ELA 4 Novel Study:
Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
By Breanna Mills, Kerri-Lynn Hickman, and Terra Kaliszuk
Objective:
During this read-aloud novel study, students will practice thinking like readers and writers through various reading comprehension, questioning, and prediction skills. Students will track their thinking and selected comprehension activities in a mini-book.
TEACHER NOTE:
These strategies are designed to be versatile and most are not specific to Wonderstruck. Most of the suggested tasks, think-aloud strategies, and assessment ideas are transferrable to any read-aloud lesson or unit.
Curricular Connections:
1.1.3 share personal responses to explore and develop understanding of oral, print and other media texts
1.1.4 discuss and compare the ways similar topics are developed in different forms of oral, print and other media texts
1.2.2 use talk, notes, personal writing and representing to record and reflect on ideas, information and experiences
2.1.4 comprehend new ideas and information by responding personally and discussing ideas with others
2.1.6 monitor understanding by confirming or revising inferences and predictions based on information in text
2.2.2 identify and discuss favourite authors, topics and kinds of oral, print and other media texts
2.2.3 discuss a variety of oral, print or other media texts by the same author, illustrator, storyteller or filmmaker
2.2.5 make general evaluative statements about oral, print and other media texts
2.2.6 connect the thoughts and actions of characters portrayed in oral, print and other media texts to personal and classroom experiences
2.2.7 identify the main events in oral, print and other media texts; explain their causes, and describe how they influence subsequent events
2.2.9 develop own opinions based on ideas encountered in oral, print and other media texts
2.2.11 explain how language and visuals work together to communicate meaning and enhance effect
3.3.2 record ideas and information that are on topic
4.1.8 use an increasing variety of words to express and extend understanding of concepts related to personal interests and topics of study
Novel Study Pieces
This outline describes different tasks that students complete over the course of the book – the strategies are not presented in any specific timeline, and they can be implemented as they seem to fit with class discussions.
These strategies are also suitable for:
- Stand-alone reading lessons
- Other novel studies (ex. The Invention of Hugo, Starstruck)
Bookend Reflection Questions:
These questions are presented at the beginning and end of the novel study unit to prompt discussion and reflection:
· Before reading the novel:
If you had the choice between a book written entirely in pictures or text, which one would you pick and why?
· After reading the novel:
Which one point of view was more effective and why? Which was easier to understand? Look at what you said before we read Wonderstruck -- has your preference changed?
Mini-Book Thinking:
Students create mini-booklets of paper or index cards to keep track of their thinking – it is a safe place to write down personal thoughts, and students choose how to represent their thinking (i.e. drawings, writing, sticky note ideas) in their booklet.
Suggestions for Mini-Book Thinking Tasks:
· Thoughts, predictions, opinions, connections, and/or conclusions formed as they listen/view the novel
· Look For Tasks (see outline in the “Look For” section of this document)
· Compare thinking from the beginning, middle, and end of the novel study
· Use as a review tool
· Anything else that the teacher wants the students to write down.
Look-For Tasks:
Students complete Look-For Tasks during the read-aloud or during very short breaks in the reading (ex. 5 minutes) – they may record their notes in their mini-book.
Think like a Reader:COMPARING FEELINGS:
· Write down all of Ben’s feelings.
· Next day, write down all of Rose’s feelings.
· Last day, compare and contrast.
FAVOURITE WORD:
· Pick out your favorite word.
· What made it your favorite? Why is it important in the story?
QUESTION FLOOD:
· After each sentence, pause and have students ask questions that they think of based on that sentence.
Think like a Writer:
COOL VERBS:
· Write down 10 verbs.
· What is the most important/significant verb that you wrote and why?
DESCRIBING FEELINGS:
· What gave us the best description of a feeling?
IMPORTANT DETAILS:
· Write down 10 descriptions.
· What is the most significant to the story and why?
JUICY WORDS:
· Write down 10 juicy words.
· Which word is the most important to the story and why?
· What makes these words so juicy?
SWEET DESCRIPTIONS:
· Write down 10 descriptions. Look at your list. Pick one to draw.
Special Tasks:
Students will take a longer break in their reading where each student completes an activity outside of the read-aloud structure (ex. small group discussion, projects).
Think like a Reader:GROUP READ:
· Read in small groups.
· After each page, each person has to share something they got out of the section/page.
· If there are disagreements, they have to prove their points.
PICTURE THINKING:
· Enlarge pictures from the book of characters and places.
· Post pictures around the classroom.
· Students use sticky notes to add related details and clues as they read. These can be descriptions, inferences, details, conclusions, etc.
QUESTIONS:
· Write down 5 questions you have during the reading.
· At the end of the reading, pick one and give it to a friend to answer.
MY OWN LOOK-FOR:
· After several “look fors” have been done, have the students read a paragraph and they determine the look for.
· These look-fors could also be swapped with a friend/partner to add accountability.
Mini-Book QUOTE PAGE:
After encountering a quote in the reading, students have the opportunity to copy the quote down and write, in their own words:
· What the quote means, or
· Connections to the book and/or their own life, or
· Predictions about the story
Mini-Book PREDICTION PAGE:
· Students reflect to make predictions about the story based-on the readings, discussions, questions explored, and all other tasks completed up to that point.
Think like a Writer:
SPELLING LISTS:
Thinking about the reading for the week, teacher and students co-create spelling lists:
· Whole-class list
· Individual list
· Small group lists (differentiation)
Think like a reader and put your thoughts into writing:
PICTURE VIEWING:
· Look at a picture. You have 10 seconds to write down what you see.
· Repeat several times, each time for 10 seconds. This can be pair/shared or written down individually.
· What do the pictures show us?
o Reinforces the idea that you won’t always see everything the first time – we often have to go back and review and/or edit.
· Writing Task: Using the picture from the task above, as well as the key words they identified during the 10 second intervals, students will write a very short passage to answer: How might this picture sound in words?
Think-Aloud Suggestions:
These questions and suggestions can be used by the teacher to model their thinking aloud and share good reader strategies.
Making Predictions:· I have a prediction here! (Share your prediction and why you think that) Ask students to share their prediction.
· Oooh, I have a prediction here! Can you guess what my prediction is?
Upon noticing a really good description:
· Oooh, I love this description because . . . . Where could you use a description like this somewhere else, in a different context?
Upon noticing a difficult or interesting word:
· What do you think this word means? Discuss possible meanings, clarify the definition, and read the sentence aloud again.
· Hmm . . . I wonder what word I could use in its place? (Repeat the sentence with the original word, as well as the new substitution) Does using a new word make it easier to understand or do we lose effect of the original one?
· I’m wondering why the author chose to use this word instead of something else . . . what do you think?
Opinions:
· What do you think about this decision? Do you agree or disagree with the choice they made? Why do you feel that way? I disagree because . . . .
Characters:
· If I was Rose, I would probably feel like . . . because. Do you agree or disagree with me? If you were Rose, how would you feel?
Personal Connections:
· Wow, this really reminds me of the time when . . . . (Teacher tells a short personal anecdote, re-reads the sentence and makes the connection).
· I wonder what it would be like if I . . . .
o Example: Ben get hits in the ear and can’t hear. I wonder what it would be like if I couldn’t hear. Do you think people would write for me like Ben’s new friend Jamie did?
Picture Details:
· I can see a clue in this picture, and I’m coming up with a big prediction in my head. What do you see in the picture that might have caught my attention? What predictions can you make from what you’re seeing?
· Hmmm… there are a lot of really small details in this picture that really make me wonder what they mean. What do you notice in this picture?
o Example: p. 335 – The postcard to Rose was addressed to Miss Rose Kincaid. Kincaid refers to Kincaid Books, which seems to reveal a connection with Danny. What can you predict from this connection?
Connections to Hugo:
· Hmm… this book looks a lot like Hugo – Brian Selznick seems to like to draw a lot of shoes! What other connections do you notice about his art?
· Ben seems to be a lot like Hugo – they’re both alone. So what’s the difference between Ben and Hugo’s situation?
Assessment Suggestions:
Mini-Book Self-Assessment:STICKY NOTE FLAGS:
· Students use coloured sticky notes to mark certain entries in their mini-book and justify their choices. Suggested ideas for sticky note flags:
o Use a yellow sticky note to mark your two BEST entries – write why these are your best on each sticky note
o Use a pink sticky note to mark one Toss It entry – write why this entry is not your best work on the sticky note.
o Use a blue sticky note to mark one entry that shows an idea you are confused about – write why you are confused on the sticky note.
o Use a green sticky note to mark your best prediction – write why this was such a good prediction on the sticky note.
o Use an orange sticky note to mark the best question you asked – write what made this such a good question on the sticky note. Also, write the answer to your question on the note.
Other Assessment Suggestions:
CAUSE-EFFECT TIMELINE (Curricular Link: 2.2.7):
· Students identify a main event in the story. Students then create a timeline (in the format of their choice) that identifies the causes of that event, as well as the subsequent events caused by the main event.
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