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.
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.
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.