ERIC Number: EJ999641
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Dec
Pages: 4
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0155-2147
EISSN: N/A
Using Literature Circles to Inquire into the Big Themes: Exploring the Refugee Experience
Boas, Erika
English in Australia, v47 n3 p25-28 Dec 2012
Over a period of five weeks the author and her Grade 8 students immersed themselves in reading about human rights issues as they pertained to refugees. As part of the inquiry they read newspaper articles, explored website resources and the author read aloud to students, sharing vivid chapters of the wonderful book--"The Rugmaker of Mazar-e-Sharif," by Najaf Mazari and Robert Hillman. Together they read letters to the editor of strongly opposing views and they explored articles that raised many interesting points and questions from different perspectives. She also modelled the reading, thinking and writing dispositions to the class, asking the students to assist her along the way. Any questions that students had about refugees and human rights were written on butcher's paper, to be explored throughout the unit. In this article, the author explores the refugee experience using literature circles to inquire into the big themes.
Descriptors: Refugees, Civil Rights, Grade 8, Literature, News Reporting, Teaching Methods, Editing, Units of Study, Drama, Creativity, Foreign Countries
Australian Association for the Teaching of English. English House, 416 Magill Road, Kensington Gardens, SA 5068 Australia. Tel: +61-8-8332-2845; Fax: +61-8-8333-0394; e-mail: aate@aate.org.au; Web site: http://www.aate.org.au
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Grade 8
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A