"It takes a graveyard to raise a child...

"Nobody Owens, known as Bod, is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn't live in a graveyard, being raised by ghosts, with a guardian who belongs to neither the land of the living nor the dead. There are adventures in the graveyard for a boy - an ancient Indigo Man, a gateway to the abandoned city of ghouls, the strange and terrible Sleer. But if Bod leaves the graveyard, he will be in danger from the man Jack - who has already killed Bod's family." - Back of the Book Summary (Citation found below in the description).

Students will have the opportunity to discuss, debate, create, organize, analyze, and more when completing this class as we read the novel The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. Each week materials for class will be posted within the classroom. All can be found in the average household. The only thing that will be need to be purchased is the novel itself. Explore the novel from the perspectives of literature, art, history, and more!

Each week's assignments are to be posted in the classroom so that students have a chance to share their work, provide feedback to one another's work, and to get exposure to other people's knowledge, experiences, and thoughts!

Week One:
     - Introduction to The Graveyard Book
     - Book Trailer Watch Party
     - Introduction to Journal
     - Introduction to Literary Terms of Focus
     - Look at the Reading Schedule and Weekly Assignments
Week Two:
     - Gothic or Fantasy, The Great Debate (and Element Chart)
     - Hooks and Introductions to Stories
          - Create your own hook to a gothic, horror, or fantasy novel!
     - Setting: The Graveyard
          - Design your own graveyard!
Week Three:
     - The Significance of Names
          - What do names symbolize and what can they symbolize?
          - What does your name mean? Sharing Activity
     - Symbolism in Colors Activity
          - Developing Your Own Symbolic Identity Activity
Week Four:
     - Metaphors in the Novel
          - Write your own metaphors for characters and settings.
     - Witches around the World! A Research Activity
          - Mini-Presentations and Discussion
     - The Black Plague, Devastating Disease or Saving Grace?
Week Five:
     - Foreshadowing and Cliffhangers (Writers' Best Friends)
          - Writing Cliffhangers Activity and Challenge
Week Six:
     - Fear and Basic Human Instincts
          - What would you do? Activity
     - Real-Life Examples of Men and Women Responding to Fear
     - Epitaphs: What are they?
          - Write your own epitaph!
Week Seven:
     - History of Grave Art
          - Create your own rubbing!
     - Discussion of Plot Development and Climax
          - What is the climax of the story? Plot Diagram Work
Week Eight: 
     - Theme - What is it and why is it important?
     - Read "The Pauper's Drive" Poem
          - Write our own poem as a group!
          - Write our own individual poems and share!

Gaiman, Neil. Mouse Circus, Harper Collins Publisher LLC, 2020, www.mousecircus.com/the-graveyard-book-a-harper-
             classic/9780062667038/.