YA - Looking for Alaska--John Green

John Green is a "young adult" author with a huge "human being" following. Students love his work for his intelligent portrayal of adolescent characters. He doesn't write down to them, but instead understands their world is just as important as the world of adults. Those of us who enjoy teaching so much would agree. Looking for Alaska is set in a boarding school in Alabama and Green assembles a group of unlikely but totally believable friends--the kid who has never had friends, really; the kid who has the system down and beat; and the smart and unachievable Alaska. The story is both a mystery--the chapters are titled "33 days before," "31 days before," "15 days after," and it takes awhile to understand the event is Alaska's suicide...well, the friends aren't sure it actually was suicide, and that is the mystery they are trying to solve. The book is full of the desire, longing, pain and joy of being a adolescent. Students who have read it put it only second to The Fault in Our Stars. I'd agree. I'm not sure the book holds up to the official close reading from Sara's link: "Close, analytic reading stresses engaging with a text of sufficient complexity directly and examining meaning thoroughly and methodically, encouraging students to read and reread deliberately. Directing student attention on the text itself empowers students to understand the central ideas and key supporting details. It also enables students to reflect on the meanings of individual words and sentences; the order in which sentences unfold; and the development of ideas over the course of the text, which ultimately leads students to arrive at an understanding of the text as a whole. (PARCC, 2011, p. 7)." There are some interesting problems to discuss, decisions to debate, but as I think about consideration of implications of individual words, sentences etc., it just isn't that deep. I think the purpose of this book would be more motivational, or supplemental--outside reading is where this fit for my students (student choice books read outside of class for pleasure). Many had come to junior year having already read this book for fun. Ditto for the Common Core. The most likely match (below) references characterization and implications of plot details. Again, the complexity of the text isn't that, well, difficult. But is sure is engaging. 1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text. 2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.

YA-HF-Dodger by Terry Pratchett 2012

Dodger is a 2013 Printz Honor book. The story takes place in London during the time of Charles Dickens.   Dodger is an orphaned  teenaged “tosher” who does his “work" in the sewers of London. By work, I mean he scours the mucky sewers for anything of value. He’s also been known to be somewhat of a petty thief, but mostly he’s a decent kid. Needless to say, Dodger is not very high on the social ladder. He encounters  a situation where a young lady is being assaulted and he rescues her. As the consequences of his involvement play out, it’s obvious that someone very important wants this girl dead and Dodger  can be of assistance to very important people because of his street smarts. This is a fast moving and highly entertaining story that keeps the reader on their toes and always guessing.  The elements of class and power are continuous themes and to make the story even more interesting a few well known people of that era like “Charlie”  Dickens as Dodger gets to call him,  Disraeli and even Queen Victoria make an appearance.  

I chose to read this because I’ve always wanted to read Terry Pratchett and I wanted an award winning book. So I didn’t do this with 6th graders in mind, but I would recommend this book as a challenging read to any student who was interested.  I would use this as a model for learning and teaching vocabulary.

 

Craft Technique 

Are there any hard or important words is one of the four basic questions students will have to answer YES to so they can understand and enjoy this complex story.

 

Words like “skint”  “shonky” “toffs”  “clobber” “peelers”  “mudlarks” “mumping”  had me  using my Nook dictionary more than ever!   The author does a decent job of using context to give the observant reader a pretty good idea of the meaning and that is what I'd teach. Additionally, some of these words have an element of class to them; as an example only lower class people would probably use the word shonky.  That would be thought provoking to teach that along with figuring out meanings.

 

Connection to MN  Language Arts Standards

 

Craft and Structure: 6.4.4.4 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.

Vocabulary Acquisition and Use 6.11.4.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 6 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies. a. Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence or paragraph; a word’s position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.

 

 

 

 

 

YA - Wonder, by RJ Palacio - 2012

RJ Palacio’s novel called Wonder tells a familiar tale of the ugly duckling.  August “Auggie” Pullman is the star of this story.  Auggie is born with severe facial deformities that nearly end his life.  Instead, for the first 10 years of his life we are told he is in and out of the hospital recovering from various surgeries.  By the time he turns 10, his family determines he is ready to flee the nest and go to school.  

Auggie is enrolled in a private school in New York City and quickly finds himself at odds with some students who choose to try and alienate him because of his looks.  While this is not new territory to Auggie, the few friends he has are faced with deciding to either supporting a friend or looking popular.

It is a timeless story about self-importance and doing what is right in the face of peer pressure. 

The book moves chronologically through the 5^th grade school year, filled with Halloween parties, science projects, choir concerts and even a two night overnight trip to a nature center where troubles abounds again for Auggie and his friends.

The formulaic ending is sincere with few surprises.  Yet the reader leaves the novel with a renewed sense of choosing kindness.

CRAFT TECHNIQUE – The author employs short sentence structure as the craft technique.  In addition, the chapters are quite short too.  This makes for quick reading.

The story is written over the course of one school year and that makes the setting easy to relate. 

CONNECTION TO MN STANDARDS

This novel could fit nicely into the sixth grade curriculum from a positive transitions point of view.  The central theme of kindness and courage pervades this book.

6^TH GRADE -6.4.3.3 Describe how a particular story or drama’s plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution. 

YA - Code Name Verity - by Elizabeth Wein - 2012

Elizabeth Wein’s New York Times best selling historical fiction novel, Code Name Verity was awarded the 2013 Honor Book from the Michael Printz Award for Excellence for Young Adult Literature. The book begins in Great Britain during World War 2.  The story focuses on two women who have varying levels of skill in supporting the war efforts.  Maddie is focused on flying planes.  While Queenie aka Verity has been trained as a German-speaking interrogator and spy.  Both women’s friendship grows throughout the novel.

As the war escalates, Maddie & Verity are called to duty to fly to France with the intent to destroy a Gestapo headquarters and interrogation center.  Maddie’s plane is hit and Verity must jump to allow a safe landing.  Maddie lands safely, but Verity is captured by the Germans.    

The story is written in a journal format beginning from Verity’s point of view.  Then it switches to Maddie’s and the stories become intertwined to reveal a shocking twist.

There is an over arching theme of breaking gender roles, not because it was important to either woman rather they had natural gifts that could be utilized at that time in history.

CRAFT TECHNIQUE: Tone and voice are craft techniques this author employs.  It is written in an informal manner in which conveys a conversational style that allows for quick reading.   Because the author chooses to narrate this story through a journal format, a mysterious and suspenseful adventure emerges.

CONNECTION TO MN STANDARDS: Throughout the novel, the pieces of history are carefully woven into the story.  But, I’m not entirely sure this novel could be directly tied to any Minnesota social studies standard.  Although it contains numerous tidbits of historical accuracy, i.e. women in the war, strategic air campaigns, but the overall theme of the book carries more weight towards spy thriller, espionage, and friendship.

At a minimum, this book could satisfy a reading benchmark for the 7^th grade language arts classroom.  This book could help students to contrast points of views of different characters.

Language Arts Standard

7^th grade reading benchmark:

7.4.6.6 Analyze how an author develops and contrasts the points of view of different characters or narrators in a text, including those from diverse cultures .

YA - Dairy Queen, a Novel by Cathrine Gilbert Murdock 2006

Dairy Queen takes place in rural Wisconsin on a dairy farm where the Schwenk family is running into a few problems.  Dad had surgery and is unable to do the milking chores or any other chores for that matter.  He is learning how to cook, which leaves D.J. to do most of the farm work from bailing hay and milking cows twice a day to painting a barn.  Her two older brothers are away at college playing football, who had a huge fight with their dad and now don't call home, and her younger brother Curtis is playing baseball, who never talks.  So D.J.'s summer is spent running the farm until one day she is asked to help train the next towns quarterback, Brian.  D.J. learns what it takes to support her family, figure out how to be a good trainer, what it means to be a friend, and how she can go out for football herself in the fall.  
I would give this book to young girls or any student in my classroom who are taking a chance on something.  In the story, D.J. is going out for football in a small town, where her dad used to be the assistant coach, before having to run the family farm business.  Her thought process on how to make this happen and believing in herself and what she can do is a great message to anyone taking a risk on something.  

CRAFT TECHNIQUE The character development in the book is perfect for discussing change over time and the causes of the character changes.  Students could find and discuss what and when you see the characters change, why they changed and what led to that change.  D.J. and the rest of her family, her crush Brain, and her best friend Amber have a change and finds out more about who they are as a person. 

CONNECTION TO MN STATE STANDARDS6.4.1.1 Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.6.5.3.3 Analyze in detail how a key individual, event, or idea is introduced, illustrated, and elaborated in a text (e.g., through examples or anecdotes).

YA F - Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz, 2012

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is about a young teenage boy, Ari (Aristotle), who is learning about his family and himself.  He is always wondering what his life should be and where he fits in.  He meets Dante at the beginning of summer at the pool, where Dante teaches Ari to swim and soon the two are best friends.  Ari has an older brother in prison who is never talked about at home, is having trouble with believing in himself and gets lost in his thoughts.  Dante is in love with art and poetry and has no problem letting people know how he feels.  Dante and Ari bond instantly and share their summer learning to become men and understand what loyalty and love mean.  

I would use this book in a classroom as a way to discuss anti-bulling and seeing things from different perspectives.  I would also use this book for students who have identified as being gay, as it is a love story between the two young men and how they discovered their own identities.  

CRAFT TECHNIQUE 

I would use this as a personal narrative and discuss the word choice and sentence structure in the book.  Dante and Ari discover new vocabulary from each other throughout the book as they share books and poetry.  Connecting to word choice, students could use the new words Ari and Dante find along with why that word is important to the story. 

The sentence structure is very purposeful in the book as well.  Ari is constantly thinking about his life, his family, Dante, and his truck.  His thinking constantly throughout the book which allows a great demonstration of how to use short sentences, even just a set of words to create a feeling from the passages.  

CONNECTION TO MN ACADEMIC STANDARDS 

Reading & Language Arts 

6.4.2.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.

6.4.5.5 Analyze how a particular sentence, chapter, scene, or stanza fits into the overall structure of a text and contributes to the development of the theme, setting, or plot.

EXAMPLE: YA - Little Brother by Cory Doctorow, 2007

Cory Doctorow is an author, journalist and blogger.  He is a huge proponent of liberalizing copyright laws and co-edits the blog Boing Boing.  His book Little Brother follows four teens around San Francisco following a terrorist attach on the Oakland Bay Bridge and the BART system.  These young people, led by the narrator Marcus Yarrow, must defend themselves against the Department of Homeland Security and its disregard of the Bill of Rights.  

When the book begins, life isn't all that great for Marcus and his friends.  They are constantly surveilled and monitored by the government.  Marcus and his friends learn to get around that by creating their own internet, the Xnet (named so because it runs off their Xboxes) and on the day of the terrorist attacks, that makes them a prime target of Homeland Security.

Marcus and his friends race around San Francisco attempting to elude DHS and when they are captured they see and experience even further erosion of their civil liberties.

This fast paced read would work well in US Government classes.  Students could track violations of civil rights and it could prompt discussion about the legal power of government agencies during time domestic crisis.

CRAFT TECHNIQUE: Sentence structure is a craft technique that this author employs.  The short sentences lend to a fast paced book.  As the characters are running around, evading Homeland Security, the short sentences and small paragraphs help lend to a sense of urgency.  Short sentence, small paragraphs and quick chapters are also appealing to students know self-brand themselves "non-readers."  Short chapters can help for students feel like they are accomplishing something and fast paced books also help keep "non-readers" engaged.

CONNECTION TO MN ACADEMIC STANDARDS  Social Studies.  Strand 1:  Citizenship and Government.  Sub-strand 2: Civic Values and Principals of Democracy. Standard 3:  3. The United States is based on democratic values and principles that include liberty, individual rights, justice, equality, the rule of law, limited government, common good, popular sovereignty, majority rule and minority rights.  Benchmark: Analyze the tensions between the government’s dual role of protecting individual rights and promoting the general welfare, the struggle between majority rule and minority rights, and the conflict between diversity and unity.  

Sample Entry

In the heading of your entry, put a label for the type of book read, a dash, and then the name of the book, followed by author name and year published.

For example:

YA - Little Brother by Cory Doctorow, 2007

In the body of your entry, put a one to two paragraph summary of the book.  Conclude your entry with a connection to your curriculum or how you might interest your students in reading this book.

Also include a picture of the book cover in your post.  

To do that, locate your book at a place like BN.com or Amazon.com.  Right click on the picture and choose "copy image URL".  Return to your blog post, click on the image icon in the Blogger tool bar and in the new window that appears, select "from a URL." Paste the URL from the picture in the box and click "add selected." The book cover will appear in your blog post, drag to the left hand side of the writing area and then start to write your blog entry.


Other entry classifiers to use are:

NF - for nonfiction
PROF - for professional reading

Next include your comments about what close reading craft techniques you would use this book.  Draw attention to that part of your entry by using this sub-header CRAFT TECHNIQUE.

Finally, connect your book to a Minnesota Academic Standard.  Draw attention to that part of the entry by using the sub-header CONNECTION TO MN ACADEMIC STANDARDS.  Include content area, strand, sub-strand, standard and benchmark.