Bobcat Stories

For the past ten years, 7th-grade English teacher Sean Etigson has been transforming how students respond to their summer reading assignments. At the beginning of each school year, the students in Mr. Etigson's class take on the roles of television journalists for Book Talk Television (BTTV) as they analyze the themes in their summer reading books and give a report in the form of three-minute newscasts. This entertaining and engaging project emphasizes the importance of setting learning goals for book discussions, evidence use, and presentations. 

Students are assigned different roles for their presentations, such as host, theme person, theme passage person, and recommendation person, each with specific expectations set out in a rubric for evaluating the presentations. These roles create a sense of purpose, showcase the students’ knowledge of their books, and even give them a chance to have some fun in the spotlight. 

In addition to the BTTV project, Mr. Etigson places a strong emphasis on student-led activities throughout the year by having students participate in a "summer reading soiree" and a camping trip where they present poems inspired by the poet Joy Harjo’s poem “Remember.” In the months to come, the 7th graders will deliver several more presentations, including heritage storytelling projects and a Shakespeare-inspired activity where students write and perform lost scenes from A Midsummer Night's Dream. We will be watching!