Trapped

TRAPPED

How The World Rescued 33 Miners From 2,000 Feet Below The Chilean Desert

Marc Aronson

CBC/NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book

Atheneum Books For Young Readers

Copyright 2011

144 Pages

Inspirational, Enlightening, Motivational, Community, Hope

Trapped by Marc Aronson is an easy reading non-fiction text that discusses the Chilean mine collapse that captivated the world in 2010. The book takes the unique perspective of including what was happening both underground as well as above ground in order to help the 33 men trapped. The text is written in a chronological format and provides a great deal of facts about the tragedy. The objective outsider view that is taken by Aronson allows the reader to understand the sheer magnitude of the problem while maintain a grasp on the difficulties of solving the problem. Students will be able to sympathize with the miners as you learn that they were only able to eat a capful of food every three days at one point, as well as the fact that they had no way of taking a bath or shower until help arrived. Although the miners were ultimately able to escape, the adversity that those men faced is something students can use as motivation in their own life when times get tough.

Reading Level

Ages 10-14, Lexile Measure: 1070L

Suggested Delivery

Read Aloud, Group Read

Electronic Resources

This non-fiction selection is great for producing an interactive electronic infographic using a site such as piktochart.com. Below is an example of an inforgraphic that can be created using a timeline format and incorporating the important facts and/or events that occur throughout the book.

Another useful resource is the youtube video found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rW6Rtv9S8-k that shows the first miner exiting the mine through the Phoenix capsule. Using this in unison with the final chapter in the text is a phenomenal way to harness excitement and motivation for learning more about Chilean mine disaster. This video subtly shows just how emotional the rescue was for everyone involved while also showing just how ingenious the solution truly was.

Vocabulary

(Complete glossary in back matter)

·      Powerlessness – Having no control or power

·      Antagonize – Cause someone to become hostile

·      Bore – The inside diameter of a hole or drill bit

·      Feldspar – Mineralized rock often made as lava flow cools

·      Percussion – Loud sounds

Teaching Strategies

            Before – Using a KWL before reading Trapped by Marc Aronson is a great way to gain an understanding of what students already know about the San Jose mine collapse, what students want to learn about the disaster, and after reading, what the students have learned from the text. This comprehension strategy forces students to ask questions before reading and then monitor their comprehension during reading by ensuring that they answer those questions. This would be a great time to teach a mini-lesson on split page note taking in unison with modeling the KWL.

            During – While reading the text, model split page note taking using important dates and events throughout the text as a foundation for the left column. On the right provide supporting details that are found directly from the text in order to create a cohesive and focused note taking experience. After modeling the split page note taking strategy, divide students into small groups and allow them to read independently to create their own split page notes. After students have read a selection, allow them to share what they have within their group in order to add details.

            After – Students can participate in collaborative conversations by taking the point of view of reporters, trapped miners, or the rescue team. The three groups will converse with each other using their split page notes on ways to solve the mine collapse. By allowing students to take a role in the rescue of the miners they will be forced to use recall and schema thus increasing comprehension of the text.

Writing

Students can participate in creating an email to one of the parties involved in rescuing the miners. This can be directed towards a mining company, NASA, drill companies etc. Students will use the notes that were taken during reading to help them draft, revise, edit and finally publish (the teacher can even create fake email addresses to send the emails to and respond) their work.

Dead End In Norvelt

Dead End In Norvelt

Jack Gantos

2012 Newbery Award Winner

Scott O’Dell Award Winner

Published by Square Fish, an Imprint of Macmillan

Copyright 2011

341 Pages

Hilarious, Captivating, Sarcastic, Fascinating, Entertaining

Dead End In Norvelt by Jack Gantos is the humorous tale of small town living in rural America from the point of view of a young boy. As is the same as most young boys at Jack’s age, he decides to make the poor choice of reenacting a movie by aiming his fathers Japanese rifle at the local drive in movie theatre. What he doesn’t realize is the rifle had accidentally been loaded and when jack pulls the trigger he gets the surprise of his life as the movies become real. This unfortunate event ultimately leads Jack to become grounded for what seems like eternity. Although being grounded is among the worst things that can happen to a young boy during summer break, Jack finds solace when his mother recruits him to help the decrepit Miss Volker as she completes the obituaries for the original Norvelt citizens who have passed. Miss Volker has a knack for history and always includes an “On this day in history” with her obits. Since Jack has a never-ending fascination with history, the duo forms a strong working relationship that proves vital to the longevity of the town of Norvelt. When the Original Norvelters begin to pass at an unexpected rate, Jack and Miss Volker begin to suspect that there is foul play among them. Jack Gantos takes the reader on a literary rollercoaster that will make you laugh until it hurts and feel sorrow for the outdated town in this wildly humorous tale.

Reading Level

Ages 11-13, Lexile Measure: 920L

Suggested Delivery

Independent reading, Reading groups

Electronic Resources

            Using Jack Gantos’ authors website is a fantastic way to introduce the text to students. The “about” page tells the story of how Jack actually lived in Norvelt and was in a reading group called the “Blue Birds” which was for lower level readers. Having students read this and understand that even though they may struggle with reading now they can always become stronger with practice is a great way to increase motivation for reading as well as emphasizing text to self connections. The website also contacts a “contact” page that can be useful for sending letters to Jack Gantos from the class explaining why they liked, or disliked the text.

http://www.jackgantos.com

            Using the history page for the town of Eleanor, West Virginia is another useful electronic tool to aid in the comprehension of the story. Students can use the historical page for Eleanor and compare and contrast with the version that is explained to them in the Novel. This is a great exercise in literal comprehension as it will require using more than one text to compare and contrast as well as finding details in both informational and literary text. These concepts are directly correlated to the CCSS and can be incorporated into a Project Based Learning strategy involving groups. Along with the town of Eleanor website, students can also use the Arthur Dale Heritage website, specifically the page on New Deal Homesteads to find other towns that were similar to Norvelt. Since the novel is Historical Fiction, this aligns nicely with a social studies unit on the New Deal.

http://www.eleanorwv.com/history.html

http://arthurdaleheritage.org/history/new-deal-homestead-communities/

Key Vocabulary

·      Obituary – An article that pertains to someone’s death

·      Anemic – Deficiency of red blood cells

·      Abscond – Run away

·      Municipal – Local government

·      Cadaver – The dead body of a human being

·      Cauterize – Burn or sear with a hot iron

·      Barter – To trade

Teaching Strategies

            Before - There are a few tricky vocabulary words that are integral to the comprehension of the text and may need to be pre-taught. A wonderful strategy for this is to instruct the students how to use vocabulary cards to learn new words. Using a template the teacher should first demonstrate the process by picking a word, defining the word, providing a synonym, antonym, and then ultimately using that word in a sentence. Once the students have the vocabulary cards written they can participate in a “vocabulary toss”. This concept uses the vocabulary words on notecards taped to a beach ball. Sitting in a circle students can pass the ball from one to another and the word that is on top is the word that must be defined. Scaffold by allowing students to use their vocabulary cards and then remove the scaffold the next day to increase the challenge. This is a fun and engaging way to pre-teach vocabulary for the text.

            During – Due to the nature of this text, it is best read as an individual reading assignment over a few class periods. This provides a myriad of opportunities to use literature circles in order to model comprehension. Have students read the first five chapters of the story and then create a whole class literature circle in order to model the process. Have students come to class with at least three questions and two connections they have found within the first five chapters in order to have talking points for the discussion. Start the conversation with telling students just how miserable it can be to be grounded sometimes. This is a great time to incorporate a beach ball or other device that can be passed to ensure that only one student is talking at a time. The key to this activity is to make connections and work on further comprehension by allowing students to question not only themselves, but their peers as well. Be sure to emphasize strong academic language during this exercise and consider recording the conversation in order to ensure students provide their best discussion. Recording the discussion is also great for revisiting later in the story to determine if predictions were correct.

            After – Using the Poems for Two Voices activity is wonderful for Dead End In Norvelt. Students can start with creating a found poem using the pages in the story. Allow students to pick a selection of the book and pick out words that they will then rearrange to create a poem. This tactic takes the stress out of students who feel they are not strong in poetry and also allows for using the text in order to find specific examples. Once the found poem is created, students can initiate the Poems for Two Voices activity. Using pairs, have students create poems from opposing points of view such as Jack and his Mom, Jack and his Dad, Miss Volker and Mr. Spizz, etc.

Writing Activity

            To incorporate writing into the ELA experience for this novel, a teacher can easily have students create their very own obituaries and include a “This day in history” section to the end. This activity incorporates a challenging form of writing coupled with requiring research to complete the history aspect. Combine with a social studies unit for the ultimate experience!

The One and Only Ivan

The One and Only Ivan

Katherine Applegate

2013 John Newbery Medal Winner

Published by Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers

Copyright 2012

300 Pages

Emotional, Inspirational, Amusing, Heartfelt, Personable

The One and Only Ivan is a moving tale based on the true story of a silverback gorilla that was held in captivity at a mall in Washington and eventually moved to a more habitable zoo in Atlanta, Georgia. Katherine Applegate’s supreme character development ability allows you to create a personal relationship with each of the characters in the story. The sarcastic and humorous Bob keeps Ivan grounded as he works to formulate a plan in order to keep a promise to his longtime friend Stella. Although the story does involve the death of a character, the passing becomes the catalyst that stimulates Ivan to use his innate artistic talent to free the newest member of the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Arcade. Katherine Applegate has created an inspirational novel that will instill the morals and values that seem to be lost in our current society. Keeping promises is not always easy, but sometimes all it takes is motivation and persistence, and that promise can flourish into a future that is unimaginable.

Reading Level 

Ages 8-12, Lexile Measure: 570L

Suggested Delivery 

 Whole class read aloud combined with independent reading and literature circles.

Electronic Resources

Harper Collins provides a .pdf that contains a plethora of useful information and teaching resources for The One and Only Ivan, including an “About the real Ivan” section that provides factual information about the real life gorilla that Ms. Applegate based the novel on. This resource can be used as an initiation for the unit as well as deeper reading for students to gain a more personal relationship with Ivan. The .pdf also includes multiple discussion questions that students can use to further their understanding of the text.  http://files.harpercollins.com/HCChildrens/OMM/Media/One%20and%20Only%20Ivan%20UPDATED%20TG.pdf

The YouTube video “Ivan the gorilla lived alone in a shopping mall for over 20 years (The Urban Gorilla)” is a useful resource that shows the real Ivan, who is captive in what can only be deemed as an animal jail cell. The short clip shows how Ivan lived and talks with his handler who describes trying to figure out ways to keep Ivan engaged in his cage. He describes how he taught Ivan to paint (and give the painting back), which is a major event in the novel. The video clip provides a first hand view at just how terrible Ivan’s living conditions were and will be useful in setting the tone for just how putrid being a captive animal may be.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYYL2LxotA8

The One and Only Ivan is a great chance to incorporate technology into the classroom. The “MindNode” app (available on the Apple app store) is a fantastic organizational tool that can be utilized to create a mind map in order to keep track of characters and their relationships throughout the story. The MindNode app is easy to use and has several layouts that provide a customized feel to the organizational experience. Creating a visual mind map for students can be a tremendous game changer in terms of providing a lasting experience with the novel.

Key Vocabulary

·      Habitat – Space for living

·      Billboard – Giant sign, usually used for advertising

·      Big Top – Circus tent

·      Temperamental – Moody

·      Principles – A set of moral rules someone follows

·      Principal – The person in charge of a school

·      Squabbled – A mini fight or altercation

Teaching Strategies

            Before – The One and Only Ivan is a great book to use a cross-curricular approach with. Since the text is based off the true story of a gorilla living in a shopping mall it would be perfect for use with a science unit based on animals. One strategy that works well with the students is to create an interest survey about gorillas. For example, the teacher poses the question “what can you tell me about gorillas?” This will most likely be responded to with facts about a gorilla’s habitat, looks, and temperament, which will be extremely useful. Next, present the cover of the book and create an anticipation guide. Since the cover of the novel does not give away many clues to the story this will provide many interesting and thought provoking assumptions about the text. These tactics should be used to garner enthusiasm and a curiosity for the text. After all, its not everyday that a full grown gorilla is living in a shopping mall!

            During – There are many strategies that can be implemented during the reading process for this novel. One useful approach is using the fishbowl concept to encourage participation and engagement for the entire class. This can be accomplished by providing a lens by which two groups of readers can approach the story. The inner fishbowl can approach the book through the eyes of Ivan and the other animals that are kept inside the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade. The group on the outside of the fishbowl will take the point of view of Mack and George who run the mall and oversee the animals. Using this approach is sure to elicit debate over the ethics of holding animals in captivity, FOSTER THIS DEBATE! Allow the students to use academic language to explain why they feel one way or another by using facts found in the text.  

            After – A fantastic after reading activity to utilize for The One and Only Ivan is a reader’s theatre. This technique is especially effective when students concentrate on pages 207 – page 220 and pick one of four parts (Ivan, Julia, George, Narrator). This is a major turning point in the story where Ivan shows Julia the drawings he has created as part of his master plan. In order to read this selection with a high level of prosody, students must first have high-level inferential comprehension of the emotions that are experienced during this turning point in the story. This is a fun and interactive way to demonstrate comprehension of the text with your students.

Writing Activity

          Creating and publishing an op-ed article about Ivan’s conundrum of saving Ruby is a fun and engaging strategy to encourage your students to write. Students will use the different elements of informational writing to create a faux article about how Ivan plans to save ruby. Through this activity, will demonstrate knowledge of the elements of writing, using facts and opinions from the text in order to support their claim, and developing their own opinion in order to create and publish a final project. Teachers can use the template found at http://www.presentationmagazine.com/editable-newspaper-portrait-2800.htm

to create a realistic layout.