The Hot Seat

Throughout the week, we have discussed the book Islandborn by Junot Diaz. We've had many great discussions and used informational text to deepen our understanding the book. Today, our first graders practiced a  structure called "The Hot Seat." Four students took on the role of four characters in the book. They were charged with the task of thinking about what we already know about the characters to answer questions. As always, I was blown away not only by our four friends who took on the role of the characters but also the text-based questions that the other students developed. Some questions included,

A student asked "Lola,"-  Of all the stories you collected from the community, which story was your favorite?
One student asked "Ms. Obi"- Why would you have an assignment in which the students had to research the country that they were born?
One student asked "Mr. Mir"- Why did you leave the country if the people had destroyed the monster?
One student asked "Mr. Mir"- Why were you rude to Lola at the beginning of the story?

As our children move into more complex stories, it's important that we stop to talk with our kiddos about what they are reading. Having your child put himself/herself in the shoes of the character will aid in deepening his/her understanding of the text.