(WHAT+DOES+THIS+MEAN?)

//** So what exactly is a "discussion post of substance" and/or "a reply of substance"? **// This means that you are posting something of value--not "yeah, I agree" or, "I don't get it." (You could START a post this way, but you'd better have more to say than that!)

It's OK to have questions in your post--good readers ask questions of themselves as they read. You are a team, so it's a good idea to ask questions of each other, too, so you can help each other out. **Remember that our focus is on Ender and his leadership qualities**--other topics are great, but it all comes back to the leadership qualities for your final task.

Sharing the questions that you have, and the connections and insights that you come up with shows that you are understanding the novel. Responding to others' questions, or building off their connections and insights, shows that you can relate to others and participate in a discussion. These are PLOs for this course. We are no longer "learning to read"-- that is, we aren't learning to sound out words or recognize them on the page. Now we are "learning to read" by understanding and analyzing texts. When you were in elementary school, you did the first kind of "learning to read"--decoding. Now we are doing the second kind--comprehending.

I may occasionally add comments to your discussions or replies, to help you focus (or to answer questions that seem to be bothering several folks).

Your team can choose to use the discussion page that is attached to the team's home page to do this discussion, the way I add to the homework "discussion" every day. Or, you could create discussions by simply adding to your page for each "chunk" of the novel. If you do your discussion this way, you can upload audio files (record your voice talking about the section) or video files (if they're small enough) of you filming yourself as you talk about the section, or the post you want to reply to. **The point is for your team to discuss each part of the book.** As a bonus, you can learn how to use a wiki--which is great for future learning.
 * // How do we do a discussion? //**

Well, pretty much the same sort of stuff you have ever talked about in English class. Got a bunch of vocabulary you aren't sure of? Ask your team! Notice that Card does something neato as an author? Talk about that! Wondering why a character would do or say something? Maybe your team can clarify that for you. Need to draw a picture so a scene is clearer in your mind? Post it so the others can talk about it. Notice connections to other texts, to the world, or to your own experience? Talk about those (keep the text-to-self connections to a max of 1/3 of your posts, though, please!).
 * // What kind of things can we post? //**

//** Can I read posts from other teams (even the ones in the other class)? **// Yep. Go right ahead. That makes the discussion 42 people strong--not just five people. You might learn something from someone else's discussions that help you understand the book better.

//** Are we getting marked on this? (Do I HAVE TO do this?) **//
 * Yes. So do it.**

Please note that because I am the "organizer" of this wiki (the teacher), I can see who changes pages, when changes are made, and what each person did when they changed a page. That way, I can better keep track of who is participating in the discussion and who is not. Contributing to the discussion is part of course PLOs (prescribed learning outcomes). Yes, you have to.