Quote: "Students often copy the [important] sentences onto sentence strips to display in the classroom."
Comments: This was an idea that I would have never considered. In my Drama for the Elementary Teacher class last semester, we learned about a fifth grade teacher who effectively taught Shakespeare in his classroom. It was amazing to see how excited the kids were about an "archaic" book. I think this sentence wall idea would help kids get really excited about a harder book they may be reading. I want my students to be ecstatic about reading. I want them to put their quote on the board and think, "I feel really accomplished for reading this book and finding a sentence so cool that I get to put it on the board." I think anything that gets students thinking and comprehending about what they read while they're having fun is going to do wonders for their education. It is another way to get kids loving learning.
Question: While reading this section, I began wondering if book reports were actually effective? Do they reinforce the theme of the book, or are they outdated assignments that didn't help the students?
I really don't think book reports are necessary. They may be effective in some ways, but I don
ReplyDeletet think they're the best way to determine students understanding or comprehension. I think book reports have become so popular because it requires little planning or creativity on the teacher's part so it's easier for then to assign. For me I just read the cliff notes and still completed all my assignments just fine.