In reading and re-reading stories, I'm constantly looking for ways for students to employ their creativity along with their understanding of the story. So far this week, we've engaged in three:
1. Students speed-dated. Each round, the group got a short section of the story and five comprehension questions, so by the time they'd 'dated' all ten people, they'd read the entire story and answered questions. This demands specific comprehension of the story itself.
2. Team questions (see my earlier post on this here) - students received a copy of the story and had to answer questions while pretending to be a character from the story from the perspective of that character. This gives them a structure within which to work, and therefore doesn't require them to come up with personal answers that they may not effectively be able to phrase, but allows for creativity within the context of the story.
3. We made use of two social websites, of which one is Craigslist and the other PostSecret. I prepared a PowerPoint in advance with examples of the types of ads I wanted them to create, and we went through and discussed the principles and purpose of each ad. I showed them:
1. Personals ads (My name is John, I'm six feet tall, I like dancing, and I'm looking for a friend who likes to talk and cook)
2. Missed Connections ads (I saw you at the Racetrac in Thornton yesterday, wearing a red coat and talking on the phone. I wanted to say something, but you walked away before I could. If you read this, email me)
3. PostSecret (a website where people make deep personal confessions of fears or bad past actions, etc., artistically displayed on a picture/collage/postcard, without a name. ex: I am afraid I love my daycare babies more than my own. I will never live up to the person I pretend to be on Facebook)
The kids chose two of the three ads and created their own artistic, aesthetically-pleasing versions of these types of ads for two chosen characters in the story. The ads require either a lot of description or spectacular brevity and demand at the same time that the students comprehend the characterization, and not just the contents of the story. It gives them a framework within which to work and allows them to practice relevant vocabulary and structures while not being constrained to the limits of the story.
