Wouldn't You Lend A Hand to A Friend?

Number the Stars. 0-440-40327-8. Lois Lowry. 1989. Newbery Award. Ages 9-12. Danish and Jewish families during WWII.

Best friends Annemarie and Ellen live at the time of the German occupation of Denmark during World War II. When the Germans begin to actively relocate the Jews, Ellen’s parents go into hiding and Annemarie’s family pretends that Ellen is their oldest daughter, who really died a few years earlier. Annemarie’s mother takes Ellen and her girls to Uncle Henrik’s house to reunite Ellen with her parents and then smuggle them along with other Jews safely on a fishing boat to Sweden. During their covert operation, Ellen’s father trips and drops an important package that could mean life or death to Uncle Henrik and those in the boat. Because her mother is lame, Annemarie becomes brave and takes the package past the Nazi soldiers to Uncle Henrik’s boat. Because the package is successfully delivered, Ellen and her family escape. At the end of the story, Annemarie awaits her friend’s return to Denmark because the war is finally over.

This would be a great book to start a discussion about friendship and bravery. Children can write about a time when they needed to be brave, perhaps in dealing with a friendship. They could also describe their best friends’ traits and compare them with those of Annemarie and Ellen.

Lowry sets up the story with a believable friendship in her characters. The girls are relatable characters in that they go to school together, are good neighbors and good friends. There is no question that Annemarie will help her friend, even to the point of hiding her Jewish star necklace. Readers are easily able to be sympathetic to the other characters, even ones who are not fully developed, because Lowry shows how the situation they face is not under their control..

In addition to writing an excellent story about true friendship, Lowry does a nice job of placing the setting in a town occupied by Nazis. Readers get a sense of the fear and concern that the Nazi presence brings through the conversations between the girls and Annemarie’s mother.

The themes of bravery and friendship shine through this story about a horrible time in our world’s history, the Holocaust. By writing about a successful escape, she puts a different emphasis on this time that is more appropriate for her younger audience than a more graphic account of the extermination of Jews found in other books. Because of her target audience, Lowry fittingly moves the action quickly after establishing the problem of the relocation of the Jews so that her readers can see a good way to solve this problem.

This book would be appropriate in a Social Studies classroom, used alongside a book like The Book Thief to get a couple of different perspectives of people trying to do what they can to help prevent the extermination of the Jews during the time of the Holocaust. This could be followed up with some actual historic accounts, like The Diary of Anne Frank. This might also be a good book to compare how people helped each other at different points in history; for example, comparing the Johansens’ actions to those who helped African Americans through the Underground Railroad. Finally, students could use this book in a unit on bravery or friendship to review these aspects of their own lives.

What is the truth?

The Golden Compass. 0-440-41832-1. Phillip Pullman. 1995. Ages 12-18. British upper-class Caucasians, religious, gypsies, witches.

Eleven year old Lyra, accompanied by her daemon Pantalimon, leaves the safety of her home at Jordan College and travels north to find her friend Roger whom she believes has been taken by Mrs. Coulter and the General Oblation Board, also known as the Gobblers. Lyra joins a group of gyptians who also want to rescue the kidnapped children before they are used in experiments to separate people’s daemons in order to get rid of Dust. By using an alethiometer, a truth-telling device, Lyra is able to enlist the services of an armored bear, Iorek Byrnison, and figures out how to successfully rescue Roger and the children. Roger, Iorek, and Lyra then travel to the land of the armored bears, where Lyra tricks the king into fighting Iorek . Iorek wins the battle and regains his rightful place as king of the bears. They travel onward to Lord Asriel’s spacious prison right next to the Aurora Borealis, only to find out that he too is conducting experiments with Dust. Lord Asriel separates Roger from his daemon, killing him in the process, and harnesses the energy to open a gateway to another world. The story ends with Lyra following Lord Asriel into the other world with the intent of trying to keep Dust in the world.

This story could spark the imagination of any child, especially those who love fantasy, to think about what their own daemon would look like. The child could draw a picture of the daemon and describe why that animal was chosen. For older children, this may lead to a engaging discussion about how daemons are like the human soul or conscience.

For it is Pullman’s daemons that makes for such a brilliantly crafted characters. Although Lyra is developed as a brave trickster, there are times when she is hesitant and unsure in which Pantalimon gives her advice or takes the first step of bravery. Other characters’ daemons, like those belonging to Farder Coram, Lee Scoresby, and Mrs. Coulter, give a better picture of who the person is on the inside.

Pullman’s creative setting of a world so much like ours that many of the names of places are the same, yet so different from our own because of talking animals, people’s daemons, and the opposite roles of religion and education, helps readers realize that this is a fantasy world, but that many of the problems in the world in the book are problems that can be recognized in our own world; for example, the struggle for power by those in leadership positions and the loss of innocence in the world today.

Pullman presents a number of compelling themes in his tale of Lyra’s journey north. The importance of innocence versus experience is seen in the nature of Lyra’s upbringing and Mrs. Coulter/ the General Oblation Board’s attempt to separate everyone’s daemons to eliminate original sin. The importance of one’s soul is seen in the physical manifestation of the daemons and the roles they play, especially through Pantalimon’s conversations with Lyra. The theme of power is seen through the motives of Mrs. Coulter and Lord Asriel in their attempts to gain control over Dust. Finally, the theme of leadership is seen in the contrast of bad and good leadership throughout this epic journey: Mrs. Coulter leading the Gobblers, John Faa leading the gyptians, Iorek Byrinson leading the armored bears, and Lyra leading the many groups along the way with the help of her alethiometer.

Although the words good and evil and right and wrong are explicitly left out of this book, a middle school or high school class could discuss what the author’s purpose was in creating this tale. Does he want us to think about these underlying concepts when reading his book? The concept of multiple universes could spark a discussion about the scientific realities of our galaxy and universe. This book could be used in a unit with other science-fiction novels to see many views of what the world could be like. Then students could create and describe their own world.

You could see it in his eyes and feel it in his touch...

The Giver. 0-395-64566-2. Lois Lowry. 1993. Newbery Award. Ages 10-16. Fantasy. Caucasian white middle class.

Jonas lives in a small village where the community is based on peace, order, and “sameness.” People appear to live a perfect and happy existence. Each family is given one boy and one girl. Apologies are commonplace. Younger members care for the elderly until their “release.” At the December Ceremony, each child up to the age of twelve grows one year older and is given more responsibility. During the Ceremony of Twelves, blue-eyed Jonas receives his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory, which changes his life forever.

When he begins receiving memories from the man identified as the Giver, Jonas realizes that his world is not so perfect. He experiences moments of joy, like riding a sled in the snow, and moments of suffering, from a simple sunburn to the difficult pain of war. As he begins to see colors and develop emotions, Jonas understands that a society without color and emotion is not ideal. He learns the truth about his world, that his people have no choices, no true feelings, and no love in their lives.

After realizing that “release” is simply another name for murder, Jonas decides to change his world. He devises a plan with the Giver to escape to Elsewhere on the eve of the December Ceremony to release all the memories to the people themselves. The plan changes when Jonas finds out that his father plans to “release” his family’s foster-child Gabriel, to whom Jonas has become attached. The story ends as Jonas escapes with Gabriel, sledding towards the lights, love and music below.

Young adults who read The Giver can start a lively discussion about the lives of children on our society as compared to the life Jonas leads. They may touch on the concepts of growing up and responsibility and even tough choices one has to make for the good of society.

Lowry does a great job of bringing very relatable characters to life in the Giver and Jonas. The Giver really does have a humanity that no one else in the story has; he worries about Jonas, misses his daughter, and loves the people of his community. Jonas has the inquisitiveness, dependability, and morality that helps readers sympathize and root for him as he is able to and goes against the rules of the community.

I especially like how Lowry contrasted the setting of a seemingly perfect town and society with the underlying ugly truth of release, making it integral to the plot. Only in a town created by people who are trying to take away all that is bad in the world can all the good also be taken away, and sometimes the bad remains. This world of sameness helped made many of Lowry's themes more impactful.

Lowry’s themes are layered throughout the story. The theme of the importance of having emotions and memories is probably the most obvious. Although this idealistic society does not experience pain, suffering and sadness, we see through the Giver’s and Jonas’ eyes that it is not necessarily a better choice than one with the full range of human emotions because you lose all the good emotions and memories too. People need to make choices, learn from their mistakes so that they can find true joy in their lives. Another theme that Lowry shows her readers is the importance of our own society which values the individual rather than the collective. Even in the description of Jonas’ eyes, the reader see Jonas is different from others in his society. Lowry does a wonderful job of developing this character who learns the truth and then questions why his society is so obedient, like in the incident with the plane overhead. Later, through his training, his interactions with his foster brother and finally their escape, Jonas’ individualism shines through. The readers see that being unique is a goal to strive for that helps, not hurts, others. Finally, Jonas makes courageous choices when willingly receives memories of pain and suffering and later when he leaves his community and journeys into the unknown. These are just a few of the many themes that Lowry has infused so well into her writing.

The Giver could be used in a middle school or high school setting to discuss our individualistic society as compared to other society models, like that of Nazi Germany, and the one in The Giver. I could see using this in conjunction with the other book that we read this week, Number the Stars. This could extend in any classroom into a discussion on the advantages of diversity in society and the world. Finally, the fact that Lowry leaves the ending to the reader to interpret could lead to a class discussion about cliffhangers in stories, leading them to develop their own stories with cliffhangers or to write their own ending to the story.

An unforgettable memoir about the people who will now forever be remembered

The Late Homecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir. 978-1-56689-208-7. Kao Kalia Yang. 2008. Minnesota Book Awards- Memoir & Creative Nonfiction and Reader’s Choice. Ages 14-up. Non-fiction memoir. Poverty- level Hmong extended family. New American Immigrants.

In this memoir, Kao Kalia Yang tells the exodus of her paternal grandmother and her extended family from their home in Laos to the United States. Yang’s story begins in the jungle of Laos during the aftermath of the Vietnam War. The family flees through the jungle, crosses the dangerous Mekong River, and arrives in Thailand to escape the imminent threat of death by soldiers who intend to kill the Hmong who supported the United States during the “Secret War.” The family spends over six years in Thailand’s Ban Vinai Refugee Camp, during which time the author was born. Her family decides to immigrate to the United State, first moving to a transition camp, where they learn English and go to school, before flying to the United States to settle in California and Minnesota in 1987. The second half of Yang’s account describes her experiences in America. The author writes about the separation of her extended family, her struggle to find her own voice in English, and the challenges that face her immigrant family as they adapt to their new lives in America. Although the adults feel fortunate to be in America, Yang describes the substandard housing, the menial jobs, and the education struggles her family endures. Yang’s recollections end with stories told by her grandmother and her own reflections as she graduates from college and looks forward to sharing not just her family’s, but also her people’s experience, through the words of this book.

Children who read this book could enter a dialogue about the values of different peoples and cultures in the world. Young people could specifically discuss similarities and differences between the American culture and the Hmong culture to develop an appreciation for the strengths and values in both cultures.

The Hmong American experience described in this first-person account by author Kao Kalia Yang can not be replicated by any secondary source or textbook to show the Hmong’s rightful place in the history of the United States. Readers come to feel the fear as the family hides in the jungle from those who would like to eradicate them for supporting the U.S. They also share the heartbreak of this family, separated from one another at many points along the journey. They see in the determination of the grandmother to keep her large family intact. The real settings of the jungle, the refugee camp, the transition camp, and Minneapolis are integral in reflecting the long journey of the family to find a place to call “home.”

Perhaps the best element of this memoir is the interweaving of Hmong culture, beliefs/traditions, and stories give readers a sense of who the Hmong are as a people. Yang shares the Hmong’s value on the collective good through her family’s meetings about when they move and how to be better people in America. Readers begin to understand the Hmong belief in the eternal connections with their families long before and after an individual’s life through description of babies choosing the family and the emphasis on Yang’s mother keeping the cloth given to her by her mother. The very essence of this memoir is to preserve the folklore of Yang’s grandmother because of the Hmong’s oral, not written, tradition.

The theme of searching for a home to call your own resounds in the pages of this novel. While other immigrant experiences may be similar to his people’s journey to America, the Hmong journey is also harder because this is a betrayed, forgotten people without a homeland of their own, who receive little recognition when they arrive in America. Additionally, the themes of the importance of family is pervasive as Yang includes many of the background stories of her extended family: her parents’ unusual courtship, her uncle’s harrowing journey to rejoin them in Thailand, and the pride of her grandmother in bringing so many people into this world. The theme of hope and salvation is present in the story as the family transforms from a hunted people to contained outsiders to free citizens in America.

This book could used in an American Government class during a discussion on the process of immigration into America. Students can also use this in an American or World History class to gain an appreciation for the role of the Hmong people during “The Secret War” within the Vietnam War. It can lead students to understand the devastating effects war can have on entire populations. Alternately, this may encourage a class to find first-generation immigrants in an effort to preserve their stories before the stories are lost. To relate this book to their own lives, students could find their own immigration stories by obtaining photographs, doing research, and writing a mini-memoir of their own families’ journey to America or current location.

Kao Kalia Yang Interview

For those of you who are reading The Late Homecomer, you may be interested to hear what the author has to say about her grandmother and about learning to write. Check it out!

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSzQffmBmPI

Also, author Kao Kalia Yang will be making appearance at a number of venues in the coming weeks.  She will be at St. Marks' Episcopal Church this Friday, March 12th, at 10:00 a.m. in the Fontaine Auditorium. She will speak to the Friday Book Group about her memoir that follows a Hmong family from Laos to the refugee camps of Thailand to safety in Minnesota. I have a friend who is a parishioner at St. Marks. She said that guests are welcome. For more information, follow the link:

http://www.ourcathedral.org/

Some things you might not know about Hugo Cabret

I just found this great website with an interview with Brian Selznick. He tells us more about his inspiration for the book  Click and check it out!

Hugo Cabret : A Masterpiece for Kids and Film Buffs

CU: Selznick's Cinematic Approach to Hugo Cabret's story

The Invention of Hugo Cabret. 0-439-81378-6. Brian Selznick. 2007. Caldecott Award. Age 9 -14. Caucasian French youth. Orphans during the Depression.

Hugo Cabret has been the apprentice to his uncle, the caretaker of the clocks in a busy Paris train station, since his father’s untimely death in a museum fire. When Hugo’s uncle disappears, Hugo continues to winding all the stations’ clocks so that his uncle won’t be missed and so he can keep his home inside the walls of the train station. To survive, Hugo steals food. Hugo also steals toy parts to repair an automaton, or mechanical man, which he thinks his father has programmed to write a personal message. After Hugo repairs a mechanical mouse he breaks while stealing, the shopkeeper takes Hugo’s father’s notebook and demands that Hugo work to pay off the debt. Hugo meets Isabelle, the shop owner’s goddaughter, who has the key which starts Hugo’s automaton. Together, they discover that the toy store owner is really Georges Meilies, a magician and famous silent film-maker, whose credits include Hugo’s father’s favorite movie “A Trip to the Moon.” Hugo gets Meilies recognized for his work. However, when the young boy returns to the train station to retrieve Meilies' automaton, he is caught by the stationmaster. Papa Georges gets Hugo released and welcomes the boy into his home. Hugo becomes the magician Professor H. Alcofrisbas, who is created with telling this story.

This is a great book to discuss how pictures or illustrations play an important role in telling a story. Students could experiment by writing an original short story and then replacing some of what they have written with a series of illustrations.

The outstanding literary feature in Brian Selznick’s story is the use of illustrations, photos, and scenes from Mieles’ films interspersed equally with text to keep the fast-paced narrative moving. Readers often have to turn several pages of sequenced illustrations to figure out what happens next to Hugo, the main character in the story. Selznick’s black and white drawings are a unique reflection of the time period, the emotions felt by the different characters, and of the theme of the impact of one man’s silent movies on future generations. The illustrations do not distract, but instead draw the reader in; they are similar to close-ups in a movie and give important clues to solving the mysterious connections between the old man in the toy shop and the drawings in Hugo’s notebook. The theme of magic is also woven throughout the book. Children of all ages can see the magic in the silent films, the magic in making inanimate objects come alive, and the magic in the imagination of the reader as her or she turns the pages to see what happens next.The theme of different kinds of families and relationships brought together through loss is also strong in this graphic novel. Some children will take comfort in seeing that although both Hugo and Isabelle have lost their parents, they do find another adult who cares for them. Children can see the importance about being passionate about something you love through Hugo and his father’s obsession with the automaton and through George Mieles’ real pictures and film shots. The illustrations foreshadow so many elements of the mystery of the automaton and Mieles that they might make the ending too predictable for readers who are attentive to the clues.

This book could easily be used in a middle school of high school classroom to discuss imagination, creativity, and mysteries. It could be the basis for a history discussion on orphans and the Great Depression or a communications discussion about the silent film era. In an art class, students could study Selznick’s use of movement in his illustrations and create their original artwork which focuses on movement. Students could use the book to spur research on early twentieth century mechanical inventions, including kinds of clocks, toys, and of course, the automaton. Finally, it could be fun for students to use this as a starting place to explore the world of magic.

Would you call yourself a Chutengodian?

Godless. 1-4169-0816-1. Pete Hautman. 2004. National Book Award. Age 12-17. Caucasian small town youth.

Teenager Jason Bock is frustrated with his parents’ pressure to conform to the beliefs of Catholicism, a religion that leaves him dissatisfied. So he creates a new religion that focuses on water as the source of all life and regards the water tower as God, aka the Ten-legged One. Among the converts to the Church of the Ten-Legged God (CTG) are: Shin, the gastropod-loving geek who becomes obsessed with writing the religion’s bible; Dan, the preacher’s son who joins to defy his dad; Henry, the bully who challenges the followers to more dangerous feats in the name of their faith; and Magda, Jason’s crush who seems more interested in Henry than the religion. During their first Tuesday Sabbath mass on the dome of the water tower, Henry challenges the group to enter the “godhead” to become baptized. This ritual puts Henry in the hospital and most of the Chutengodians in jail. Jason soon finds followers breaking away into different sects. Henry and Magda, now Choots, have rewritten the religion’s commandments and Shin, now a religious fanatic, attempts to sacrifice himself to the godhead. In the end, Jason remains committed to Chutengodiaism while he wonders if he will ever have faith.

This book would be a great starting point for a discussion on the qualities of a good leader. Children could prioritize these qualities and then based on these criteria decide first if Jason Bock is a good leader and then use these same qualities to help describe a person who they think is a good leader.

Whether he is a good leader or not, Jason Bock is a well-written character. Jason’s honest doubts about established religion and also his new religion make him relatable to readers who have questioned their own identity and their own beliefs. His relationships with other characters are typical for teenagers. He interacts with his best friend Shin, a love interest Magda, and the hometown bully Henry. Jason’s opposition to his father’s values is also something that many teens have faced at one time. By placing Jason in the small town setting of St. Andrew’s, with its one water tower, Hautman poignantly contrasts the single-mindedness of the minds in a small town with Jason’s divergent thinking and beliefs.

In terms of plot, Hautman eases his readers into a difficult subject through a balance of humorous and serious issues. The initial conversations about gastropods and the Ten-Legged Ones are imaginative and comical. Readers are as intrigued as Jason is to see how Henry makes it to the top of the tower. It is only when the “believers” start to practice their new religion and break the law that the tale takes an somewhat unexpected and serious turn. Some readers undoubtedly expected what follows because Hautman’s successful use of foreshadowing . The policeman’s warning of the danger and illegality of climbing the tower foreshadows the events of the fateful midnight service. Shin’s speech about “channeling the Ten-Legged One” foreshadows his extreme behavior on the night of the storm. Magda’s interest in CTG because of Henry foreshadows her joining him when the CTG splits. Hautman also effectively uses images of water to help the plot along. Water is present in each part of the plot, including the scene in which the followers are baptized by swimming in the tower and the climax in which Shin is on the top of the tower when during the thunderstorm.

There will be readers who interpret this book as a challenge to established religion. However, Hautman does not seem to preach that any one belief system is better than another, but instead he provides a valuable way for readers to contrast their own beliefs and religion with those discussed in the book. Another important theme in Godless is the recognition that with power comes responsibility. This theme is echoed by Jason’s father when he reminds Jason of his power over Shin and Danny and later seen when Henry tires first to take over during the midnight service and then seizes power by creating his own sect. Additionally, the theme of water as the source of life is evident throughout the book in Shin’s writings at the beginning of each chapter and in the water-based rituals of CTG. While the themes of faith, power, and water are all complex ideas, Hautman pulls them all together in an provocative and entertaining manner.

A middle school or high school class could use Godless as the basis of a discussion about teens establishing their own identities and the impact of friendships on those identities. Although schools might find it difficult to discuss religions, an interesting Social Studies project would be to compare different cultures’ religions, including their major beliefs and practices. I believe this would go a long way to promoting tolerance for other peoples’ belief systems. Finally, Jason saw Shin’s drawings of people depicted as water towers . For an Art extension, students could draw themselves as a water tower or other large inanimate object and attempt to include elements of their own personality in the object.

How could they think he was a terrorist?

Big Mouth Ugly Girl. 0-06-447347-3. Joyce Carol Oates. 2002. ALA Best Book for Young Adults. Ages 12-18. Contemporary Realistic Fiction. Caucasian youth. Suburban middle-class.
To help them deal with the emotional conflicts they face at Rocky Ridge High School, basketball jock Ursula Riggs and newspaper columnist Matt Donaghy have secretly created the alter egos of Ugly Girl and Big Mouth. Their alter egos are not enough to protect them when Matt is suspended after his threat to blow up the school is reported and Ursula comes forward to prove Matt’s innocence. Matt returns to school, but emotions run high as both teens quit their extracurricular activities and become outsiders to their social cliques. The teens turn to each other and develop a close relationship while Matt and his family struggle with the backlash of their lawsuit against the school. After an anonymous bomb threat is traced back to a overzealous religious leader and his crazy daughters are exposed as Matt’s original accusers, life seems to return to normal. Matt’s column is going to be published in The New York Times and Ursula’s team convinces her to rejoin the team. The two teens come to realize what is important to them, which now includes each other.

This book could lead to discussions on social cliques, rumors, courage, and the role of cell phones, e-mail and texting in relationships today. Children might write about a time when they or someone they knew had the courage to stand up for another person, the consequences, and any lessons they learned from this action.

Joyce Carol Oates gives her readers a realistic story about teenage angst that can be interpreted on different levels. First, the author develops a plot in which the main characters face the challenges of correcting a false accusation and come to realize that there are costs associated with just being accused. Then, Oates adds the plot of a developing friendship between her two characters throughout this ordeal. Finally, she tells the story of two teenagers' struggles with their own self-perceptions.  Oates lets readers inside the heads and the emotions of her main characters, Matt and Ursula. By writing the narrative from her characters’ viewpoints, readers understand the characters' flaws even better. Once Matt labels himself as a "Big Mouth, " readers can observe that he begins to think before he speaks. However, Oates handles the complexity of  Ursula's poor self-image with a subtle difference.  Only Ursula's chapters are written strictly in first person, allowing the reader to really view the transitions when "Ugly Girl” surfaces. Readers see the red and inky black emotions emerge on the basketball court and see when Ursula feels disconnected with the petite, feminine women in her family.

This story contains thought-provoking subplots through which Oates introduces additional her teenage-oriented themes. Oates delivers an intriguing theme about the impact of the threat of school violence on a community through the reactions of the Rocky Ridge’s administration, the police, the neighbors, and Matt’s classmates. Some readers might wonder how their own community would react if a similar threat was present in their city. The theme of conflicts in families with teens is seen in Matt’s family’s struggle after he tarnished their reputation and in Ursula’s family’s values and priorities that seem to revolve around everyone but her. Oates also shows the importance of courage and true friendship when she contrasts Matt’s relationships with his old friends to his new bond with Ursula. Teenagers who read Big Mouth, Ugly Girl can be forewarned that one misunderstood conversation can impact so many lives. Teens can see that some family conflicts are universal. Finally, teens can also see the value in finding and keeping supportive friends in high school.

Big Mouth, Ugly Girl could easily lead to a discussion in a middle school or high school classroom about the impact of labels that we put on ourselves and others. In a Social Studies class, students could research causes of violence in schools, research their own district's policies, and write a persuasive essay recommending changes or additions to the policies to help deter this kind of violence. In a Communications class, students could write about the advantages and disadvantages of modern technology in our daily communications. They could reflect on a time when technology got in the way of  someone's true message. Finally, students could read op/ed articles in the New York Times before taking on a writing assignment in which they create a class newspaper.

Hey everyone! 

I was on youtube tonight after finishing Big Mouth and Ugly Girl.

I'll give you my review of the book soon, but I just had to share this hilarious (and FAST) recap. Check out the biceps and the ugly stare!  Did you think Matt should've channeled Popeye in the real story?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiCZUNE5Kv0&feature=related

Yop and Yop Blog Activity: Character Maps

Character maps can be used as during-reading or post-reading activities to make meaning of the text by making sense of the story’s characters. Through the use of character maps, students analyze characters’ physical descriptions, personalities, perspectives, motivation, feelings, and relationships.

Yop and Yop demonstrate that by using two character maps, one near the beginning and one near the end of a story, you can better analyze changes in characters and changes in relationships in a story ( Yop and Yop, p.50). Thus, you will complete two character maps in this activity. I have modified the activity for you to respond online, but you can refer to the graphic organizer to help you visualize how this looks on paper (Click on image to see an enlarged view).

In Big Mouth, Ugly Girl, the storyline depends on the development of the relationship between Matt Donaghy (aka Big Mouth) and Ursula Riggs (aka Ugly Girl). These are the characters we will use for our character maps.

Part 1: Start with the character map about Matt Donaghy and Ursula Riggs during January (Chapters 1-8, pp.1-74). On the organizer, the class would list as many character traits as they can think of about each character in his or her box. Above and below the arrows drawn in between the characters, the class then writes words or phrases that tell what each character’s relationship is to the other character and how each character feels about the other character. For your blog response, first list three to five key character traits that describe EACH of the characters. Then describe each character’s relationship to the other and one or two phrases that describe how the character feels about the other.

Part 2: Now refer to the second character map that refers to April (Ch 47-49, pp.254-266) at end of the story. List three to five character traits that specifically describe each character at this point in the story. Then describe the relationship of each character to the other, along with two phrases that describe how that character feels about the other at this point in the story.


Part 3: Compare your lists for each character. For each character, evaluate one trait that you listed at the end of the story that the character didn’t display at the beginning of the story. Describe the events or information in the story that you feel support this change in the character.

To give you an idea of how to approach this assignment, I have written an example for Matt and included all the parts to the assignment below. You will need to complete both character maps for Matt and Ursula:

Part 1: January/Beginning Character Map:
Matt’s Character Traits
(List 3-5 character traits you see in him, but here are my thoughts)
1. Popular easy-going vice-president of his junior class
2. Aspiring writer who is not quite happy with his play
3. Sees himself as a Big Mouth for not thinking before he talks
4. Hurt and angry that his friends do not stand up for him
5.
Ursula’s Character Traits
(List 3-5 character traits)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
How Matt is related to Ursula and Matt’s feelings for Ursula at this point:  (Come up with your own response)
Ursula’s classmate. Doesn’t know why someone like independent and rebellious Ursula would help him.

How Ursula is related to Matt and Ursula’s feelings for Matt at this point: (Fill this in)

Part 2: April/Ending Character Map:
Matt’s Character Traits
(List 3-5 character traits)
1. Doesn’t feel like he fits in with his old friends
2. Still feels hurt because of the bomb-scare incident
3. Feels unsure if he can be funny and easy-going
4. Accomplished writer who is being published in the op/ed section of The New York Times
5.
Ursula’s Character Traits
(List 3-5 character traits)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
How Matt is related to Ursula and Matt’s feelings for Ursula at the end: (Come up with your own response)
He is now close friends with Ursula. Matt feels inspired by her friendship to take more risks and be more independent.

How Ursula is related to Matt and Ursula’s feelings for Matt at the end:(Fill this in)

Part 3: One trait that has changed in Matt and one trait that has changed in Ursula. Use events or information from the story to support why those traits have changed.

Matt:
(Choose one of the ending traits you wrote and explain)
One of the traits that changed in Matt from the beginning to the end is that he doesn’t feel like he fits in with his old friends. Many events in the story influenced this change. When he e-mailed his friends after the false bomb scare and none of them wanted to get involved, it made Matt think twice about who his real friends were. Also, even after he was exonerated, none of his friends really did much more to re-establish their friendships than to send quick e-mails. In the end, when his friends would not approach him when he was with Ursula and when they questioned her ability to fit in with their crowd, Matt knew he could no longer be friends with friends who judged by appearances alone and not by who a person was inside.

Ursula:
(Choose one of the ending traits you wrote and explain)


Try to think beyond physical descriptions and more about the characters’ motivations and feelings. I look forward to seeing your responses. Have a great week!

Scorpions

Scorpions. 0-06-440623-7. Walter Dean Meyers. 1990. Newbery Honor Book. Ages 12-17.Contemporary Realistic Fiction. African- American youth, Multi-cultural urban residents, Lower-socio-economic status.

With his older brother Randy in prison for murder, twelve-year-old Jamal Hicks feels pressured to take over Randy’s gang, the Scorpions, to raise the money needed for his appeal. When Randy’s friend Mack hands Jamal the gun, he assures him the gun will command others’ respect. The only real support comes from Jamal’s best friend Tito, who joins the Scorpions even though he is afraid of drugs, guns, and gangs. Tito hides the gun for Jamal in the storage room so Jamal can scare the school bully and later shoots two gang members when they challenge Jamal, killing one of them. Mack becomes the Scorpion’s leader while Tito agonizes over and confesses to his role before leaving Jamal and the neighborhood forever.

Scorpions would be a good book to start conversations about the impact of poverty and single-parent households on families, the presence of bullying and weapons in school, or the realities of drugs and gangs in society. Young people can choose one issue, research the general statistics, write about the issue’s impact in their lives, and propose solutions to these social problems.

One of best elements in Scorpions is Myers’ realistic development of Jamal throughout the plot. This story highlights a turning point in Jamal's life: Is he old enough to join a gang, carry a gun, and take on the responsibility of helping his family? Instead of Jamal simply refusing to join the gang, Myers has his main character resolve this question through his interactions and dialogues with gang members, classmates, and his best friend. Myers’s strength is making these conversations more realistic by using the dialect that is associated with Harlem. Harlem is also essential as the setting because this well-known tough neighborhood reflects the tough choices Jamal needs to make. Readers may not agree with Jamal’s decisions to join a gang, keep the gun, and confront the gang members, but his character flaws and continual attempts to solve his problems are what make Jamal such a sympathetic character and Scorpions such a riveting story.

Myers connects with readers through multiple themes: friendship and loyalty, courage and difficult decision-making, and the struggle between the individual and society. Myers effectively contrasts the true bond between Jamal and Tito with the “friendships” of gang members, which are based on money and drugs. However, his story shows the tragic costs when loyalty is put in front of what is morally right. Myers also uses this book to reflect many situations that teenagers must make decisions about today, including peer pressure, trouble with authority figures, and bullying in school. Reading and discussing how Jamal handles these issues and the consequences of his decisions may help young people make better decisions in their own lives. Finally, through Myers’ subtle inclusion of the story line of Jamal’s drawing, readers can find the importance of following your dreams, not following the life that others, including family members, have decided for you.

Scorpions could spark a lively conversation in a middle school and high school classroom about the values of friendship, loyalty, and courage, and individualism. It could also be included in a historical unit on America or be extended into an art lesson based on Jamal’s passion of drawing landscapes and people.

Monster

Monster. ISBN 0-06-440731-4. Walter Dean Myers. 1999. Coretta Scott King Author Honor Award. Age 13-17. Contemporary Realistic Fiction. African-American young males, Lower socio-economic status.

Steve Harmon, a sixteen-year-old black male, is on trial as an accomplice to the robbery and felony murder of a local drugstore owner. During the trial, Steve alternates journaling about his life in the detention center cell and writing an autobiographical screenplay which recounts the courtroom drama. Steve also wrestles with his conscience through flashbacks of key events which lead up to the robbery. The trial results in Steve’s acquittal, but the author leaves his readers to decide Steve’s innocence for themselves.

This would also be a good book to initiate a dialogue on poverty, peer pressure, and the impact of individual choices one makes. Children might write about a time when they succumbed to peer pressure, the consequences that occurred, and the lesson learned from the experience.

Myers impressively pens a realistic first-person account of the internal struggle of the protagonist while he adds a more objective screenplay, which is portrayed as written by this main character. Myers effectively uses the dialogue in this screenplay to contrast his multi-dimensional main character with the more singular-minded perpetrators and witnesses. These static characters allow readers to be even more captivated as the layers of fear, guilt, defensiveness, and determination are revealed in Steve’s character. The revelation of Steve’s own “personal truths” through multiple formats (his journal, his screenplay, and interspersed flashbacks) engages the reader more than a simple third-person narrative of the court drama would, but adds to the ambiguous sequence of key event that could prove Steve’s innocence to the readers.

In addition, Myers poignantly uses the detention center setting to show the horrors of prison life. The colloquialisms of prisoners add to jail’s dark realities. Readers may be uncomfortable with Steve’s reflections on other inmates’ beatings, rapes, and views of suicide, but they are the key to the cautionary part of this tale. Steve’s setting seems to motivate him to lie about his involvement to avoid going to prison. For the audience, this setting underscores the undesirable consequences of making impulsive, poor choices. Prison life as seen by Steve from the inside is integral to the twists in the plot and fits with the story’s theme.

One clear theme in Myer’s work is the importance of Justice versus Innocence. Steve’s lawyer conveys existing prejudices in the criminal justice system when she tells Steve that being black, male and on trial are huge hurdles that could hurt his case. Readers also find themselves struggling throughout the book between the hope that Steve Harmon is found “not guilty” and the concern that justice may not be served with his acquittal. The protagonist’s innocence is not made clear by the author; as it often occurs in life, it is derived from the opinions and interpretations of the jury of readers.

This novel would be appropriate in a middle school social studies or high school government class as the basis for a discussion on how the judicial branch of government works. For example, students could discuss the roles of judge, jurors, and laywers. They could even write and perform a scene in the book from the juror’s point of view. Alternately, students could research and discuss racial and socio-economic prejudices either in the criminal justice system or in society today.

For people who chose to follow their dreams!

The Road Not Taken
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I–
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

- Robert Frost

Welcome to my blog!

This blog has been created to let you know about the interesting books I have been reading for my Middle School Literature class. Please feel free to give me your reactions to the books as well!