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The Fault in Our Stars – A Brain Based Lesson to Start Your Term
FIRST – Question with two feet to open the lesson (one foot = content and one foot = interest). Ask ~
How would you tweet your best friend in 140 letter characters that you have cancer with a few weeks to live?
You can use Twitter with the hashtag – #2footedquestion – or you can display student tweets onto a digital screen that fits your equipment.
Pair-share to choose one of seven lenses through which to view and discuss your situation. Choose from the following lenses (1. courage to …, 2. love for …, 3. confidence in…, 4. contentment by…, 5. choices to …, 6. friendship with …, 7. curiosity for … ) and support your choice with an explanation from words in your tweet.
SECOND – Target two takeaways from your lesson – and display these two – expressed in student actions.
- Support one of the seven main themes with example in John Green’s novel.
- Read chapter one and complete a multiple intelligence task to illustrate its meaning.
THIRD – Expect quality tasks to be completed by co-creating assessment rubric with students.
Rubric Criteria for The Fault in Our Stars tasks may include …
- Accurate facts _____
- Correct spelling and grammar _____
- Identifies correctly the intelligence used _____
- Stated theme evident _____
- Camera-ready _____
FOURTH – Move mental resources into action. In pairs, students complete a multiple intelligence task that helps them understand and articulate insights from Chapter 1.
Use my task examples below – or students can develop tasks with you.
FIFTH – Reflect on where to from here…?
Create your own MI tasks or use these 50 additional tasks – rooted in neuro-related facts – related to common core standards for reading each chapter of The Fault in Our Stars. The tasks are most popular in Grades 7 to 12+. By the way, when your lesson tasks are created for high flexibility – differentiation emerges through multiple intelligences in action.
Mita award-winning brain based approaches work especially well for students – when they get to make choices that interest them, and that lead to success in follow-up tests.
Want more from brain based task cards for The Fault in Our Stars?
Read 1 chapter at a time and complete task cards that correspond to that chapter. Perhaps Group 1 – addresses tasks 1 – 3 on day 1; Group 2 – addresses tasks 4 – 8 on day 2; Group 3 – addresses tasks 9 – 13 on day 3; Group 4 – addresses tasks 14 – 18 on day 4; Group 5 – addresses tasks 19 – 23 on day 5; Group 6 – addresses tasks 24 – 28 on day 6; Group 7 – addresses tasks 29 – 33 on day 7; Group 8 – addresses tasks 34 – 38 on day 8; Group 9 – addresses tasks 39 – 43 on day 9; Group 10 – addresses tasks 44 – 48 on day 10.
Do note that the tasks are numbered consecutively – but chapter one might skip from group to group – depending what group holds the correct task card for the chapter required. 
Students are guided by chapter-related task cards for all presentations and they might engage the entire class in their assigned chapters. There are several excellent ways to guide all students through the readings. Each team might identify, define and share new words encountered – designing a collective bulletin board of interesting words.
Task cards are all listed in an index included for easy access so they can be stored successfully. They also come with sign out sheets for students’ to record when laminated cards are borrowed.
Some faculty prefer the no-prep-options these cards offer, so they are simply copied in easy worksheet formats. Other faculty favor laminating all 50 cards and filing them in a central station for future use. Students sign out task cards and then return them at the conclusion of their lessons, and before receiving grades for their work.
A poster is included to inspire student discussions on the seven key themes of this novel. To save you time and effort – all task cards come with answer keys and active learning prompts.
Common Core Standards addressed in, The Fault in Our Stars include</strong
Reading: Literature, Grades 9-10
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.1
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.3
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.6
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.7
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.5
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.4
Speaking & Listening, Grades 9-10
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.1
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.2
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.3
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.4
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.6
Reading: Literature, Grades 11-12
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.1
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.3
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.5
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.6
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.4
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.7
Speaking & Listening, Grades 11-12
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.1
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.2
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.4
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.6
Writing, Grades 9-10
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.2
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.3
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.6
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.9
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.4
Writing, Grades 11-12
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.2
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.3
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.6
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.1
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.4
Language, Grades 9-10
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.9-10.1
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.9-10.2
Language, Grades 11-12
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.11-12.1
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.11-12.2
Hopefully these multiple intelligence task cards will benefit your students as they do mine at middle school, secondary and university levels. If these work for your classes – you can also find award-winning student-centered products here.
If you have any further questions about how to get the most from this product, please do contact me at eweber1@frontiernet.net and I’ll be glad to help further.
Do visit the Mita International Brain Center – where you can follow my latest additions, get updates of new brain based materials and find FREE student-ready materials to download.
All the best as you learn and lead with the brain more in mind! Let’s enjoy the journey together! Ellen
Get your FREE copy of 50 task cards for the novel The Fault in Our Stars
To enter for your free prize – simply follow my TPT site. Then email me at eweber1@frontiernet.net and I will send you 50 popular task cards for The Fault in Our Stars.
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Created by Ellen Weber, Brain Based Tasks for Growth Mindset
Thanks Jackie – it’s especially fun that students get to help create the assessment rubric criteria for these multiple intelligence tasks. That enables them to learn the ropes of creating a product that has specific criteria attached. Students love it!
I love to see lessons that target multiple intelligences. Thanks for sharing it!
Thanks Kim:-) Me too! And the students love to use the many intelligences they bring to class as tools for their own learning:-) Do you find that some students – who do less well in the two school valued intelligences – can exceed in your classes when using their other strengths to express their learning? Best, Ellen
Thanks back Melissa! Students also love to generate their own two-footed questions. There are further examples on sites such as Stanford University – as the examples help the students to get both feet in:-). Ellen
I’m a big believer in MI and love that you have applied the concepts to the reading of a popular YA novel! This is very clever!
I like the idea of two-footed questions – that’s new to me! Thanks for sharing!