My mind is absolutely blown away that so many people expressed interest in my Plato’s Play-Doh Discussion format. I must have received close to 900 emails from my post on Saturday. What a good life feeling that gives me!
Most people know me for my writing templates and alternative grading methods, so it’s cool that my discussion modality is gaining some traction.
Once Timm Freitas and I finish our textbook that we are collaborating on, I’m slated to write two more in the coming months: one that features my alternative grading methods, and the other will showcase my Plato’s Play-Doh Discussion.
Lots of folks asked me to delve deeper into the topic, and I’m more than happy to.
It is my contention that discussions centering around poetry falter the most. It’s a dense and slippery genre that often alludes our student’s comprehension.
So, I’ve done a few things to demonstrate how the discussion connects with the templates which links to student written outputs.
I took two poems that we’re probably all familiar with: Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 & 130 and made another Plato’s Play-Doh Discussion – this time … it’s my Jenga version.
I recorded a video whereby I go over the directions and game play. All of my text-based questions are also presented in the video. The video equips you with everything you’ll need to deliver the instruction.
Here’s the link if you’d like to take another look at this discussion format:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3jGXQ8aZOY&t=5s
But here’s the question I got from a few teachers: how do you pivot from the discussion into your writing workshop model where you highlight your templates?
Great question!
What I have done is record two writing workshops for you – one for Sonnet 18 and a separate one for Sonnet 130.
Here’s the video for Sonnet 18: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zKUtC0EIMU&t=4s
And here’s Sonnet 130: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FLyzkaCjXA&t=5s
Between the discussion and the writing workshops, you and your students should be ready to tackle what are going to be some well-written essays! You’ll see what I mean by the importance of taking a Bob Ross approach to the teaching of writing.
I hope that this adds a fuller scope and vision of how the Plato’s Play-Doh Discussion operates.
If you’d like the PowerPoint to host the Jenga version of the discussion, then feel free to email me. And if you’d like to host your own writing workshops, I can pass the slides for both poems your way as well.
But I have a request ...
This email account, for some strange reason, doesn’t allow me to upload Canva made PowerPoints. I think that the files are too big. I’m not very tech-savvy so I I‘m not 100% sure. But I do know that my Gmail account allows me to upload … even from my phone.
So, if you’d like any of the material, please email me at [email protected]
These are just some tricks that I’ve developed over the years that have worked very well for me and the teachers I have trained. Hopefully you and your students can benefit from these tricks of the trade as well.
Happy teaching and happy writing!
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