I have always found great appreciation for a thought-provoking quote. In fact, I can remember having great discussions in class about quotes from whichever novel we were reading. Sometimes I would provide the quotes, and other times I would require students to find their own meaningful quotes. What was most interesting about the process was student application. Students are impressive young people, and when you hit the right cord, they will blow your socks off. And so, a quote activity was born.
What’s Included
- 18 weeks of analyzing quotes, 1 for each week.
- 5 activities for each quote
- Critical thinking, constructed response, text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world activities.
- Challenges for students to share their own quotes and create activities
- Opportunities to work with a partner
How It Works
If possible, print each student their own booklet of quotes. The booklets can be stored in the classroom so students always have them if there is a concern about the notebooks being lost.
At the beginning of each week, assign students a new quote. Have them complete the paraphrase activity first. This is a great way to assess students’ understanding of the quote because they have to rewrite it in their own words.
As you progress through the week, have students complete a different activity each day. To generate discussion, you can have students share their responses with a peer or in small groups. For class discussions, have students share their responses and respond to other’s points of view.
At the end of the week, you can collect the notebooks and provide students with feedback. Another option is to use daily discussion to gather information about each student’s comprehension and provide feedback through discussions.
The Purpose
The purpose of the activity is to teach students to think critically. Instead of giving students a grade for a “right” or “wrong” answer, provide them with feedback. Ask them questions as opposed to giving them an answer as there are a variety of ways to answer these critical thinking questions.
Outcomes
By the end of the 18 weeks, students will be able to:
- Analyze quotes for meaning
- Make connections between quotes, themselves, the real word, and other texts.
- Choose and analyze their own quotes
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