War with Grandpa

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War with Grandpa
By Elaine

Sammi,
I love WAR WITH GRANDPA!

What if students formed small groups to perform their favoirite scenes for the class. Of course you'd have to make sure all the scenes chosen are different. I usually do this
on a first-come first-serve basis, the teams that cooperate and reach a consensus first get first choice. Have them write their chosen scene on chart, so others know that scene is taken. I did this activity at the end of a literature circle cycle, and each group had read a different book. My students had tons of fun writing and performing book skits. We even video taped them to watch

(and laugh about) later.

Also, we did mind maps of books once. (Again each group had read a different book, but I don't see why it wouldn't work for groups to create their own maps of the same story. In fact I think it would be very interesting to see how different groups approach the mapping.) I didn't know much about what mind mapping at the time, so we just used a large piece of bulletin board paper, drew an oval in the middle for the title and author's name (could include genre), created branches off the oval for story elements -- characters, setting, problem, solution (possible branches for ways characters change, literary devices used by author, etc. depending on the focus of mini-skill lessons taught throughout lit circles). Branching off the branches, students make as many connections as they can to their own lives, to other texts, and to world situations. The more connections made the deeper the level of understanding. After teams finished maps, they presented them to the class. It was a very beneficial acitvity -- creating interest in books not yet read, increasing comprehension, modeling ways readers think about and make connections to the the text.

Hey, thanks for asking this question. I just figured out what I'm going to do for reading this week! Ain't life grand!
Elaine