Quote Analyses in Canvas Discussions

My Pre-AP students took a test over their summer reading today, and I needed an extension activity for those students who finished sooner rather than later. Since I administered the test in Canvas, I decided to create something else for my kids to do online, as that is usually what keeps them the quietest. 

This summer, I attended an AVID conference strand called AVID Academic Language and Literacy. One activity introduced was using a quote analysis (reading) to lead to academic discussion (for listening and speaking), as well as review and revision (writing). The process involves responding to a quote with a writing frame, then sharing and discussing with a partner using academic language scripts, leading to revision.

I needed a quiet classroom, however, so I moved this process to a discussion board within Canvas. The discussion board allows threaded replies and likes, similar to Facebook (but without all the cute cartoons). I am also able to join my two separate Pre-AP classes together for one cross-class conversation.


Although there were some initial struggles due to the lack of direct instruction with this instruction, the kids caught on quickly. For a first try, they didn't do too bad. Their responses included statements like "I agree with..." and "I like what you said about...". Then at some point, they became the grammar police, pointing out mistakes that needed to be corrected and directing classmates to use the entire writing frame for their responses. Talk about teaching made easy! 

This initial trial run has definitely given me incentive to pursue this further, adding depth and rigor as we move throughout the year. My student teacher did inform my kids that this is part of what she has to do in her college classes, so she may prove to be a valuable resource in this arena.