December 2003     Vol.4 Issue 12

All Lesson Plans

Author

Suggested lesson plan for "From
book reader to best-selling author"

Possible hard words: Proper names: Christopher Paolini, Eragon, Alagaesia, Talita Hodgkinson, Church Universal and Triumphant, Corwin Springs, Montana, Paradise Valley, Yellowstone National Park, Livingston, David Eddings, Robert McKee, Beartooth Mountains, Carl Hiaasen, Knopf
Other words: fantasy, binge, survivalist, financial, accredited, precocious, imperfections, continuity, understatement

BEFORE READING: Have the young reader read the items from the list of possible hard words. Provide help as needed and keep track of the number of items needing help. If no more than three require help from you, ask the young reader to read the story silently. If four to six items are problems, ask him or her to read the story aloud to you. If seven or more need help, you offer to read the story aloud. In all three instances, point out that questions will be raised after the reading.

DURING READING: For the silent reader, offer to help out with any names or words if asked for help. For the one reading aloud, supply any troublesome words promptly to keep the oral reading fluent. If you read the story aloud, model fluent, expressive oral reading.

AFTER READING: Use questions such as the following to check comprehension and stimulate a discussion of the story.

1. What kind of a "binge" did Christopher go on before he decided to write a novel himself?
2. Besides reading, what else did Christopher do before actually setting down to write his own novel?
3. How long did Christopher work at creating the fantasy world and writing a first version of his book?
4. What signs did you pick up that Christopher's first novel is truly successful?
5. Have you ever dreamed of writing a book and becoming a successful author yourself? Describe your thoughts about it.

Lewis and Clark

Lewis and Clark headed to St. Louis

Possible hard words: Proper names: Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery, Scott Mandrell, Harper's Ferry, Va., Merriwether, Monongahela, Cairo, Hurricane Isabel, Tim Gore, Jim Strum, Camp Dubois, Bud Clark
Other words: reenactment, expedition, accommodate, debris, technology, coordinator, satellite, navigation, replica, pirogue, refurbishing, descendant

BEFORE READING: This short article has a high percentage of fairly hard words. Have the young reader read the list of possible hard words in order for you to ascertain how well he or she is likely to be able to read the article. Offer help with the items on the list and keep track of how many require your help. If no more than three items offer difficulty, ask the child to read the article silently. If four to six require assistance, ask the young reader to read the article aloud. If seven or more are overly difficult, you volunteer to read the article aloud. In all three instances, point out that questions will be asked afterward.

DURING READING: For the silent reader offer to help with any words if asked for help. For the one reading aloud, supply difficult words fairly quickly in order to keep the reading as fluent as possible. If you read aloud, model fluent oral reading.

AFTER READING: Use questions such as the following to check comprehension and to stimulate a discussion of the article.

1. What is the St. Louis connection to the reenactment in terms of participants?
2. Why did the reenactors start from Pittsburgh?
3. Point out some of the technology the reenactors are using that was not available to the original expedition.
4. Do you think today's reenactment is an important event? Why or why not?

Books

This month's book reviews

A teenager's fantasy novel that competes with Harry Potter on the best-sellers list

Christopher Paolini, at age fifteen, wrote the first version of "Eragon," which now edited and republished by a major publisher, is running near the top of lists of best-sellers for fantasy books for kids and young adults. The book is pretty typical of fantasy novels in general in that it is set in an unidentifiable location and era. The characters include humans, shades, dwarfs, elves, and Urgals. The hero in the epic fantasy is a teenager, Eragon, who happens to find a dragon's egg. The dragon, when hatched, bonds with the young man and together they make up a "Dragon Rider" team.

The novel is a coming of age story as Eragon goes from being an insecure youth to a powerful warrior who possesses both magical power and formidable skills with traditional weapons. He starts out with a goal of avenging the murder of an uncle who raised him and ends up fighting the evil ruler of the kingdom in which he resides.

The book includes a map of the terrain and a glossary of phrases from the varied languages of past and present groups that are involved in the plot. "Eragon" has an ending that sets the reader up for volumes two and three in a projected trilogy. Parents can safely encourage their eleven-year-old or older children to read this fantasy novel as long as they are pretty good readers for their age. It is available only in hardback and has 497 pages.

Can a novel deliver a serious message
while presenting one hilariously
comedic scene after another?

Author Stephanie S. Tolan, in "Surviving the Applewhites," demonstrates that through lots of wacky characters and one side-splittingly laughable scene after another a serious message or two can be effectively delivered. Tolan's two main characters are Jake Semple, an apparently incorrigible delinquent, and E. D. Applewhite, a young girl who loves order and structure, both trying to survive in a family of non-conforming individualists.

The first order of business is trying to keep all the cast of characters straight in this 216-page paperback. Keeping the characters straight is important because this little novel is basically a celebration of diversity. Even the animals have names and each of them has a role in the celebration.

Through Jake Semple, the author illustrates the irony in teen-age behavior where they become stereotypes in their efforts to demonstrate their individuality. Jake becomes truly an individual when he rises above his affectations. In E. D. Applewhite, the author illustrates that being an organizer who can bring order out of chaos is a talent as valuable as that possessed by any artist.

A kid's view of the federal government's
witness protection program

"Zach's Lie" by Roland Smith gives a fairly gritty view of what a kid might go through who finds himself a part of federal agents' efforts to protect family members of a witness from whom they hope to extract testimony to be used in breaking up a drug cartel. Zach, the young hero in the paperback novel, along with his mother and sister, are victims of crimes committed by the family's husband and father. The novel does a good job of showing the family's ambivalence. They are angry at what he has done to them in causing the loss of their comfortable existence, but they still love and miss him.

The author does a good job of telling a plausible adventure story while, at the same time, introducing young readers to the federal witness program. The ending is not sugarcoated. The family once again has to assume even a third set of identities in order to stay alive. There is no glamour or even a time to totally relax once the decision is made to hide.

A prize-winning children's book designed
to scare the wits out of young readers

Neil Gaiman, the author of "Coraline," among his many other awards has won the Bram Stoker Award. As you probably already know, Bram Stoker was the author of "Dracula." This should give you some idea of the kind of 'fright" novel that "Coraline" is.

For readers who appreciate and enjoy being scared out of their wits, this is a delicious little paperback. As a reviewer of kids' books, it is clear to me that the kid population is just as eclectic in its reading tastes as the adult population. However, if your child is prone to nightmares, you just might want to read "Coraline" before you encourage him or her to read it. The good news is that in the end the child heroine is able to overcome her other world adversaries. She even manages to save a couple of grown-ups along the way.

Movies

Suggested lesson plan for "Former
St. Louis kid in the movies"

Possible hard words: Proper names: Evan Peters, Screen Actors Guild, Tivoli Theater, Manchester, Michigan, Michael Picchiottino, Louise Fletcher, Jack Nicholson, Joe Williams, Alexa Vega
Other words: audience, veterans, extenders, encounter, auditions, recurring, episodes, meteorologist

BEFORE READING: In order to assess how well a reader might read this selection, have him or her read the list of possible hard words. Provide help as needed but keep track of how many items call for help. If no more than three cause a problem, ask the young reader to read the article silently. If four to six are problems, ask the young reader to read the article aloud. If seven or more items cause a problem, you offer to read the article aloud. In all three instances, point out that questions will be raised after the reading.

DURING READING: For the silent reader, offer to help with any troublesome words if asked. For the one reading aloud, supply troublesome words quickly enough to keep the reading reasonably fluent. If you read aloud, model fluent oral reading.

AFTER READING: Use questions to check understanding and to promote discussion. Examples follow.

1. Why was Evan Peters back in St. Louis?
2. What did Evan say about his acting experience in the first movie?
3. Why do you suppose Evan goes to so many auditions?
4. Do you think it is a good idea for Evan to have a Plan B? Why?

Poetry

Suggested lesson plan for "Kids find
out what 'onomatopoeia' means"

Possible hard words: Proper names: Keysor Elementary School, Abby Lewis, Megan Miener, Leah Davidson, Christine Hakenjos, Amy Glaser Gage, Connie McIntyre
Other words: onomatopoeia, unique, repetition, veterinarian, dolphins

BEFORE READING: Have the young reader read the names and words for the possible hard words list. Provide help as needed, keeping track of how many items called for assistance. Of the twelve items, if no more than three required help, ask the child to read the article silently. If four to six words required assistance, ask the young reader to read the article aloud. If six items called for help, you offer to read the article aloud to the child. In all three instances, note that questions will be asked after the reading.

DURING READING: For the silent reader, offer to help out with any names or words, if asked. For the child reading aloud, supply any troublesome words fairly quickly in order to keep the reading fluent. If you read the article aloud, model fluent, expressive oral reading.

AFTER READING: Use questions such as the following to check understanding and stimulate a discussion.

1. Explain what "onomatopoeia" means and give a couple of examples.
2. Do you think "Thanksgiving" is a good topic to write a poem about? Why or why not?
3. What other poetic devices were mentioned besides onomatopoeia?
4. How do you feel about poetry? Do you have a favorite poem or have you written any poems?

Music

Suggested lesson plan for "Two youth
symphony spots at age 12"

Possible hard words: Proper names: Nicole Schroeder, St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra, Webster University Community Music School, Powell Hall, Berlioz, Schumann, Prokofiev, Hiroka Yoshida, Nancy Bohm, Rockwood Valley Middle School, Austria, Volker Schroeder, Atfuko Schroeder, Chicago, Lawrence, Kansas, Anton Krutz
Other words: auditioned, composers, converted

BEFORE READING: Except for the proper names, especially of the composers, this article is fairly easy reading. Have the young reader read the list of names and words from the possible hard words list while providing any help as needed. Then ask the young reader to read the article aloud to you and be ready to answer some questions about it afterward.

DURING READING: Supply any names or words fairly quickly if they seem to be stumping the reader. The purpose is to keep the oral reading reasonably fluent.

AFTER READING: Use questions such as the following to check understanding and stimulate a discussion of the short article.

1. What two accomplishments does the article suggest set Nicole apart as a musician?
2. Even though she says she likes both instruments especially well, why do you think Nicole may be better at the violin than at the piano?
3. What was Nicole's advantage over the other campers when she went to music camp in Austria?
4. Why do you think it is a good idea for Nicole to have alternative career plans?

Profile

Suggested lesson plan for "A new school,
new goals for Young Achiever"

Possible hard words: Proper names: Logan North, Barnwell Middle School, St. Charles County, AAU Olympics, Busch Soccer Club, Holly Huntington Award, Duchesne High School, Missouri Assessment Program
Other words: challenges, saxophone, ligaments, tendons, midfielder, proficient, theoretical

BEFORE READING: In order to prepare the young reader for reading the article have him or her read the possible hard words list. Help out with pronunciations where needed. Then ask the child to read the article aloud to you. Point out that questions will be raised after the reading.

DURING READING: Provide fairly quickly any words that seem to be impairing fluency.

AFTER READING: Use questions to assess comprehension of the article and to promote discussion.
Examples follow.

1. What makes this year harder for Logan North than last year was for him?
2. Why was it a special honor to be selected for the Busch Soccer Club's 12 and Under Club?
3. What mistake did Logan make that ended up being painful and a setback to his playing in sports?
4. What are Logan's two possible career choices at this time?

Followup

Suggested lesson plan for "Young
hunter doesn't miss this year"

Possible hard words: Proper names: Forrest Ahrens, Weldon Spring Conservation Area
Other words: bagged, blind, camouflage, venison

BEFORE READING: This is an exceptionally short article, a follow-up on an earlier story. Have the young reader read the short list of names and words, providing help if needed. Then ask the young reader to read the article aloud. Afterward discuss the article. If interested enough in the topic, the young reader may want to go back to the earlier article linked to this month's story.

DURING READING: Supply any words quickly that seem to impair reading fluency.

AFTER READING: Questions such as those that follow may be used to stimulate discussion.

1. What mistakes cost Forrest a chance for success last season?
2. What did he do differently this season?
3. What fact indicates patience is the real key to being a successful hunter?
4. Are you interested in hunting deer? Why or why not?