Graphic Novel: Magneto

I gave my Honors English 10 class the graphic novel, Magneto, to read this week.  Most of them read it on Wednesday, the first day, and the remainder finished it the following day.  I grouped them in groups of five, trying to mix them so there was a balance of genders and were also from different areas of the room.  I also tried to place one outgoing person per group so that there was some balance that way as well.  I used a set of Literature Group job sheets for each group, letting them decide the roles within each group.  On Friday I gave them a set of five discussion questions, in the hopes of guiding the discussion somewhat, and it seemed to go well.  I also gave each person a project choice board from a book I have, and allowed them to work on the project in class after their discussions.  I told them they will have one more day in class to work, and then the rest of the projects will need to be done outside of class and due next Monday.  They all seemed to be interested and engaged, and I'm hoping this will lead to further interest in the theme of social justice.  For instance, I'm thinking about including the issue of current day genocide in the list of research project topics this year.  Interestingly enough, I heard on NPR last weekend that Germany is having a rise in anti-Semitism again, something I told my students about when I introduced the novel.  Hard to believe.

Trying to follow through on my ideas from this summer has been difficult as I adjust to three preps and new textbooks, but it's also been exciting to plan these types of relevant activities.