ITB Discussion, Day One

Today in class, we're discussing In the Time of the Butterflies. I happen to love this book so much. It's truly one of my favorite novels, and I hope many of you will enjoy it just as much as I do!

Here are the questions and issues I asked you to discuss:

- The differences between the writing styles in chapters 1 and 2
- The aspects of the culture that seem uniquely Dominican and uniquely American.
- What do the Spanish words used add to the story?
- What does knowing that Dede is the lone survivor of the Mirabal sisters add to the story? Why do you think Alvarez would let the reader know the outcome of the story in the first chapter?
- Why are possible interpretations of the chapter title, “Complications”? Give supporting material from the text.

We also took a look at the comments the third graders offered on your podcasts! Check them out at my Edublog here.

Finally, I asked everyone to make a two-page spread timeline in their notebooks to keep track of the events in the novel. This spread will help you on your group essay, which is the final assessment for this unit.

Here's a photo of the flow map with the appropriate dates: