We all love stories in our classroom. Whether we share an anecdote, a current event or even create a fictional story with the class, we want our students to be focused, to pay attention. CI and TPRS guru Ben Slavic came up with a set of important rules for the CI classroom and as you can see HERE, the first and most important one is ”To listen with the intent to understand”.
The reality is that no matter if we are the most entertaining teachers in the planet, we will always have students who get easily distracted and that will struggle to listen and understand the story. No matter how comprehensible we made it. For that reason I created a little group activity that has helped my classes to “listen with the intent to understand”.
This activity has also worked with high level readings in my AP classes.
1- Anecdotes and current events (a story you can plan)
-Write sentences that summarize the story in a grid. One sentence per grid.
-Make as many copies of the filled grip as groups you are planning to have.
-Distribute grids and have students cut each box to make it into cards.
-Students distribute cards facedown on top of a table.
-You remind them about CI rule # 1.
-Tell them that after listening they have to organize the cards to match the story.
-Allow time for each group to finish, do not make it a timed competition.}
-Students will read their version and then you´ll present the right order.
2- Collective stories (a story that you can’t plan)
-Give each group a set of X number of blank cards
-Remind them about CI rule # 1
-After listening to the story they need to summarize it one sentence per card.
-They have to organize their cards to match the story.
-Allow time for each group to finish, do not make it a timed competition.
-Students will read their version and then you´ll present the right order.
*If working with short stories I recommend you using TEXTIVATE a web tool that allows multiple ways to play with texts.
@Copyright Diego Ojeda, this material is intended for educational purposes and it’s free. It is prohibited to profit from it in any way. For questions contact Diego Ojeda @ diego@srojeda.com
DIEGO OJEDA 