Book Smart: Teachers Who Read YA: YA F - Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz, 2012

Sunday, July 21, 2013

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.

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How to Participate

1. Email Sara Swenson (sara.swenson@edinaschools.org) and let her know you'd like to participate.

2. Complete this form (name, title(s) of the YA book, professional book and/or nonfiction book for teens that you will read). Everyone must read at least one book.

3. Register for the course in Keep Certified. Course name is "Book Smart."

4. After you finish reading your book, post an entry to the blog. Your entry should include the name of your book (in the title of the blog post), a one to two paragraph review of the book and a picture of the cover of the book. Also, include a comment about how you would connect this book to your curriculum or to your students. Next write a sentence or two about the craft techniques mentioned in "Close in on Close Reading" and how can implement one of them in your teaching. Finally, connect your book to a Minnesota Academic Standard. (Check out sample blog entry.)

RETURNING PARTICIPANTS: After you finish reading your book, post an entry to the blog. Your entry should include the name of your book (in the title of the blog post), a one to two paragraph review of the book and a picture of the cover of the book. Also, include a comment about how you would connect this book to your curriculum or to your students. Next, read Opening the Literature Window. Write a sentence or two about how you would use one of the six instructional strategies described with your students. Finally, connect your book to a Minnesota Academic Standard.

5. Continue to check the blog throughout the summer to see what others are reading and saying. Make comments on their blog posts. Our goal is to create a reading database of book and teaching ideas for teachers to use with students. Please have all entries in by August 11, 2014.

6. Come to our reading celebration on Wednesday, August 13 at 9 am in the EHS Media Center to share ideas and recommendations for using literature in your classroom.