This nonfiction book is a biographical story of Louis Zamperini, a WWII hero and former Olympic track star. The author takes the reader through the evThis nonfiction book is a biographical story of Louis Zamperini, a WWII hero and former Olympic track star. The author takes the reader through the events of Zamperini's life via an outside perspective, but the build-up in the beginning makes the reader feel more connected to the text. By starting from the beginning of his childhood, the narrator generates sympathy and love in the reader for the protagonist. Providing the reader with background information helps students to make inferences about the text, and draw connections between events in the past, present, and future. I would link this novel to reading and writing instruction by incorporating a strategy from Gallagher's "Write Like This" called "What My Childhood Tasted Like." For this exercise, students will be asked to describe what they believe Zamperini's childhood tasted like (supported with textual evidence), as well as their own childhood. This strategy urges students to think creatively about their own experiences, as well as draw on specific passages from the text to support their opinion....more
This collection of Anne Frank's diary entries while hiding from the Nazis is the epitome of Holocaust reading for middle school students. She was righThis collection of Anne Frank's diary entries while hiding from the Nazis is the epitome of Holocaust reading for middle school students. She was right around that age when she wrote it, so the students can more easily comprehend Anne's perspective throughout the novel. The book relates to perspective well in how the narrator can reach the audience of middle school students effectively, so that students don't have to think too hard about what she's saying. Because this book is so well-known, to incorporate a pre-reading strategy from Beers like "K-W-L Charts" would be a good way to spark interest. These charts can also be used as a reference point throughout reading the novel, and an assessment after finishing it....more
This nonfiction book tells the story of a 17-year old boy's journey from the capital of Honduras (Tegucigalpa) to the United States in an effort to reThis nonfiction book tells the story of a 17-year old boy's journey from the capital of Honduras (Tegucigalpa) to the United States in an effort to reunite with his mother. The story relates to perspective because it's a diverse book with a non-white protagonist (something that isn't focused on as much in school books). The high school I went to was 98% white, so providing a classroom in that area with this kind of text would encourage students to learn more about a culture/perspective that they haven't encountered as often. Hopefully, by effectively teaching this text, students will grow an appreciation for the culture they didn't know as much about previously. A strategy I would use to connect this text to both reading and writing instruction would be what Beers calls "Bookmarks." This exercise helps maintain student's focus while they read a text by marking unknown/unusual words or phrases, changes of setting/perspective, or any questions they might have. Since the main character comes from a different background, there may be many words that students don't initially recognize. "Bookmarks" is also a useful resource because of how it allows students to elaborate on whatever they chose to mark in the text with a 'comments' section....more
This nonfiction book is the first of a trilogy that details Elie Wiesel and his father's experiences in the concentration camps at Auschwitz and BucheThis nonfiction book is the first of a trilogy that details Elie Wiesel and his father's experiences in the concentration camps at Auschwitz and Buchenwald during WWII. Throughout the narrative, the author shows his disgust with humanity but simultaneously embodies the Jewish tradition of a new day beginning at night. The concept of perspective relates to this novel in how the reader can see the despair and anger that Jewish people felt during the Holocaust. Middle school students will have to picture themselves in the author's shoes to imagine what that intensity of persecution feels like. A pre-reading strategy that I would use to connect this text to reading and writing instruction would be an "Anticipation Guide" from Beers's "When Kids Can't Read." Before the students start reading the novel, I would gather a group of quotes from the text for the students to discuss/debate over as a class. An example of one of these quotes could be "Human suffering anywhere concerns men and women everywhere." Students could be assigned to groups that either agree or disagree with the quote, and must back up their position with supporting statements. Later in the unit, the students can return to these quotes and re-evaluate their opinions based on textual evidence....more
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