English III Honors Students Move Engaging Literary Discussions Online
The students are interacting and learning from each other on the mySMES classroom discussion boards and during virtual class meetings on Zoom.
Upper School students in English III honors taught by Jamie Bunch have been reading and discussing the classic Toni Morrison book Beloved, breaking down the novel’s characters, themes and symbols with Ms. Bunch and fellow classmates.
The students are interacting and learning from each other on the mySMES classroom discussion boards and during virtual class meetings on Zoom.
Ms. Bunch leads the virtual classroom discussion, but the setup of the video chat platform has put the students at the center of the normal classroom discussions more than usual.
“Online requires that students speak more independently of me. I sort of disappear into the background for a while as they talk to each other,” Ms. Bunch said. “It can be really good because they are truly in dialogue with each other.”
In addition to the virtual classroom time, students meet with Ms. Bunch once a week for 20-minute “paper conferences” to discuss the paper they are working on. Loading the paper into Google Documents, students do a split-screen of the document and Ms. Bunch. Students can edit the paper in real time while discussing various aspects of the work with Ms. Bunch.
“The paper conferences are just as productive virtually as they are in person, maybe more so,” Ms. Bunch said. “Students split their screen so they can see me and their paper and I do the same. I can put in my own notes and comments so the student can both hear my comments and see written comments.”
St. Margaret’s Episcopal School
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