My Fake Wall

Myfakewall.com is a free site where students can create a mock Facebook wall. It's a great way to engage reluctant writers because it allows them to creatively demonstrate their knowledge with a limited amount of text. Students can create a wall to feature biographical information and show insight into the roles, relationships and contributions of fictitious characters, pets, historical figures, politicians, artists, musicians, characters from a novel, etc. 

Many thanks to Westside Storefront teacher (SD23), Jeremy Sanbrook, and his students for sharing how their “book club” used myfakewall.com with the best selling novel, Hunger Games.

In an attempt to make high-risk youth enjoy the process of reading and storytelling, our class participated in "book club" twice per week. During book club, our class would sit on the comfy couches next door to our classroom, shut the blinds, and let our minds unwind and relax in literature. Although book club's participation was mandatory, the students were not required to read aloud or answer comprehension questions after each chapter (my main purposes were to have the students enjoy reading and to have them experience completing a book from cover to cover). After each book club session, I would formatively assess the students' comprehension through class discussions. After we finished reading the book, the students were required to create a fake Facebook wall for the character of their choice, along with some other "Who Are They?" character comprehension worksheets.