Oct 05 2008
We Dive into the Book Discussion
Tomorrow morning, bright and early we are off to our 3rd meeting of St. Bonaventure Homeschool Cooperative. So far….so good!
The final class of the morning is Book Discussion with the eighth graders through eleventh graders. We are reading The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. Last week we talked mostly about the vocabulary which brouhgt in ;many parts of the story line. This week we hope to delve into the Story Chart.
The Story Chart, for those of you who are unfamiliar with it, is an equilateral triangle on which is identified: Introduction or Exposition; Rising Action of the story; Climax; and Falling Action; Conclusion. All the things that make up a story are also noted on the chart: characters, setting, plot. And then the discussion takes place — after the leading question — What is the theme of the book? What is the conflict?
Being the visual person that I am, I love to use the chart to understand and explain the plot of a story. Depending on what you view as the coflict, the various parts of the plot can vary dramatically. (no pun intended)
Well, I think I am looking forward to this discussion tomorrow - and for those of you who have taught literature discussions in this format, you may agree tht it is often easiest to start with an example of a childrens book that all are familiar with. So… Peter Rabbit, here we come !
If you would like more information on this type of book discussion and analysis, leave a comment, and I will let you know how it went and hopefully be able to give you some tips.
In the mean time, here is a link to a nicely done powerpoint presentation of plot:
