiment with a

different text type.

ESL Cross-Curricular Competencies

Communication related competency:

Communicates appropriately

Students must be able to communicate their ideas appropriately in order for their poster

to be effective in its interpretation of the main character’s personality.

Methodological Competencies:

Adopts effective work methods

Since the poster project requires a certain amount of planning and preparing, students

need to be able to organize their work effectively. They need to work consistently and in an

organized way to achieve good results and to finish the work required on time.

Uses information and communications technologies

Enriched ESL students must use the information found in the novel to create their

character analysis for the poster project. Moreover, when applying the differentiated instruction

concept, they may use computer technology to either do research or to actually create their

poster project.

Intellectual Competencies:

Solves problems

If any problems arise during the process of creating their poster project, students must be

able to solve these problems quickly and effectively in order to get the required work done.

Exercises critical judgement

In the poster project, students must use their critical judgement in choosing appropriate

or poignant character traits as well as ways in which to express these traits.

Uses creativity

Students must illustrate their character analysis in the poster project. For these

illustrations to best exemplify the main character’s personality traits, they must be especially

well thought-out and this implies that students use their creativity.

Uses information

Students in the ESL Enriched program doing the poster project do not only have access

to the information on the main character provided by the author in the novel. Students may do

some research online or question their peers and use this information in their character analysis.

Task 11 – Strategy: Plot Diagram

1. Individual work

See project binder

2. Team work

See project binder

3. Other Graphic Organizer

Task 12 – Setting: Strategy- Artwork

1. Artwork

See project binder

2. Reflection

According to Howard Gardner, visual and special intelligence. “…allows students to

think in pictures and to create an artistic object” (Howard, G.1983). The desire to create, to carry

out form and order is common and unending. Every work of art or literature has dual aspects: it

is a present experience, and a record of the past. As such it is cherished, saved, and studied.

Writing creates a lasting record of knowledge, so that information can expand from one

generation to the next. Together, Arts and Literature have helped the individual to define his

humanity. In schools, for instance, responding to literature through artwork helps children

develop their visual intelligence and learn new vocabulary; they use art to remember important

learning experiences. Using artwork in literature helps some children who have strong

visual/special intelligence receive reinforcement and develop their skills and talents in school.

For example drawing on the theory of multi-intelligences allows students to use specific

intelligences to create a representation of a main character in a novel, a concept, an event, etc

through different mediums.

Task 13 – Book Report

1. A) Resources

Site 1: ABCTeach

http://www.abcteach.com/directory/basics/writing/book_reports/

Site 2: Homeschool Teacher’s Lounge

http://www.geocities.com/terriebittner/bookreports.html

B) Blog

Teen Ink: Book Reviews

http://www.teenink.com/Books/

C) Usage of those sites

Sites such as ABCTeach and Homeschool Teacher’s Lounge could be used in a

differentiated instruction classroom. Such sites offer different formats for writing book reports,

which students would choose to suit their learning needs.

Sites such as Teen Ink: Book Reviews could be used as an alternative form of a book

report or as a complementary activity for a traditional book report. The teacher could set up a

blog and then ask the students to write a review of the book that they’ve read. Students would

then post their review on the blog and their peers could give them feedback on their review. The

aim of this activity would be to have students write book reviews that would make their peers

want to read the book as well.

2. Book Report

Book Report Model

Book Report (more detailed) taken from course notes (p. 8.38)

Characters: Who are the main characters? How did one character change in the course of the book? What is the most important relationship in the book, and why?

Setting: What time and place did the author choose for the setting of the book? How and why is the author’s choice of setting appropriate?

Exposition: Early in the book, the exposition introduces the setting, important background information, and the main characters. How does the author suggest and reveal this information in the early chapters?

Foreshadowing: Sometimes the author leaves hints early in the story of what will happen later. Can you find examples of foreshadowing in your book?

Conflict: Most books are based around one central conflict or problem. What is the conflict in your book?

Climax and resolution: At what point in the book did the action reach a peak? How did the problem get resolved during and after the climax?

Style: Did the author use a particular style that captured the essence of the book, for example, humour or unusual expressions?

And finally: Did you like the book? Would you recommend it to a friend? Why, or why not? How was the book good? Were parts of the book disappointing, if so, why? Some books can really get to you and be almost disturbing. Can a disturbing book that doesn’t leave the reader feeling good still be a good book?

Team members: Carole Morin, Joanie Goulet, Stéphanie Fraser, Nawal Hachana

Our team’s Book’s Report

Characters: The main character’s name is Jonas. He is 12 years old. At the beginning of the novel, he is a responsible little boy who listens to his parents and rules of the community. In the course of the story, he becomes Receiver-In-Training and his view of the world he lives in changes a lot. He starts to plan a return to freedom from his community. He finally escapes his house and attempts to find another community, which the Giver gave him memories of.

Setting: We cannot locate the time frame of the story to a certain period in history, however, we do know that it is sometime in the future. The community is based on a communist society. Everything is similar and standard for everyone.

Exposition: The author gives a few clues to the reader at the very beginning of the book as to what the community looks like. We know that all the homes are exactly the same and that outside the community, there is only fields and forests.

Foreshadowing: The author uses foreshadowing through Jonas’ recalling of the incident with the apple. Something happened to the apple to make it different than how apples usually are for Jonas. This gives us a clue as to Jonas’ being different from the other members of his community. Moreover, Jonas being different also tells the reader that something important and life-changing will happen to Jonas in the end.

Conflict: Jonas becomes the Receiver in training and receives the Giver’s memories. Being aware of all the memories make him wish that the community would change and give back the freedom and the happy memories to his community.

Climax and Resolution: The actions reached a peak when Jonas sees the video that shows what releasing a person from the community really is. He then plans to escape the community with Gabriel, his younger brother, because Gabriel is supposed to be released. The Giver helps him to plan his escape. He leaves his house in the middle of the night with Gabriel on his bicycle. He succeeds in leaving the town without getting caught. He finds the hill of his memories and dies of hypothermia.

Style: The author’s writing style could be described as very minimalist. This is interesting because it seems to fit with the whole atmosphere of simplicity and sameness in Jonas’ community. Perhaps the author used a minimalist style of writing to convey her idea of Jonas’ world. However, whenever Lowry describes the images and memories transferred from the Giver to Jonas, she uses a very descriptive style of writing. Again, this could be to put the bareness and colourlessness of Jonas’ world in sharp contrast with the new world of feeling and memory that Jonas is being introduced to by the Giver.

Our impression of the book: We enjoyed the book a great deal. We would recommend it to any teacher who wants his or her students to be aware of different communities. This book is an opening to different societies and it is a great way to introduce them. We found the end a little bit confusing, because it is an open-ended ending and it leaves the reader wondering what really happens to Jonas. What is really disturbing about the book is the colourless, freedomless world

in which Jonas lives. However, this raises the readers’ consciousness as to how lucky we are to be free, in a certain way, to buy what we want, to feel love and passion, see colours and so forth. 9/10!!!

3. 3-D Book Report

See project binder

Task 14 – Team Project: Collaborative Writing of a Story

1. Student Booklet/ Task Sheet

See project binder

2. Peer and Teacher Review/ Response/ Feedback

Story Writing :

Peer Feedback

       

       

 

CATEGORY 4 3 2 1Requirements All of the written

requirements were met.

Almost all (about 90%) the written requirements were met.

Most (about 75%) of the written requirements were met, but several were not.

Many requirements were not met.

Dialogue There is an appropriate amount of dialogue to bring the characters to life and it is always clear which character is speaking.

There is an appropriate amount of dialogue in this story and it is always clear which character is speaking.

There is not quite enough dialogue in this story, but it is always clear which character is speaking.

It is not clear which character is speaking.

Characters The main characters are named and clearly described in text. Most readers could describe the characters accurately.

The main characters are named and described. Most readers would have some idea of what the characters looked like.

The main characters are named. The reader knows very little about the characters.

It is hard to tell who the main characters are.

Setting Many vivid, descriptive words are used to tell when and where the story took place.

Some vivid, descriptive words are used to tell the audience when and where the story took place.

The reader can figure out when and where the story took place, but the author didn't supply much detail.

The reader has trouble figuring out when and where the story took place.

Action Several action verbs (active voice) are used to describe what is happening in the story. The story seems exciting!

Several action verbs are used to describe what is happening in the story, but the word choice doesn't make the story as exciting as it could be.

A variety of verbs (passive voice) are used and describe the action accurately but not in a very exciting way.

Little variety seen in the verbs that are used. The story seems a little boring.

Writing Process

A lot of time and effort was devoted to the writing process (prewriting, drafting, reviewing, and editing). Works hard to make the story wonderful.

Sufficient time and effort was devoted to the writing process (prewriting, drafting, reviewing, and editing). Works and gets the job done.

Some time and effort was devoted to the writing process but was not very thorough. Does enough to get by.

Little time and effort was devoted to the writing process. Doesn't seem to care.

Creativity The final chapter contains many creative details and/or descriptions that contribute to the reader's enjoyment. The authors have really used their imagination.

The final chapter contains a few creative details and/or descriptions that contribute to the reader's enjoyment. The authors have used their imagination.

The final chapter contains a few creative details and/or descriptions, but they distract from the story. The authors have tried to use their imagination.

There is little evidence of creativity in the final chapter. The authors do not seem to have used much imagination.

3. Teacher Feedback Whole Class

A) Specific Context of the Collaborative Writing

After the first draft, the best thing to do is not to look at the grammatical mistakes. The

goal of giving feedback at this point is to give ideas about content in a general way and

sometimes specifically depending on the context. The feedback at this point should include

elements to help students indentify what is missing from and what could be improved in their

stories. The reason for not focusing on grammar at this stage is very simple: the ideas are not yet

completely well written and they need to be worked on. In other words, the content of the stories

needs to be appropriately written and finished before starting to work on correcting mistakes.

Correcting errors and grammar would be the last thing to do before writing the final draft.

B) Two Strategies to Give Feedback Using ITC

One possible thing to do would be to show to the whole class, using a projector, an

outline or a list of elements that could be included in the stories (See index). By showing this

index to the whole class with the projector, the teacher and students alike would be able to refer

to general ideas and include elements that could be improved in every story. In other words, this

time should be used to make a general revision of things that can be included in the stories with

the whole class. The teacher should give at least one example for each point on the list to

generate ideas for students. Allow students to share anything they would like to add to the list

and encourage them to do so. They should actively work with the teacher to improve the list of

things to revise on the first draft.

Another possible thing to do would be to use a Word document to model for the students

how to provide feedback. In order to do so, the teacher should use the editing tools found in

Tools: Track changes, Highlight changes and Track changes when editing. This allows one to

make corrections on a draft and see them (See Index I). That way, the students can follow and

actually see how to give feedback. By modelling the feedback, students will know what kind of

feedback to give and how to give it. Consequently, students will probably perform better. Better

feedback will be given to peers, which indirectly leads to better stories. To do so, the teacher

could use a story either from a student or from any other source. The goal here is to demonstrate

how to give feedback to the group. The teacher should ask the students to tell him/her what

could be improved in the sample used. They should be the ones saying what to change or correct

from the story.

For teachers, doing this type of group work instead of individually will save time and

energy because the same explanations for corrections will not have to be repeated the to every

student.

4. Criterion-Based Evaluation

1. Check List

CheckListDid we post: Yes No Comments

The final polished versionThe final plot diagram

Did we do: Include proof in your binder

Yes No

All the steps in the booklet(Put whole booklet in the binder)

Email first draft to peer-reviewing team

Email first peer-review to partner team

Email second draft to peer-reviewing team

Email second peer-review to partner team

Everything done on time?

2. Quality of Written Work

CATEGORY 4 3 2 1Title Title of the chapter

is creative, sparks interest and is related to the story and topic.

Title of the chapter is related to the story and topic.

The chapter has a title, but does not appear to be related to the story and topic.

No title.

Introduction First paragraph has a "grabber" or catchy beginning and provides a continuity of the previous chapter.

First paragraph has a weak "grabber",but provides a continuity of the previous chapter.

A catchy beginning was attempted but was confusing rather than catchy and it does not really provide a continuity to the previous chapter.

No attempt was made to catch the reader's attention in the first paragraph and seems separate from the previous chapters.

Setting Many vivid, descriptive words are used to tell how and where the end of the story took place.

Some vivid, descriptive words are used to tell the audience how and where the end of the story took place.

The reader can figure out how and where the end story took place, but the authors didn't supply much detail.

The reader has trouble figuring out how and where the end of the story took place.

Creativity The chapter contains many creative details and/or descriptions that contribute to the reader's enjoyment. The authors have really connected the invented chapter to the rest of the story.

The chapter contains a few creative details and/or descriptions that contribute to the reader's enjoyment. The authors have connected the invented chapter to the rest of the story.

The chapter contains a few creative details and/or descriptions, but they distract from the story. The authors have tried to connect the last chapter to the rest of the story.

There is little evidence of creativity in the chapter. The authors does not seem to have connected the last chapter to the rest of the story.

Focus on Assigned Topic

The entire chapter is related to the assigned topic and allows the reader to understand much more about the topic.

Most of the schapter is related to the assigned topic. The chapter wanders off at one point, but the reader can still learn something about the topic.

Some of the chapter is related to the assigned topic, but a reader does not learn much about the topic.

No attempt has been made to relate the chapter to the assigned topic.

Characters The essence of the main character is kept and clearly represented in the chapter. Most readers could not know that the chapter was written by someone else.

The essence of the main character is kept and represented in the chapter. Most readers would have some idea that the chapter was written by someone else.

The essence of the main character seems kept. The reader knows that the chapter is added to the novel.

It is hard to tell that it is the same main character.

Spelling and Punctuation

There are no spelling or punctuation errors in the final draft.

There are one or two spelling or punctuation errors in the final draft.

There are 3 to 5 spelling and punctuation errors in the final draft.

The final draft has more than 5 spelling and punctuation errors.

Neatness The final draft of the chapter is readable, clean, neat and attractive. It looks like the authors took great pride in it.

The final draft of the chapter is readable, neat and attractive. It looks like the author took some pride in it.

The final draft of the chapter is readable and some of the pages are attractive. It looks like parts of it might have been done in a hurry.

The final draft is not neat or attractive. It looks like the students just wanted to get it done and didn't care what it looked like.

Organization The chapter is very well organized. One idea or scene follows another in a logical sequence with clear transitions.

The chapter is pretty well organized. One idea or scene may seem out of place. Clear transitions are used.

The chapter is a little hard to follow. The transitions are sometimes not clear.

Ideas and scenes seem to be randomly arranged.

Action Several action verbs (active voice) are used to describe what is happening in the chapter. The chapter seems exciting!

Several action verbs are used to describe what is happening in the chapter, but the word choice doesn't make the chapter as exciting as it could be.

A variety of verbs (passive voice) are used and describe the action accurately but not in a very exciting way.

Little variety seen in the verbs that are used. The chapter seems a little boring.

Solution Resolution

The solution to the character's problem is easy to understand, and is logical. There are no loose ends.

The solution to the character's problem is easy to understand, and is somewhat logical.

The solution to the character's problem is a little hard to understand.

No solution is attempted or it is impossible to understand.

Requirements All of the written requirements (of 3 pages, images, font style, space, etc.) were met.

Almost all (about 90%) the written requirements were met.

Most (about 75%) of the written requirements were met, but several were not.

Many requirements were not met.

Illustrations Original illustrations are detailed, attractive, creative and relate to the text on the page.

Original illustrations are somewhat detailed, attractive, and relate to the text on the page.

Original illustrations relate to the text on the page.

Illustrations are not present OR they are not original.

Writing Process

Student devotes a lot of time and effort to the writing process (prewriting, drafting, reviewing, and editing).

Student devotes sufficient time and effort to the writing process (prewriting, drafting, reviewing, and editing). Works and gets the job

Student devotes some time and effort to the writing process but was not very thorough. Does enough to get by.

Student devotes little time and effort to the writing process. Doesn't seem to care.

Works hard to make the chapter wonderful.

done.

5. Publishing/ Sharing

In order to publish the students’ stories, one of the websites that could be used wes the

school website. The school’s website would be appropriate because all of the students, the

parents, and the school staff would have access to the stories and could read them. That way, the

parents have an easy access the their children’s work and are glad to see what they do at school.

Of course it is a lot of work for the teacher to post the stories online onto the website, but the

students would be proud to see their work on the Internet. For example, if you were a teacher

from “La Camaradière” you could use the website

http://www.cscapitale.qc.ca/camaradiere/btbp/ to publish your students stories under your name.

Another site that could be used is the class’s blog. That way, other teachers around the

world could read the work your students are doing in class and could publish their stories as

well. Plus, on a blog, the visitors are allow to leave comments, so it would be great for the

students to get feedback from people who liked their stories. As future ESL teachers, we would

use https://www.blogger.com/start because it is easy to create and everyone in the class can

easily have access to the blog and read the stories online.

One way that could be used to share the students’ stories in the classroom between the

groups would be to have them act out their stories in front of the group as a little play. This

could get very interactive and funny as well. The presenters would dress-up and act out their

stories or part of their stories in front of the class.

Another way to share their stories in the classroom would be in an arts and crafts activity

where the students would create a book with their stories. They could create big books with pop-

ups or simply the text with illustrations in the form of a book. That way, the books would be

available for everyone to read them in a fun and attractive way. The stories would be presented

to the other teams in a creative way.

6. Reflections

A) Mutiliteracy

The term multiliteracy refers to the major changes in our communication environment

and the growing diversity of culture and language. As English becomes an international

language in world commerce, media, and politics, an alteration in our communication is

unavoidable. The influences of new communication technologies have influenced the concept of

multiliteracy. To grasp meaning within these changes a new multi-modal literacy is necessary,

especially in education. It is not enough to focus on rules of standard forms of a language.

Learners are asked to figure out the meaning of words in different contexts and to do so they

need to be multi-skilled, more flexible, more able to undertake a range of tasks, capable to move

from one task to another as needed and put theory into practice. In the case of our project, we

are asked to put into practice certain theories that we have been exposed to, including the

concept of multiliteracies, using the story The Giver. We incorporated this theory by creating

some activities that can be useful to students not only to understand the novel, but to make use

of the multiple literacy skills such as finding and creating meaning from images, using ICTs to

create meaningful activities as well as reading in the second language.

B) Scaffolding

The way teachers interact with students before and while they complete a task is

important to fostering students' ability to complete the activity. Scaffolding may include any of

the following: giving students hints, providing information to guide them, such as prompts

written on index cards, demonstrating the task at hand and exemplifying the type of thinking

required for mastery by talking aloud during reading, and beginning practice with easier

material. Once the student has learned the material and skills, she/he has reached independent

mastery, and it is appropriate to move on to higher levels. If the student is still having

difficulties, an error analysis to determine the cause is appropriate. In the case of our

collaborative project, we use scaffolding to demonstrate the type of writing or discussion that

we want from students. Moreover, in many activities guiding information is provided to students

before they begin an activity.

C) Zone of proximal development (ZPD)

ZPD is a crucial component of the development process because it prepares children for

what they can achieve later on their own. What a child can do today by collaborating with

others, he can do it alone tomorrow. Teachers can foster students’ acquisition by adjusting the

content and conditions of instructions not to the student’s capacities, but to his/her potential for

progress. ZPD is the stage where students are at a point where they are ready to learn and

acquire new knowledge.

In addition to suggesting intellectual functioning, effective instruction occurs within the

learner's ZPD. Instruction directed at the level of completed development can increase the

knowledge base, but will have minimal effect upon the student's cognitive ability.  Instruction

directed beyond the proximal level will tend to be incomprehensible to the student and thus will

affect neither knowledge nor cognitive ability. Such instruction necessitates the student working

with more competent others (teachers or parents) on challenging tasks he/she could not solve by

him/herself. As students develop the abilities required, they should receive less support and

work out further problems independently. At the same time, they will encounter yet more

challenging tasks on which they will continue to receive help.  Useful teaching and learning thus

establishes successive ZPDs. In our collaborative project, in many activities, the teacher often

asks questions to lead the students to learn and find out the answer using their deductive

thinking abilities. Moreover, many activities require students to analyse what they have read.

The analysis process is one that we internalize, allowing students to become more and more

independent in learning as he or she applies the same method when working alone or with peers

on assignments

D) Metacognition

Metacognition is a competency that enables students to plan, to self-evaluate before, during, and

after a task, and adjust as needed. It is an effective strategy to promote learning. Metacognition

determines the difference between effective students and those who are experiencing

difficulties. It is a useful skill and necessary in every task. It allows everyone to continue to

learn and it provides the means for learning. For example, in our project we corrected our

answers when we found errors in the documents we produced, we discussed a solution to the

problem with our teammates and we reviewed approaches through questions given by the

teacher.

Task 15 – Reflection: Team Processing

One of our strong points is that we all participated in the tutorials. We respected the

assignments’ due dates that we assigned to each other each week. We believe we helped each

other complete our tasks as well. Moreover, we learned that Nawal is an amazing artist, Carole

is a great organizer and a surprisingly good leader, Joanie is great at keeping everyone and

everything on track and has a flair for ICTs, as for Stéphanie, we discovered that she is a very

hard and conscientious worker.

Indeed, in our teamwork we emphasized each member’s strong points. For example,

Nawal did most of the artwork, Stéphanie corrected the tasks, Carole put the work together in a

final document and Joanie put the PowerPoint presentation together. Indeed, these talents that

we discovered in one another will make us want to work together once again if ever the

occasion arises. As for our weak points, we found it quite difficult to find some time to meet

outside of class due to our different school and work schedules. However, we feel that we

worked extremely effectively together as a team despite our weak points.

Task 16 – Reference List: APA Style

Cheung, Y. L. (2008). Teaching Effective Presentation Skills to ESL/EFL Students. The

Internet TESL Journal, 14 (6). Retrieved November 9, 2008 from

http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Cheung-PresentationSkills.html

Cummins, J. (1994). Knowledge, Power, and Identity in Teaching English as a Second

Language. In Genesee, F. (Ed.), Educating Second Language Children: The Whole

Child, The Whole Curriculum, The Whole Community (pp. 35-58). New York:

Cambridge University Press.

Early, M. The Multiliteracy Project: A Research Collaboration of Students, Educators

& Researchers. Retrieved November 17, 2008 from http://www.multiliteracies.ca/

Estes, T. H. (1999). Strategies for Reading to Learn: Semantic Maps. Retrieved October

28, 2008 from http://www.readingquest.org/edis771/semantic_maps.html

Fabio, D. (2006). Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences. Retrieved November 15,

2008 from http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/articles/multiintel/start.htm

Harvard Educational Review. A Pedagogy of Multiliteracies: Designing Social Futures. Volume

66 Number 1.Spring 1996 from http://wwwstatic.kern.org/filer/blogWrite

44ManilaWebsite/paul/articles/A_Pedagogy_of_Multiliteracies_Designing_Social_Futur

es.htm

Howard, G.(1983).Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences

Johnson, R.T., Johnson, D.W. (1994). An Overview of Cooperative Learning. In

Theresand, J., Villa, R. & Nevin, A. (Eds.), Creativity and Collaborative Learning: A

Practical Guide to Empowering Students & Teachers (pp. 31-44). Baltimore: Paul H.

Burkes Publishing Co.

MELS program, English as a Second Language, Core Program, Enriched Program, (p. 14-22)

Oxford, R.L. (1992/1993). Language Learning Strategies in a Nutshell: Update and ESL

Suggestions. TESOL Journal, 2 (2), 18-22.

Stone, J. Cooperative Learning and Language Arts: A multi-Structural approach (pp.55-57).

Kagan cooperative learning 1(800) WEE CO-OP.

Theroux, P. (2004). Enhance Learning with Technology: Differentiating Instruction.

Retrieved November 17, 2008 from http://www.members.shaw.ca /priscillatheroux/differentiating.html

Task 17 – Progress Report

See project binder

Task 18 – Copy of the Book

See project binder

Task 19 – Project Evaluation Form

CRITERION-BASED EVALUATION: PROJECT 2 (Fall 2008)

Team (names): Carole Morin, Joanie Goulet, Stéphanie Fraser, Nawal Hachana

Tutorial leader: Diethild Starkmeth

PART A Self-evaluation: Check whether or not the following tasks were completed and are included in the assignment you hand in.

Task checklistyes no

Comments (including deductions)

Primary responsibility – give names Comments – Date that we gave each other the homework

1. The book - basic facts X 8 items X Joanie Goulet Oct 17th

2. Getting students into novel X 4 pre-activities X Carole Morin and Stephanie Fraser Oct 17th Reflection X - min 200 words X - A. purpose pre-act X Joanie Goulet Oct 17th - B. purpose tellbacks X Nawal Hachana Oct 17th

3. Getting the facts X Comp. questions X Joanie Goulet Oct 17th Correction – CL X Carole Morin Oct 24th Review – Heads Tog. X Nawal Hachana Oct 17th Reflection - chart X Stéphanie Fraser Oct 17th Reflection - literacy X Stéphanie Fraser Oct 17th

4. Literature Circles X Setting up teams X Joanie Goulet Nov 21st Assessment X Stephanie Fraser Dec 11th English vs French X Nawal Hachana Nov 21st

Planning X Carole Morin Nov 21st

- A. time table X Nov 21st

- B. routine X Nov 21st

5. Vocabulary X Resources - Internet X Nawal Hachana Oct 24th Learning strategies X Stephanie Fraser Oct 24th Metacognition X Carole Morin Oct 24th Reading & voc devel. X Joanie Goulet Oct 24th

6. WEB QUEST X WebQuest X Joanie Goulet Nov 7th presentation X Carole Morin Nov 7th

Pres. strategies X Stephanie Fraser Nov 7th Criterion-based eval. X Carole Morin Nov 7th MELS program X Nawal Hachana Nov 7th

7. Deconstruction: Stylistic X Assign to 2 team members Interrnet search X Carole Morin and Stephanie Fraser Nov 21st Lesson plans X Stephanie Fraser Nov 21st Metacognition X Joanie Goulet Nov 7th

8. Character anal- Body biog. X Body biography X All together Dec 1st MELS program X Stephanie Fraser Nov 14th

9. Character analysis – Strategy: Venn diagram

X Assign to one team member only.

Venn diagram X Joanie Goulet Nov 7th

Presentations X Joanie Goulet Nov 7th 10. Character analysis –

Strategy: ChartX

Chart X Stephanie Fraser Nov 14th poster X Joanie Goulet Nov 14th Multiintelligences X Stephanie Fraser Nov 14th Multiliteracies X Carole Morin and Stephanie Fraser Nov 14th Differentiation X Stephanie Fraser Nov 14th MELS program X Stephanie Fraser Nov 14th

X11. Plot – Strategy - Plot diagram

X

individual work X All of us Nov 14th team work X All of us Dec 1st other graphic

organizerX Nawal Hachana Nov 14th

12. Setting - Artwork X Assign to one team member only. artwork X Nawal Hachana Nov 7th reflection X Nawal Hachana Nov 7th

13. Book report X Assign to 2 team members. resources X Stephanie Fraser Nov 14th

book report X Carole Morin Nov 21st graphic organizers X Carole Morin Nov 21st

14. Team Project – Collaborative writing of story

X

student booklet X Carole Morin Nov 14th peer/teacher review X Stephanie Fraser Nov 14th teacher feedback –

whole classX Joanie Goulet Nov 14th

criterion-based eval X Carole Morin Nov 14th publishing/ sharing X Joanie Goulet Nov 14th Reflection (min. 300

words)X Nawal Hachana Nov 14th

15. Reflection – Team processing

X

reflection X All of us Dec 11th min. 150 words X

16. Reference list X APA style X All of us Minimum 15

references, including web site addresses

X

17. Progress report (folder) X Carole Morin (I was in charge)18. Copy of book (in folder) X19. Project criterion-based evaluation form

X

20. Electronic copy of project posted on WebCT

X

21. Folder – items not posted on WebCT

X

Part B. QUALITY – Written documentsSelf-evaluation: For each item listed below circle the description that best applies to your work.

Excellent GoodFair Poor

A. CONTENT & ORGANIZATION Type of documentStudent materials (e.g. worksheets/ booklets)

Content/ organization All information required included

Most information required included.

Some gaps; parts incomplete or not done.

tasks either not done or done superficially.

Lesson plansContent/ organization Steps - logical, clear sequencing; easy

to follow-generally logical, clear sequencing; occasional gaps

quality varies; at times difficult to follow.

little attention to sequencing of steps; difficult to follow.

tasks for grade level appropriate generally appropriate

some aspects may be too easy or too difficult.

Tasks generally not appropriate - too easy or too difficult

teaching strategies appropriate generally appropriate

at times appropriate, other times not.

generally not appropriate; not sufficiently explained, or not indicated.

Reflections/ explanations (theoretical links)

content knowledge and understanding of topic very much in evidence.

knowledge and understanding of topic generally in evidence; occasional weaknesses

quality varies; for some items knowledge and understanding of topic in evidence, at other times not.

information not provided or tasks done superficially.

In-text references APA style (if requested)

All provided 1 – 2 missing.

3-4 missing or APA style not used consistently

5 or more missing or APA style not used

Coherence/ cohesion Logical sequencing of ideas; appropriate use of cohesive devices

Generally logical sequencing of ideas and appropriate use of cohesive devices

Quality varies; occasional problems with sequencing of ideas and/or cohesive devices

Frequent problems with logical sequencing of ideas and appropriate use of cohesive devices

B. Language* vocabulary/ word choice/

terminologyappropriate generally

appropriateoccasional errors frequent errors

sentence structure/ grammar

appropriategenerally appropriate

occasional errors frequent errors

lesson plans: use of imperative

appropriategenerally appropriate

occasional errors frequent errors

mechanics – spelling, capitalization, punctuation, indenting of paragraphs

appropriate generally appropriate

occasional errors frequent errors

C. Reference list APA style appropriate generally

appropriate several errors/gaps frequent errors/

gaps. Number of references + web

sites15 or more 12-14 9-11 8 or fewer

* Team deductions – language: a half point will be deducted for errors of language (vocabulary, grammar, mechanics) up to a maximum of 20% of the team’s mark.

Self-evaluation: Based on how you completed parts A and B above, circle the grade you propose for your team.

Self-evaluation by teamCourse instructor’s evaluation

A+ 94 95 96 97 98 99 100A 90 91 92 93 A- 87 88 89 Team Deductions:B+ 84 85 86 Items 1-19:B 80 81 82 83 Grammar: .5 x = B- 77 78 79 Lateness:C+ 74 75 76 Names for primary responsibility not

indicated/incomplete:C 70 71 72 73C- 67 68 69 D+ 64 65 66 D 60 61 62 63

ELess than 60 (failing grade)

Final grade = 95/100Final grade = /100/ = /50 Individual deductions

Name:

Presentation:Absences – tutorial:

Final mark: