Growing Up with The Wednesday Wars: Group Discussion
A group assignment for 7th graders built around the chapter "May" from *The Wednesday Wars*, where each group answers an open-ended question about how the characters shape Holling's growth, supported by text evidence. It builds claim-writing, textual analysis, and collaborative discussion skills, with the Key Terms box (claim, evidence, theme) giving students a shared vocabulary to work from.
“Create a group assignment where each group has a question to answer about the chapter May that connects to the bigger theme of growing up and how the characters have influenced Holling and helped him to grow. The question should be open ended and asking students to use evidence from the text to support their answer”
Teacher Guide & Tips
- Use as a 45-minute small-group block after students have read the chapter May, with each group assigned one open-ended question about a character's influence on Holling.
- Discussion question: Which character do you think has helped Holling grow the most, and what specific moment from the chapter shows it?
- Scaffold for struggling readers: Provide a sentence frame such as "I think ___ helped Holling grow because in the text, ___," and have them locate one quoted detail before discussing.
- Extension for advanced students: Ask them to examine whether any character's influence is positive, negative, or both, and to weigh conflicting evidence before stating a claim.
- Estimated time: About 15 minutes for group reading and evidence-gathering, 20 minutes for discussion, and 10 minutes for groups to share claims with the class.
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Teachers use Diffit to get quality materials for their unique classrooms. Adjust difficulty, add scaffolds, or change the topic to get started.
Try Diffit for free“Create a group assignment where each group has a question to answer about the chapter May that connects to the bigger theme of growing up and how the characters have influenced Holling and helped him to grow. The question should be open ended and asking students to use evidence from the text to support their answer”
Teacher Guide & Tips
- Use as a 45-minute small-group block after students have read the chapter May, with each group assigned one open-ended question about a character's influence on Holling.
- Discussion question: Which character do you think has helped Holling grow the most, and what specific moment from the chapter shows it?
- Scaffold for struggling readers: Provide a sentence frame such as "I think ___ helped Holling grow because in the text, ___," and have them locate one quoted detail before discussing.
- Extension for advanced students: Ask them to examine whether any character's influence is positive, negative, or both, and to weigh conflicting evidence before stating a claim.
- Estimated time: About 15 minutes for group reading and evidence-gathering, 20 minutes for discussion, and 10 minutes for groups to share claims with the class.
Growing Up with The Wednesday Wars: Group Discussion
A group assignment for 7th graders built around the chapter "May" from *The Wednesday Wars*, where each group answers an open-ended question about how the characters shape Holling's growth, supported by text evidence. It builds claim-writing, textual analysis, and collaborative discussion skills, with the Key Terms box (claim, evidence, theme) giving students a shared vocabulary to work from.
What is Diffit?
Teachers use Diffit to get quality materials for their unique classrooms. Adjust difficulty, add scaffolds, or change the topic to get started.
Try Diffit for free