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Liberty and Justice for All? The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing

Liberty and Justice for All? The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing. Cynthia Benford and Becca Manery Chicago Teachers’ Center Northeastern Illinois University. Why teach this book?. Why teach this book?. Written in a language perfectly suited to the author’s purpose

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Liberty and Justice for All? The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing

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  1. Liberty and Justice for All?The Astonishing Lifeof Octavian Nothing Cynthia Benford and Becca Manery Chicago Teachers’ Center Northeastern Illinois University

  2. Why teach this book?

  3. Why teach this book? • Written in a language perfectly suited to the author’s purpose • Exposes readers to complex human dilemmas • Includes compelling, disconcerting characters • Explores universal themes that combine different periods and cultures • Challenges readers to reexamine their beliefs • Tells a good story with places for laughing and places for crying Carol Jugo,Classics in the Classroom, 2004

  4. Why is Octavian Nothinga difficult book to read?

  5. Difficult vocabulary Unfamiliar syntax Information withheld Discontinuous narration Unusual book format Genre-blending Indeterminate ending Requires prior knowledge Frames historical events in unfamiliar ways Complexity of characters and situation Emotionally wrenching scenes Why is Octavian Nothing difficult to read?

  6. My students already struggle with reading. Why should I teach such a difficult book? • Students who only read books at their independent reading level are not stretched as readers • Challenging text that is meaningful and appropriately scaffolded can be very engaging

  7. My students already struggle with reading. Why should I teach such a difficult book? • After graduation, college-bound students will have to read very difficult texts—without help. • We need to provide students with strategies for reading college-level texts before they go to college. • The goal is to make students confident, independent readers who know how to deal with difficulty.

  8. When teaching difficult texts, don’t forget to… • Teach some strategies in advance • Alternate with less difficult texts • Encourage students to continue reading books at their independent level • Watch for signs of frustration and adjust strategies or schedule accordingly • Provide additional support for students who need it

  9. Essential Question for this Presentation “What can we do, as teachers, to prepare our students to read challenging text at the deepest levels possible?” --Kelly Gallagher, Deeper Reading

  10. Framing the Text • Connects students to their own experiences and provides background knowledge • Helps students engage emotionally with the world of the book • Focuses the reading

  11. Framing Activities to UseBefore Reading a Major Work • Web searches • Anticipation guides • Theme spotlights • Focus poem • K-W-L-R charts From Deeper Reading by Kelly Gallagher

  12. Other Pre-Reading Framing Activities • Read a related story or article as a warm-up • Role-play some of the issues in the book • Discuss a related current event • Show a clip from a film • Bring in an artifact • Use guided imagery exercises • Listen to music related to the text • Bring in a guest speaker

  13. Define this word: Mumpsimus

  14. Mumpsimus(MUMP-si-mus) n. 1. a traditional custom or notion adhered to although shown to be unreasonable. 2. a person who persists in a mistaken expression or practice.

  15. Connect to Theme Have you ever had a belief you thought was true proved wrong? What happened? How did you feel?

  16. Seven Habits of Effective Readers • Activate prior knowledge • Create a focus for reading • Ask questions and make predictions • Visualize • Synthesize and summarize while reading • Draw inferences • Monitor and repair comprehension Modified from Teaching Reading in Middle School by Laura Robb

  17. Tools for First-Draft Reading • Visualization: Sketch to Stretch • Focus Question/Prediction Charts Concept-Definition Maps Character Charts • Monitoring Comprehension Trouble Slips Twenty Questions

  18. Resources for First-Draft Reading • Double-entry journals • Word books and word walls • Audiobooks • Videotapes

  19. Tools for Second-Draft Reading • Multi-layered timelines • Double-entry journal plus • Small group discussion

  20. Have students ask: • What does it say? (What is unsaid?) • What does it mean? • What does it matter?

  21. Post-reading Reflection • Asking deeper questions • Exploring real life connections to the themes and issues of the book

  22. A final thought “If my students are to have any chance of becoming deeper readers, I must do more than simply assign questions at the end of each chapter or pull worksheets from a file cabinet. There is a big difference between assigning students difficult reading and teaching them how to read deeply…

  23. A final thought “…This definition reminds me that I am a teacher, not merely an information dispenser; and as a teacher, I will enter my classroom tomorrow morning with the goal of helping my students learn what deeper readers do.” --Kelly Gallagher, Deeper Reading

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