Where has time gone? Since the last 7/8 update, we have made a great deal of progress on our FBI investigations. In fact we have wrapped up with the first case and already begun the second!
The first case asked students to investigate who or what was the monster in Patrick Ness's A Monster Calls. As we read the novel aloud, students took notes on each character in their case files by recording physical/emotional traits, actions, and deciding whether that person was a Suspect (possibly the monster), a Witness (someone who interacted with the monster), or a Person of Interest (someone who was not the monster, never interacted with the monster, but was still helpful to the investigation). Miss G and Mr. Chadburn loved listening to students share their ideas, predictions, and connections along the way as they proposed theories about who or what the monster really was!
The first case asked students to investigate who or what was the monster in Patrick Ness's A Monster Calls. As we read the novel aloud, students took notes on each character in their case files by recording physical/emotional traits, actions, and deciding whether that person was a Suspect (possibly the monster), a Witness (someone who interacted with the monster), or a Person of Interest (someone who was not the monster, never interacted with the monster, but was still helpful to the investigation). Miss G and Mr. Chadburn loved listening to students share their ideas, predictions, and connections along the way as they proposed theories about who or what the monster really was!
Students also practiced three of their 4-Way Thinking skills (summarizing, evaluating, and analyzing) throughout this investigation. Students sent updates of their progress to FBI Director Skinner by summarizing what they had read so far, they evaluated their peers work and gave feedback, and the analyzed key moments in the story to explain why they were important and/or how they contributed to the story as a whole.
In order to demonstrate the progress they made in some of these skills, each student made a board game that included some of the most important characters, events, and details from A Monster Calls. They also included a writing piece that analyzed each of the elements they included. Mr. Chadburn and Miss G were away at a conference when students began this process, and they were blown away when they returned by the creativity students exhibited! Seventh graders had the opportunity to playtest their peers' games while the eighth graders were on a field trip. They were quick to notice that writing rules wasn't as easy as they originally thought! Many of the games were not yet playable due to unclear directions, but students did a great job giving one another feedback and revising their own games based on this feedback.
In order to demonstrate the progress they made in some of these skills, each student made a board game that included some of the most important characters, events, and details from A Monster Calls. They also included a writing piece that analyzed each of the elements they included. Mr. Chadburn and Miss G were away at a conference when students began this process, and they were blown away when they returned by the creativity students exhibited! Seventh graders had the opportunity to playtest their peers' games while the eighth graders were on a field trip. They were quick to notice that writing rules wasn't as easy as they originally thought! Many of the games were not yet playable due to unclear directions, but students did a great job giving one another feedback and revising their own games based on this feedback.
To wrap up the case, students each wrote a Final Report for Director Skinner to explain who/what they thought the monster was in the case and providing evidence from the case to support their idea. Nine different potential monsters were identified. Director Skinner responded to these reports with a memo asking students to narrow down the list and consider revising the monster profile they created the first day of the case based on the monsters that made the final cut.
Ultimately, students voted the following list to be the most likely suspects in A Monster Calls:
1. Disease
2. Conor's Nightmare
3. Death
When they looked back at their original profile they had created, they realized these monsters didn't really fit that profile well at all! We reconsidered what make something monstrous and wrote two more drafts before we settled on a much simpler profile we could use in the second case.
Ultimately, students voted the following list to be the most likely suspects in A Monster Calls:
1. Disease
2. Conor's Nightmare
3. Death
When they looked back at their original profile they had created, they realized these monsters didn't really fit that profile well at all! We reconsidered what make something monstrous and wrote two more drafts before we settled on a much simpler profile we could use in the second case.
The second case is now well under way! Check back soon for our next 7/8 blog post to hear all about how that case is going!
Thanks to Patrick Ness and Bill Rich for this week's lesson ideas and resources. We encourage you to click on their names to learn more about their work.