Procedure:
- The students read in teams of two the beginning (e.g., the first chapter or the first page) of a story. The material can also be read or told in part or its entirety to younger and weaker readers (teams of younger and older students can also be formed for this purpose). Depending on the make-up of the class, different books can be suggested for this idea (tailored according to age, gender, and interest).
- After that, the teams of two discuss and list their hypotheses about the further developments (how the story could continue, what would be exciting, creepy, funny, etc.?)
- The teams present their hypotheses in class. Someone who knows the book, or the story, reacts and reports how the text actually continues. If no one in the class has already read the text or the book, the students review their hypotheses themselves. They read the book and compare their suppositions about the development of the story with the original.
Comments:
For a good and simple preliminary exercise, see Exercise #6 (The first sentences).
Alternatives:
- If all or several groups have read the same first chapter, they engage in a debate: Which hypothesis is the most likely, and why?
- This exercise is also suitable as a lead-in to a collective reading. The beginning of this material is read aloud; all students write down their hypotheses for the text. These will then be hidden in a treasure chest. At the end of the communal reading, the class checks if one of the hypotheses was correct.