Todd is busy working on installing some new technology in the office so I (Paula) am taking over today. Isn’t it appropriate to put him to work on figuring out the new printer on Tech Tuesday?
In any case, today’s idea is so clever, I was torn between using it today or saving it for FUN FRIDAY. In the end, I couldn’t wait. To share this unique lesson, we once again visit Kelly Tenkely’s iLearnTech (soooo much great stuff over there).
In this post, Kelly explains how she designed an activity for a teacher who was “looking for ways for the students to explore characters more in-depth and think about how authors develop characters.” Kelly’s idea was to have the learners create fake Facebook profiles of the various characters in the book. As you will read, she ran into a few obstacles as she designed a template that could actually be used in a school (without being blocked), looked like Facebook, and was easy to create and utilize. Check out how she did it and see some of her ideas for extensions and using this idea across other subject areas.
If you use this idea as part of a differentiated lesson, you might consider having students work in pairs or small groups. This will be especially helpful if you have students who could not generate a wide range of comments or clever posts written in the voice of a literary characters. Some might be better at showing their understanding of Atticus, Scout or Boo by creating “family snapshots” (illustrations or mock photos) that characters might post on their sites or by finding key passages/dialogue from the book to use in posts.
Another way to use this to differentiate is to offer it as a choice or alternative to a traditional assessment. Some learners could submit a more formal book report, some might create alternative scenes for the book to demonstrate their understanding of the characters and their motivations, and still others might choose this Facebook option.
About Paula Kluth
