The island of the blue dolphins by scott o

[object Object],The hooking activity for this book seemed to be very effective in the sense that it stirs students’ interest in going through the book to see what happens. The activity also gives the students the opportunity to relate to the content of the book. The introductory video (Man versus Wild) taken from you tube is extremely effective for the initial impact. Students are kept on the edge of their seats and the question “Why is he doing what he is doing?” imposes itself. A caveat though: not all schools have internet access in the classroom. However, enlarged pictures or posters will manage to draw students’ attention just fine. After the initial wonder, students find themselves on an island- the interesting facts handout accompanied by the pictures makes it almost real. The individual task appeals to their imagination and their survival instincts. This is extremely engaging for young students who dream about escaping the “boring” current life. The group discussion follows NATURALLY, and I am pretty sure that even without the teacher specifically instructing them to do so, the students will be eager to see what others have come up with and start talking to each other.. <br />What I would add is a specific goal for the group discussion; for example: each group should come to an agreement on the three priorities and the 5 things to be looked for first in case they were stranded on the island. I would ask each member of the group to write these in their notebooks and on the bookmark they use when reading. The while reading and ongoing task for them would be to compare their ideas with what really happens in the book.<br />,[object Object],The activity for this book seemed to be less effective in getting the students interested in reading the book. Its lack of effectiveness does not result from the fact that the activity itself is not interesting and entertaining, but form a combination of factors. The first one would be a lack of precise instructions as of what students have to do while watching the slide show – I did not think that instructing them to write down what they recognize in the slideshow would help them focus on a particular idea. The second would be the fact that the slide show does not capture entirely the theme of the book which seems to be the idea of never underestimating the willpower of a person in adversity or in a position of inferiority. <br />I agree with the old adage “A picture is worth a thousand words” and that is why I would rearrange the slide show in a way that would allow me to elicit from my students the idea of great achievements in spite of adversity. I would ask them to watch the re-arranged slide show 3 to 5 slides at a time and associate the idea in the slide show with events in their lives. Then in groups of 4 they would decide which is the predominant idea and how they feel about it. I would finally ask the students to work individually on a list of challenges they think they are able to tackle while other people might not. I will tell my students that this book is about a group of kids who set out to do just that.<br />

The island of the blue dolphins by scott o

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (6)

Similar to The island of the blue dolphins by scott o

Similar to The island of the blue dolphins by scott o (20)

The island of the blue dolphins by scott o