Book Thief

This book was def one of the better books we have read in this class. I loveeedd the perspective because of how different it was! Death? wow. Even though the whole time I was picturing the Grim Reaper (spelling? I have no idea) from that family guy episode where he keeps trying to kill Peter Griffin...

Anyway, I would def teach this book. I think it will fit in well with history class too when they are teaching about the Holocaust, then they can connect it to this novel. I also think the perspective, use of colors, and literary terms can be taught and analyzed. Also, there are plenty of other novels to connect it with, such as "Number the Stars," or "Night." Plus movies, and I am sure some TV shows or youtube videos have something on the Holocaust. I am a firm believer in not just analyzing and recognizing the plot line, but by getting the point across in a fun way. As a student, I always loved when teachers put on a clip of a movie, or tied it into a tv show we all watched. Actually, I still do love it.

Some activities that can be done with this book is maybe have them draw their own novel expressing a difficult time in their life (such as Max did). Maybe you could even have them tell their story through their parents' point of view. Also, I found this website when looking up things on the Book Thief because I was so interested, and one idea was to: have students create their own Rorschach test by using paper towels and food coloring. The food coloring is dropped onto one side of a folded paper towel. The paper towel is folded to create an identical two-sided image. Images are shown before the class and the students tell what they see. This demonstrates how differently we “see” the very same things, and ultimately how unique our personal view or narration of an event or story can be.

The website has a lot more ideas if anyone wants to check it out... http://english.byu.edu/Novelinks/Novel%20Pages/The%20Book%20Thief.htm
it even connects it to the novel, "To Kill a Mockingbird," which I would have never of thought about.

American Born Chinese

The only other graphic novel I read was, "Mouse," in tenth grade. It connected with the novel, "Night," which I remember thinking how awesome it was that our teacher did that, especially since we were so sick of Holocaust books and learning about it. But "Mouse" brought in a new element and we were able to discuss the two books much easier than we were with just reading "Night."

Like Mouse, this book was a fast and enjoyable read. However, it confused me a bit. I think I was trying too hard to make assumptions to how they were connected, that I messed up who was who once they started being each other. If that makes any sense. But if it does, I think that the fact that I confused them, helps prove to the reader how easy it is for people to lose their own identity and become someone else because it is easier. This fits in with the article we read because instead of being creative and coming up with their own ways, new teachers often follow their own teachers to form their lesson plans. What he is trying to say is that we shouldn't be afraid to be ourselves and stray away from the curriculum. 

I think "American Born Chinese," can be taught in school, but the way "Mouse," was taught to me. I do think that substantial novels should be the primary novels taught. Like in the article, when he was describing the two teachers lessons, the novels that he listed were the standard novels that we read when we were in high school. I know we should establish our own identity when teaching, but it is still possible to do whether or not you use a certain book. 

Monster

Before reading "Monster," everyone told me how fast the story flies by, and although I did not believe them at the time, it truly did. When I first opened the novel, I have to admit I let out an "ugh," because I hateeee reading books that are structured like this one. It took my a while to get used to it, but once I did, I realized that the story did seem to fly by. I would def. teach this novel in my english classes because of how easy it is to read, and how much is in the story that there is to teach.

I really liked the moral of the story. Kids that will be reading this book should only be in 8th to 9th grade I think just because the level of reading is too easy. However, this is the age where kids tend to fall into the wrong group of friends. I think that if there are some kids who are involved in such crime that Steve or Boo were in, then they would be interested in reading this (hopefully) and would realize the consequences that can come with a crime as simple as being a lookout. Though, I must admit, that I am thinking about how it was when I was in 8th or 9th grade, and crimes such as a holdup, were not done by high school students, so it is hard for me to imagine kids doing something of that sort.

I also think that this story can be beneficial in teaching literary terms, such as setting and conflict. Although it would be great to teach a book for the love of reading, we still have to incorporate what will be on the standarized tests. The setting in this novel is beneficial because of how much it changes with his flashbacks, and also because of the brief descriptions he has as part of his movie script. It would be good to have kids draw their favorite scene, or maybe act it out as a project, for the visual learners to grasp the story. Maybe they can even draw their movie poster, or write a review on the movie. I think it is very student friendly and can enlighten them.