Hard Work: Using Think Puzzle Explore to replace comprehension questions in the teaching of a novel. Tim Inglefinger

Transcription

1 1 Hard Work: Using Think Puzzle Explore to replace comprehension questions in the teaching of a novel Tim Inglefinger This year I wanted to further incorporate Thinking Routines into my English classrooms to improve my students understanding of the class texts. Over three terms this evolved to focus on the use of Think-Puzzle-Explore as a way to replace mundane chapter questions. I was hopeful that this would lead to a greater understanding of the novel, and in turn improve students performance in writing an essay on it. The three terms it took me to get to this point were spent trying to incorporate a variety of other routines, with varying success, into the novel study. As is often the case, after plenty of frustrating reflection, the simpler approach has turned out to be the most workable.. After careful (and often loudly critical) consultation with the boys in my class, opinion is still mixed about the benefits of this change. But I will speak of that in more detail later. The Background The Year Eight English class at the centre of this paper is made up of 27 boys who, with the exception of three or four boys who find most things a struggle, are capable academically. Each year in Term One, the Year Eights study Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden. The unit runs for approximately eight weeks, underpinned by the following questions: What does John Marsden want to say in this novel? How does Marsden draw us in and take us along the journey of these young adults caught up in war? What different conclusions do we draw after reading the novel? After the boys read the novel, they have to complete chapter questions that provide them with a chance to demonstrate that they can remember key events and make some basic connections to the novel s bigger ideas. We also spend time considering the characters, setting and themes. This leads to a three paragraph essay on a choice of topics. (See Appendix A) In Term Three, the class studies another novel. In this instance, they work in groups studying a variety of novels chosen on ability and interest. The novels

2 2 are Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger), Hey Joe (Michael Hyde), Deadly Unna (Phillip Gwynne) and Surfing Mr Petrovic (Colin Bowles). Catcher in the Rye is the most difficult, followed by Hey Joe and Deadly Unna, with Surfing Mr Petrovic aimed at a level below year eight. The basic structure of the unit is the same; however the students work more independently and all complete an essay at the conclusion. The plan My grandiose vision for this year s experiment was that the boys would all completely embrace the change to a Think-Puzzle-Explore table as a means of demonstrating and increasing their understanding of a novel. Think-Puzzle- Explore (TPE) is useful to help students connect to prior knowledge, to stimulate curiosity and to lay the groundwork for independent inquiry. ( TPE asks students what they think they know about the topic, what puzzles or questions they have and how they can further explore the topic. In Term One all boys had to complete the table (See Appendix B) instead of the questions. After discussing it with the boys and some colleagues, in Term Three I made it optional, but stressed the value of the table as a way of improving their understanding of the novel and showing both themselves and me areas in which they needed extra help. From the outset I told students that I was trying something new, and explained that they would be doing different work to the other Year Eight English class. I wanted them to have ownership of this new direction from the start. They were happy to embrace this change, but they were concerned they would be doing more work than their counterparts. I assured them this was a change, rather than an addition, so they would still be doing the same amount of work. Unfortunately, this turned out to not be completely true, as the open nature of the table allowed the boys to write a lot more than they could with the closed comprehension questions. Think Puzzle Explore table the first attempt A strong motivator for initially deciding to modify how the novel was taught was through the dissatisfaction I had in previous years. How could I have the boys better able to demonstrate their understanding of key aspects of the novel in a different manner to the existing chapter questions. I decided upon Think-Puzzle-Explore as it allowed the students to show what they understood about the novel as well as providing a way to see where their questions or misunderstandings were. To introduce the task, I gave the boys an electronic copy of the table followed by a discussion of the best way to tackle it. We had to spend some

3 3 time teasing out the difference between Puzzle and Explore, but the boys were able to work out the difference. For the first chapter, we had time to think individually and then we completed some brief examples on the board. I stressed ys that it wasn t necessary to write a lot for each chapter it was their ideas that mattered. In Appendix B, I have included a sample of two boys work. Student A is very capable. Student B can at times struggle to understand the more complex aspects of English. While Student A s ideas in the Think and Puzzle columns showed a good understanding of the chapters and thoughtful questions, his use of questions in the Explore column suggests that he misinterpreted what was required. This shows that the initial instructions and discussions were not clear enough. Student B s work had more words than I expected. From the beginning, he was very engaged and was constantly pushing himself to explain in detail his understanding. The engagement that this routine provided Student B was rewarding. Again, his ideas in the Think and Puzzle column demonstrated he understood the novel, his ideas in the Explore column, while sometimes quite simple, showed that he was engaging with the content and was trying to get more from it. This was very pleasing. Overall, the boys responded positively to the table and the majority put in the extra time needed to complete it successfully. After a brief discussion it was clear that there were a few areas that needed to be followed up; namely the difference between Puzzle and Explore and the extra workload that the boys associated with the table. Think Puzzle Explore table the second attempt When the time came to study another novel in Term Three, I deliberated whether to use the table or the trusty old chapter questions. Ultimately, I gave the boys the choice of which way they wanted to demonstrate their understanding. The discussion that preceded this choice showed the delightfully predictable nature of Year Eight boys. The chorus from the table is more work boys far outweighed the I relish a challenge crowd. Eager to pursue it, I again reminded them of why I thought the table would benefit their understanding and tried to sell it as a challenge. I was very curious to see who would revert to the chapter questions and who would use the table. Of the 27 pieces of work that were submitted, five chose the table. Unsurprisingly, the boys who chose the table read either of the two more difficult books. I was disappointed to see that Student B (referred to above) did not choose the table, after being so enthusiastic and successful in term

4 4 one. Student A again completed the table and was able to demonstrate an excellent understanding of the key aspects of the story as well as write thoughtful questions to improve his knowledge. After his struggles in the first term, I spoke to the whole class and Student A individually to clarify what the Explore column was used for. His responses were improved, he still tended to use questions similar to the Puzzle column (See Appendix C). Evaluation As the study of our second novel for the year draws to a close, the time to reflect on the success or otherwise of using Think Puzzle Explore to demonstrate comprehension of the novel has arrived. During Term One I felt the boys responded very positively to the table, so I was disappointed that fewer than a quarter decided to use it in Term Three. After a brief discussion at the time, I decided to follow up with a survey to gauge their thoughts on the two methods. The majority of comments saw merits in both methods. Most boys could see that the table was beneficial to their understanding. Several examples are listed below. (Quotations are written verbatim.) I think that the possives about the Think Puzzle Explore are you get a better understanding about the book. You get to write more freely and give your opions more freely about the chapter not just about the question. There is more variety in what I can answer instead of just one right or wrong answer. Gives you a better understanding of the book. Good points to the puzzle, are it forces you to re-read the chapter several times to find what you want. This would benefit your understanding of the chapter because you have read it several times, and then know the book better. To be honest I can recall more events in the Tomorrow When the War Began than Catcher in The Rye, even though I have read it more recently. The puzzle forces you to learn the book better. I think that the Think Puzzle Explore is good compared to Chapter summaries as you have to read the book and skim over when you are filling in the sheet. It might also help us when it come to exam time.

5 5 Reading these comments was reassuring, as it showed me that the boys understood the reasoning behind using TPE and were able to see the benefits to their understanding that it provided. However, it is frustrating that so many of the boys could see the benefits of using the table, but it appears the negatives outweigh the positives for them. The boys had two major concerns. One was quite obvious, as the table requires more effort in terms of thinking, writing and time. The other common aspect was the openness of the table. This shouldn t necessarily be seen as a negative; however we all know that early adolescent boys find structure helpful. A selection of their responses, showing the negatives, is listed below. It doesn t go into depth about the book, it doesn t really give you a drive to find out things. It doesn t make you think about the book like the questions do, you have to think about the book in a different way to answer some of the questions. It takes longer and requires more thinking. ti can be bad because if you have a dead line and you just need to get it done then you don t have time to do a table. The think, puzzle and explore survey doesn t require specific answers that require us to look carefully through the novel. The main goal of the use of a TPE table during a novel study was to improve the boys understanding, which should lead to improved essay results. The results from the essays completed in Term One were not as clear cut as I had hoped, as the standard of the essays were quite high overall, with the expected range of quality both at the upper and lower end. There was not a clear link that the tables increased results, as the boys who I expected to perform well achieved the highest marks. After the completion of the next round of essays in Term Three, the five boys who chose to use the table achieved mixed results. When comparing their results to Term One, three boys increased their grades and two boys performed worse. Is there an explanation for this? As two essays is a very small sample size, it is difficult to take much from these results, but I am encouraged by the general improvement seen after using the table. It should be noted that many boys who did not complete the table completed excellent essays and also improved their results. So while I didn t necessarily get the results I expected, I don t think the activity was a failure. The future

6 6 As with all first attempts, there are mistakes, failures and aspects that can be improved upon. I am convinced that using Think Puzzle Explore to demonstrate comprehension of a novel is a better way to go. One of the most useful insights provided by the boys was how to improve the use of the table for future classes. Several boys thought the table was fine as is, but there were plenty of tweaks that make a great deal of sense and are easy to implement, providing the boys with ownership. When I use TPE in the future, I will take on some of the boys suggestions of how to better implement it. Some of the more interesting (or incredibly obvious) suggestions are included below. Make the students do half of the book using the table and the other half of the book using the questions, because it makes them think more. Give more information about how much the person needs to write maybe do an example table (do one summary, puzzle and explore) Include table questions inside the chapter questions and only on chapters where there are answers. Sometimes there is nothing in the chapter that you can write about. I don t think the explore section was really clear, and understandable. You could add a few marks for people who did the Think Puzzle Explore, because it is more difficult and deserves to be marked as such, otherwise the people who do that method are at a disadvantage. The most insightful aspect of this process has (as always) been getting feedback from my students about what they see as the pros and cons of the work we do and seeing how they value improving their own understanding. The dilemma of balancing the conception of additional work versus improved understanding can certainly be addressed by modifying how the table is completed or assessed. I am confident that with time (and a new class) this can become the norm, rather than hard work. While it has been interesting grappling with the use of Think Puzzle Explore in this year s novel studies with my Year Eight English class, I am convinced of the value it has provided to their understanding. I will certainly persist with it in future years, with some modifications, in all of my English classes.

7 7 Appendix A Tomorrow, When the War Began Essay topics 1. Discuss the message that Marsden is trying to get across to the reader when he writes that, Hell wasn t anything to do with places, Hell was all to do with people. Maybe Hell was people. 2. Discuss the development of one of the novel s main characters. 3. What connections exist between the story of the Hermit and the events in which Ellie and the others are involved? 4. There are several themes and issues suggested by Tomorrow, When the War Began. Select one of these and show how it is developed in the novel. Appendix B Student A Instead of the traditional chapter questions, this term we are going to complete the thinking routine Think Puzzle Explore for each chapter of the novel. The easiest way to do this is to add to the table in this word document as we work through the novel. Each time we read a chapter, you need to add your notes to each of the three boxes. You need to write at least 3-4 sentences in each box for each chapter. You should be thinking about the characters (how they act, choices they make, any changes), the key events, the setting and the themes. Chapter Think Puzzle Explore What do you think you know about this chapter? What questions or puzzles do you have about the chapter? How can you explore this chapter? 1 I think that the first chapter explained about the characters and what they I wonder why they wanted to go into hell in the first place I would like to find out why they went to hell and not to a

8 8 do. It talks about how Ellie and Corrie planed a holiday into hell and were asking friends from school. 2 I think that the seven of them are setting off to hell and are trying to leave early in the morning. They find a way into hell but it was very hard as the rock formation was very steep. 3 The group found a bridge and they think it belongs to the hermit. They now believe in the hermit. 4 The group just relaxed for the day until there was a snake in Homer s sleeping bag. The group was scared and were going crazy. Luckily the snake slithered away. The next day Homer told Ellie he had feelings for Fi. 5 I think that the chapter was about relaxing again and again. It soon ended and they left to go home. Ellie was tense about getting home and was nervous as well. and not go to the show. I wonder why Ellie was so keen to get into hell while the others were just trying to go back. Why doesn t Ellie like Corrie when she is around Kevin? Why does Homer have feelings for Fi. I wonder why Ellie was so tense and worried about going home. tropical place in Australia. I would like to know if Ellie is a short tempered person. I wonder why Ellie didn t like Kevin from the start. I would like to know why Kevin is so afraid of animals. I would like to know if Fi is using Homer or she does like him. Student B CH Think Puzzle Explore What do you think you know about this chapter? What questions or puzzles do you have about the How can you explore this chapter?

9 9 1 Characters :They were going to tailors stich to go on a camping trip with: Ellie, Chris, Robyn, Lee, Fi, Homer, Kevin. Tailor s stitch, is a long line, an irate, that goes dead straight from Mt martin to Wombegonoo. It is very narrow and steep in places. There s a series of small cliffs called Satan s steps. The locals also think the is a hermit from Hell that is an ex murderer. The kids are also missing the Wirrawee show which takes place on comen day. 3 days before they left to (Hell) there was a man on the television when Ellie was walking past saying that we have got a whip as a foreign minister. But Ellie didn t think much of it. Robyn =Is quiet and serious. She is heavily into church stuff, she is very determined; she is a small girl, but strong and nuggetty. She lives in town. Fi= has fine features, she spends a lot of her time playing the piano. Both her parents are solicitors they also live in town. Kevin = sensitive caring guy. Lee = Lee lived in town like Fi. He had a black crew cut and deep brown intelligent eyes, and has a nice soft voice. His father s Thai and his mother is Vietnamese, and they had a restaurant which served Asian food. Lee was good at music and art. Homer= Homer who lived down the road from me was wild outrageous, didn t care what he did or what anyone thought. Homer always seems to be in trouble. He is one of the bigger guys in school, but he hated most sports. He liked hunting and would often ring my parents and ask if could clean up a few more rabbits. He also liked swimming and music. 2 The book describes the road to (Hell) as holes so big that we d lose the Landover in them, mud slides, creek crossings. And I don t know how chapter? What about Ellie and Chris? Why the book only had one interesting Probably go on the internet and find out about Chris and Ellie, but I don t think I will add it because it is not in the book. I think to explore you would just have to keep

10 10 many times we stopped for fallen trees. Towards the end of the chapter they stop near a creek for a rest and Robyn go s for a wonder, and comes back and had found a bridge. I think the book is emphasising it in the way that they left it to the end of the chapter to make you curious. 3 The book describes the bridge as :old but well built. :crosses the creek to a clearing. : 1 meter long 5 wide with a handrail. : made of logs and wooden pegs. I think that the bridge would have been built by hand and with care, I think that the hermit would have built it. Hell is described by the book as. :no flowers just shades of green and brown. : Deep litter of leaves, bark and twigs. : Undergrowth and over growth is very dense. They found a clearing the size of a hockey field. 4 I think that in chapter four it shows thinking that you need to have to survive like: group thinking and decisions, perfect team work and also the opposite not to give a stuff about anyone else and run. When Ellie was going to the dunny she heard a humming noise in the distance and it was a dozen V-shaped fighter jets flying low with no lights. The next day the others seemed to say they saw heaps as well. In the rest of the chapter they think about what the planes were doing. :coming back from comen day. :world war 3 And all the reasons why they would be there at night. happening in it? Where dose the Hermit live? Why didn t Ellie tell them about the lights? reading. Find out more reasons why the planes could have been there.

11 11 5 I think that in chapter five they become smarter about the use of food and improvising meals, which is good because it is not wasting anything that would otherwise be chucked out. Ellie starts to show anxiety to get home. Why is Ellie anxious to get home? Explore what kind of food they were putting together. Appendix C Chapter Summary Think Puzzle Explore The Catcher in the Rye This term when studying your novel, you have the choice of completing the thinking routine Think Puzzle Explore for each chapter of the novel. The easiest way to do this is to add to the table in this word document as we work through the novel. Each time we read a chapter, you need to add your notes to each of the three boxes. You need to write at least 3-4 sentences in each box for each chapter. You should be thinking about the characters (how they act, choices they make, any changes), the key events, the setting and the themes. Ch Think Puzzle Explore What do you think you know about this chapter? What questions or puzzles do you have about the chapter? How can you explore this chapter? 1 Holden has just been expelled from Pencey Grammar and is just watching the football game by himself before he leaves that night. He then goes to Mr and Mrs Spencer s house. 2 Mr Spencer and Holden have a talk about how he got expelled and how Holden does not concentrate in his History classes. They talk about why he flunked his test and how he is axing school. Holden tells us that Mr Spencer s room is a real mess and smells like Vic nose drops. He also says that the bed is very hard and it makes you sore. Holden agrees with what Mr Spencer said and said his last I would like to know why he got expelled at the start of the book. I would like to know what year Holden is in. Why does he What were the private schools like back then? What was the bed s like in those days?

12 12 goodbye to him. 3 Holden returns to his room after leaving Mr Spencer house. Holden reads the book out of Africa in his room and then Ackley comes in through the bathroom. Ackley s real name is Herb Gale but everyone just calls him Ackley. Ackley doesn t have the best personality and can be quite annoying. Holden doesn t like him much and always wants him to leave his room. Stradlater comes in to the room and says hi to Ackley which scares him and he goes back to his room. Holden wonders why Stradlater is not at the game and asks him. Stradlater has a date which is down in the annex. 4 Stradlater tells Holden that his date is Jane Gallagher. Holden new her as she used to be her next door neighbour and he used to play checkers with her. Holden starts to antagonise Stradlater about his date and makes fun of him while he is shaving and doing his hair. Stradlater also asked him to write a page on something which evolved around a thing (House or Building). 5 It is supposed to be a big night at Pencey as it is stake night. But it isn t for Holden. Holden asks his mate Mal Brossard to see a movie with him and to get something to eat. Holden also invites Ackley to come and after hard thought he says yes. Holden and his mates decide not to go to the movies and just went out for a burger instead. When they got home Holden went straight to his bedroom and wrote the essay. He wrote it about his brother and the baseball glove. It had all the poems he liked on it and he used that glove to play baseball before he passed away. Holden loved this story and wrote it in much detail. 6 Stradlater comes home from his date and wonders where everyone is. Holden does not respond and thinks he knows the answer anyway. When Stradlater picks up the paper that Holden wrote, he starts to read it and rubs his chest while he is reading it. After Stradlater red it he was really angry as it was not about a house or a room or something so Holden ripped it up and through it in the bin. Stradlater got very annoyed and just laid on his bed and so did Holden. Holden wants to know what happens with Jane and Stradlater but Stradlater does not tell him one thing which really annoys Holden. Holden keeps on pestering and in the end Stradlater throws a punch. There is blood like the word phony? How old is Stradlater? Why doesn t anyone like Ackley? Does Ackley have any friends? How old is Jane? When was the last time Holden saw Jane? What were the last words that Allie said to Holden? Why was Stradlater so worried? Why did Holden go to Ackley s room? How big is the schools back then? Were the rooms nice or average? In those days were you aloud to leave school on the weekends at any time? Why aren t there a lot of movies in New York? Is there school nurses?

13 13 coming out of Holden s mouth and nose, Stradlater gets really nerves. Stradlater tells him to wash his face and leaves the room. Holden gets up and goes to see Ackley. 7 Holden wakes up Ackley and Ackley asks what you were fighting about. When Holden turns on the light Ackley said Jesus and told him to put something on it. He told Holden to get away and go back to bed. Holden lies on Ackley s roommate s bed anyway. Ackley says to go back to his own bed or his roommate will get very angry. Holden agrees but does not leave. In a couple of minutes Ackley is asleep. 8 Holden packed up his stuff and left for the station. It was too late to call up a cab or anything so he walked all the way to the station. He didn t have to wait that long for a train. Once he was on, a 30 year old women sat opposite to him and asked if he went to Pencey. Holden said yes and the women said that her son went there. Her son was Ernest and no one liked him at all. Holden said nice stuff about him and made up a name of some other Pencey boy as he didn t want to be known. She got off and Holden said his goodbye. 9 Holden got off at Penn Station and thought of giving someone a ring. He couldn t think of anyone. He got a cab and went to the Edmont Hotel. Holden checked in and gave a guy a call from a phone booth which he had only met once in his life at a party. This lady answered and didn t put Eddie on so he just hanged up. 10 Holden wasn t very tired and couldn t get to sleep. Holden went to the bar and met 3 girls who were alright looking. He asked them all for a dance. They did and then left. He also had a lot of cokes which he thought was pointless. Why wasn t Ackley energetic? Why was the lady catching the train so late at night? Why did she put her stuff write in the middle of the aisle? Who was the lady? Why did he ring Eddie not someone else. Why does he only like beer? Are there teachers or security making sure everyone is asleep? What happens if you don t have a ticket? Is Edmont Hotel top of the range or bottom of the range? Were the bar attenders very strict?