Serial in School - Episode 2

Class started with a review of the case facts. We covered suspects and witnesses. We also discussed Sarah Koenig's interpretation of the evidence, and how we must be on the lookout for bias. Many of the students referenced Koenig's description of Adnan's "dairy cow" brown eyes during this discussion.

Then we listened to Episode 2. There was much giggling during the reading of Hae's diary. This again highlights how accessible this story is to today's high schoolers. They understand Hae. They understand Adnan. They understand the hot and cold of teenage love.

Following Episode 2, student took a listening quiz. To answer the questions, students started with a position statement and then backed that up with evidence. The quiz was open notes. I created the quiz in a Google Form and set the character minimum to 200 to encourage students to write more than one sentence answers. Overall, the students did well and I was encouraged to see no "I think" or "I feel" answers. All answers were solidly based on fact.

To close out the class, I again polled students on Adnan's guilt. It's interesting to note the swing. For my 7th period class who was solidly in the "no" camp after episode 1, 9 people jumped into the "maybe" camp and 2 people moved into the "yes" camp. On the other hand, 8th period felt like Episode 2 solidified Adnan's innocence, and more moved into the "no" camp.

Of note: Students came into class excited to listen to the next episode. They were brimming with questions and suspicions. During class, students continued to fill out their case logs. One student took over four pages of notes. I couldn't have designed a higher-interest unit for this quarter.

Student theories: So far, most believe that Jay was involved in some sort of cover-up.