Reflect On your Small Group Discussion of The Book Thief by 1/29/08
So, today I asked you to get in small groups and discuss The Book Thief. That was pretty much it; I gave you no further instruction. How did it go? Was it an effective activity for all members? Did everyone share equally? Was it aggravating to be given so little structure? How did the conversation develop, or did it?
Be candid, and post your reply by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
posted by Bucky C. @ 2:07 PM
19 comments
19 Comments:
I'm not a big fan of group work, but I think it has the ability to work for some people and help them learn. This activity would have worked better had everyone in the group had a copy of the assigned book and actually read it. The vagueness of the instructions makes it more difficult for a group to stay on track. I prefer to have a list of questions to answer. I think the group work was effective for all members because everyone left the group knowing something about the book that he didn't know before.
Us in group 4 talked about The Book Thief casually, stating the obvious and and asking unanswered questions to one another. We were a bit in the dark as for what to do, and thus I think we were slow to get into anything "deep." Also, it would've benefited the group if all of the members would have read the entirety of the book. I know of at least one member that hadn't... me. I came into class guilty I hadn't, and left knowing I'd be more prepared next time. Also, I realized this being a one-day-a-week-class means more work outside class than if it met more often.
I believe that the group activity was not such a bad idea. There was one person in our group who had not even opened the book because this was her first class meeting, me. The group really helped me get a great understanding and overview of what the book is about. I was a bit disappointed not being able to join in on the discussion but it will not happen again because I will be better prepared next time.
Our discussion went pretty well. We did not get to go into a detailed discussion about the book, but I believe that everyone walked away with a fairly decent knowledge of understanding about it. As for the instruction, I knew a little as what to expect from it. I would rather have some direction into the reading assignment, but a list of picky questions are never fun! discussion is always better for me to learn more from the text.
-Amanda
The small group discussion of the book opened up several topics that i didnt address while reading. This activity worked really well because everyone in the group contributed good discussion questions. I think that the members of my group exposed many themes to the book. The group really helped me understand the purpose of the narrator.
The idea of group discussion seems to almost always work for me. Our group was able to identify with several themes of the book. I am pretty confident that group work allows everyone to raise certain questions about the novel and we get the chance to see what our peers may be feeling about a certain issue brought up in the novel or in class. Its a little more well rounded when each group is given something to kind of go on where as having the opportunity to be flexible is always good but with a little guidance.
Group work..well it can be good. It often gives other members new ideas to think about. I have the tendency to not think outside of the box, I read the content and that's it. But with the group work, I was able to hear some of the other members thoughts and ideas on the book. We did not get into the depth of the book, due to lack of thought and preperation. I was really unprepared for the group meeting, but I will know for next time what to expect.
I am always a bit anxious over group work, but I enjoy the type of group activity where everyone can be casual and open with their experiences with the book. I did enjoy it, but I would've liked to have had maybe a little more guidance or conversation starters. One of our group members hadn't read the book, but I think that it was her first day. Even so, she still listened to us talk about the book and we all seemed to enjoy it.
I'm a part of group #3. I think we have a very comical and interesting group meeting. Evryone was behind in the reading except for one person but we promise to be on our best behavior for WED. I
Hello everyone!!!!! I'm a part of group number 3 and I'm very excited to work with evryone!!!! In our group we actually didn't discuss the novel as a whole in detail because everyone had not completed the book. We all agreed that Wed. we will be totally different and we would all work hard from now on.
I would also like to use #11 on the website list.
I enjoy group discussion when everyone has something to say about the topic. Unfortunately, this was not the case in our group. Perhaps it was just a reluctance to speak freely amongst unknown people. I prefer vague instructions when it comes to group work, but I realize that I may be within the minority on this subject. Despite the general negativity of this post I remain pleasantly optimistic about the group. I'm sure conversation will flow more freely once we've all become more acquainted with each other.
nybarg, #11 has already been taken. Try again and post your desired # in the actual links post instead of here..
Good to see folks owning up to being unprepared this week. But, now you know the workload that's expected of you, so don't neglect to finish The Book Thief, do your reflections, synopses, and DP's on it, and get on target.
I was somewhat interested in discussing the novel in groups yet was also somewhat nervous. All but one member had completed the book, which kind of stifled the development of the discussion. We talked about a few different things about the novel but only skimmed the surface. I'm sure that since we now know what to expect, later group discussions will delve deeper.
I was in group 3 and we were pretty much all lacking in the preparedness area. Well, all except one of us anyways. Our group work amounted to one person explaining the book to the other three. I can't really say whether or not it was a good experience because so few of us had read the book. However, we all promised to have the next book on our list read by the next class meeting so I have high hopes for next time.
I generally like discussing thing in a group setting. I found the lack of structure and instruction to be somewhat difficult. The people in my group were all very nice and most were very prepared. I think group work is a great way to gain valuable insight, but I would prefer to have some clearly outlined objectives for the discussion.
The Book Thief had several different inputs in the group discussion. The group enjoyed how the author would already give you a setting and emphasis on certain part of the story before you read it. It was like no surprises. The group also discussed on who was there favorite character. At the end if someone did not get a certain part of the story then they will be leaving the class with the knowledge because group work is a big help for everyone...
I have to say I thought it was rather fun. We ended up discussing everything about the book, including random parts about it. I found it enriching, and kind of neat that the other people had the same thoughts I did.
>^.^<
At first there was an initial awkwardness. The lack of instruction made it hard to see what direction we wanted to go. Basically we talked about the book and our discussion plans. groups? i am glad i got to meet officially three of my classmates.
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