One of the most valuable things about the course was the book 'Revisit, Reflect, Retell,' by Linda Hoyt. This activity comes from this book.
Fact or Fib is always a fun comprehension activity that Stage 2 and Stage 3 students really enjoy. I don't know if it is because they get to make up lies, or if it is the use of the post-it notes....but whatever it is they really like it!
Fact or Fib is great for any type of text (informative, imaginative or persuasive).
The students read a text, or have it read aloud to them. They then come up with some facts from the text and make up some fibs about the facts in the text. I usually aim for three of each.
Once they have drafted their three facts and three fibs I hand them a large sheet of paper and six post-it notes. They have to write the heading 'Fact or Fib' at the top of the sheet and then write one of their drafted fact or fib onto each post-it note.
The post-it notes get stuck to the sheet under the heading. Then they lift the flap and write 'Fact' under the facts and 'Fib!' under the fibs. These are then displayed around the room for visitors or other students to come and learn something about what they have read.
An example of this activity with a narrative could be based on a character description: e.g. Mr Twit has a beautiful wife - Fib! His wife was very ugly. and Mr Twit has an awfully disgusting beard with bits of food stuck in it - Fact! His beard was full of sardine's tails and mouldy cheese.
An example of this activity with an informational text might be: Many Chinese people migrated to Australia during the Gold Rush - Fact! Many Chinese people did move to Australia during the Gold Rush and The Eureka Stockade was a really long battle that went for 20 years - Fib! The battle of Eureka Stockade only lasted one day with the actual attack only lasting 20 minutes.
An example of this activity with a persuasive text could be: One reason students don't like wearing their hats in the sun is that it will give them sunburn and cancer - Fib! Hats will protect you from sunburn and cancer. One reason students like wearing school hats is that it keeps them cool in summer - Fact! Hats do help to keep the sun off your face which will make you cooler than if the sun was on your face.