Per my technology-integration into College Prep, I had my seniors conducting an online discussion of Frankenstein using the Sheboygan Falls Moodle today. Half of the class was required to bring a discussion question to ask their peers, and then the entire class had to choose at least one question to respond to online. Some of the questions were so great, it took at least two minutes to read and re-read the question before you could even think about responding. Students were asked to bring a question that prompted a connection to Frankenstein and also real, personal life to respond to it, and they all did. It was amazing! When the bell rang, one student said, “I can’t believe it’s time to go already. I think that is the first time I’ve ever felt that way about class!” An obvious success…
My sophomores are completing the Julius Caesar unit, and the final assessment was a paper with several options for which stance they took on events in the play. They worked in groups to gather evidence from the play to support their position and then wrote individual papers. The topics included whether or not the assassination was justified, whether or not Brutus or Caesar possessed stronger leadership qualities, or who was the tragic hero of the play. The papers were due today, so after I asked them to reflect on their papers, I led them in a debate about the play. Since there was a variety of opinions on the topics, there was plenty of arguing to be had. Since the students had already gathered their evidence to support their position, there was plenty of Shakespeare’s words to be thrown at each other. It was amazing to watch them show so much passion for their position, and to demonstrate strong command of the text. This was a great in class wrapup to the unit, and I gave them extra credit points on their paper if they contributed.
