A Semester of Sachar and Spinelli

* * * REMINDER: Kindly ensure you read through the course outline and pace, AS WELL AS learner and teacher expectations * * *

1) For COMPLETE ENGAGEMENT, learners will need the following to accompany them to each class:

-- the text we are reading (novel list shared below)
-- a three-ring binder specific for this course, with loose-leaf notebook paper
-- a folder for teacher-made printables (i.e. attachments, writing projects, homework, class activities)
-- pencils and/ or pens for writing

2) COURSE EXPECTATIONS:

-- The course outline (referenced below as NOVEL STUDY 'BREAKDOWN' and formally posted prior to class) has clear, well-paced reading assignments that are required to be completed in preparation for each meeting; please ensure that you come into each class being * up-to-date * on your reading. Every meeting directly relates to the readings and subsequent writing projects.
-- Writing projects and assignments go hand-in-hand with class readings. Care, best effort and mindfulness of due dates is an important student skill within this class. In addition, I nurture the knowledge that ‘all good writers are rewriters’; rewriting, when necessary, is a key part of our expression and is expected to be completed as part of the given writing project as a whole.
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-- As we are spending many weeks together in deep class discussion, respectful voices and listening ears is paramount to connecting to our personal/ social growth themed literature. While reader's opinions will be heavily encouraged and often varied (what additional flavor is added when we share our different thoughts!), each learner is expected to express themselves and communicate with respectful language. 
-- While I do not require learners to be muted, I ask respectfully that if you are in a space with background noise/ conversation, etc., please mute yourself to allow the other learners to hear me (and each other) clearly. If your 'environmental' noise is challenging the group's ability to hear me or one another during a lesson, I will discreetly need to mute your microphone.

3) LEARNER 'RESPONSIBILITIES':

In addition to the in-depth literacy aspect of this semester course, learner communication, attention to due dates and responsibility will be guided and encouraged in a warm and specific way. 

As the course grows in momentum, LEARNERS will:

-- Log on to class with all materials in hand
-- Check the Classroom between classes for posted notes and/ or attachments that need to accompany them to class
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-- Communicate with me when they need to. As you can expect and count on steady, consistent and nurturing communication from me, communication from my students is EQUALLY important. Whether we are working on something together, or I am communicating an area of one’s work that needs a revisit or rewrite, communication follow through is a student skill encouraged and expected within our time together.
-- Learn to utilize the teacher-made course outline (informally referenced to below as NOVEL STUDY 'BREAKDOWN'; to be 'formally' posted prior to the start of the course), complete with focused reading assignments for the entire course. 

The outline is additionally helpful for readers who fall in love with these books and can't help but read ahead! Checking the outline prior to coming into class will ensure we are only discussing the assigned reading and accompanying focused themes, as we don't want to give anything away to the other classmates.

4) WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT OF ME:

-- I am a firm believer in communication. Each written assignment (both worked on in and outside of class) will have a completion due date and get extensive, handwritten feedback/ verbal feedback/ encouragement/ celebration and, at times, possible revising from me. 
-- For any learners that need some assistance, brainstorming or further clarity on an assignment, ANY message sent to me will be replied to within 24 hours. I love questions and I love when learners check in; please always feel welcome to do so!
-- Any needed templates or attachments will be posted in the Classroom * * at least 24 hours prior * * to the class they are needed in.
-- While my connection and nurturing of all things literacy focuses on the extensive feedback element, I can issue a letter grade, upon request, at the end of the course. Please feel free to message me on the parameters that would encompass a letter grade.
-- I find that (often) the most difficult part of any writing process is the 'revisiting/ revising' portion. In my class, revising our work is * never * a bad thing or indicative of a job not done well; it's actually quite the opposite! If I suggest some revisions or add-ons, it is because each learner's voice is unique, valuable and I only want to hear MORE.

5) NOVEL STUDY 'BREAKDOWN': Specific class dates, reading pages, literacy elements, thematic text elements, writing focus/ lessons/ projects, potential sensitive topics. 

(* * IMPORTANT, IMPORTANT: Please keep in mind that daily themes and project dates are subject to be tweaked/ added AND to ebb and flow with change at times, based on what is best for the class * *)

* * As mentioned above, the NOVEL STUDY 'BREAKDOWN' will transition into a more 'formal' course outline that is posted prior to the start of the course * *

NOVEL ONE: Holes (by Louis Sachar)

-- Specific reading pages: 1-63/ 64-115/ 116-166/ 167-203/ 204-233

-- Literacy elements: Protagonist and antagonist roles, conflict, narrative (flashback, imagery, irony, symbolism), context clues, notable vocabulary.

-- Thematic text elements: Timeline storytelling and the role of history, character analysis and hardship, differing perspectives of right and wrong.

-- Writing focus/ lessons/ projects: Character backstories, character profiles, Compare and Contrast, business plans, etc.

-- Potential sensitive topics: The majority of the story takes place at a teenage detention camp, and weaves in elements of bullying, poverty, illiteracy and unfair treatment from those overseeing the camp. Other elements of the story are told powerfully from the past, which includes counts of prejudice: racial discrimination leading to immoral uprising acts.


NOVEL TWO: Fuzzy Mud (by Louis Sachar)

-- Specific reading pages: 1-47/ 48-90/ 91-135/ 136-183

-- Literacy elements: Author's purpose/ presentation, evolution of plot, making inferences, notable vocabulary.

-- Thematic text elements: Cautionary tales, effective storytelling, power of lies, friendship, black/grey/white areas, open endings.

-- Writing focus/ lessons/ projects: Opinion pieces, 'How To' informative guides, etc.

-- Potential sensitive topics: There are situations of bullying, fighting and name calling. The 'fuzzy mud' in question causes unseemly physical skin reactions, and ultimately becomes a pandemic.



NOVEL THREE: Maniac Magee (by Jerry Spinelli)

-- Specific reading pages: 1-37/ 38-67/ 68-99/ 100-135/ 136-184

-- Literacy elements: Omniscient narrators, tone, setting, style of writing, notable vocabulary.

-- Thematic text elements: Facts and legends, definitions of home, relationship dynamics, biased perspectives, town lines/ population injustices.

-- Writing focus/ lessons/ projects: Book quotes and realism, legend writing, poetry, etc.

-- Potential sensitive topics: Race division, angry prejudices and name calling within a segregated town is a prominent theme throughout Maniac's story. A few instances of children left to their own devices taking their father’s beer. An additional theme lies in Maniac being an orphan. 



NOVEL FOUR: The Warden's Daughter (by Jerry Spinelli)

-- Specific reading pages: 1-67/ 68-120/ 121-184/ 185-233/ 234-289/ 290-341

-- Literacy elements: Symbolism, foreshadowing and alluding, plot (focus on climax).

-- Thematic text elements: Unlikable versus complex characters, grief, anger and loss

-- Writing focus/ lessons/ projects: Using literary devices of foreshadowing and alluding, cause and effect, personal narratives, etc.

-- Potential sensitive topics: * *This novel contains more 'elevated' topics, importantly handled and interwoven to showcase the time period, character and necessary plot development* *

1) Cammie (our narrator) lives in an apartment above a jail, and has varying friendships with the female inmates. 

2) One of the inmates hangs herself (little detail).

3) A 'high-profile' criminal (he has taken the life of local girl) is caught and brought into custody within the jail. There are a few brief mentions of the crime. 

4) There are a handful of brief references to Cammie's best friend Reggie, who both looks and tries to act older than she is: smoking a cigarette, using how she dresses/ some early development to egg on attention from boys, romanticizing a high-profile prison inmate (until Cammie sets her straight).