Goals

To have students discuss the different banned books they were reading and the themes surrounding each book amongst each other, allow students to compare their banned book to those of other students, and build interest in reading banned books amongst students.

 

Details

Duration: 120 minutes

Assessments: Student reflections/journals, Student discussions

 

Description

This activity took place in during two class periods and took about one hour each period.

1. We first gave students the handout, "Banned Books Discussion Circle #1", and asked them to respond to the questions listed on the handout about their banned book.

2. We then gave students the protocols for the book discussion circles and told them that they needed to engaged in their group's discussion and let them know that we would be observing their discussions.

3. We then grouped students from two different Humanities classrooms and asked them to situate themselves and begin.

4. After the discussion circles were completed, we brought the students back and debriefed with them about what the discussions were like.

For the second class period, the same steps took place, except we gave students the handout, "Banned Books Discussion Circles #2".

Handout - Banned Books Discussion Circle #1
Handout...
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Handout - Banned Books Discussion Circles #2
Handout...
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Author Reflections

This was a great activity for students to talk amongst themselves about the books they were reading. It generated interest in what each student was reading. The next time around, we may want to give students more time to discuss so that the discussion circles don't feel like they are pressed for time.