Book Talk

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Book Talk

• Using the Collaboratory Forums for Student
  Discussions about Independent Reading

Quest Academy Palatine, IL
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Independent Reading

• Students select books from Internet Book Club
  Independent Reading List monthly
• They choose from a different category each month
• They choose a format for writing reflectively on
  their monthly reading
• Teachers give feed back, suggestions and
  evaluations monthly

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Independent Reading Lists
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Choices for Reflection

• Write traditional journal entries
• Participate in a Book Talk forum in the
  Collaboratory
• Create a 3D Diorama of a scene
• Summarize the book in a paper
• Write and present a Soliloquy
• Hold a Press Conference

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How the Book Talks Work

• Students choose a book from the Independent
  Reading List to read together for the month
• Students ask a teacher to set up a Book Talk
• Students post at least five meaningful entries
  over the course of the month
• Teachers post feedback and suggestions to promote
  good discussions

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Book Talk Forum
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Something Wicked This Way Comes -- Ray Bradbury

• 7th grade girls formed a group
• They exchanged reflections, insights, and
  analyses on the novel
• Teachers gave them feedback and suggestions for
  interpretation and discussion

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A Book Discussion
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Lina Opens the Discussion

• Date Posted Oct/06/2003 640 PM
• I just read the first chapter and it sounds
  really cool!! I think that we should all read the
  book by chapters, like 1-2 chapters per night, or
  more if theyre really short. I think that Will
  H. and Jim N. are different, just like Amy said.
  Jim seems more mysterious and curious and he
  seems to think things like lightning striking his
  house are fascinating.

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Lina Continues

• I also think that this plays off of him being
  born on Halloween. Will H. does seem more caring,
  friendly and outgoing, i.e. when the salesman
  asks for the boys names, Will says his quickly
  and Jim takes his time.

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Kayla Adds Her Thoughts

• Date Posted Oct/07/2003 845 AM
• I read the first three chapters and they are very
  cool!!! I am kinda confused about whose dad is
  who. . . it seems like Jim's dad should be more
  like Will's dad because they are both
  intellectuals and very interested in reading.
  Maybe something happened with the two dads??? I
  don't know, what do you people think?

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Mr. Shilhanek Prompts

• Date Posted Oct/07/2003 856 AM
• Excellent start, girls. I love seeing the
  comparisons. I want you to think about something.
  What did you think of the lightning rod salesman?
  Will this character be important in the remainder
  of the book? Think of some of the symbolism of a
  lightning rod. Keep it up.

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Christi Contributes

• Date Posted Oct/07/2003 631 PM
• I think that even though Jim and Will are best
  friends, they are very different. Jim is more
  reckless, curious and mischievous. He didn't want
  to put up the lightning rod because he wanted to
  see what would happen. He enjoys the thrill of
  danger, like Tom Sawyer, even though he does not
  do some of the things Tom would've done because
  he has Will there to talk him out of it.

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Christi continues

• . . . Will wanted to put the lightning rod up
  right away because he didn't want anything bad to
  happen. He is educated (he recognizes the
  Egyptian and Phoenician writing) even though he
  does not act like it sometimes. He is smart he
  reads longer books and his father is a librarian.
  

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Christi Concludes

• The lightning rod salesmen seems paranormal he
  knows when a bad storm is coming and has
  lightening rods that, as he says, can hear, feel,
  know, and soft-talk to storms, and will absorb
  the shock from lightning better than any other
  kind of lightning rod. But, is he also caring? He
  gives a rod to Will and Jim even though they have
  no money to pay for it. I think that the
  salesman's arrival foreshadows other strange
  occurrences.

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Kayla steps up

• Date Posted Oct/08/2003 439 PM
• Will seems misplaced in his family, like he does
  not belong. His family just brushes him off and
  pays little attention to him. He is a loner,
  wanting peace and quiet. Will is afraid to talk
  to his dad, so he just listens to him speak. That
  would be awful to not be able to talk to my
  parents. I would probably burst because I would
  be holding things inside for so long.

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Kayla Keeps Writing
. . . I think Will's dad is ashamed of being a
janitor and puts all his efforts into it so that
he doesn't have to face his wife or Will. It is
weird how he burns the poster about the carnival.
I also sensed at the beginning of the book that
he felt inferior to Jim's dad because he was not
as smart or interesting to talk to.
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Book Talk Stats

• This topic has 63 posts and the students were so
  involved that the discussion was extended for
  another month.
• There is currently a Book Talk forum and an
  archive for earlier book talks.
• There are over 45 topics in the Book Talk forums.
• There are over 2000 contributions from students
  discussing their reading . . .

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Book Talk Summary

• Book Talk have been used to discuss novels,
  poetry selections and films
• It has also been used as a follow-up discussion
  forum for a group that meets during lunch and
  recess
• Book Talk has given students a safe place to say
  what they feel about the books they read

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Writing about what we read makes us better
readers.

• Balazs Dibuz
• Quest Academy