Insider Litcirc.model3

7/31/2019 Insider Litcirc.model3

1/22

PAMiddleSchoolLiteratureCircles

BloomS.Berg

Dr.Sherry

LiteratureforYoungAdults

INSIDER


2/22

Book Choices


3/22


4/22


5/22

Book Choices

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

The mysterious death of an eccentric millionaire brings together an unlikely assortment

of heirs who must uncover the circumstances of his death before they can claim theirinheritance.

The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

The city of Ember was built as a last refuge for the human race. Two hundred years later,

the great lamps that light the city are beginning to flicker. When Lina finds part of anancient message, shes sure it holds a secret that will save the city. She and her friend

Doon must decipher the message before the lights go out on Ember forever! Thisstunning debut novel offers refreshingly clear writing and fascinating, original characters.

Saturday Night Dirt by Will Weaver

Its a sizzling summer Saturday, and Headwaters Speedway has suddenly become the

place to be. Thanks to rainouts across the state, this small-town dirt track is drawing bothbig-time stock cars and local drivers. The impending rain might be exactly what they

need to keep her fathers speedway afloator sink it for good.

The Name of This Book Is A Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch

This is the story of a secret, and also a secret story. Cass and Max Ernest are twofriendless 11-year olds who come together to solve the mystery surrounding a dead

magician and the clues he left behind. Along the way they must solve puzzles and wordgames and face incredible danger to answer their questions.


6/22

Rationale for Book Selections

After analyzing the survey results of my literature circle students, I

could see that they had similar interests. They each mentioned liking

mystery novels, participating in sports (specifically racing go-karts and

motocross). Initially in my search for books, I sought novels that would link

to their interests in racing and provide an element of mystery. Some of the

challenges that I came across were taking into consideration the students

lexile levels, books that the students have already read, and the length of the

books. We were not provided with the students lexile levels while we

selected the books, so I had to make sure that I chose a book that would not

be considered too easy or too hard for each student. To give me some

guidance, I looked at the lexile levels of the books that the students indicated

in the surveys as having read in the past. This also helped lead me to similar

books that might interest the students as well. I was concerned about thelength of the books because, we have a limited amount of time to complete

them and students have to read them outside of school. If the book was too

short, then students might finish them too quickly and if the book was fairly

long, then students might struggle to finish it in time. The four books that I

selected represented a variety of subjects and genres that the students might

be interested in.


7/22

LiteratureMeetingReflections

Day1MeetingtheStudents

Todaywemetourstudentsfortheliteraturecircles.Weopenedupourmeetingwithatwotruthsandalieicebreaker.Acoupleoftheboysopenly

admittedhowtheydonotliketoread(almostlikeitsun-cooltolikeit).WepickedTheCityofEmber.Imexcitedtoreadit.Itwastheir2ndpick(SaturdayNightDirtwastheir1st)butonestudentdidnotreallyseemveryinterestedinreadingit.Ilet

themdiscusswhytheywouldratherreadonebookovertheotherandtheyfinally

decidedonTheCityofEmberbecauseeveryonehadaninterestinreadingit.BrandonjustrecentlyfinishedreadingTheHungerGamessoIthinkthatthismaybe

agoodmatchforhim,becausethebooksarealongthesamelines/premise.Withourfreetime,Iaskedabouttheirreadinghabits,whattheyverecentlyread,whatother

thingstheydooutsideofschoolandwhattheyliketowatchonTV.

Day2LearningaboutLiteratureCircles

Today,westartedtheclassbytracingourhandandwriting3-5wordswewouldusetodescribeourselvesontheinsideandontheoutside,3-5wordsthat

othersmightusetodescribeus.Someoftheiranswerswereprettyfunny.Thiswasahelpfulactivitytohelpmegettoknowthembetter.Becausenotallofthebooks

havecomeinyet,Icopiedthefirst3pagesforthemandwepopcornreaditaloud

together.Therewereacouplewordsthattheystumbledoveranddidntunderstand.Weagreedtoreadaround65pagesaweek.Fornextmeeting,wewillreadtothe

endofChapter3.Afterwereadthe1 st3pages,theyseemedveryexcitedtostartreadingit.Wewentoverthedifferentrolesinaliteraturecircle.Wepracticed

discussingbythinkingaboutwhatmightbeinthesecretboxmentionedinthe

passage.ImnotsureifMarcuswaspayingcloseattentionbecausewhenaskedaboutwhathethoughtwasinthebox,hereplied,whatbox.Heisveryenergetic

anddoesnotseemtohavealongattentionspan.Thelearningsupportteacherhad

toredirecthimacoupletimes.IhopethatIwillbeabletokeephimontaskduringourfuturelitcirclemeetings.FornextmeetingBrandonwillbediscussiondirector,

Justinwillbethequestioner,SeanwillbethesummarizerandMarcuswillbethecitationmanager.

Day3LiteratureCircle1ThefirstthingIaskedthestudentswasiftheylikedthebooktheysaidno,

notreally.ThefirstthingIthoughtwas,OY!andfeltdiscouraged.But,after

talkingtothemaboutwhytheydidnotlikeit,Idiscoveredthattheirreasonshadtodowiththeirconfusionoftheplot.Theywereconfusedwhytherewasnolight,why

therewasnooneelseoutsideofthecityandtheydidntunderstandthatthecitywasunderground.Iagreethatthosethingswerealittleconfusing.Thebooknever

outrightexplainsthatthecityisunderground,buttojustifythat,Idontthinkthat

thepeopleinthecityknowthattheyareundergroundeither.Itriedtodrawconnectionstootherthingsthattheymightbefamiliarinourdiscussiontohelp

them(connectittotheHungerGamesforBrandonwhohasreadthat).Theyseemed


8/22

moreexcitedwhenweleftandtheythoughtthatthediscussionwasgoodtoday.We

wereabletofillupthewholetimetoo,whichwasgood.Seanwasthesummarizerandhewrotedownsomeofthequestionsthatwediscussed.Funnyenough,he

wroteintextinglanguage.Likeyinsteadofwhy.BrandonwasthediscussiondirectorandJameswasthequestioner.Jamesdidaprettygoodjobkeepingwithhis

role,butBrandonstruggledtoknowhowtokeepthediscussiongoing.Theyforgotwhattheirrolesweresothatmighthavebeenafactor.Iadvisedthemtowritedownquestionsandtopicsastheyreadnexttime.WearereadinguntilChapter12for

nexttime.Hopefullythebookgetsalittlebitmoreexciting.Fornexttime,Iwantto

makesurethatIdontdominatethediscussion.ItseemedthatIwasbringingupalotofthingsandthenjustgoingwhatdoyouthink?Andgettingshortresponses.

Sometimesthatcreatedalongerdiscussion,butthingscoulddefinitelybeimproved.

Day4LiteratureCircles2

Todaywentfairlysuccessfully.Onedifficultywashavingeveryoneatdifferentpointsinthebook.JamesandBrandondidntreadfarenough.Seanwas

almosttotherightplaceandMarcusisalreadyontothesecondbookintheseries(almostdoneittoo!).Thereweresomeinterestingthingstotalkaboutinthesectionbutthediscussionwasntasfruitfulbecausewehadtospoilitforsomeofthemand

madeitmoredifficulttoparticipate.Imnotsurethattheyfullyunderstandtherolesbutaslongasthediscussioncontinues,Ithinkthatitfine.Onethingthat

seemedtobethrowingthemoffwasthemoviepicturesthatareattachedinthe

bookbecausetheydontexactlymatchthebookdescriptionsandsomeweresayingthattheywerepicturingitdifferently(especiallysomeofthecharacters).Ihavenot

seenthemovieyet,soIamnotsureifitisagoodrepresentationofthebookornot.ButIdoagreewiththeminthattheyaredifferentthanhowthebookwouldlead

youtoimagine.Theyseemtolikeitthough,whichisgood!Fornexttimetheyare

readinguptoChapter17.


9/22

Rationale

ForthisunitIwillbeusingthetextTheCityofEmberbyJeanneDuPrau.The

storytakesplaceinthefuturewhencivilizationisforcedtoliveundergroundina

manmadecitynamedEmber.Thecitizenshavebeeninthecityforsolongthatthey

donotknowaboutlifeoutsideofEmber.Theirisolationfromresources,however,is

makinglifedifficultandthecityisrunningoutofsuppliesandthelightsthat

illuminatethecityhavebeenflickeringalittletoomuchforcomfort.Studentswill

findaninterestinthemaincharactersthataretwelveyearsoldanddeterminedto

findasolutiontotheproblemthatitseemstheadultsarecompletelyoverlooking.

Althoughthisplanningclusterisgearedforalanguageartsclassroom,thisnovelisa

greatselectionforcross-curricularcollaborationinmath,science,socialstudiesand

economicsaswell.Thisplanningclusterwillhavethestudentsthinkingaboutthe

ideaofprogressandanalyzinghowsocietyaswholeandindividualsshiftand

changeovertime.Theywillbelookingatthepast,presentandfuturetofind

patternsinsocietybyanalyzingartifactsfromvarioustimes.

BigQuestion

Doestimealwaysleadtoprogress?Isprogressnecessarilyagoodthing?What

factorsplayintohowsomethingprogresses?


10/22

Lesson1ThePast

Objectives:

1. AfterreadingTheCityofEmber,studentswillbeabletodescribesocietalcharacteristicsofthecitizensinEmber.

2. Givenahistoricalartifact,studentswillbeabletoanalyzeitssignificancetosocietyandwhatitsaysaboutthetimeperiod.

3. AfteraclassdiscussionofthehistoricalartifactsandTheCityofEmber,studentswillbeabletodrawconnectionsbetweenthepiecesanddescribe

theprogresssocietyhasmadefromtheartifacttothefutureinEmber.

Materials:GreatDepressionandIndustrialRevolutionPictures

Introduction:InTheCityofEmber,thecitizensdonotliveluxuriousor

technologicallyrichlives.Thecityisrunningoutofsupplies,childrenstartworking

attheageof12andthegovernmentisstrivingtosettlecitizensfearthatthelights

willgooutforeverandtheirworldwillend.Studentswillstudyartifactsfrom

differentperiodsinhistoryanddrawconnectionstothelivesofEmberites.Whatdo

theseartifactssayabouttheprogressofsociety?Howmightweseethiskindof

situationagain?

Activities:

1. TheCityofEmber(10minutes)a. Asaclass,studentswilldiscusssocietyinTheCityofEmber.Howisit

similarordifferentfromoursocietytoday?Whatkindsofthingsdo

thegovernmentcontrol?WhatisimportanttoEmberites?Whatare

theirconcerns?


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b. Theteacherwillwritedownanddrawoutstudentsideasontheboardtoreferencelaterinthelesson.

2. SmallGroup(15minutes)a. Studentswillbesplitupinto3differentgroups.Eachgroupwillbe

givenanartifact(pictureandarticle)thatdepictsadifferentaspectof

societyfromU.S.History.

b. Studentswillreadthearticleandanalyzethepictureforhowpeopleinsocietylivedduringthistimeperiod.Howisitsimilarordifferent

tohowthecitizensofEmberlive?Howmuchhassocietyprogressed

fromthentonow?

c. Teacherwillhelpfacilitatediscussioninthedifferentgroupsasneeded.

3. LargeGroup(15minutes)a. Arepresentativefromeachgroupwillpresenttheartifactsthatthe

groupanalyzedanddescribehowitconnectstoEmber.

b. ClasswilldiscussasawholetheirideasofhowsocietyhasprogressfromthentonowandalsofromthentothefutureinEmber.

Assessment:Studentswillselectanartifactthattheyuseoftenorisrepresentative

ofsomethingimportanttothem.Studentswilllearnaboutthehistoryofthatartifact

andhowithasprogresseduptonow.Studentsaretobringthisitemintothe

followingclass,asitwillbeincorporatedintothenextlesson.


12/22

Artifact # 1


13/22

Childrenasyoungassixyearsoldduringtheindustrialrevolutionworked

hardhoursforlittleornopay.Childrensometimesworkedupto19hoursaday,

withaone-hourtotalbreak.Thiswasalittlebitontheextreme,butitwasnot

commonforchildrenwhoworkedinfactoriestowork12-14hourswiththesame

minimalbreaks.Notonlywerethesechildrensubjecttolonghours,butalso,they

wereinhorribleconditions.Large,heavy,anddangerousequipmentwasvery

commonforchildrentobeusingorworkingnear.Manyaccidentsoccurredinjuring

orkillingchildrenonthejob.NotuntiltheFactoryActof1833didthingsimprove.

Childrenwerepaidonlyafractionofwhatanadultwouldget,andsometimes

factoryownerswouldgetawaywithpayingthemnothing.Orphansweretheones

subjecttothisslave-likelabor.Thefactoryownersjustifiedtheirabsenceofpayroll

bysayingthattheygavetheorphansfood,shelter,andclothing,allofwhichwerefar

belowpar.Thechildrenwhodidgetpaidwerepaidverylittle.

Sources:

http://www2.needham.k12.ma.us/nhs/cur/Baker_00/2002_p7/ak_p7/childlabor.html

http://www.continuetolearn.uiowa.edu/laborctr/child_labor/about/causes.html


14/22

ARTIFACT # 2


15/22

Everyman,woman,andchild,oneverystreetineverytownacrossAmerica

wasaffectedinsomewaybythewar.EvenduringtheGreatDepressiontherewas

enoughfoodandproductsavailable,ifonlyyoucouldaffordthem.

AstheUSenteredWorldWarIIduringthewinterof1941,shortagesbeganalmost

immediately.Bynecessityoureconomyshiftedtowarproductionalmostovernight,

andconsumergoodswerenolongertoppriority.

IntheUnitedStates,nationwidefoodrationingwasinstitutedinthespringof

1942,whereeachandeverymemberofthefamily(includingbabies)wereissued

ration booksby the Office ofPriceAdministration (OPA). Thesebookscontained

stamps and gaveprecisedetails of the amountsofcertain typesof food that you

wereallowed.Rationinginsuredthateachpersoncouldgettheirfairshareofthe

itemsthatwereinshortsupplyduetothewareffortandimportreductions.Bythe

endofthewar,overahundredmillionofeachrationbookwereprinted.

Typesofrationingincluded:Uniformcouponrationing(sugarisanexample)

provided equal shares of a single commodity to all consumers; Point rationing

provided equivalent shares of commodities by coupons issued for points which

couldbespentforanycombinationofitemsinthegroup(processedfoods,meats,

fats, cheese); Differential coupon rationing provided shares of a single product

according to varying needs (gasoline, fuel oil); and Certificate rationing allowed

individualsproductsonlyafteranapplicationdemonstratedneed(tires,cars,stoves,

typewriters).

Citizenswereaskedtoturninoldtires,raincoats,gloves,gardenhoses,and

rubbershoesforrecycling.Tosaverubber,thegovernmentaskedAmericanstocut

back on their driving, to save gas by driving more slowly, and to share rides.

Gasoline was rationed nationwide inDecember 1942. Anything usingmetal was

rationed.Americanswereurgedtoturninscrapmetalforrecycling,andschoolsandcommunitygroupsacrossthecountryheldscrapmetaldrives.

Source:http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=1588

http://1940s.org/history/on-the-homefront/war-rationing/


16/22

Artifact#3

Nuclearairraiddrillswerepartofeverydaylifeforschoolchildreninthelate1940s

andearly'50s.Childrenweretaughtto"duckandcover"undertheirdesksandwereherdedintoschoolbasementsforperiodicairraiddrills.


17/22

Americanschoolchildrenwerebeingtaughtto"duckandcover"incaseof

nuclearattackandwerebeingherdedintoschoolbasementsforterrifyingbomb

drills.PattiZeck,afirstgradestudentatCarletonelementaryschoolonDetroit's

eastside,rememberedthefrequentdrillsthatsentstudentsandteachersscurrying

tothesteamtunnelsinthebowelsoftheschoolbuilding.Wemarchedquietlydown

intothebasementandlinedupagainstthecementwallshopingthatthesirens

meantjustanothersafetytest,andnottherealthing.

AstheColdWarbetweentheU.S.andtheSovietUnionescalated,fearofthe

bombandanxietyoverthepossibilityofanuclearwardrovemanyAmericansto

dugdeepintotheearthinanefforttosurvivewhatseemedatthetimethe

inevitablenuclearattackfromourenemies.OrdinaryAmericansbuiltbombshelters

intheirbackyards,oftenhidingthemfromtheirneighbors.

AnationwideAlertAmericacampaignsoughttoreassurepeoplethatsimplecivil

defenseprocedureswouldprotectthem.Bookletsandfilmsofferedsuggestionson

howtosurviveanatomicattack.Trailersandportableexhibitswereusedbythe

FederalCivilDefenseAdministrationtofamiliarizepeoplewithimagesofthe

catastrophiceffectsoftheatomicbombinthenaivehopethatthiswouldforestall

panic.Millionsofcomicbooksweredistributedtoschoolchildrenfeaturinga

cartoonturtlecalledBertthaturgedthemto"duckandcover"intheeventofan

atomicstrike.Metalidentificationtagssimilartomilitarydogtagswereevenissued

insomeschools.Spotterswereassignedtowatchtheskiesforanythingthatlooked

suspiciousoroutoftheordinary.

FromTheDetroitNews:

http://apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=48#ixzz1sM1o2V71


18/22

Lesson2:TheFuture

Objectives:

1. AfterviewingthemovieWALL-E,studentswillbeabletoidentifythecharacteristicsofthefuturesocietyandanalyzehowthishascontributedto

theircurrentsituation.

2. Afterclassdiscussion,studentswillbeabletodrawconnectionsbetweenthecitizensontheAxiomandthecitizensinEmber.

3. Afterclassdiscussion,studentswillbeabletoanalyzehowtheprogressofhumanityisportrayedinbothpieces.

Materials:CopyofWALL-Emovietobeviewedinclass,videoactivitysheet

Introduction:TheCityofEmberisasetinthefuture.Thepeopleunknowinglylive

inanundergroundcity,unawareofwhatliesbeyondtheircity.Whilewewatch

WALL-E,studentswillseewhatconnectionscanbemadebetweenthesetwo

versionsofwhatthefuturecouldbelike.Whatkindofprogresshassocietymadein

bothpieces?Whatdoesthissayaboutoursocietytoday?

Activities:

1. Wall-Ea. StudentswillwatchthefirsthourofWALL-Einclass.Themovie

willbebrokenupinto3segments(Wall-EonEarth,TheAxiom,

andWall-EontheAxiom).

b. Theteacherwillpausethemoviebetweeneachsegmenttoholdadiscussion

2. SmallGroupDiscussions(5minuteseach)


19/22

a. StudentswillcompareandcontrastthewaythatthefutureisportrayedinWall-EascomparedtowhattheyreadinTheCityof

Ember.

b. StudentswilldiscussinsmallgroupsandcreateaVennDiagram.Eachsegmentwillfocusonadifferentaspectofprogressandthe

future

i. Segment1:HowdoeseachpieceinterprethashappenedtoEarth?Howispastsocietyrepresentedorseenineach

piece?

ii. Segment2:HowdoeslifeonTheAxiomcomparetolivinginthecityofEmber?Howarethecitizensofeachplace

similaranddifferent?Whataretheattitudesofthegeneral

public?

iii. Segment3:WhatkindofprogresshasTheAxiomandthecityofEmbershownoverthetimeoftheirexistence?What

kindsofthingsorfactorshavecontributedtothis?

c. ThesmallgroupVennDiagramswillbeusedatthecompletionofthelessontocreateawholeclassVennDiagram

3. LargeGroupDiscussiona. TeacherwilldisplaythreeVennDiagramsontheboard,onefor

eachsegment

b. Eachgroupwillhavearepresentativecometotheboardandfillintheirgroupscontributions.Repeatscanbecombinedornotedwith

acheckmark.

c. StudentswillhavealargegroupdiscussioninvolvingtheircontributionstotheVennDiagramsandalsotheirdiscoveriesduringthemovieastheyrelatetothefutureandprogress.

Assessment:StudentswillselectanaspectorspecificcharacterfromWall-Eto

comparetoasimilaraspectorcharacterinTheCityofEmber.Studentswillcreatea

product(drawing,VennDiagram,writtenparagraphetc.)todepictthedifferences

andsimilarities.


20/22

Lesson3ThePresent

Objectives:

1. Givenamodernartifact,studentswillbeabletoidentifyitspurposeandhowitaffectssociety.

2. Givenamodernartifact,studentswillbeabletoprojecthowtheartifactmightchangeinthefutureincludingitsfunction,purpose,andimportance.

3. AfterreadingTheCityofEmber,studentswillbeabletofindpassagesinthebookthatreflectorcommentoncurrentsocietyshabits.

Materials:boxfortimecapsule,scissors,markers/crayons

Introduction:Wehavelookedatthepastandthefutureanddrawnconnectionsto

howwehaveprogressedandwillcontinuetoprogressintothefuture.Nowitistime

toanalyzeourlivesinthepresent.Whatkindsofthingsareimportanttoyou?What

couldyounotlivewithout?Howhastheworldchangedwithinyourlifetime?Based

onhowsocietyisrightnow,whatdoyouthinktheworldwilllikein10years?40

years?Howdoyouseeourmoderndayitemsandtendenciesarereflectedin The

CityofEmber?InWall-E?

Activities:

1. CityofEmber(10minutes)a. Withthepeoplesittingnexttothem,studentswillfind2-3passagesin

TheCityofEmberwheretheyreferencethepast(akaourmodern

time).HowdothecitizensofEmberviewoursociety

2. PersonalArtifacts(15minutes)


21/22

a. Teacherwillarrangestudentsingroupsaccordingtothecategoryofartifactthattheybroughtin(technology,entertainment,travel,

householditems,communicationetc.)

b. Insmallgroups,studentswillsharetheartifactthattheybroughtintoclassandtheresearchtheyfoundaboutthehistoryoftheartifact.

c. Somequestionstobeconsidered:Isthisprogressbeneficialordetrimentaltosociety?Whataresomeadvantagesanddrawbacks?

AreanyoftheseartifactstouchedoninTheCityofEmber?

d. Studentsshouldalsofindtheconnectionsbetweentheartifactsintheirgroup.Howaretheyrelated?Howdotheseartifactsinfluence

society?

3. ClassTimeCapsule(10minutes)a. Usingtheartifactsthatstudentsbroughtin,theclasswillcreateatime

capsule.

b. Studentswillcomposealettertothecitizensofthefuturewhowillbeopeningthetimecapsuledescribingtheimportantfeaturesoftheir

groupscategory.Besuretodescribethedifferentitemspurposes,

importance,functionetc.Includeanyadviceorwisdomyouhavefor

thecitizensofthefutureoracautionarytale.

4. WholeClassDiscussion(5minutes)a. Eachgroupwillhavearepresentativesharetheirletterwiththeclass

andwhattheydiscussedintheirgroups.


22/22

Assessment:Studentswillcreateatimecapsuledescribingtheirlivesinthepresent

andhowtheythinklifewillbeinthefuture.Studentsaretoincludepicturesoftheir

chosenartifactsandwrittenexplanationsofwhytheywerechosen,howitis

significanttosocietyaswhole.Studentswillincludeanartifactfromthepastand

selectanartifactfromourdiscussionofthefuture.UseexamplesfromWall-Eand

TheCityofEmber.Studentswillalsoincludealettertothemselvestobeopenedin

10yearsdescribingwhattheythinklifewillbelikeonapersonallevelandglobal

levelandwhatkindofprogresstheyhopetosee.

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