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Virtual Book Clubs for A Solitary Blue

Grade Focus
Grade 6
Age Level
11
Subject
Literature
Technology Integration Activity
Discovering the Internet, Imaging, Online Safety
Estimated Time of Completion
three weeks
Author: Lisa Kilczewski, Kemps Landing Magne Last modified: 03/04/2009

Virtual Book Clubs for _A Solitary Blue_

Downloads for this lesson plan

Rubric (DOC, 29K)

Introduction

Students will engage in virtual book clubs (groups of 10 students) to explore themes in A Solitary Blue, create higher-level questioning and thinking skills, and draft, revise, and edit their own writing.

Prerequisite Experience

Keyboarding/editing skills

Practice with moodle, nicenet, blackboard, sharepoint or a web-based communication tool that allows for blogging/conferencing. 

Teacher Prep Time

Teachers must set up virtual book club groups, arrange for usernames/passwords, design a practice/orientation session, and complete a rubric guiding student participation

Project

A Solitary Blue Virtual Book Club
  • Create at least one discussion for each chapter in a A Solitary Blue
  • For each chapter, post at least five replies responding to discussions
  • Replies must be at least one paragraph long

Assessment/Grading

Virtual Book Club Rubric

Lesson Plan Details

Engage

As a way to get students thinking about the themes in the novel, they will complete an anticipation guide

BEFORE READING                                                AFTER READING

______1. When there is no one around, I feel lonely. ______

______2. It’s hard to be the new kid in school. ______

______3. Sometimes it is better to keep what’s bothering you inside.                                                     _______            

____4. The Chesapeake Bay is an interesting setting for a novel. ______

______5. Children with both parents at home are better

off than children in single parent families. ______

______ 6. Nature has a healing power. ______

______ 7. Honesty is the best policy. _______

_____ 8. People always mean what they say and say what they mean. ______

Students will explore the following essential questions throughout the assignment: ow does an author convey a theme in a manner that impacts the reader?

How do setting, imagery, and tone create a novel’s mood?

How does mood influences the work’s theme?

 

Explore

With question cubes, students will individually generate questions for their reading chunks in A Solitary Blue  The teacher will circulate, guiding students who are having difficulty generating questions based on the reading.

Explain

Students will post their best question(s) to their virtual book club discussion groups.

Elaborate

Students will choose a minimum of five (5) student-generated discussion questions to reply to for each reading chunk. 

Evaluate

Students will pick, revise, and edit one reply from each reading chunk to submit for teacher evaluation. They will also submit their five strongest questions for teacher evaluationA rubric will assess the students’ writing skills, use of the novel for support, and high-level questions.see attached rubric.

Extend

Students will revisit the anticipation guide and answer the questions again, this time supporting their opinions with their virtual book club discussions.Students will review their virtual book club discussions and create concept maps, using inspirations software, which explore the connections between setting, imagery, tone, mood and theme.