So, this has actually been one of the best PLC experiences I've had this year, and it came at the best time as well. In my mixed Honors 4 and 5AP French class, we've just started reading a lengthy novel by Guy de Maupassant called Pierre et Jean. Inspired by our PLC discussions, I decided from the start to scrap my traditional "read these pages, answer these questions, and spit back your answers the next day" method, and figure out a way to get my students to talk to one another about their own experiences with the novel.
I've decided to do 10 different discussion activities with the ten different segments they will be asked to read. I've added my "traditional" worksheets to our class sophia page for those students who have had me for a few years now and who still like having some vocabulary and comprehension questions that they can refer to, but I am adamant that these questions are not mandatory.
And, while Susan did warn me there might be some awkwardly painful moments of silence (and there were!), I have been over the moon with the results so far.
In the first discussion, students sat in a wide circle and had complete control over the conversation. Using my Smart Notebook software, I was able to set timers for them and gave them the option to alternate between using French and English. Finally, finally.....with two minutes left in class, they got to an in-depth discussion of the hint of jealousy between the two brother, Pierre and Jean.
In the second discussion, students again started in a wide circle and were allowed to lead the discussion in any direction they wished in French. After twenty minutes, I instructed them to look under their chairs where I had taped pieces of paper with various themes written on them. They then separated into pairs and had to discuss (again completely in French) their themes: the representation of the sea, the representation of the women in the novel, the appearance of the social class structure in 19th century France, Maupassant's own intimate connections with the region of Normandy, etc. Again, the students did all the talking, and I simply listened. I think even some of them started swapping slips of paper on their own! There were wanting to talk about these themes.
During Wednesday's class, I instructed them to work together to design a play or video with at least 10 quotations from the novel (and English subtitles) which would prove to me that they had understood the central plot and the characters so far. Although they didn't quite finish this "project" in the 80 minutes they were given, I'm really looking forward to their video portrayal of the second chapter first thing during tomorrow's class. In in all honestly, I'm not concerned with the final product; having listened to the students' conversations about the landscape of Normandy, the personification of lighthouses, and the mysterious Polish refugee character (and why had he fled Poland?) all on their own---that is more than I could have asked for!
I'm excited to try seven more discussion techniques with this group, and I am hoping to "trickle" this down to the Honors 3 students who will begin reading Le Petit Prince next week in class! No more worksheets! :)
Thanks to everyone in our PLC who inspired me to try new things!
p.s. Today, I've also learned that blogging while trying to prepare dinner for three "starving" children does not work very well! Oh well....live and learn!
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