13
Phillip Teixeira
Prof. Coiro
EDC 448
10/31/07
Diverse Text Set
Survival
Context for using the text set: This text set on survival is intended for a Language Arts class ranging from grade 7-10. The ability level of the students will need to be with in accordance with their GLE. Students who are severely below their GLE have the potential to struggle with this text set, and will need special attention. This text set will highlight survival both mentally and physically. Certain specific text sets, (like Night and The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Online Exhibit, or Hatchet/A Cry in the Wild for example) have been chosen in different forms (text and visual media), allowing students to see different interpretations/perspectives of the same piece.
A. Print Sources
Text 1- Fiction Novel - The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
· Citation: King, Stephen. (1999). The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. New York: Scribner.
· Text Summary: Trisha, a nine-year-old girl is hiking with her recently divorced mother and brother. Trisha steps off the path and loses her mother and brother, becoming alone in the Maine wilderness. Trisha starts to lose her sanity from being alone in the woods, and the only bright spot on her days is listening to the Boston Red Sox on her walk-man, specifically her favorite pitcher, Tom Gordon.
· Rationale: I selected this text because while there may be some “inappropriate” classroom behavior/etiquette/language used in this text, it mostly occurs after Trisha becomes separated from her family. On top of this, the character is nine years-old, helping my age demographic identify with Trisha, the protagonist. Finally, it involves the Boston Red Sox, (recent World Series champions), and seeing I would like to teach in a New England based school, students can further identify with this sports theme.
· Use of Text: This text shows not only the physical strain that survival in the wilderness can cause, but also the mental strain. As stated, while Trisha endures many physical hardships, the mental strain begins to take its toll on her as well, as she begins hallucinating and such.
· Attachment: Not attached, book is 272-pages.
Text 2 – Fiction Trade Book - The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon: A Pop-Up Book
· Citation: King, Stephen. (1999). The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon: A Pop-Up Book. New York: Little Simon
· Text Summary: A pop-up version of the previous text, which is much more condensed.
· Rationale: I would use this trade book because of the vivid images it offers, giving my students a visual of the book they are about/have just read. This is the biggest question I have, whether I should read this text to my class prior, or after reading the novel, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. I would have to say, I would read this text both before and after. This way, I can activate the students’ prior knowledge, and give them a visual of what they’re about to read, and after so they can once again be enlightened and refreshed about this editor’s/illustrator’s interpretation of this text.
· Use of Text: By using this trade book in conjunction with its novel counterpart, it allows my students to see the story both visually, and in a different perspective. Coupled with this, I can have my students analyze which key parts of the story were left out/embellished.
· Attachment: Not attached, book is too big.
Text 3 – Fiction Novel - Hatchet
· Citation: Paulson, Gary. (1987). Hatchet. New York: Aladdin Paperbacks.
· Text Summary: Brian, a 13-year-old boy is flying up to Canada to visit his father when one of the planes engines fail, and sends the plane plummeting to Earth, killing the pilot in the process. The only tool Brian has for survival against the Canadian wilderness, is a hatchet, which was given to him as a gift.
· Rationale: I selected Hatchet because it, in my opinion, is a classic. While some may feel this text is geared more towards a male audience, I disagree. The story is told well enough that both female, and male audiences can find this text interesting, and informative as well. On top of this, as mentioned, Brian is 13-years-old, once again, right around the age demographic of my students, increasing the chances that my students will identify with Brian.
· Use of Text: Due to the many symbols and motifs revolving around survival, and considering Hatchet is a staple of the survival genre, this text would be read first by my students, introducing them to the theme of survival. This could allow students to easily recognize the theme of survival as it is seen not only in texts in this set, but most literature in general where applicable.
· Attachment: Not attached, book is 192-pages.
Text 4 – Fiction Novel - Lord of the Flies
· Citation: Golding, William. (1964). Lord of the Flies. New York: Putnam.
· Text Summary: A group of school children, all boys, become plane wrecked on a deserted island. Initially, the boys begin to create a somewhat civilized society, but considering the age of these children, (in their early adolescence), this civility does not last long. Eventually the boys brake into two factions, displaying the breakdown of this civilization and its inhabitant’s psyches.
· Rationale: I selected this piece because, once again, we find another classic, and staple of the survival genre. Like The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, The Lord of the Flies displays not only the physical hardships that the need for survival causes, but mental as well. The reader is able to see the characters start out with human behavior, and eventually resort to what many would describe as basic, animal instincts.
· Use of Text: I would use this text to show my students the emotional/mental toll the need for survival can tax onto a human being. What’s different about this text in comparison with the previous three, is this text shows survival as a group, versus survival as an individual, which could spark intellectual class debate or comparison and contrast papers between these two concepts.
· Attachment: Not attached, book is 192-pages.
Text 5 – Fiction Novel - Night
· Citation: Wiesel, Elie. (1960). Night. New York: Hill and Wang.
· Text Summary: An incredibly eye-opening account of a ten-year-old youth’s time spent at various Nazi death camps, including Auschwitz. Night is a true story by Elie Wiesel, highlighting the departure of his family and youth, and displaying the disintegration of Elie’s faith, fmaily and the Jewish community.
· Rationale: I selected this text because not only does it highlight one person’s survival through unexplainably inhuman conditions, but also this is a part of our history as human beings. On top of this, Elie, the main character, is only ten-years-old while this memoir occurs, making students realize not only how lucky they are to live in the time period they do, but also what life was like, for what could have been one of their peers. Like The Lord of the Flies, Night differs from the previous texts in that, now other humans are creating this need for survival onto other humans. Undoubtedly, students would need to be walked through this text as there are many graphic recollections and images. Despite this, the text can be used in conjunction with a history lesson, and with another interactive, online text, which will be mentioned shortly.
· Use of Text: I would use this text in conjunction with a fellow colleagues history lesson. Along with this, this text can be used with The United States’ Online Holocaust Memorial Museum Exhibit. Once again, this text, and the online museum may be graphic, and a lot for children of this age demographic to handle, but I believe with proper assistance from myself, (or teachers in general), can be a piece that opens students eyes to the actualities of what occurred during the Holocaust.
· Attachment: Not attached, book is 109-pages.
B. Media Resources
Text 6 – Song – Alive by Pearl Jam
· Citation: Vedder, Eddie. (1991). Pearl Jam. On Ten [CD]. New York: Sony Records
· Text Summary: This is a Pearl Jam song from their debut album Ten. This is a song written by Eddie Vedder recollecting the time when he was 13 years-old and his mother told him that who he though was his biological father, was not. Vedder was a young adolescent when he found this out, and to top this off, at this time he was informed that his biological father died before he could ever meet him. During this time Vedder went through much inner turmoil, and used this wrote this song as an anthem for his survival, crying out in the song’s chorus, “Oh I, oh, I'm still alive.”
· Rationale: I selected this piece because, aside from being a huge Pearl Jam fan, as soon as I knew I would be covering the theme of survival, and saw we could include music, this song immediately came to me. Students are so used to having to read text and look for themes, this would get auditory learners involved by listening to the music, visual learners involved by reading the lyrics, and tactical-kinesthetic learners involved by going through the lyrics and finding examples of the narrator’s use of survival.
· Use of Text: I would use this text after reading any one of the previous print resources. I would make copies of the lyrics for the students to read along while listening to the song, and have them highlight examples of survival as scene in this song. From there I could have the students do a quick write, pointing out, and explaining their examples.
· Attachment: See attachment 1 for a copy of this text.
Text 7 – Videotape - A Cry in the Wild
· Citation: Griffiths, Mark (Director), Corman, Julie (Producer), Cyran, Catherine (Writer), & Paulsen, Gary (Novel and Screenplay Writer). (1990). A Cry in the Wild [Motion Picture]. United States: Concorde Pictures.
· Text Summary: A Cry in the Wild is the film version of Hatchet, just under a different title. The characters are the same, the plot line, for the most part, is the same, and the setting is the same as well.
· Rationale: I selected A Cry in the Wild, because, as stated, it is the film version of Hatchet, and it can be used in conjunction with the text Hatchet. This allows students, once they have read Hatchet, to watch a film adaptation of a book they have just read, and make commentary on similarities and differences.
· Use of Text: Once the class has finished reading Hatchet, they would watch A Cry in the Wild, and could comment on the similarities and differences between the two versions. Aside from reinforcing the idea of survival as it is seen in literature and film, through an expository piece, some students could get their first exposure to critiquing a film adaptation of a novel.
· Attachment: See attachment 2 for movie poster.
C. Online Interactive Resources
Text 8 – Game/Simulation - The Oregon Trail
· Citation: Oregon Trail [Computer Software]. (2002). San Francisco, CA: The Learning Company. (Macintosh/Windows Version).
· Text Summary: Oregon Trail is a survival-based simulation computer game, taking players on a journey across the country on the Oregon Trail to head out West. Players must stock up supplies wisely as they make their treacherous trek across the wild frontier, this coupled with 8-bit hunting creates the perfect survival simulation game. On top of this, Oregon Trail provides informative and insightful fun for students of all ages. Watch out for dysentery!
· Rationale: I selected Oregon Trail because it provides students with a safe, hands on way to test their newly acquired knowledge about survival in video game form! Aside from being a survival-based simulation game, Oregon Trail is educational about the hazards and problems that pioneers on the western frontier endured, and the choices for survival which they needed to make.
· Use of Text: I would use Oregon Trail in conjunction with my colleagues teaching about American history during the gold rush period, and as a writing assignment for the students. How you ask? I would have students write a pioneer journal about the experiences they have endured during their quest for survival across the Oregon Trail. This is allow an informative way for students to not only learn about survival on the Oregon Trail, but hone in on their journal writing skills.
· Attachment: See attachment 3 for a still shot of the game.
Text 9 – Online Museum - The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Online Exhibit
· Citation: (n.d.) United States Holocaust Memorial Museum | Exhibitions. Retrieved October 28, 2007, from http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/index.php?content=online/
· Text Summary: This is an online edition of The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. It allows students to view different sections of the Holocaust like Rescue and Resistance, Children, U.S., Anti-Semitism, et al. This not only provides students with visuals of the horrors that occurred during the Holocaust, but also the living conditions that humans had to survive through.
· Rationale: I selected this piece because it can work in conjunction with Night. With parents’ permission, students would be able to read up further on the cruelties that occurred during the Holocaust, and be provided with a visual as well. Furthermore, students would be able to navigate through sections, which they desire, appealing to tactical-kinesthetic and visual learners.
· Use of Text: Prior to reading Night, students could visit The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Online Exhibit to activate prior knowledge about what they would be reading, acting as almost a cautionary note. Then, once Night was completed, students could revisit this online exhibit and further their knowledge about Night, and how people survived during the Holocaust.