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2017-2018 activity : Reading circles

DESCRIPTION

 

  It consists of an interdepartmental project ( Foreign Languages Departments) which will show the way our respective students can improve their key competences; linguistic (reading, writing, listening and speaking) non-linguistic and transversal: autonomy, critical thinking, entrepreneurship among others, in language lessons they attend in Spain, Estonia, Turkey, Germany and France within the framework of a strategic partnership Erasmus +.

 

   As institutions, we consider literacy is the ability to read and write, besides it includes skills like critical thinking, listening, speaking, viewing and presenting, entrepreneurship among others. Literacy is a very important subject for everyone because our success as a society depends on the innovation of the next generation. In relation to this, we believe that one common item that has been fascinating people over time are good stories. And our language students are no exception.

 

By means of implementing international reading circles (students- led novel studies), we ensure our students’ practice of their linguistic skills and communicative strategies in foreign language, both  in a formal, but also informal context ( which fosters peer communication), since the project itself comprises the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. It puts the learning on the students’ shoulders in order to become autonomous readers. It also reinforces and develops their analytical skills.

 

AIMS

 

  • To engage our students in reading fiction or non fiction, classic or contemporary works selected by teachers (it must be curriculum-based, whenever possible) to become autonomous and independent readers and to promote reading for pleasure.

 

 

  • Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g. sentence structure, context, graphics).

 

 

  • Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and nonprint texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.

 

 

  • Students develop writing competences by means of planning different text types according to the required communicative situation

 

 

  • Students reproduce orally, recite or perform adapted literary texts

 

 

  • Students develop an understanding of and respect for diversity in language use, patterns, and dialects across cultures, ethnic groups, geographic regions, and social roles.

 

 

  • Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

 

 

  • Students respect opinions and thought of others.

 

WORK PROCESS

 

  1. Brief introduction of team members and their favourite books

  2. Common brainstorming: why read? Students create in teams a commom padlet

  3. Project team members will be arranged. 8 Groups of 5 students (one from each country) corresponding to the five project roles: discussion leader, the summarizer, the passage person, the word master, and the connector. For the first round, roles will be assigned by the teachers. After the  first meeting, roles must rotate for every meeting. Before the meeting, the students fill in their role sheets and prepare the task.

  4. Both students and project teachers members will have a calendar of meetings at their disposal. Teachers will meet on Skype to deal with the books list proposal. 

  5. While working on the reading circle, each team must write a collaborative journal on the wiki to reflect on their reading process.

  6. When books are finished, all teams must write down a collaborative review on Twinspace. They must also comment at least 2 other reviews.

  7. Teams share their readings to the rest of students in their classes by means of implementing projects as the following options (students must choose from these):

    1. Collaborative poster session (glogster)

    2. Presentations of the author, the  book, the time

    3. Quizlet /kahoot about the book

    4. Video interview of other team members about reading the book.

    5. Testomonial videos about the book

    6. Create a time lapse of your reading as a group

    7. Write a song lyrics from the book and record a video

    8. Create a large timeline of events

    9. Memorize and perform a last scene

    10. Write  or record an e- sequel to the book on the wiki.

    11. Record a TV News Broadcast reporting events from the book

 

 

8. All products will be shared on Twinspace and disseminated on social networks and school websites. Other media resources used will be quizlet,pazlet,  kahoot, vocaroo, drive, powerpoint, forums and chat rooms.

 

EXPECTED RESULTS

 

This project will be developed in English language. Students will work collaborative to read, to discuss, to share, to write, to create, and to disseminate their outcomes.

Three items will be assessed by means of rubrics:

 

  • debates and discussion (wikispaces and reading circles),  

  • the review and the journal

  • the final product.

 

Moreover, students’ participation and effort will be also considered. These items will be evaluated by means of rubrics which will assess their reading comprehension, writing and literature competences as it’s stated in the curriculum.

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OUR STUDENTS FINAL WORK

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"Slumdog millionnaire" by Vikas Swarup

"The hound of the Baskervilles" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

"The call of the wild" by Jack London

"A picnic on earth" by Rupert Morgan

"The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

"Slumdog millionnaire" by Vikas Swarup

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