Need to Know Activities Guide

Session 09

 

For every activity, the focus of discussions should be on how students will apply that information or those skills to their experience in college.

Note: In Session 10, students will be using the questions they got from their parents in Session 1, so it’s a good idea to let them know in advance. Also in Session 10, students will be making 3-5 minute group presentations of one topic their group selects from Sessions 1-9. You can have students form about 4 groups and have them prepare some or all of their presentations as homework—or just have them think about it so they are prepared to work in Session 10. There is a Presentation Outline Template provided in the workbook and copies can be printed from the website. This is optional, so the facilitator or students can decide if they want copies or if they would rather work directly on laptops.

Note to facilitators: In each session, the timing of the activities is less than the 2 ½ hours of the session. This allows for time for transitions between activities, a short break, and time to just talk to students about your experiences, along with their questions and expectations. You may find that some activities take more or less time than indicated, depending on the group, so be aware of timing and make adjustments as needed. Early sessions have more activities. If you don’t think you will have enough time, use discretion and choose the ones that best meet the needs of your group. Make sure to read over ALL session guides before starting the workshop to get an overview and to plan for the best approach. Then re-read each session guide before you meet with students. Make sure to have needed materials. You might be able to carry some activities over to later sessions if you run out of time.

 

01.               The Writing Debate

 

Timing: 20 minutes

 

Description: Break students into groups of 3 and assign or let students choose which side their group will take: pro-writing or con. Then match up groups to debate each other. Each group should spend a few minutes coming up with arguments. Give students about 5 minutes to do so and about 8 minutes to debate (2 minutes for each side and then 2 minutes each for rebuttals). Students can answer the questions either individually or as a whole group.

 

Objectives:

·       To help students consider the pros and cons to learning how to write effectively

·       To have students consider their own attitudes towards writing

·       To help students gain skills in formulating a position and considering and refuting counterarguments

 

Materials: writing utensils, smartphones in case students want to look up information

 

Notes: When students formulate their arguments in groups, have them consider the other side and how to argue against them.

 

 

02.               Writing Practice

 

Timing: 20 minutes

 

Description: Have students work individually or in small groups to rewrite the sentences. You can divide the students into 3 groups and assign each group one sentence in a section and then have them share their answers to save time. Reading at least a few of the answers out loud and discussing them is a good way to reinforce skills. Spend about 10 minutes having students rewrite and 10 minutes for discussion.

 

Objectives:

·       To help students learn about common writing errors

·       To help students learn how to correct common writing errors

 

Materials: writing utensils

 

Notes: You can refer students to Session 10 readings to refresh their memories about these problem areas or briefly review before starting.

 

 

03.               Sentence Variety

 

Timing: 20 minutes

 

Description: Hang about 10 pictures of people engaged in actions around the room. Let students walk around for about 5 minutes and choose 3 to write about. Students should spend about 5 minutes writing their original sentences and 3 variations. Give clear instructions that the variations are not adding more information—they are saying the SAME thing, just in a different way (for example: Waiting anxiously, Mathia and Greg watched their friend take his turn at bat, wondering if their team would win.  AND Mathia and Greg felt anxious about winning as they watched their teammate step up to bat.) Spend about 10 minutes discussing their sentences by having a few students volunteer to read their first sentence and their revised sentences. Discuss the different emphasis and connotation of the sentences. Ask students which they thought was best.

 

Objectives:

·       To help students understand that there are multiple ways to describe events and ideas

·       To demonstrate to students the importance of revision

·       To show students that their first effort isn’t always their best

·       To show students how different observers interpret the same input differently

 

Materials: writing utensils

 

Notes: Note how students interpreted the same pictures in different ways. Also note that for many students, the first sentence they wrote was not their best.

 

 

04.               Use Your Imagination

 

Timing: 30 minutes

 

Description: Students can form groups of about 5 members. Each group can work on all the stories, or you can give one story to each group (two copies—predictable and outrageous). If there are more than 3 groups, have more than one group work on each story. Have the students sit in a circle and distribute story beginnings throughout the group. Each group member should write the NEXT two lines of the story and then pass it to another group member, who will add the NEXT two lines after the previous student’s contribution. Every student should contribute at least 2 sentences to the predictable story and to the outrageous story. When you all members of the group have contributed to all of the stories assigned to them, have students volunteer to read their group’s stories. Discuss the differences between how they felt when writing each version (predictable and outrageous) of the same stories. Did they approach the writing and thinking differently? What does this tell them about how they can approach writing assignments?

 

 

Objectives:

·       To have students expand their creative capabilities

·       To have students consider how they think differently when they are trying to be outrageous

·       To help students relax when faced with writing assignments

 

 

Materials: printouts of two intro paragraphs for each of three stories (number of copies needed dependent on number of groups and whether all groups will do every story or each group will do just one), writing utensils

 

 

Notes: Encourage students to have fun, be creative, and laugh!

 

 

05.               Participate in an Online Discussion

 

Timing: 20 minutes

 

Description: Students can form groups of about 4 members. Have students review criteria for participation on next page. Students should spend about 5 minutes writing their posts, trying to meet the criteria. The criteria sheet is for a math class, while the participation involves more personal knowledge so that students without math experience can still participate, but they should be able to transfer the criteria to any situation. These are common expectations for all types of online classes. Once students have written their posts, they can either exchange with another student in their group or work as a group to rate each other’s posts. That should take about 5 minutes. Then have a discussion about what they learned about expectations for online participation. Did they rate their own posts at the same level as others in their groups did?

 

 

Objectives:

·       To help students experience typical online college class expectations

·       To help students improve their ability to analyze theirs and other’s work

·       To help students learn to apply criteria across classes/subjects

·       To help students improve their ability to participate in online classes

 

 

Materials: writing utensils

 

 

Notes: The points indicated are 0, 2, and 4. Students can score a 1 or 3 if they feel a post is slightly better than the description given in 0 or 2. The rubric provided is from an actual college class. While the class is statistics, the same criteria can be applied to the prompts in this activity—which are more accessible because students can form statements about these prompts whereas not all students have the knowledge to form statements about statistics.

 

 

06.               Evaluating Sources and Evidence

 

Timing: 20 minutes

 

Description: Students can form groups of 3 to 5 members. Use an article chosen by the facilitator, one linked on this website, or one chosen by student groups. You might want to choose a mix of biased and unbiased sources. Have students review the questions before reading and make notes about their answers as they read.

 

Objectives:

·       To help students learn how to evaluate source texts and evidence

·       To help students understand the different level of credibility of different texts

·       To prepare students for college-level research projects

 

Materials: green note cards, pink note cards, writing utensils, articles or source texts

Optional: yellow, green, and blue highlighters

 

 

Notes: The source text should be about 3 pages long. If a longer text is used, have students evaluate a section of it. If time permits, have students present their evaluations to the whole group.

 

 

07.               Wrap Up: Gist and List

 

Timing: 5 minutes

 

Description: Students should be able to summarize what they learned in the session under the “Gist” column. Then they can pick out specific points that are important and list them under the “List” column.

 

Objectives:

·       To help students digest and think about material

·       To serve as a memory aid

 

Materials: writing utensils

 

Notes: This is an opportunity for students to process the information they learned and put it in their own words. This will facilitate learning and let students control their use of information. If you run out of time, this can be assigned as homework—it should only take a few minutes and will serve as a reminder for students of what they learned before moving to the next session.