http://faculty.washington.edu/qtaylor/images/event_omaha_courthouse_lynching.jpg
http://ro3011.k12.sd.us/event/pics/battle%20pics/BattleofShiloh.jpg
Bobbie Ann Mason's Shiloh and Ralph Ellison's A Party Down at the Square provided some juicy material for our class discussion today. The students came prepared with one question they wanted to know the answer to. Using Polleverywhere, they texted their question. So, with a bank of 24 questions, we were ready to work in small groups and address some of these questions.
The only problem was that I didn't predict that I couldn't show the whole set of questions. Or at least, technically I couldn't figure out that I could have split the screens and Group 1 could have dealt with the questions on the left and Group 2 could have dealt with the questions on the right. The students worked in groups of three or four with one of the persons designated to summarize the group's discussion in a Word document and drop that in the drop box for a group grade.
The feedback session was as a whole class discussion with each group taking their favorite question to summarize. We would have had more time for the group discussion and the feedback discussion if I hadn't had the technical problems.
Their journal entry was a slide show on the most beautiful places in the world. Take a look and a listen.
I am pleased with the journaling activity we do each Monday in class. I need to incorporate that in the Wednesday online class the next time I teach the class. Doing the journaling online allows me to respond immediately to the students when I finish the class using the messaging system in Angel, our learning management system. Sometimes, I get students responding back to my comment on the prompt.
All in all, my literary laureates are doing great. Their Paper 1 draft is due on Wednesday. Let's see if they are getting it: plot, character, point of view, setting, style, and symbolism. We have done a lot in these three and a half weeks of class!
It was hard for me to finish reading A party down at the square. The picture you posted really is a great picture that allowed me to compare what I had read to something that I could actually see. It is horible to read that things like this happened back in the day and no one thought anything of it. I like reading what other people have to say on this blog and I think its a great way to see how everyone else feels about what we have learned!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Erica, I liked the visual representation of the picture. I don’t like the actions behind it. It was hard for me to fully believe that what I was reading really happened..it really hit home just how cruel people can be.
ReplyDeleteeyawman
I liked the Shiloh story, but the ending was very confusing and i did not understand it at first it took alot of reading over of the story and research to realize what had happened. I didnt enjoy the Party down at the square story, maining just because i didnt understand what was going on half of the story.
ReplyDelete