Concluding Activity: Back to the Beginning
After finishing all our activities, I will return the Anticipation Guides that students completed before reading the novel. I will read each statement aloud, and ask if any students have changed their minds or have become less definite in their assumptions. Discussing these statements in the context of the novel they have completed will give the students a framework for a deeper, more personally relevant dialogue than if they were to discuss them in the abstract.
I would expect that some of the students will maintain some of their viewpoints as expressed in the Anticipation Guides, such as "Snitching is always wrong." It has been a part of their neighborhood culture for so long that this one unit may not provide enough experiences to have them feel comfortable expressing a different opinion, even if some small change in their feelings has occurred. The issue of lying for different purposes should provide a lively discussion. Was Jeremy right or wrong to omit telling the police that Aaron was afraid of Nathan? Is omission of a fact considered a lie? Why did he do it? Was Jeremy trying to protect a friend as in the Anticipation Guide, or were there deeper feelings involved?
This is another opportunity to use oral communication skills and to have a rational discussion, making use of second order thinking skills based on learning experiences from our unit.
I will provide students with a list of mysteries in our library that they might enjoy reading as well as others they could obtain from the public library or bookstores. Some of these mysteries are in the resource list.
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