When it comes to novel study the pros are the cons. What I mean is this: novel study gives you the chance to do a comprehensive, whole group reading of a quality grade-level text. BUT, comprehensive, whole group readings take a lot of time. Time that you might be pressured to use otherwise. So in order for novel study to work in most classrooms it needs to be: standards/common-core aligned directly tied to your larger curriculum organized (so you don’t squander valuable time) connected in some way to test prep The last one always got me in the classroom–when I have so little time to begin with, and a percentage…
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How to Chart an Emotional Plot During Novel Study
While re-reading The Girl Who Drank the Moon, I was struck by the role of emotion in moving the plot forward. Novels are always laden with emotion, but in this book emotion drives the plot in a unique way. This is mostly due to the role of sorrow in the book. Like magic, sorrow is a named and assumed power in the story–it shapes both characters and events. Ignatia rules through sorrow, and the characters find their freedom by piercing the fog that sorrow has created around them. This reminded me of the activities I made for my Labeling Emotions unit (part of my RULER bundle). These activities ask students…
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A Simple Way To Teach Symbolism Using “The Girl Who Drank The Moon”
Symbolism can be hard to teach. It’s one of those things you understand, but can’t easily put words to. When I try to define “symbolism” I find myself grasping for examples rather than definitions. In literature symbols are recurring objects that represent something (idea, emotion, truth) beyond themselves. Of course that may not mean much to students without some examples. In The Girl Who Drank the Moon there are several symbols that could garner a good discussion of symbolism. The ones I’ve chosen to focus on are paper, birds, and tigers. Symbol #1: Paper Paper comes up a lot in the book. Here are some examples: The Madwoman: Locked in…
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A Simple Way to Teach Theme Using “The Girl Who Drank the Moon”
When you ask your students to list themes they noticed in The Girl Who Drank the Moon, they’ll surely have a lot to say. It’s got all the big ones–good vs. evil, family, loss, etc. If you’re looking to lead a discussion on theme during your novel study, I’ve got some notes that might come in handy. Here are some themes I jotted down as I read: Memory The characters struggle with both the pain of remembering and the consequences of forgetting. Ultimately, the book suggests that it’s better to remember something painful than to forget it, because remembering offers a path forward. Here are some ways this theme comes…
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A Simple Way To Teach Irony Using “The Girl Who Drank The Moon”
When using a mentor text to discuss a literary device, you want to find a really clear example of that literary device. That’s one reason why The Girl Who Drank the Moon makes such a good novel study, it contains straightforward examples of climax, suspense, foreshadowing, symbolism and irony. Once again, multiple perspectives is the vehicle for our literary device–irony. By giving the reader access to multiple perspectives, the author allows us (the readers) to understand much that the characters are unaware of. Irony lies in the differences between what the reader knows and the characters know. Here are some examples: We know families and elders are wrong about the…
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How to Teach Foreshadowing Using “The Girl Who Drank the Moon”
By the end of The Girl Who Drank the Moon all the loose ends have been neatly tied up. This makes it an excellent jumping off point for a discussion about foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is best understood after the fact. So an easy way to discuss foreshadowing in The Girl Who Drank the Moon is to ask students how one of the big reveals at the end of the book was suggested by details throughout the beginning and middle of the book. Here’s an example… Using Big Reveals to Discuss Foreshadowing Big Reveal: At the end of the book we learn that the Protectorate was imprisoned by Ignatia’s greed for sorrow.…
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How to Celebrate Thanksgiving Without Losing Instructional Momentum (Reading Workshop)
If you’re looking to do something festive around Thanksgiving, but don’t want to derail your reading workshop with a giant interruption, you have some options. Here’s a look at my Thanksgiving mini-unit which aims to squeeeeeeze in some skills-based activities right before Thanksgiving break. 5 Thanksgiving Read Alouds for Elementary Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet, I LOVE this book. It’s beautifully crafted and it tells the origin story of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. I highly recommend this book. If you miss it in November, incorporate it into one of your nonfiction units later in the year. Turk and Runt by Lisa Wheeler, This one is a Thanksgiving Day comedy–so much…
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How to Teach Suspense Using “The Girl Who Drank the Moon”
The Girl Who Drank the Moon is a GREAT example of steadily growing suspense. The author uses multiple perspectives to keep the reader in the loop about impending danger. All of this culminates in a climax that is so straightforward it could be the quintessential example of climax. In short, you could use this book as your mentor text for both suspense and climax. Building Suspense Through Multiple Perspectives The reader is aware of growing danger for each character because we have access to multiple perspectives. The characters, on the other hand, are trapped inside their own perspectives, so they don’t see the danger coming, at least not as well…
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How to Teach the Italicized Sections of “The Girl Who Drank the Moon”
A long time ago, I saw something on Pinterest titled “Beyond PIE: Teaching Author’s Purpose.” It made me laugh because, as much as I love PIE, it gives student (and teachers) the impression that the author’s purpose always fits into one of three neat categories: persuade, inform, entertain. Of course a nonfiction book can be entertaining, and a novel can do much to persuade, so PIE only takes us so far. It can also obscure what I want to talk about today: author’s craft. When discussing author’s craft, we’re asking students to see beyond the page and infer the author’s motive, or purpose. What is the author trying to say?…
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How To Discuss Multiple Perspectives In Your “The Girl Who Drank The Moon” Novel Study
In The Girl Who Drank the Moon, Kelly Barnhill uses multiple perspectives to develop suspense, foreshadowing, irony, and theme. So before we get to these big ticket literary devices, it’s worthwhile to spend some time on the seemingly humbler topic of point of view and perspective. The Girl Who Drank the Moon is written in third person omniscient, but the author’s use of multiple perspectives deserves way more attention than the typical “What’s the point of view?” discussion will render. The real treasure lies in analyzing how the author uses multiple perspectives to build suspense, theme, irony, etc. We’ll get into this more in future posts, but here are some…
