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.
Final Thoughts
14 years ago
I'm not sure if I agree with your comment that the novel should be taught "because of how easy it is to read". I mean, of course it's important to choose books at the student's reading level.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of the movie poster, but maybe if the students wrote a paper or gave a presentation with it to identify why they chose to represent the book the way they did.
I agree that when I first opened this book, I was hesitant about how the reading would go. It took me a couple of pages to get into it, but once I did, I didn't put it down.
ReplyDeleteI think that this book could be taught at all ages. Although the reading level does seem to be fairly easy, I think that high school students would benefit from it, as well.
I think something you could do with this novel is discuss the ideas of stereotypes and prejudices. I believe that stereotypes are something that all students should be made aware of, and not just certain ones. I think they should be exposed to all kinds so that they are able to see what goes on in the world. I have read ahead and finished American Born Chinese and I think that these novels could work together very well, showing the different stereotypes, but how they affect people the same.
I think you had some good ideas for activities to do with teaching this book. I liked the idea of acting it out as a project. I think this would be beneficial to students, and may help them understand the overall novel better.
ReplyDeleteI think that you could read this with your higher level students not just 8th and 9th grade. I would think this would also be a great book for those who are getting ready to go to College or even into the real world. It could help keep them from taking an easy way out when life gets difficult.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that it is an easy reading level and that it COULD be taught at the 8th or 9th grade level. What I am wondering though is what kind of discussion you want. I think you can get a lot MORE out of 10th - 12th graders, and the ease of reading wouldn't really matter.
ReplyDeletePerhaps it would make a good alternative assignment for higher-level students at the middle school level (compaction project, perhaps?) or a standard novel for lower level high school students. I'm going out on a limb when I toss out this question: Would lower ability students relate more to the character of Steve Harmon for any particular reason(s)? I'm thinking of some of the themes of this novel when I pose that question, not the diversity of students or socioeconomic class.
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