To Kill a Mocking Bird

 

 

Part I

Lee, Harper. To kill a mockingbird. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1960.

Genre: Challenged/Banned Books

 

Age: 6-8

 

Part II

 

To Kill a Mockingbird is on the challenged/banned list. Like every novel on the list, there is something that parents want to protect their child from. The issues raised in banning this book are legit. But, I feel that parents are worrying their child can't handle something that they will face in person. In my strong opinion, I think it would be better for a child to read and understand the real life issues through text then in real life. First, it is an ice breaker. Parents wont have to explain these things from the start, but instead parents can answer questions that children have. Second, students/children will face these issues, but wont be blindsided. They will know what is to come and will have the previous knowledge to deal with it. Racial slurs, profanity, and blunt dialogue about rape led to this book being banned, but these issues will come to everyone's life at some point or another. I read many banned books growing up, but my mom thought because I was reading she didn't want to take them away. What I learned opened me up as a person. I wasn't scared, insecure, or naïve. I was smart, outgoing, and brave. I want this for my future students and children. If I can, I will. Books shouldn't be banned.

 

Part III

 

To Kill a Mockingbird is very well-written. The novel won the Pulitzer Prize and is known as an American Classic. To Kill a Mockingbird deals with so many issues of real life in the thirties. It is admired by so many because of the truth behind the novel. This novel breaks down the characters and their life in a small town, the issues that were popular during the thirties, and the laws that are different from ours now. This novel tackles history is so many different ways that movies, textbooks and lectures can't. In today's world, I'm surprised people still want it out of schools.

 

Part IV

 

Grade: 6

 

Objective:

• To bring to life history through To Kill a Mockingbird.
• Identify the differences in todays world and the world during the 30's.
• Reflect on the most personal events through writing.

Lesson Sketch:

1. Students will start To Kill a Mockingbird privately in class.
2. Daily, students and teacher will fill in a venn diagram discussing the similarities in life today and life in the 30s.
3. Teacher and student will discuss things that are confusing, upsetting or fun and interesting.
4. Students will reflect their opinions of the book by targeting one major issue that stuck to them the most in an essay.

CA Standards:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.6.1
Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.6.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.6.7
Compare and contrast the experience of reading a story, drama, or poem to listening to or viewing an audio, video, or live version of the text, including contrasting what they "see" and "hear" when reading the text to what they perceive when they listen or watch.

 

Outside Sources:

 

http://www.neabigread.org/books/mockingbird/ -Insight for the teacher and reader.

http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/lessons/mockingbird/ -Historical perspective from Library of Congress

http://www.nytimes.com/learning/issues_in_depth/Mockingbird.html -New York Times learning network, lesson ideas.

 

 

 

 

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                                                  Lincoln: A Photobiography

 

 

 

 

Part I

 

Book Information: Freedman, R., & Alfred Whital Stern Collection of Lincolniana (1987). Lincoln: A photobiography. New York, N.Y: Clarion Books.

 

Genre: Biography, Informational Text - Common Core Exemplars

Grade Level: Grades 3-6

 

 

Part II

 

My predictions were correct; this was a spectacular book. My uncle lives in Illinois and he took me to the Abraham Lincoln museum in Springfield. It was amazing. It took me through Abraham Lincoln's life just like this book did. That was exactly what I was hoping. I knew what to look for when I read this. Although, I'll never be able to take my students to the same museum, I'll be able to bring this book alive.

 

When a great hero comes into the curriculum as something to cover I want to make sure that it is remembered. The actions of one person make a huge different in our lives, especially if we know and understand exactly what he did. Abraham Lincoln is one of those people. In my future teaching I want to bring this book alive. I would love to do a stage production for the school. I think it would be a fun activity to do during a part of the school year. It will be a huge learning experience, a break from book and desk work, and fun!

 

Part III

 

Lincoln: A Photobiography is one of my favorite books for many reasons. First, it is a photobiography. I love pictures. Children also love pictures. Pictures tell a story just like words. Being able to learn about Abraham Lincoln through pictures will help children more than most think. Those pictures will be remembered because they are interesting. It was also nice to see Lincoln as a boy and then a president. Sometimes we forget that people are just like us. We remember them by how we see them on TV or in pictures, but in reality, they have lived a life very similar to ours. This information text gives us that information of Lincoln's life.

 

 

 

Part IV

 

Grade Level: 5

 

Objective: To teach, learn, and experience Lincoln's life through drama.

 

Discussion Questions:

1. Who was Abraham Lincoln?
2. What do you know about him?
3. After reading Lincoln: A Photobiography, what have you learned?
4. What events in Lincoln's life are most important to you?
5. What events in Lincoln's life are most important to our country?

Lesson Sketch:

1. Teacher and students will review Lincoln: A Photobiography.
2. As a class, teacher and student will break down the story in flow chart and classifying map of Lincoln's life in years and events.
3. Students will start researching Lincoln online to find more information using the primary source Lincoln: A Photobiography.
4. Students will gather their information, work in groups and then as a class to fit his life and events on a timeline.
5. Students will start the theatrical process of breaking down the timeline and acting Lincoln's life.

 CA Standards:

 

CCSS 5.1
Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

 

CCSS 5.2
Determine two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are supported by key details; summarize the text.

 

Development of Theatrical Skills

2.1Participate in improvisational activities to explore complex ideas and universal themes in

literature and life.

2.2

Demonstrate the use of blocking (stage areas, levels, and actor’s position, such as full

front, quarter, profile, and full back) in dramatizations.

 

Outside Sources:

http://www.alincoln-library.com/facts-about-abraham-lincoln.shtml -Facts about Lincoln.

http://www.screenwriting.info/ -How to write a script.

http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/quotes.htm -Quotes by Abraham Lincoln

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Arrival

by Shaun Tan

 

Part I

 

Tan, S. (2007) The arrival. South Melbourne: Lothian Books.

 

Genre: Graphic Novel, Multicultural

 

Grade Level: 4th-8th

 

Part II

 

This is my first graphic novel and I was very pleased to have picked it. Looking through the novel I could tell the man was leaving his family, looking for a better life to provide for his family, and entering a new world that was so different than what he was used to. The food, people, weird animals/creatures, customs, and basically, all the surroundings. I was clear that this novel portrayed the life of an immigrant and the differences from home to a new territory. I personally loved the attention he gave his family portrait. It was a great way to recap the acts as a symbol of why he was doing what he was doing. Many families have had to separate for financial reasons because they need to find a better life and I was happy to see that the story made it clear he was doing it for his family.

 

 

 

Part III

 

I could not have chosen a better graphic novel. I was very interested in this blog because it was very new to me. I feel the novel tells the same story to every reader, but it is interpreted differently because there are no words. This book could be viewed at any age, but the full understanding of it wouldn't be until forth grade and up, in my opinion. The book is broken down into to six acts, the pictures are sketched and sepia color, and each picture vividly explains what is going on. This is obviously a fiction graphic novel, but it historically portrays the life of an immigrant and the search for a new country for himself and family.

 

Part IV

 

Grade: 4th

 

Objective:

• Introduce students to the idea and act of immigration through the graphic novel, The Arrival.
• In journals, have students personally identify with The Arrival discussing their opinions of immigration and then collaborate ideas.
• Reflect their findings, opinions, and facts of The Arrival in a short skit.

Discussion Questions:

1. How did The Arrival show the act of immigration through the pictures?
2. Did you know that the theme was based on the new life through immigration?
3. How did the pictures give it away?
4. What obstacles did the character face in the new land?

Lesson Sketch:

1. Teacher will define immigration; Students will read The Arrival
2. Students will write their ideas, opinions, and facts from The Arrival in their journal.
3. Students will collaborate as a class with the teacher about their journal entries.
4. Students will be separated into six groups (one group per act) and will create a skit that reflects The Arrival.

 

CA State Standards:

 

Lesson based on introduction to:

 

4.4.3 Discuss immigration and migration to California between 1850 and 1900, including the diverse composition of those who came; the countries of origin and their relative locations; and conflicts and accords among the diverse groups (e.g., the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act).
4.4.3 Describe rapid American immigration, internal migration, settlement, and the growth of towns and cities (e.g., Los Angeles).

Outside Sources:
https://www.educationworld.com/a_sites/sites053.shtml- List of websites for teaching immigration
http://www.shauntan.net/books/the-arrival.html- Shaun Tan himself.
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/newamericans/newamericans.html - Stories of American Immigration