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I believe that fan-fiction is a great option for students to expand and deepen their knowledge on a given book/topic within the book. Strand D of the Ontario Language Curriculum is about "Expressing Ideas and Creating Texts". For example, in the book "I Was So Mad" by Mercer Mayer, students could create a fan fiction about what happened at the park, which takes place after the book ends. Was there ever another attempt to "run away"? This can be done with any age and adapt to any book. Not only does it connect to the Ontario language curriculum, but it makes books more engaging and promotes creativity and expands how someone can think about a story. Students might pay more attention and review the book more than once as they are creating a new extension of the story.

Fan Fiction in Groups:

Before reading the book, asking the students about a time that they have wrote a story might be a good idea to jog creativity and conversations. Asking a question that involves the topic of the book would also be something important to mention prior to reading. For "I Was So Mad", asking students to think about a time that they were upset and what they did about it would be effective to start thinking about the topic of the story. This could also cause them to relate to the main character in the story while it is being read. As I mentioned, my activity would involve reading the book as a class. I believe breaking up into small groups and creating an extension of the given story would be beneficial, as the student not only brainstorms their own ideas, but hears the perspectives of others in their group. Other students might be able to think up new additions to the story to expand on their classmates knowledge and creativity. After all groups create their own fan fictions, as a group they can present their story to the class.

Daniel McLean

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One of my favorite ways for students to respond to texts is through literature circles. This method encourages students to engage in meaningful discussions about a text while taking on specific roles, such as summarizer, questioner, or connector. Literature circles allow students to think critically, collaborate, and reflect on different perspectives in a text. Literature circles help foster independent thinking and accountability, as students actively participate and shape their learning experience​.

Activity: Collaborative Explorations with Literature Circles

In this activity, students participate in small groups to engage in literature circles, where each student takes on a specific role (e.g., summarizer, questioner, connector, illustrator) while reading a shared text. This collaborative approach encourages students to explore the text from multiple perspectives, fostering critical thinking, deeper comprehension, and peer-led discussions. Students will analyze themes, characters, and ideas while practicing oral communication and respectful debate.

This activity aligns with Strand C by encouraging students to critically analyze and respond to texts. It supports the development of comprehension skills through discussion and role-based interaction. In addition, it ties into Strand D by prompting students to articulate their thoughts, reflect on their readings, and document their insights. By encouraging inquiry and analysis, literature circles promote skills in identifying main ideas, making inferences, and engaging with diverse perspectives.

Najma Abdi

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My favourite types of reading responses normally fall under an 'alternative method' because they do not always involve writing. I have written plays, done scenes, improv, made art pieces, poems, and many other types of assignments. These different methods of response allow students to tap into different thinking processes or different parts of the characters life. These options fall under section B1.4 of the curriculum. They help to develop students understanding of how they can use body language to non-verbally communicate their ideas. Self expression allows oral communication to strengthen because it can provide meaning to what is being communicated.

Example activity:

Create a short scene that displays what might happen if you encountered someone littering. Include in the scene how you explain to them that it is wrong.

Ashlyn Skater

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I thought all of the methods listed in the reading were interesting, but I liked the idea of an alternative method because of their capacity to engage students who might be more artistically inclined.

Create a Planet Activity:

The chapters in front half of The Little Prince feature vignettes of the Prince’s stops on different planets and his interactions with their inhabitants before he ends up on Earth. As an activity, students could either draw a picture or make a diorama of a planet of their own invention that the Prince could have gone to. They could also be encouraged to invent a character who lives on the planet who would interact with the Prince.

Depending on the grade level, the written extension could look different. Younger grades could write a paragraph or two describing the climate/appearance/rules of their planet or could do a character study to introduce the character they make up. Older grades could be encouraged to write a scene to accompany their art, akin to the fanfiction response option. These could then be presented to their peers to practice presentation skills.

This activity would connect to strand D because of the text creation and revision components, and then having to present those texts. A more tenuous connection could also be made to strand C for the scene writing component as they would be inferring how an interaction between characters would occur and how they would be structured given what they learned from scenes they’d already read.

Katherine Fouzie

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I think many of us grew up responding to texts by writing down our ideas and questions about what we were reading in a book. Sometimes, we would have activities where we drew scenes from the book, opening up more creativity. However, I believe that an excellent way for students to engage with what they are reading is through creativity. I really liked the idea of Character Conversations. I think this would give students the opportunity to critically think about what they are reading and help them better understand the characters.

During Character Conversations, students would take on the role of one of the characters from the text. If the class is doing a group read, this could be a small-group activity where each student in the group picks a different character. From there, they would develop ideas about their character and converse about their lives with their peers. This format would allow students to hear other points of view about characters and topics in the book, helping to broaden their understanding of the text.

Another way to approach this activity would be to have students do a Character Conversation individually. This could be based on a book they are reading or a read-aloud. The students could write a short skit in their journals, imagining a conversation between characters from the book, or they could write about one character and imagine their internal monologue if it is not already explored in the story. Instead of writing, students could also express these conversations in other forms, such as drawing or media art.

The goal of these conversations, whether in a group or individually, is to help students connect with the characters on a deeper level. We want them to think about scenarios outside the book and how their character would respond to them to help them connect with the text on a deep level.

Emily Skinner

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Alternative Response

As an artist I may be biased, but I've always enjoyed books that have pictures and movie adaptations. Interpretations of stories that are visual are so important for enrichment and can offer another mode of communication to help kids understand the broader themes in a book. My idea for a reader's response activity is to bring art into the room with finger puppet plays.

Finger puppet plays can be facilitated by assigning groups of 2-3 kids a chapter of the novel and having them each design a finger puppet for a character in that chapter. These can be made easily with paper, fabric, popsicle sticks, or foam, older students may be guided on simple sewing techniques as a cross-curricular art lesson and useful real-world skill. This can help kids identify with characters, display their artistic sensibilities, and build community with their classmates. The groups would be tasked to summarize their chapter's main events with scenes of written dialogue between their puppets. Summarization of events uses D1.4 (Organizing Content) and C2.6 (Summarizing) by students exhibiting their understanding of story sequence and relevant content. For older students, you could ask their dialogue to be submitted following the template of a stage play script with correct scene, dialogue, and action format that connects it to C1.2 (Text Forms and Genres). The activity overall also applies to C1.5 (Elements of Style) by asking the kids to personalize dialogue to best fit the vernacular and sentence structure of their character. For each chapter, a group can present their puppet play after the reading; this can provide new comprehension opportunities for all students to see it summarized and acted out. Teachers can get more involved by building a finger puppet stage, using a spotlight, or creating a 'floor theatre' to help with engagement and added fun. The teacher should request the planned scenes and approve them before student performances.

Finger puppet shows are a valuable tool in helping children understand the content of books in a more interactive and engaging way. By incorporating finger puppets into reading activities, children are able to visually see the characters come to life and act out scenes from the book. This hands-on approach allows children to not only listen to the story, but also actively participate in retelling and reenacting key plot points. Through this interactive experience, children are able to better comprehend and retain the information presented in the book.

This activity can help children develop a deeper understanding of character motivations and emotions. By physically manipulating the finger puppets and engaging in role-playing scenarios, children are able to put themselves in the shoes of the characters and gain insight into their thoughts and feelings. This dive into character analysis fosters empathy and emotional intelligence in young readers, while also enhancing their ability to relate to and comprehend the complexities of the story. As a result, finger puppet shows serve as a powerful tool in helping children form a more nuanced understanding of the books they read.

Finger puppet shows can also aid in improving children’s language and communication skills. By encouraging children to narrate scenes, dialogue, and actions during the puppet show, they are actively engaging in verbal expression and storytelling. This practice not only enhances their vocabulary and language fluency, but also promotes critical thinking and creativity as they work to structure and articulate their own interpretations of the book. Overall, finger puppet shows offer a multi-faceted approach to understanding books that not only appeals to children’s visual and tactile senses, but also stimulates their cognitive and linguistic development.

* Molly Andrews *

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I think many of us grew up responding to texts by writing down our ideas and questions about what we were reading in a book. Sometimes, we would have activities where we drew scenes from the book, opening up more creativity. However, I believe that an excellent way for students to engage with what they are reading is through creativity. I really liked the idea of Character Conversations. I think this would give students the opportunity to critically think about what they are reading and help them better understand the characters.

During Character Conversations, students would take on the role of one of the characters from the text. If the class is doing a group read, this could be a small-group activity where each student in the group picks a different character. From there, they would develop ideas about their character and converse about their lives with their peers. This format would allow students to hear other points of view about characters and topics in the book, helping to broaden their understanding of the text.

Another way to approach this activity would be to have students do a Character Conversation individually. This could be based on a book they are reading or a read-aloud. The students could write a short skit in their journals, imagining a conversation between characters from the book, or they could write about one character and imagine their internal monologue if it is not already explored in the story. Instead of writing, students could also express these conversations in other forms, such as drawing or media art.

The goal of these conversations, whether in a group or individually, is to help students connect with the characters on a deeper level. We want them to think about scenarios outside the book and how their character would respond to them to help them connect with the text on a deep level.

Emily Skinner

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Fan-fiction is a great way for students to expand upon the characters, theme, and narrative of a story. It gives students a opportunity to analyze the characters of the story, and think 'what would they do if THIS happened to them?' This aligns with Strand C, in which children need to apply their knowledge about texts, in this case, by writing a story about what they have read. It also helps children be creative and express themselves in their writing. By writing, children can see themselves in the characters and help emphasize with their motives. This would help lead to greater understanding of the text itself, as well as greater reading comprehension down the road.

An example of an activity that children could do would be to read the text, and then ask the children to write a story about what they think would have happened next in the book, or ask if the characters were in a different situation, how do you think they would act? To combine it with the arts, you could also ask the children to make it into a picture book.

Rachel Amsden

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I was really inspired by the idea of Reader’s Theatre as an idea for how students can respond to texts.  One of the parameters for this idea is that students use little to no physical movement and instead convey meaning using only their voices.  Immediately, I was reminded of the radio shows that were produced many years ago and the more modern concept of audiobooks. As the Guide to Effective Literacy Instruction, Reading (OME, 2008) indicates, this is a great way to engage with readers of all levels of proficiency and provides opportunity for collaborative student work.

Activity: Produce your own Audiobook recording
Students will work in groups to prepare and record an audiobook recording.  The book will be chosen from among the titles studied in class (either a book studied by the entire class, or an individual/personal reading choice) as the content and themes should already be familiar to them.  Students will assign roles, map out character and plot arcs, and hone their oral communication skills to convey meaning.

I think this activity would connect well with Strand C3 as students would have to use critical thinking to identify and determine how characters’ feelings and thoughts are conveyed in audio.  It would also align with Strand D3 as students would have to analyze topics/themes and effectively use media, techniques, and tools to publish their final project.

►This is a project with great potential to meet cross-curricular expectations, depending on the grade level, as it could be expanded to include visual arts (audiobook cover, and/or posters to advertise audiobook), marketing (ads for audiobook), math/financial literacy (budget for audiobook production), and science/technology (recording an audiobook).

• Marnie Hoogkamp •

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I really enjoyed reading about all the different methods listed in the text, but the one that resonated with me the most was the book club. One of my favorite ways to share books is through a book club with my friends, and I believe this method translates perfectly into the classroom. Having students share books with classmates can encourage a love for reading, help them connect with peers through similar interests, and give them the freedom to choose the books they are interested in.

Activity: Following their reading, students will meet in small groups to talk about their books. Students will share personal connections, ask questions, and consider the themes and characters. Students will record their ideas and insights in a journal during the reading process, which they can use during discussions in an effort to increase participation. This book club activity aligns with Strand C (Understanding and Using Texts) by emphasizing understanding and critical engagement with the text.

Sierra Harris

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The teacher student reading conference is s short discussion (3-5 min) held with students to ask them about what they are reading. The discussion serves many purposes. As a form of assessment Teachers can use it to determine reading level and comprehension, which can give the teacher further insight on how best to support this learner. The conference can be structured based on the specific goals of the conversation - for example, you may ask about what reading strategies the student is using throughout the book, what they find difficult to understand, and any connections they have made. You may also follow a line of questioning based on the students own interests. The topic of the conversation should be chosen in advance so the student can prepare.

What I like about this reading response method is that it gives time to check on everybody individually.

Activity: Teacher Student Conference on Connections

Connections are an important part of reading comprehension, and holding a conference on talking about the connections they have made in the text so far can give an understanding of how they place a text in the context of their lives, other reading and the world. For the conference, they will be asked to make the 3 connections (self, text, world).

Benjamin Muller

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My favourite reading response relating to extension is one I enjoyed doing both as a student and an educator. It is done after students have read the book and involves them creating an additional piece of work relating to it. Specifically, students choose a character from the book and draw a day in their life. This day can be the next one after the book has ended, a month after the book, a few months or even years after the book has ended. Students are provided with a wide range of options to allow their creativity to flow to express the day, from creating a video to a verbal story to a comic strip. They can make adaptations to the above along with thinking of new ideas. Additionally, students can choose to go into as much detail as they choose for the day, from including when the character wakes up in the morning to when they go to bed, to alternatively starting and ending their day around an event the character is going to along with how it went. The teacher can provide a few examples of different days to the students along with a rubric which largely focuses on the students depicting their thoughts related to their understanding of the book. As we have been discussing in class, this also allows students to incorporate art into language arts along with technology.

When thinking ahead to the future of a specific character, students have to consider a variety of questions such as the following. What kind of clothing would the character wear? What setting would they be in or where would they be going? What would they be participating in? Who are they with, is it another character from the book or a new person? What will the character be saying out loud compared to thinking in their head? While doing this, students are interacting with the book, depicting their knowledge of the character(s) and how they relate to the themes, environment and the overall book. This idea was repeated multiple times in the course readings.

The above activity is discussed in the readings with some variations. In the guide, it can be related to Character Conversations and to the Character profile in the chapter. Based on the description of fan fiction in the chapter, I think it can also be a part of that.

-Noormehak Nagra

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I believe that Character Profiles is an excellent way for students to expand on their knowledge of characters, their personalities, and what drives them in a story. I have always enjoyed reading about the characters that drive the story forward, even if they play a small role in the overall conflict. By being able to study a character, students will be able to bring critical thinking to their favorite stories.

Character Profiles:

Unlike the typical character profile. Where students dress up as the character, I will omit this because some may not be able to afford a costume. I will have students form groups of 3-4 kids. In these groups the students will take on the personas of their favorite characters. They will act and talk like these characters and tell the other group members about their stories.

Are you a narcissistic liar? No problem! Tell the story in a grandiose way that makes you seem amazing!

This activity allows students to learn critical thinking skills, practice their communication skills, as well as summarize and organize content.

Khaleel.A

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The idea I loved for student response to texts and would facilitate at a variety of grade levels is Reader's Theatre. This form of response is accessible to many students across all reading levels and has the ability to boost confidence in each and every student. This is due to the fact that they do not have to stand in front of the room, and are allowed to focus on short pieces of text at a time. In addition to reading development, Reader's Theatre is highly beneficial to comprehension. To effectively present, students must be able to determine emotion and expression. They must explore and understand character, setting, and plot to establish the expression they are going to use. Reader's Theatre is also an opportunity for collaboration as a class, or in small groups. By covering all of these skills, you are creating the foundation for cross-curricular work. There is also an abundance of assessment opportunities and questions that can be asked.

Activity:

After reading the selected book or section, students will create a character map for their designated role in preparation for their performance. This is a form of mind map or visual that allows students to break down their character and begin to craft their emotion and expression for performance. Once the character map is complete, the students will come back together either with the class or their small group, and begin to rehearse for their performance. After sufficient time has passed, students will perform to the class and have the choice between staying seated or standing. Once all performances have been completed, students will return to their groups to reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of their performance, before returning to a full class discussion.

Kenzie Harmison

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I think that doing a class book club is a fantastic method of promoting literacy. It allows students to take their time and really enjoy a text, and then share their thoughts with their classmates. If some students are more shy, they would also most likely feel more comfortable working in smaller intimate groups rather than with the whole class. Doing book clubs will also allow students to hear other ways of thinking, and can also promote not just literacy, but also conversation and emotional awareness.

Activity

For this example activity, I am going to partially borrow what my teacher did in my grade 6 class. First, a number of novella were selected by the teacher, and were all written on the board. From there, students could write their names under the books they most wanted to read, and the teacher was able to evenly split up the groups. I would then suggest giving each student a “job” in their group, that rotated every week. Roles could include note-taker, discussion leader, and summarizer. This way, each student gets a sense of responsibility during each book club meeting, and do not get bored of their “jobs”. This will also allow students to think about the text differently each week, so they will be able to slowly develop their critical thinking and decoding skills.

Maddison Brooks

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While the different methods have their own benefits and preference for different people, I prefer the book club strategy. As someone who struggled with doing the readings in school because I found them boring, a book club or something similar to that effect would have motivated me to do the readings more. It gives a sense of community and also helps students engage more in the classroom with one another to discuss the readings.

ACTIVITY:

Give the students the option to pick their own books or stories and once a week assign small groups (no more than 5) to discuss their readings. Students are encouraged to share personal connections to show real world applications in literacy. After their readings are completed, students will be asked to summarize their readings through a piece of appropriate digital media of their choice. This promotes student engagement and allows students to demonstrate their reading comprehension in a creative way.

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I particularly like the idea of having multiple Literature Circles in my class where students are able to explore their own ideas with their peers in a safe environment. I feel like this style of open discussion would be beneficial for students to get comfortable with expressing their thoughts. For the literature circles I would ideally have groups of seven students or more per group so all the "roles" were occupied and I would plan on rotating the students through each "role" at least once. I would group students together based on whether they wanted to read a chapter book or picture books so the activity was enjoyable and accessible for different levels of readers. For the groups of students reading picture books they would need to read a new picture book each week but for the students reading the chapter book they would read a section of their book every week.

Following their literature circles they would complete a group project based on the ideas presented in the "alternative modes of response". I would leave the structure of the group project up to the students so long as it was a piece of media that they produced (this would also tie into digital media literacy - movie, drama performance, sock puppets, stop motion, website, etc...).

This activity which would last multiple months would directly tie into strand C and D of language arts. To assess strand C I would be circulating while students are in their groups to assess their ability to understand and respond to the literature verbally. Strand D would be assessed through the integration of the "alternative modes of response" as this would give students the opportunity to express their ideas creatively while also creating scripts (texts) to be used in their assignments.

- Cassandra De Souza

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In the literacy classroom, I often preferred responding to readings by exploring using my creativity or engaging in group discussions focused on key takeaways. Many people have similar experiences and different preferences for these options, which makes it interesting to explore an activity that combines both.

An activity called "Character Cards" could be developed. This design is inspired by the "Character Conversations" suggested in the reading response texts. The key components of this activity include specific characters for students to assume and engaging them in dialogue to deepen their understanding of the character's role within the text. Additionally, students will create Character Cards, allowing them to express their creativity and interpretation of the character. Each card will feature their drawings based on both the author's description and their perspective. This creative element aims to enhance students' connection with the character while fostering a deeper comprehension of the book.

Peer discussions during this activity will also encourage shared creativity and promote understanding among classmates about the characters they are drawn to.

Emily-Lloy Sutherland-Sebo

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I find the book club approach to be particularly valuable as it encourages students to choose a book they are actually interested in reading and promotes small group discussions.

I find that letting every student choose their own book is the most effective way to get them interested in reading outside of school as the biggest complain I (and basically everyone I went to school with) had with reading was that we were forced to read books we had no interest in. In my opinion, there is nothing that makes people want to read less than having to suffer through hundreds of pages of a book they don't care about. By letting students choose something that interests them, we can break the mentality that reading is boring and get more children into reading on their own time.

I also love the idea of splitting students into smaller discussion groups as a lot of students get extremely nervous about having to present something to the entire class. As a teacher, I could also hand-pick the groups so that they match the genre or theme of the students' books (fantasy group, science fiction group, etc.).

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Karlos Quiroz

While a love for reading can't always be taught, being able to help students establish meaningful connections with literature is a skill teachers can flex in the classroom.

Hot-seating essentially combines drama elements with Strand D of the Language curriculum, which focuses on expressing ideas and creating texts.

As per Bainbridge & Heydon (2017), the Hot Seating strategy involves students role-playing as characters from a text, then being interviewed by a group of their peers. This can involve students asking the role-player questions about their lives, their problems, solutions, and more - and the interviews can be held at any point during the story, such as at a pivotal moment or after the text ends.

As a creative at heart, I love injecting the arts into language activities - in this case, teachers can invite students to revisit certain events in a text, enhance their understanding of a character's motivation, and derive insight from their classmates on how each student relates to a book's theme or central idea.

In the classroom, a teacher could extend this strategy by having students use their hot-seat interviews as a starting point for alternative endings/pathways to stories, similar to the fan-fiction reading response idea. In this way, we are helping students apply their understanding of the text to create and edit their own text ideas, then use the group's insight to share this using a variety of media - either a recorded interview with a skit component, a graphic to share everyone's interpretation of a character's motivation, etc.

For students that are not comfortable speaking in front of their peers, you can adjust this strategy by hosting one-one-one hot-seating sessions at a time that groups are working on their projects.

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Wallcharts/Timelines and Think-Pair-Share

I would like to let students assimilate the story they just read by creating timelines to illustrate the sequence of events of the story on paper or by creating a wallchart to help them understand the book better. This will help them to provide a visual response to the text. When writing or drawing, there is a direct connection between perceptual understanding and motor execution which will help students remember the key points of the book.

Once students have their story timelines/ wallcharts, this activity can be extended to the Think-Pair-Share activity for another day where students are given a question from the book to think about individually, pair with a partner to discuss their ideas, and then share their thoughts with the whole class. I would group students in pairs since it will give students maximum opportunity to provide an oral response to the text and to practice their oral skills, whereas in most larger groups, this opportunity cannot be maximized. This activity directly ties into Strand C and D of the curriculum.

Elizabeth Benjamin

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I love the idea behind readers’ theatre! This allows students to demonstrate their understanding of a script using their voice. When I read about this technique, I pictured the table read from the Friends Reunion. Since our brains are wired for oral versus written language, having students use their voice could help them understand the words on the page with more depth. This allows students to understand and experience how it is not just the words alone that convey a message. This learning could be connected to SEL aspects of the curriculum.

Activity Idea: Novel Performance

This activity could be used to help a class explore a novel together. Groups of students could be assigned to each chapter of a novel. Each group could create a script to present the main plot points of the chapter. This would address the Creating Texts aspect of Strand D. I envision setting the classroom up with desks around the edges and everyone facing in. Each group would then present their chapter from their seats using just their voices. I picture this similar to a table read that actors do. This would address Strand C. A time limit could be put on the presentation to allow the entire book to be performed during the class.

-Kristy Brooks

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I think that acting a short play (drama) would provide a great opportunity to students to express their ideas and create text (strand D) and this activity will allow participation for everyone depending on what makes them more comfortable. Drama can be quite intimidating for some students and there must different possibilities available for all of them. Some may want to act in silence and be visible,while others may prefer to read aloud, and others be happy putting on paper the ideas expressed by everyone, by writing the script. A good collaborative activity promoting reader's response.

Activity:

A group of 4-5 students read the same book. It does not have to be a long one. Then they work together to either play the whole story ( highlighting the main events) or part of the story. each of them can find a suitable role. The script writer, the actor and the reader. They will discuss as a group about the part that they will act and express their ideas orally and the script writer will write "story" and the dialogues. The actors will play without talking, the readers will read the script written by the scriptwriter.

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I enjoy the idea of a Book Club the most, most notably a book club where the student can select their own novel. Whenever I read something that I’m passionate about, I’m always excited for opportunities to share about it with friends or anyone who’d like to listen. I’d like to foster a space that allows for this sort of expression among students, and encourage them to read on their own time by exploring books that personally interest them.

To make a traditional book club a bit more interesting, I think incorporating Book Bingo would be something that can keep students engaged and thinking critically about the books they are hearing about. Each square on the bingo card can have a different genre, theme, setting, book elements, or characters that they should be looking for. When everyone has presented, there can be a post presentation discussion where students can elaborate on why they think a certain novel fit the square they marked off and if any other students made different connections.

For the book presenter, they are able to connect with strand C by summarizing and synthesizing important ideas and details in the novel in order to make an effective presentation that conveys the main points of their novel. By having students participate in the book bingo, students will analyze how the novel connects with various reading concepts and explain why that is the case.

Gabrielle Cheng

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All of the strategies outlined in the text make a great case for their effectiveness at increasing students knowledge and comfortability responding to text. I think that literature circles are the best way to deepen students understanding about the text they read. However, I think that the description in this text is too structured. Personally, based off of the assigned roles, I would rather do the reading reflection as this is individual and less structured, but I would not benefit from my peers insight into the text. If there was too much prep to do before entering the circle, I would get very nervous and would not enjoy the text that I was reading as I would be too focused on coming up with good responses. This would discourage me and reduce the pleasure of reading. Part of these activities should be about the love of reading. Rather that assigning specific roles for group members, have 1 person facilitate and perhaps a topic or theme prompted by the teacher to allow students to discuss. in Literature circles I think students will naturally get more comfortable with asking good questions related to the text. - Riley Taplin

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When reading through the text and learning about the different ways students can learn with literature, the one that stood out to me was the book club. As someone who loves to read I am constantly looking for more people to share my thoughts and opinions with. I think often reading and literature can get a bad rep and seem more academic than it is. Literature is meant to be shared with people and having these spaces where students can talk, not be graded or judged will be beneficial for their learning experiences.

Activity:

This simple book club activity was something I did in grade six. My teacher offered us a variety of book options, I think 10 in total. There was a range from short novels to picture books. Students are then encouraged to browse and pick the story that they are most interested in. Then students were told to read the books, given time in class and at home. Then in groups of 4-5 students are instructed to talk. My grades or rubric were assigned to this. Some leading questions were given to each group to help encourage the conversation, but nothing too drastic or difficult, and the conversation is just supposed to lead itself. Without the pressure of a grade, hopefully, students will become more willing to experience literature in a fun way.

Delaney Behiel

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Based on insights from the readings and some of my own thinking, I’ve put together a range of strategies to help students engage more actively with texts. These methods are designed to promote thoughtful connections, encourage critical analysis, and stimulate meaningful class discussions connected to strands D and C from the Language Curriculum.

Post-It Notes for Active Reading - Stand C

When students use school-owned books, they often can't mark the pages directly. To support active reading and help students engage with the material, offer them sticky notes. These can be used for:

Highlighting key quotes or significant events.

Marking moments where they have a strong reaction or connection to the text.

Identifying links to other readings or personal experiences.

For read-aloud activities, the teacher can pause at specific points and prompt students to place a sticky note. These notes then serve as reference points for group discussions.

Response Journals - Strand D

Informal Reflections: Students write brief reflections at set intervals, focusing on personal connections to the story. They might:

Relate parts of the book to current events or personal experiences.

Connect the story to a broader inquiry question.

Reflect on characters or themes that resonate with them personally.

Structured Responses:

Teachers can create prompts that require students to connect specific events, characters, or themes from the text to broader course topics. These prompts encourage students to think critically and make deeper connections between the material and the world around them.

Double-Entry Journals - Strand C

Have students divide their journal pages into two sections. In one section, they should write down direct quotes or passages that stand out to them. In the second section, they can write their thoughts, interpretations, or connections to those passages. This approach encourages students to engage closely with the text and think critically about its meaning.

Sketch to Stretch - Strand C

After reading a section of the book, students create a simple sketch that represents a theme, idea, or character from the reading. The drawing doesn’t need to be artistic but should show their understanding of the material. Students can share their sketches and explain how they relate to the text during class discussions.

Character or Theme Tracking - Strand C

Throughout the novel, students can track the development of a specific character, theme, or symbol. As they read, they make notes each time they encounter a moment related to their chosen focus. At the end of the book, students can write a final reflection on how the character or theme evolved.

Dialogue Journals - Strand D

In this strategy, students write a letter to either a peer or the teacher in response to what they’ve read. The recipient then responds with their own thoughts, creating a back-and-forth dialogue. This promotes thoughtful interaction and allows for a deeper exploration of the text through conversation.

Christopher Fox

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I liked a lot of the ideas, but especially anything that encouraged interaction between students based on their own reading and interpretations. As a student I was encouraged to read alone and any book-sharing was done at recess instead of during class time, so I think that bringing interaction to reading is an amazing idea. I think that the character conversations seem like a particularly great tool for students because it allows them to use their imaginations and humour to gain a deeper understanding of the text. I can imagine that once students become comfortable with their peers/groups, this activity can be really fun and not feel like too much work.

As an ongoing activity throughout the school year, I think I'd like to combine Book Club and Character Conversations. Students will have character conversations maybe once a week/two weeks and an official Book Club maybe once a month where they present their ideas more formally. I think the character conversations should switch between characters but if students within a group decide they'd like to play the same characters for the whole book I would be willing to accept that as well. Ideally students would read a few chapters, choose a chapter that has a good amount of dialogue/drama and engage with this one during Character Conversations.

This activity connects to the curriculum Stand C because it encourages students to analyze and respond to these texts with their own critical thinking (I.e. character interpretations). It also connects to D because it ensures that students organize their understanding when presenting their Book Club books.

Kendra Flude

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Alternative Responses

One idea from the content on Brightspace that resonated with me is the use of alternative response formats for students to analyze texts. This approach allows students to express their understanding through creative methods, which can be especially helpful for those who may struggle with traditional reading and writing tasks. As someone who has always been deeply connected to the arts, especially drama and visual arts, I find that these formats allow students to explore texts in a more engaging and personal way.

For this activity, students would select a secondary character from the text and create a backstory or rationale for the decisions that character made. They would then write a short story and act out key moments. This creative extension helps students delve deeper into character motivation and narrative development, tying it to the lesson content. It also aligns with the Language Curriculum (2023) strands:

Strand C (Comprehension: Understanding and Responding to Texts): Encourages students to interpret the characters and analyze the text in a creative, non-traditional format.

Strand D (Composition: Expressing Ideas and Creating Texts): Supports students in communicating their interpretations through drama, a non-verbal and kinesthetic mode of expression.

This activity engages students' creative thinking, critical analysis, and understanding of the text while utilizing their artistic and performance skills.

Alice Zheng