Secondary Staff Development
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Focus Groups
Posted by CORINNE SIKORA on 3/3/2014
Often when students are reading a major work, I will placethem in groups and provide each group with a specific focus. For example, I may have each group focus onand chart a specific literary element as they progress through the work. Here are focus groups I set up for RudolfoAnaya’s Bless Me, Ultima:
| Group | Focus |
| Group 1 | Focus on how setting (time and place) is used to develop emotional effect. |
| Group 2 | Chart any evidence of the author’s use of foreshadowing/hints. How does this foreshadowing affect the novel? |
| Group 3 | Track how the author uses language (description, imagery, metaphor, irony, humor) make the story richer. |
Each group tracks and keeps notes. If students are reading fiction, they cantrack specific characters; if reading a history or science book, they can trackactual people or events.
Adapted from: Gallagher,Kelly. Deeper Reading: Comprehending Challenging Texts, 4 - 12.Portland: Stenhouse Publishers, 2004.
