As a starting point, I talk through the rubric with them. They need to understand from the get-go that the HSC questions come directly from the rubric. So in theory, if they understand the rubric then they will understand the question! After this, we brainstorm a range of synonyms and antonyms for belonging and 'not belonging' (hate that term!) and I used a great Web 2.0 Tool called Visual Thesaurus. This tool allows students to type in a word and it will visually mind-map all the related words. It's a paid tool- you need a subscription but you can get a trial account for about 2 weeks. Well worth it!
After collecting a whole heap of words, I get them to create a Wordle for homework so they have a visual representation of these words. I mandate that they have to be printed out and put somewhere where they are going to see it everyday, such as the front of their folder, under the clear plastic case of their laptop or as their desktop background. Here is a sample I created:
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Wordle, it's really straight forward and a good way in for both Standard and Advanced students.
Something that worked really well last week was getting my students to write their own definition of belonging using the BOS rubric, dictionary definitions and their own ideas. I really wanted them to be thinking about the different aspects of belonging- including 'not' belonging and the factors that influence this. Further to this, they wrote 3 thesis statements about any aspects of belonging. I found this a really beneficial exercise to see the depth of ideas they are currently coming up with and this also assisted me in continually gauging my students range of abilities within the Advanced course and identifying individual student learning needs.
Finally, I cannot recommend enough the benefit of printing off all the related Belonging words they come up with and making A4 flash cards that you post up around your classroom. I had mine printed on different coloured paper and laminated back in 2009- and they have been invaluable every year since! It gets my students thinking about DIFFERENT words for belonging and is an easy way to broaden their vocabulary. Great for both Standard and Advanced, even better for ESL I would think. Here's a photo of my current classroom wall:
I hope these few tips are helpful to those of you who are a bit new to the whole AOS thing. Next week, I'm going to do a post about related texts and will suggest some solid texts to be used with classes.
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