A Parafly Reflection

Continuing our essay writing unit with the Monroe Doctrine it was time to move on and look at 3 important excerpts from the primary source. I thought to myself – I could have the students analyze this doctrine with HIPPA or some other fancy acronym. However, I voted against that and went with a parafly. Yes, we want students understanding the context of the document, the author’s purpose, and so on. But I wanted the students to understand the words that James Monroe spoke to Congress. In order to accomplish this goal, I used Parafly which a quick paraphrasing activity. Here are the 3 excerpts I chose for the Parafly:

1. “…the American continents by the free and independent condition which they have assumed and maintain, are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European power……”
2. “The citizens of the United States cherish sentiments the most friendly in favor of the liberty and happiness of their fellow men (Europeans) on the other side of the Atlantic. In the wars of the European powers in matters relating to themselves we have never taken any part, nor does it comport with our policy to do so…. With the existing colonies or dependencies of any European power we have not interfered and shall not interfere.”
3. “It is only when our rights are invaded or seriously menaced that we resent injuries or make preparation for our defense or war…. to declare that we would consider any attempt on their part to extend their (European nations) system to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety.”

The Tools

I tried out the Parafly with multiple tools during the day. The goal with each tool was to give feedback to students in real time. Here are those tools with explanations:

1. Peardeck – I began with Peardeck so I could watch students typing in real time on the screen. However, I couldn’t see student names with the free version. This was a good option, but I wanted to see student names.
2. Nearpod – I liked that I could see student names, hide names, and I could run a timer for 4-5 minutes to keep the process moving. I didn’t like that I couldn’t see responses in real time. But, as students submitted I could provide feedback right away and it was easy to fix and change.
3. Socrative – A great option. Once students submit their paraphrase, no changing/editing. They are committed to submitting quality work. Keep it moving, give quality feedback. Try to knock out 3 paraphrases in 12-15 minutes. THEN have students summarize.
4. Hemingway App – The Hemingway app allows students to edit text and it gives feedback on writing styles. I really like the Grade Level Readability rating. I challenged students to Paraphrase the text to a 6-8 grade level. They really, really enjoyed this challenge!!

Introducing Parafly

My students have never completed a parafly before. Some students practice paraphrasing a lot and some have never done it all. Since none of them have Parafly’d (Paraflied??) the Eduprotocols way I began with a short passage about a Land, Sea, and Air Burger on the McDonald’s menu. Before we began I shared a definition of paraphrasing. According to the Hemingway App the passage was at a 6th grade level. I challenged the students to paraphrase it to a 3-5 grade level. Here is that passage:

The “Land, Sea, and Air” burger is one of McDonald’s largest “secret menu” items. This behemoth of a burger is stuffed with proteins from the Land (beef), Sea (fish), and Air (chicken). Some people even add fries to this monster burger. You order a Big Mac, a Filet-O-Fish, and a McChicken all at once. Then you put the McChicken and Filet-O-Fish patties inside the Big Mac along with however many buns you want and enjoy! Voila – a Land Sea and Air Burger! In our opinion, the Land, Sea, and Air Burger is more than enough to satisfy anybody’s appetite.

As students paraphrased I gave feedback on vocabulary and sentence usage. For example, many students left the word “protein” in their paraphrase. I asked them, “What is a way to paraphrase protein?” Most replied back with, “Oh yeah, meat.” I also mentioned, “Instead of listing out all 3 sandwich names, just say it’s made up of 3 different menu items.” It’s little bits of feedback such as that that get the students thinking.

Paraphrasing a Primary Source

After practicing with a McDonald’s passage, I had students paraphrase a three excerpts from the Monroe Doctrine. Each excerpt represented an important provision from the doctrine. I challenged the students to paraphrase the excerpts from a 12th grade – college level down to a 6-8 grade level.

As we worked through the first excerpt, I noticed that the vocabulary gave students tons of trouble. I suggested Rewordify to help with the vocabulary. The students who used Rewordify properly got the most out of the paraphrasing. With the first excerpt (listed above) I mentioned to students that james Monroe said, “American Continents,” which refers to North AND South America. Many students didn’t pick up on that detail.

I began the day hoping for writing practice, but the Parafly served 2 purposes today:

1. Paraphrasing and working with vocabulary to understand a primary source.
2. Reading for important details.

After each excerpt, we discussed as a class the 3 important provisions from the Monroe Doctrine. Here are some results of from our Parafly today: