I'm Thinking
I’m intrigued by this module because I like anything that is fun for students while teaching them how to think critically and use abstract thought. The activity involving the mock trial really looks like a great way to get students to see and analyze characters in an in depth way.
I’m starting to think about how I can use this module for Of Mice and Men , once we are finished reading the novel in my 10th grade English class in a few weeks.
I’m also thinking about implementing this module in my Young Adult Literature class, however, I need to put a lot of thought into how I’m going to do that. Students are reading 7 different novels at a time in that class. Something that I think could be fun in these small groups is to get a room where they can go and make a case for their characters and have volunteer faculty be the jury. The reason I don’t think it would work to allow the rest of the class to be the jury is because I don’t want to ruin books for the students who aren’t reading them. After all, one of the perks of this class is that students choose their books and then become intrigued by what other students chose. I don’t want to ruin that by giving important plot details away. On the other hand, the trials could be just the thing to intrigue other students to read the books if I chose the incident carefully and made sure they understood not to give away the ending, etc.
I don’t know yet…we’ll see.
Comments
Christina Cantrill
on Sep 17 2011
at 07:46
Hello Angie!
Hello Angie and welcome to Digital Is. We would love to learn more about what you are thinking. Hope all is well.
Christina
Angie Cannon
on Sep 17 2011
at 09:33
Hi Christina
I had an error and the body of my post didn't save on the computer I was using. I reposted my thoughts using a different computer, so NOW you can see my thoughts.
Christina Cantrill
on Sep 22 2011
at 12:48
yay!
:)
Rebecca Itow
on Sep 18 2011
at 10:51
Mock Trials for Of Mice and Men and book groups
I think Of Mice and Men lends itself well for a mock trial. Of course students can try George, but they can all put on trial just about every character in the book, as they all have flaws that contribute to the tragedy of the tale. They could even put society and Steinbeck on trial. My students loved debating why Curly's Wife was not given a name.
Regarding the book group trials, I see the dilemma. Perhaps a trial is not the way to go here since students would naturally - and rightly so - gravitate toward the major plot points and support arguments with important textual evidence ... maybe instead students could create a series of "trailers" advertising the book through the complexity of its characters? You could do this through the digital poster activity. Instead of using multiple texts and characters, each student in the group picks a character to analyze and present in the poster. The group could do multiple posters (one for each character) or one poster with the characters as the different components. You would have to make this decision before presenting the assignment.
A challenging part of this - which is good - is to present the complexity of the character in an intriguing way without giving away the major plot points. Then, as in the original activity, students comment on each other's posters and discuss effective and ineffective elements of the poster in terms of advertising in addition to reflecting upon the quality of the analysis. What do you think?
Angie Cannon
on Sep 19 2011
at 10:50
Good Points
I am going to think about that and will get back to you.
Angie Cannon
on Sep 20 2011
at 17:28
book groups
I created a project last year for my Young Adult Literature class that was a great deal of fun involving character analysis. Each student in the group took on the role of a character in the book. They made a facebook page for that character and then proceeded to update their status, send messages, reply to other characters etc. as that character. They had to stay in character throughout the reading of the book and continuously post on facebook as things progressed through the book. When they finished the book, they continued posting as the character using their own creativity to advance the story past the final page. It was really interesting to see the things they came up with as their character's stories were continued by them and affected by the decisions of other group members and what was being created about the other characters in relation to the group.
I feel like doing the poster project would be redundent in that class as far as character analysis is concerned. Possibly that is true for the mock trial as well. I might be better off at the moment to stick with the mock trial next week in my 10th grade English class for Of Mice and Men. I'm thinking about following your plan and doing the poster project as well. I am going to finish with an essay, but it's going to be a little different from the writing you did with your module. I'm thinking about having my students read a personal essay that deals with similar themes present in the novel. I am then going to ask students to choose one character and write an essay from the perspective of the character that reflects on and responds to the author of the personal essay. What do you think about that plan?
Rebecca Itow
on Sep 20 2011
at 18:15
Reflection on Practices RE: Book Groups
Your project involving Facebook sounds great and quite similar to our Empathy and Elaboration module. We begin with microblogging in a social networking site and build up to expanding (or filling in the gaps of) a story or plot line through fan fiction. You might want to take a look at that and the discussion that is happening there. This is a wonderful activity, and we have built some interesting reflective points into the unit. http://digitalis.nwp.org/resource/2978
I like where you are going with Of Mice and Men. The Mock Trial will bring out some interesting analyses, and the poster will hit the aspects of character analysis that are difficult to cover in the form of a trial. We can work together if you would like to build the essay question.
Something unique to these modules are the three practices:
-content x context reflection
-networked peer review
-grading artifacts via reflections
I would encourage you to present the standards being addressed to the students and have them reflect on the concepts directly before and after each activity. Examples of these reflections are available in the Consequences of Ignorance module, and can be reworded to fit your situation. This content x context reflection is great for helping the students understand the content in meaningful ways and showing them the applications of those concepts to other contexts. Additionally, by using networked peer review - especially in the poster and essay sections - students have the opportunity to access different approaches to a task and reflect upon their own performance. Further, by grading artifacts through reflections, both you and the student have the opportunity to look forward to how performance on one task can improve in a revision or even in another task all together.
Let's work together to write/rewrite the reflection questions and set up the activities so that they foster the most active and meaningful participation and engagement possible.
Ted Baechtold
on Sep 23 2011
at 18:50
Of Mice and Men
Hi Angie--I have used a somewhat similar activity with my 10s when I taught them. After reading OMM, I asked the students to produce either a letter of clemency or condemnation against one of the characters in the novel addressed to a fictitious judge. In this letter, the students had to not only state their position, but also support it using parts of the text. I also asked them to adopt the persona of another character in the book, so that they were not writing solely from their own perspective. When doing this, it became apparent that pursuasion was at work in its logical and emotional forms. As they were producing the letters, we discussed the effectivieness of their argumants and why some worked better than others. Overall, I have always found it to be a solid culminating activity for the novel. I have a handout and example letter if you would like to see it? Take care and good luck!