Online Learning Environment creating a

space for collaborative learning and

building e-portfolios

MyPortfolio

Using MyPortfolio

pre-reading

material

individual research &

collaborative

discussions

Resour

ce

material

discuss

characters and

themes

Activities

Template

s

Collaborative Discussions

To increase the

chances of the

discussions being

pertinent and

exploratory the forum

needs to be highly

focused – so here

particular aspects of

characterisation are

given and separate

topics for each of the

characters.

An example of a forum

discussion

Here we see

students being

challenged and

then having to

give a defence

for what they

have said – all

key skills for

‘thinking’ and

learning and key

skills needed for

the student to be

able to conduct

a critical

analysis needed

at Level 3.

Characteristics

Liesel is a sweet souled girl

………………………..

The story would be boring if Liesel died instead of

her brother.

Relationships

When Liesel arrives at the Huberman household,

she is quick to bond with Hans Huberman. She can

sense his warmth, and enjoys having a father figure

in her life. Hans shares his heart with Liesel, and

sits next to her every night to comfort her from her

nightmares. When Hans discovers "The

Gravediggers Handbook", he fuels Liesels addiction

to literature and language. Although not being the

brightest spark, he teaches Liesel to read and pulls

out the potential Liesel has for language, and we

can see how much the story is dependant on their

relationship.

Challenging Response:(Student’s name) I don't think you should judge whether the story would be

boring if Liesel had died in place of her brother. In the book he wasn't alive

long enough for us to have an understanding of his character, and if that

character would have provided for an interesting book full of just as many

meaningful ralationships. Unless you deem his inability to survive an

obvious weakness symbolic of overall failure as a character. But that seems

a harsh view and I'd like to give him the benefit of the doubt. Mainly because

I think that anyone put in the situations Liesel was would result in an

interesting life. And I think that the relationships are formed due to

these terrible situations people faced.

One attribute specific to Liesel however, that insured the storys success that

wouldn't have been as clear if she was replaced by her brother, is her age.

Much of the story is built on the idea of this in-between age she is at, on the

edge of innocence. And so her younger brother(6) would have given a

different perspective, as he lacks the maturity to percieve some of the deeper

meanings of the situations Liesel was in.

On a different note(possibly somewhat related to the above), it interested me

that amongst all Liesels thoughts and Deaths, the afterlife is never

mentioned. The main most obvious reference is "Himmel st" which

translates to Heaven.Liesel Quotes.

"It made me sad to think my brother would be six years old forever.“ ……….

Replying to the challengePoint taken. I did not mean what I said to come across like that, I was

merely saying that Deaths development of Liesels character, and his

observations on how she makes the most of her situation is what the

Book Thief is all about. The idea of Liesel dying instead of her brother

was purely hypothetical, and used to reinforce the point that Liesels

many unique traits make her tale more appealing. If the story had

been centered around any other character, it would be a completely

different story, not boring, just, different...As it is, the cohesion is

perfect for the points the author is trying to get across.

nteresting observation on the whole afterlife thing. I suppose Zusak

wanted to keep the story realistic and believable, and not introduce

too many speculatory answers to lifes mysteries, and distract the

reader from the more important issues

Himmel Street was kinda like Heaven to Liesel. It was where she

found herself, she found literature, and she found love. Despite their

poverty, the war, and the raids, Liesel managed to make the most of

her time there

Tracking Feedback/Learning Journal

How am I doing so far? Teacher/Peer Feedback Student reflection

Assessments/Feedback So what do I need to do?

Introduction (esp. thesis

statement ) Direction/thesis clearly conveyed Continue with thesis statements

Topic sentences

Effective for the paragraphs

themselves try thinking about how

they link the paragraphs too.

Effectively create links between

paragraphs to add to the crafting of

the essay

Explanations Solid

Examples

Getting there - well done - keep

building a bank of quotes to draw

on

Build a quote bank and analyse all

of them and know quite a few by

heart

Purpose (author's)

This would take the essay up a level.

Such as recognising that in

Elizabethan times 'a loving

relationship' was not limited to the

modern meaning.

Draw comparisons and analyses

using background knowledge of

Elizabethan Society and their views

Evaluative statements/discussions

You have done well to evaluate 'to

what extent' by showing jealousy

also drives the plot. Could analyse

characters inner feelings more fully

Try to understand feelings motives

of key characters

Explore/extend/develop ideas

Could refer to Bradley who calls

Othello 'the most romantic of all of

Shakespeare's heroes'.

Structural

elements

for a good

essay