Cody Mills

EDU 495

Gelber

17 February 2022

A Teaching Case Journal

The goal that I had for the students was to form well developed arguments backed up

with specific evidence from the novels we are reading. The process with which I employed to

reach this goal consisted of multiple factors both using in class teaching methods as well as

scaffolding assignments. For the in class portions we would often read the chapters in class, as a

group, and I would take breaks as we read to establish literary elements or point out particular

quotes which pertained to the main themes of the novel. For the assignments portions I created

worksheets as scaffolds for the students to fill out as they read in order to promote

comprehension. While reading as well I would try to allow the students to volunteer and call on

each other when switching readers in order to promote autonomy in the class as well as be

considerate for students who were not comfortable reading aloud.

An example of a lesson where this goal came to fruition is one I taught February 8th. The

lesson was specifically about the first six chapters of the novel A Separate Peace. The day before

the students were tasked with writing responses to discussion questions and then sharing what

they have prepared in a student-led seminar the following class. For the discussion the students

all moved their desks into one big circle as I put the questions up on the board, once I introduced

which question they would be answering they began and discussed amongst themselves. As for

the goals for the discussion I was mostly looking to see if students participated and the depth in

which their comments contributed to discussion. While the discussion went orderly few students
cited direct quotes from the novel which made me a bit discouraged. However the majority of the

insights during the discussion demonstrated an understanding of the books and often paraphrased

or referenced events from the novel. What the lesson truly came down to was the written

responses which the students turned in I graded afterwards using a rubric. While there were some

students who excelled at providing responses, such as this student, there were others who only

submitted the bare minimum, as well as did not even participate within the class discussion. All

things considered, most of the class averaged a B on the assignment with only one or two

students being marked down due to lack of thought in their responses or lack of participation

during the discussion.

This exercise has led me to believe that I need to be more specific about my expectations

for the students, going thoroughly over the instructions, as well as the rubric for lessons. Another

thing I realized is that while the students understand the expectation of my mentor teacher I have

not made my expectation on assignments clear enough in my starting weeks. I will do my best to

communicate what kind of work I feel meets my standard in the future and do my best to

communicate within multiple modes, be that verbally, or written instructions on assignments or

providing examples for students to base their work off of. Also, something that I constantly

wondered throughout this assignment is what I could do to encourage or make sure students

participate during the discussion. While most of the students participated there were a small few

who simply would not speak or even attempt to participate, most likely relying on their written

responses for their grades.

Student Example:
Birkett
A Separate Peace Unit

Name: Madalyn Dumont Block: D

A Separate Peace Chapters 1-6 Discussion Questions

Directions: Answer each of the following discussion questions in thoughtful, well-written

sentences (about 3-5 sentences each), using specific examples and quotes from the
text whenever possible. After, we will discuss our answers as a class, and your
contribution to the discussion will be factored into your grade for this assignment.

Grading:
● You will be assessed on your written responses, speaking & listening skills, and
comprehension of the overall text for a combined grade of 50 points (small
assessment).
● Click here for the rubric.

Discussion Questions:

1. Gene believes blitzball is a perfect game for Finny. Think about how the game is
played (reread pp. 28-32). How do the rules of the game and the skills needed to
play it reflect Finny’s character?

The rules and skills of blitzball heavily reflect Finny’s character, and this is
because they show the unseriousness and whimsicalness of Finny in a sense. For
example, when playing blitzball, Finny made sure that it was just for fun and
games - and that the rules did not upset anyone. Finny created the “Lepellier
Refusal” when Leper did not want to have the ball, which shows how he keeps
everyone’s feelings in mind. In Finny’s real life, he is similar to this because he
tends to be very lighthearted in his actions in an attempt to adapt to everyone’s
needs. Also, the skills and rules of blitzball reflect Finny’s character of being
whimsical because he constantly altered the rules of the game while adding in
different skills for every type of person. There was never a “set” series of rules
and skills…they were ever-changing.

2. At this point in the novel, how would you describe Gene and Finny’s friendship?
Explain the similarities and differences between the two boys. Is their friendship
“normal” compared to friendships between two boys today? Which one in the
friendship would you more likely be friends with and why?
 Gene and Finny have a very close relationship with one another, but it is
somewhat one-sided. This is because Finny has made it clear to Gene that he is
his best friend and is always there for him; one main example of this is when
Gene almost fell off of the tree limb, yet Finny grabbed him before Gene could
fall. Yet, Gene did not grab Finny when he fell from the tree. The boys are
practically polar opposites, though, because while Gene excelled academically,
Finny did the same athletically. Also, they had very different values: if Gene were
to do something impressive, he wanted everyone to see; when Finny did
something impressive, he wanted to keep the accomplishment to himself. For
example, when Finny unofficially broke a school swimming record, Gene
suggested that he “try it again and break it again” the next day, but Finny said
that he “just wanted to see if [he] could do it” and was not going to try it again
(19). Furthermore, I do not believe their friendship would be considered “normal”
compared to friendships between two boys today, and this is because most boys
today tend to frequently make fun of one another and fool around with each
other more often than Gene and Finny do in this book. I feel that I would most
likely be friends with Finny because he seems to be much more supportive of his
friends. Although he can be childish and naive, I find that I am frequently that
way as well, so I think we would get along better than Gene and I would. Gene is
too “uptight” for me in a sense.

3. Explain how World War II has had an effect on Gene and Finny (think: mentally,
physically, values and goals, etc.).

To me, it does not really seem as though World War II has started to personally
have an effect on Gene and Finny yet. They make it out to just be a joke because
they have not had to necessarily face it yet, which is because they are still young
teens who are not old enough to be drafted. However, they were - in some ways -
affected by the background of what was going on in support of the war. For
instance, Finny and Gene enjoyed jumping from a tree branch that the older
boys (who were testing their physicality for war), and Finny stated that it was his
“contribution to the war effort” (4). Also, many activities around the school were
conducted for the war, and this indirectly affected both Gene and Finny’s values
and goals since they were pushed to participate in and believe certain ideas.
While these are just a couple of examples, they show how the boys were affected
by the war only to a small extent (at this point in the story).

4. Reread the end of chapter 4 (pp. 51-52). Do you believe Gene intentionally
bounced the limb to make Finny fall? Why or why not?
 I honestly do not think that Gene intentionally bounced the limb to make Finny
fall (at least the book did not make it seem that way). This is because although
Gene was quite jealous and envious of Finny, I feel as though he would be
kind-hearted enough not to intentionally hurt him. Also, the book made it seem
like Gene had accidentally bent his knees when he stepped onto the branch
because of its instability, not as if he purposely bounced the limb to make Finny
fall. For example, Gene narrated: “Holding firmly to the trunk, I took a step
toward him, and then my knees bent and I jounced the limb” (28). Because of
this, I think Gene unintentionally bounced the limb in order to make Finny tumble
to the ground.

5. Knowing that most of the story is written as a flashback and Gene returns to the
school 15 years later to solemnly reflect, along with discussing the time period
that this novel takes place in, what do you predict is going to happen in the
upcoming chapters?

Generally, I predict that Gene will likely join the military voluntarily or be drafted
to the war. Even though the war does not play a major role in the life of the boy
at the moment in the story, I feel as though he would go into war with pride to
protect the country because he is very focused and diligent. However, I think that
Finny would likely not because he would not think of the war seriously enough to
the point where he would physically go to war. This is because Finny is not as
motivated in those areas based on the story so far (even though he is very
physically active). Overall, I think this would likely be the breaking point in the
boys’ relationship with one another because they would go their separate ways
in life.

6. What is your reaction to the movie so far? In what ways is it similar and/or
different from the book?

I think that the movie is actually very funny and relatively interesting, but I do not
think that it very accurately portrays the series of events that were described in
the book. This was mostly because of the acting and exaggerations that were
made in the film, however it is intriguing to watch and get to see the Exeter
Academy (the Devon School in the book/movie) campus. The movie is similar to
the book because they have the same general story-line. Yet, they are largely
different because there are many small details that are different from one
another. For example, one of the more significant differences was that the book
started out the story with Gene visiting the Devon School as an adult and faded
into a flashback from when he attended the school. Meanwhile, there was no
sign of Gene visiting the campus nor an initial flashback within the movie. Also,
 the movie did not deeply describe the personalities of the characters, while the
book gave more insight into that. Lastly, while Brinker played a quite small role in
the novel so far, he seemed to be much more significant and seen in the movie.
Overall, there are many differences throughout the movie and book of A
Separate Peace, but the general plots are the same for the majority.

7. Write 3 of your own discussion questions based on what you have read so far.
Try to be as creative as possible and feel free to review this document on how to
write a discussion question.

● In what ways do you think Finny falling off of the tree limb (potentially
caused by Gene) will affect their relationship later on in the novel? Will
Finny ever end up being mad at Gene for the events?
● Even after attempting several times, Gene got stopped by different
situations every time when trying to let out the truth of what happened
when Finny fell off of the tree limb. Why do you think Finny practically
would not allow Gene to tell him what caused him to fall off the tree?
● Why do you believe Gene is so strict with and hard on himself? What do
you think led him to this?