Extending students

I sat in and observed again with the Grade 9's.  The students have really grasped the concepts of the novel, and the teacher feels they are a group that really need extending, so she is planning on having the students focus on linking different literacy elements.  She is introducing diction to the class, which normally would not cover later. Diction looks at the specific use of language and how even one word can convey meaning and be significant in the development of the the characters, and/or the cultural setting of the novel.  It ties in with different forms of imagery, and looking at the mood of suspense, which also links to the irony and foreshadowing evident in the text. The Lodger is a novel that is full of auditory and kinesthetic imagery - not only visual imagery, and the students are encouraged to find evidence of the different forms of imagery.  When introducing something new, the teacher models the visual framework that the students will create, as well as clarifies new understandings with evidence form the novel.  The students have their previous graphic organizers displayed around the room, and they can refer to these as well as from the book to come up with specific examples of motifs, a quote, that they can draw examples of diction.  The quote also may exemplify the creation of characterization either directly (from characters themselves) or indirectly(inferred, or implied by another character's reaction etc).  Over the course of reading the novel and exploring the motifs and story, students continually refine their understandings through the use of graphic organizers and the development of questioning, before they need to write any essay or create any summative assessment.