Name of Strategy: Seuss and Silverstein: Posing Questions, Presenting Points.
Source:
Hoffner, Helen. "Seuss and Silverstein: Posing Questions, Presenting Points." ReadWriteThink. International Reading Association n. pag. Web. 27 Feb 2010.
Standards:
English I: Strands: Oral Language, Written Language, and Other Media/Technology: Competency Goal 2: The learner will explain meaning, describe processes, and answer research questions to inform an audience.: 2.01 Demonstrate the ability to read, listen to and view a variety of increasingly complex print and non-print informational texts appropriate to grade level and course literary focus, by:: identifying and analyzing text components (such as organizational structures, story elements, organizational features) and evaluating their impact on the text.
English II: Strands: Oral Language, Written Language, and Other Media/Technology: Competency Goal 4: The learner will critically interpret and evaluate experiences, literature, language, and ideas.: 4.05 Demonstrate the ability to read, listen to and view a variety of increasingly complex print and non-print critical texts appropriate to grade level and course literary focus, by:: identifying and analyzing text components (such as organizational structures, story elements, organizational features) and evaluating their impact on the text.
Explain: (this is only the first session)
Pre-reading: Before introducing the story "The Zax" by Dr. Seuss, tell the class that terms such as stubborn, rigid, inflexible, flexible, and open-minded are often used to describe people's actions in certain situations. Write the terms on the board, and ask students to think about situations where they have encountered people who acted in these ways. Ask them to also think about situations where they have acted in these ways. Initiate a class discussion on the advantages and disadvantages of stubbornness versus flexibility.
Remind your students of the differences between a literal question and a critical thinking question. Many students can give satisfactory answers to literal questions, but have difficulty raising and responding to critical thinking questions. Critical thinking questions ask students to consider and respond to elements of a text based on their values and experiences. Unlike literal questions, there is usually no one correct answer to a critical thinking question. When responding to a critical thinking question, a student must justify the answer by providing examples from the text or from his or her life experiences.
During Reading: Tell students to be thinking about question they could present to the class for discussion. Read the story out loud to the students giving them opportunities to read parts as well.
Post Reading: Have students break into small groups and come up with one literal question and one critical thinking question.
The class will then join as a whole and each group will present their questions for class discussion. They will then discuss how these issues can relate to their conflicts and social issues in their own lives.
Analysis: I would like to use this in my classroom when studying these two authors. It will teach the student about how to ask and answer different types of questions in order to lead a successful group discussion. Reading out loud will help students practice oral presentation. This lesson will take several days, but I chose to only outline the first session. The group will prepares critical thinking questions and lead a class discussion about the issues raised in the other stories over the next several days. As a class, students can discuss how these issues relate to the conflicts and social issues in their own lives. It is important that students can relate what they read to real life situations.