5.4 FORUM: Be Your Novel's Critic

Learning Target (Curricular Competencies):

  • Construct meaningful personal connections between self, text, and world
  • Respond to text in personal, creative, and critical ways
  • Respectfully exchange ideas and viewpoints from diverse perspectives to build shared understanding and extend thinking

Task:

This is where you will contribute to the FORUM with the others in your class, reviewing, describing  and analysing the novel you have read.

  1. SUMMARY: First, summarize the novel you read in 100 - 200 words including a description of the characters and a plot summary of the novel. REMEMBER: A good summary does NOT give away the ending! Think of this as an "advertisement" of your book for other students, OR a "warning" if you did not enjoy it!
  2. CRITIQUE:   Write an entry that will start a discussion about the novel. You DON'T want to give away the ending, but you do want to discuss the merits of the novel and question any aspects of the novel you found puzzling or incongruous or that reminded you of real-life issues. Write another paragraph sharing:
    • why you did or did NOT like the novel,
    • if you would recommend it, and
    • one thing you have learned from the book.
  3. RESPOND:  Respond to someone else's forum post by clicking on their topic and selecting Reply.  Your response should provide an analysis of the discussion in the post and some original ideas.Try using the following prompts to guide your response to another post.  "I wonder…"  "I know…"  "I can…"  Don't just agree or disagree.

Instructions

  1. Click Add a new discussion topic.
  2. Give your post a title.
  3. Type or Copy/Paste your SUMMARY and CRITIQUE in the editing box.
  4. Click Save changes when you are done.
  5. Post a Reply/Response

Assessment:  Below you will find the exemplary criteria used to assess the assignment.  

Learning Target: (Exemplary 6/6): Exemplary comprehension of the task and clear accomplishment of the objective. The summary demonstrates exemplary understanding of the novel.  The critique/discussion starter is exceptionally thought-provoking and reflects higher level thinking.  Content is clear, concise, and original and makes insightful connections between self and text.  Student demonstrates exemplary active reading skills to comprehend and respond to text in personal, creative, and critical ways.  

Response/Reply:  Exemplary (6/6):  The response/reply is thoughtful, insightful and respectfully exchanges ideas and viewpoints.  Student demonstrates an exceptional level of understanding and communication of shared information.

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