21st Century Ways to Teach a Book

Today I was presented with a challenge; a Language Arts teacher wanted to know how to teach her next in-class novel without the usual routine of study guides, comprehension questions, and vocabulary worksheets.  Your memories of English Language Arts classes probably include those types of activities.  While those activities all have their place and can still be worthwhile, technology has made it possible for students to create connections with their reading in deeper ways.  Below is the start of a list of ideas for truly engaging students in a book discussion using 21st century tools and higher level thinking.

1.  Create a classroom space on Edmodo.  Have students discuss the story in large or small groups.  Connect with another classroom elsewhere reading the same book.

2.  Contact the author to see if he or she will Skype.  Many authors will Skype with students for free.

3.   Use the Fake Tweet Builder to tweet a character or write a book review.  Try the lesson created by The Daring Librarian.

4.  Create character conversations using ifaketext.  See the example that I created between Katniss and Peeta.

5.  Find one image that represents the book or a specific part of the book.  Share this in Edmodo.  Have other students guess and comment on what it represents and why it was chosen.  Use Thinglink to have kids link their images to videos and other information.

6.  Use BrainyFlix to illustrate vocabulary words.  Share final product in Edmodo.

7. Create a voki speaking from the perspective of one of the characters to share his/her feelings during any part of the story.  Blabberize would also work well for this purpose.

8.  Have a QR Code scavenger hunt to begin the book and help students understand background information.  Display QR Codes around the room, and use a QR code scanner to have a scavenger hunt.

9.  Use Padlet to connect with the story at the beginning of class.  Post a sticky note with a question related to the reading/connection to students' lives.  Students respond and comment on others.  This would also be great as an exit ticket.

10. Use tools such as the trading cards, motivator, and magazine cover at Big Huge Labs.

11.  Create a comic that illustrates a part of the story at Make Beliefs Comix.

12.  Rewrite the ending of the story.  Use  PowToon or GoAnimate 4 Schools to create it as an animated video.

13.  Use the app Songify to turn text that students write about the story into a song.

14.  Create a screencast of students discussing and illustrating vocabulary words using apps such as Educreations or Show Me.

15.  Have students create a Google Earth virtual tour to highlight parts of the setting.

16.  Use mindmaps and online organizers such as Popplet and Mindmeister to make connections and map out parts of the story.  These tools also allow images, weblinks, and video to be added.

17.  Post a request for a partner class on Skype in the Classroom.  Find another classroom to take part in a virtual conversation.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, this is only a start!  There are many other ideas we could add to this list.

What are your ideas for teaching literature in 21st century ways?  What are you doing in your classrooms to help students form real connections with the text and think about their reading in deeper ways using 21st century tools?