BookClub:Grade12
TheCuriousIncidentoftheDogintheNight‐TimebyMarkHaddon
Summary:
MarkHaddon’sTheCuriousIncidentoftheDogintheNight‐Timeisacaptivatingstory
aboutChristopherBoone,anautistic15year‐oldboywhosetsouttoinvestigatethe
suspiciousdeathofhisneighbour’sdog.Thenovel,writteninthefirst‐person
perspectiveofChristopher,givesthereaderinsightintothemindofapersonwith
autism.
ActivityOne:
“Itlookedasifthereweretwoverysmallmicehidinginhisnostrils.”(p.17)
Anintroductoryperformancetojump‐startstudents’reading
LearningOutcomes:
Studentswilllisten,speak,read,writeandviewtoexplorethoughtsideas,feelingsand
experiencesaswellastorespondpersonallyandcriticallytooralandprinttexts.
ContextandRationale:
Inordertopreparestudentsforthisnovelandtoidentifyelementsofthefirst‐person
narrator’scharacterthatmaypresentobstaclestounderstanding,we’lljumprightinby
performingchapter31.Thischapterisheavyondialogueandfullofdetailsabout
Christopherandhismindset,andusessomeBritishvocabularythatstudentswillhaveto
getaccustomedtoreading.ThisactivityalsoallowsstudentstoencounterChristopher
beforeknowing(viathebookcover,forinstance)thatheisautistic.Fromthisactivity,
studentswillhavefirstexperiencedChristopheronhisownterms,withoutinterpretive
labels.Thiswillallowroomforauthenticdiscussionandcomparisoninfollowing
activitiesaboutwhatmakessomeone“normal”.(Nelson7)
GradeandTimeline:
Thisintroductoryactivitycanbeusedatanygradelevel.Studentsareactivelyengaged
withthetextimmediatelythroughperformanceandareremovedfromany
preconceptionsaboutthebook,sincetheydon’tknowwhatbooktheyarereading
from.Thisnovelissuitedtoamorematurelevelofstudentsasitdealswithmore
complexissues.Thereforeitismoreappropriateforgrade11or12students.The
activitywilltakeone60minuteclass.
Materials:
ScriptfromChapter31(enoughcopiesforallstudents)withenlargedmarginsfor
studentstomakenotesin
Whattodo:
Withnointroduction(i.e.don’tsay“Thisisfromthenewnovelwe’llbe
reading”),passoutLesson1script,oneforeachstudent.Askforfour
volunteers,onetoplayChristopher,onetoplayhisfather,onetoplaythe
inspector,andonetoplaythenarrator(i.e.toreadanythingnotinquotes,
includingthefootnote).HavingtwostudentsplayChristopherasnarratorand
Christopherindialoguewilldifferentiatebetweennarrationanddialogueaswell
asallowingmorestudentstoparticipate.
Askallstudentswhowillnotbeperformingtoannotatetheirhandouts(have
extra‐widemarginstoallowforthis).Theyshouldnote:wordsorphrasesthey
don’tknow;expressionsorreactionsthatseematallstrangeorthatdefy
expectation;wordsorphrasesthatarouseastrong(negativeorpositiveorin‐
between)reaction,foranyreason;anyquestionsorthoughtsthatoccurto
them,whetherfromthetextitselfortheperformanceofit.Thesedirections
shouldbeincludedonthetopofthescript.
Bringperformerstocenter(orfront)ofroom.Telltheclassthatthescenebegins
inajailcellthenmovestoaninterrogationroom.Fromthisinformation,have
therestoftheclassdirect(whileperformersremainsilent):howshouldthe
performerbesituated?Whatshouldtheirbodylanguagebe?Whattoneofvoice
shouldtheyuse?Thenlettheperformersactoutthescene.
Aftertheperformance,opendiscussiontoentireclass(performersincluded),
basedonwhattheynotedduringtheperformance.(Foraquitelargeclass,I
mightbreakthemintosmallergroupsfirst,andthenreconvene.)Wheredothey
thinkthisistakingplace?Whatisgoingon?WhoisChristopher?Whathas
happened?And,mostimportantly,how,basedontextualclues,dotheyknow
(orsuppose)thesethings?Andhowdidtheperformersfeel?Whatdidthey
thinkoftheircharacters?Whatwastheeffectofhaving,ineffect,two
Christophers?Perhapsthesequestionscouldbeonaworksheetforthemto
respondtoeitheringroupsorindependentlyaftertheperformanceandbefore
thewhole‐classdiscussion.(Nelson7)
AdditionalConsiderations:
Theeffectivenessofthisactivitywillvarydependingonthenatureofthestudentsinthe
class.Amoreoutgoingclasswillbemorewillingtoparticipateinandaddcreativityto
thepresentationaspect.Foramoreintrovertedclass,allowstudentstimetowriteand
considertheirresponsesfirsteitherinsmallgroupsorindependently,beforeengaging
inwholeclassdiscussion.
PersonalConnection
Ihavenothadtheopportunitytousethisexactactivitybuthavedonesimilar
performancepiecespreviouslyinagrade11IBEnglishclass.Byactingoutpiecesfrom
playsornovels,studentsareabletoseethestorycometolife,whichdeepenstheir
appreciationforandunderstandingoftheplot,aswellasengagementwiththe
characters.
ActivityTwo:
FoundPoetry
Playingwithwordsasanapproachtotone,voice,andtheme
CurricularGoals
Studentswilllisten,speak,read,write,viewandrepresenttomanageideasand
informationandtoenhancetheclarityandartistryofcommunication.
ContextandRationale:
Atthispoint,studentsshouldhavecompletedreadingthefirst43chapters.(Since
chaptersarelabeledinprimenumbers,thisisreallyonly30pagesorso.)
Inordertopromotestudents’understandingoftherelationshipbetweendiction,
syntax,tone,voice,andtheme,they’llconstructpoemsfromthesentencesthey
decidedwerethemostimportant(see“whattodo”below).Thisactivitywillprime
themtoreadcloselyandwilldemonstratetothemwhysuchattentiontodetailis
importanttounderstandingwhatisgoingoninthisnovel,whosemeaningiscompletely
boundupinChristopher’svoice.(Nelson15)
GradeandTimeline:
Thisactivitycouldbeusedingrades8‐12forvariousnovels.Foundpoetryisagreatway
tomakepoetrymoreaccessibletostudentsandengagetheminwritingtheirown.In
thecontextofthisactivity,itenablesstudentstodiscoverthesignificanceofwordsand
imagesthattheauthorhasusedinthenovel.Theactivityshouldtakeatleastone60
minuteclass,butitcouldbeextendedintofollowingclassesforstudentswhoreally
engagedwithwritingtheirownpoetry.
Materials:
Compilationofemailsthathavebeensenttoyou(enoughcopiesforallstudents)
Whattodo:
Intheclassprecedingthisactivity,havestudentsselectapartner.Students
should,viaanemail,decidebetweenthetwoofthemwhattheythinkarethe5
mostimportantsentencesinthesefirst43chapters.Studentscaninterpret
“important”tomeanwhatevertheywouldlike–mostimportanttotheplot,
mostinterestingsounding,mostcomplicated,moststraightforward,orany
combinationoftheseorotherideas.Theyshouldemailyouandprintoutthe
transcriptoftheirconversationandbringittoclass.Theyshouldalsonotewhat
theirreasoningwaswhenchoosingthesentences.
(Dependingonthegroupofstudentsthiscanbeanindividualhomework
assignmentaswell)
Giveeachstudentaprintoutoftheclasscompilation(whichwillhavebeencut
andpastedfromtheiremailsthenightbefore)ofallthesentencestheychoseas
themostimportantintheirreadingassignmentfortoday.
Askstudentstolookoverthesentencesandspendabout15minuteswriting
fromthemanoriginal,20‐line,titledpoem.Theymayusephrases,ortheymay
useonlysinglewordsinadifferentorderthantheyoriginallyappear,butthey
maynotuseawholesentenceasitexistsinthenovel.Thepoemsdonothave
tobeaboutthenovel.
Spendabout5minutesdiscussingwhatstudents’criteriawereforchoosingthe
mostimportantsentences.Isthereanyconsensusastowhatmakesasentence
important?
Askstudentstoreadtheirpoemsaloudthenaskthemwhattheynoticedabout
eachother’scompositions.Isthereacorrelationbetweenthewordsand
phrasesavailabletothemandhowtheyfelttheycouldusethosewordsand
phrases?Didtheyfindthemselvesawareofthewords’originalcontext?Did
theytrytoaligntheirpoemswiththatcontextorsubvertit?Wouldanyone’s
poemserveasanaccuratedistillationofthereading(chapters1‐43)?Whyor
whynot?Howisthis“paraphrase”ofthenovelunliketheoriginal?What’sleft
out?Whatmightbeenhanced?(Nelson15)
AdditionalConsiderations:
Theactivitywouldworkbestwithstudentswhohavebeenpreviouslyintroducedto
foundpoetry.Perhapstheunitshouldcomeafteraunitonpoetryortakesometimeto
introducetheconceptandprovideexamples.Theactivityalsohelpsstudentsdevelop
anunderstandingofwhatconstitutesanimportantsentence.Thisshouldhelpthemin
theirownacademicwritingwhentheyneedtochooseappropriatequotationstouseas
evidencefortheirarguments.
PersonalConnections:
Poetryofteninstillsalotoffearamongstudents.Themoreweexposethemtoitin
unassumingways,themorecomfortableandconfidenttheywillbeinreadingand
analyzingmorecomplexforms.Asastudent,IthinkIwouldhavebeenmore
comfortablewithpoetryhaditbeenincorporatedmorefrequentlyintonovelstudy.
Activity3:
“APicture’sWorth…”
ExploringMotionandStillness
CurricularGoals:
Studentswilllisten,speak,read,write,viewandrepresenttocomprehendandrespond
personallyandcriticallytooral,printandothermediatexts.
ContextandRationale:
Priortothisactivity,studentswillhavestudiedfilmandfilmterminologyandhave
watchedclipsfromvariousfilmsthatdiscussautismand/ortheideaofbeing“normal”
oroutcastsinsocietylikeRainManandBeingThereinordertolookforcertain
techniques,discusstheirrhetoricaleffects,begintoseeparallelsbetweenthetextual
featuresandvisualfeaturesoffilms.Inthisactivity,theirpriorknowledgeoffilmsis
appliedtophotographs.ThefocusofthisactivitywillbeonthestillphotosofDiane
ArbusandMaryEllenMark,bothofwhomhavedocumentedpeopletraditionallyonthe
fringesofsociety.Bynowstudentsshouldbemakingconnectionsbetweenearlier
discussionsofpointofviewinwritingandpointofviewinvisualmediaandwillbeable
todiscusswherethese2photographersseemtosituatethemselves.Theissuesof
Christopher’sbookasatextthatincorporateslanguageandpictureswillbebroughtup,
sothatstudentsmaybegintoapprehendandappreciatethisnovelasmorethana
typical“novel.”(Nelson34)
GradeandTimeline:
Thisactivityisrelatedspecificallytothenovelanditssubjectmatter.Duetothemature
content,itisbettersuitedtoagrade11or12class.However,asimilaractivitycanbe
appliedtoothernovelswithlesscomplicatedsubjectmatterandcouldbeusedinlower
grades.Thisactivity,incombinationwiththeprioractivityofwatchingvideos,willmost
likelytake4classes.
Materials:
Slidesofvariousphotographs
Whattodo:
ShowslidesofseveralofArbus’sandMark’sphotographs[followingthisactivity
areseveralrepresentativeimages.FormoreofMaryEllenMark:
http://www.maryellenmark.com]
Holdclassdiscussionofeachphotoasit’sbroughtuponscreen(asaclass),
remindingstudentstocalluptheissuesandvocabularythey’vebeenusingto
talkaboutthenovel,stories,non‐fictionwritings,andfilms.Pertinent
considerations:Arewemeanttoidentifywiththepeopleinthephotos?Howdo
weknowthat?Howarepeopleframed?Whatdoesthatframingleadusto
concludeaboutthem?Aboutthephotographer’sattitudetowardthem?How
wouldthesephotographerssituateChristopher?Hisfather?Hismother?
Siobhan?WouldChristopherlikehowhewasdepictedinthephoto?Would
anyoneelse?HowwouldChristopher’smotherframehim?Howwouldhis
fatherwanthimtostand?Wouldtheyusecolororblackandwhite?Encourage
studentstojotnotesintheirreadinglogsduringdiscussion.(Nelson34)
AdditionalConsiderations:
Inassessingthiseffectivenessofthisactivity,considerthefollowingquestions:
Didstudentsenjoythephotos?Didtheyhaveavarietyofreactionstotheseimagesin
lightofongoingconversationsaboutwhat’s“normal”?Didtheycontinuetomake
connectionsbetweennarrativetechniquesinlanguageandinphotosandfilm?(Nelson
34)Perhapsanextensionofthisactivitycouldbetoactuallyconstructtheirownimages
orfilms.
Photographs:Seenextpage
Resources:
Nelson,E.(2004).NovelUnitPlan.Retrievedfrom http://www.geocities.com/erinlnelson/CuriousDog.doc
Asylum Inmates, 1970-71 (Arbus)
King and Queen of a Senior Citizens Dance, N.Y.C., 1970 (Arbus)
A Jewish giant at home with his parents in the Bronx, N.Y., 1970 (Arbus)
Marina Campa (Batman's Grandmother), Kimberly Crown Circus, Mexico
City, Mexico, 1997 (Mark)
Miami Beach. South Beach, Florida, USA 1979 (Mark)
Leakey, Texas, USA 1991 (Mark)
