Kolson Rdged704 Final Project Web Version

KATE OLSON

2009

Natasha Friend Unit Plan RDGED 704 – Final Project

Kate Olson

S U B M I T T E D T O : S H A R R O N M C E L M E E L – P R O F E S S O R – U W - S T O U T

Kate Olson - 2009 Page 2

Natasha Friend Unit Plan 2009

Table of Contents

Project Description………………………………………………………………………….3

Unit Outline…………………………………………………………………………………5

Appendix 1 – Icebreaker…………………………………………………………………….9

Appendix 2 – Natasha Friend……………………………………………………………….11

Appendix 3 – Perfect………………………………………………………………………..12

Appendix 4 – Lush…………………………………………………………………………..14

Appendix 5 – Bounce……………………………………………………………………….15

Appendix 6 – References……………………………………………………………………16

Appendix 7 – Reflection………………….…………………………………………………18



Project Description:

This project is an author unit plan based on the books Perfect, Lush, and Bounce by Natasha

Friend. This plan is developed for use in a girls’ middle school book club run by teachers and guidance

counselors. The club would be an after school activity for students, so would be entirely optional, and is

based around books appealing to teenage girls (ages 11-14) and that involve sensitive topics relating to

this age/gender group. If possible, the group would be for 8th

graders, but if there is not enough interest,

it would be opened up to younger grades as well. The group’s focus topics include, but are not limited

to, eating disorders, parent remarriage, and parent alcoholism. The three books at the base of the unit

deal with these topics and offer insight into different topics that teenage girls might be dealing with.

The main activity involved in the book club, besides the reading, will be generating discussion

questions and then sharing these questions and discussing possible responses at the next session. Not

only will the discussions help with understanding and coping in relation to the issues, but they will help

students engage in reading and comparing/contrasting characters and situations. Having students

generate questions will be a gradual process, building on skills learned in their reading classes,

especially Question-Answer Relationships. While the club is outside of the school day and will be

focused on relationships and the joy of reading, it will still be aiding the students in reading

comprehension and analyzing skills.

While the book club could certainly continue after completing Natasha Friend’s books (or could

continue with her fourth, due out in Spring 2010!), there will be a final project in which members of the

book club have the opportunity to jump into the life of one of the main characters and record a audio or

video diary from the perspective of that character. These diaries will be shared with the group and a

wider audience if possible.

Acclaim for Literature Chosen:

Retrieved from: http://www.natashafriend.com/Awards.html

BOUNCE (Scholastic, 2007)

One of NYPL's Best Books for the Teen Age, 2008

LUSH (Scholastic, 2006)

International Reading Association Y.A. Choices for 2008

Rhode Island Teen Book Award, 2008

A.L.A. Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, 2006

PERFECT (Milkweed Editions, 2004)

Isinglass Teen Book Award, 2008

Golden Sower Award, 2007

Black-Eyed Susan Award nominee, 2007-2008

http://www.natashafriend.com/Awards.html



Book Sense Pick, 2005

Milkweed Prize for Children's Literature, 2004

Objective:

After reading Natasha Friend’s books Perfect, Lush, and Bounce, students will be able to

recognize and compare/contrast experiences of teenage girls in different life experience

situations

discuss the central themes and compare them to their own lives and other literature

generate discussion questions

Target Audience:

Students — girls, ages 11-14, grades 6-8 (primary focus on 8th

graders)

Academic Standards:

Wisconsin Language Arts Model Academic Standards

A.8.2 Read, interpret, and critically analyze literature.

Identify the defining features and structure of literary texts, such as conflict, representation of

character, and point of view

A.8.3 Read and discuss literary and nonliterary texts in order to understand human experience.

Identify common historical, social, and cultural themes and issues in literary works and selected

passages

Materials Needed:

Student and teacher copies of Scholastic’s Perfect, Lush, and Bounce – it is important that you

have the Scholastic versions of at least Perfect and Lush as this unit plan utilizes the guides in

the back of the books – Eating Disorders Resources for Perfect and Alcoholism and Domestic

Violence for Lush

Pencils for ―Wright Family‖ Icebreaker

Audio and video recording equipment for final project

Website for publishing of final projects



Unit Outline/Timeline

The group will meet once per week for 45 minutes. The majority of the reading will be done outside of

class with discussion and analysis occurring during sessions.

*”Highlight” circle time is the intro period for each session – group members sit in a circle and share

the highlight of their last week. Ground rules include only positive reinforcement and that everyone has

to share a highlight.

Session 1 - Introduction:

1. Greeting and icebreaker activity (see Appendix 1)

2. Introduction to Natasha Friend (see Appendix 2)

Session 2 - Perfect

1. ―Highlight‖ circle time

2. Booktalk on Perfect (see Appendix 3)

3. Read aloud Chapter 1

4. Discuss Chapter 1

5. Assign Chapters 2-5 to be completed before next session + 1 Discussion Question per member

per chapter

Session 3 - Perfect:


2. Discuss Chapters 2-5



per chapter





4. Assign Chapters 12-15 to be completed before next session + 1 Discussion Question per

member per chapter

Session 5 – Perfect:





per chapter








per chapter




3. Eating Disorder Resource Discussion (led by guidance counselors) using Resource Guide at the

end of the book. (See Appendix 3)

Session 8: Lush


2. Booktalk on Lush (see Appendix 4)




per chapter

Session 9 - Lush:





per chapter

Session 10 - Lush:





per chapter

Session 11 – Lush:







per chapter

Session 12 - Lush:



3. Alcoholism Discussion (led by guidance counselors) using Resource Guide at the end of the

book (See Appendix 4)

Session 13 - Perfect/Lush


2. Compare/Contrast Isabelle in Perfect and Sam in Lush

3. Role play how Isabelle and Sam would react in different situations based on their life

experiences

Session 14 - Bounce


2. Booktalk on Bounce (see Appendix 5)




per chapter

Session 15 - Bounce:





per chapter





4. Assign Chapters 15-18 to be completed before next session + + 1 Discussion Question per

member per chapter

Session 17 – Bounce:







per chapter




3. Read aloud pages 163-168

4. Assign Chapters 23-24 (starting with page 169) to be completed before next session + 1

Discussion Question per member per chapter




3. Blended Families Resource Discussion (led by guidance counselors - see Appendix 5)

Session 20 – Final Project/Discussion #1


2. Compare/Contrast Isabelle in Perfect, Sam in Lush, and Evyn in Bounce

3. Each member brainstorms and chooses the character she most relates to - shares with group

which character and rationale



2. Members write scripts for podcasts/video diaries in the voice of their character

3. Members rehearse and gather materials for production at next meeting



2. Members record their audio or video diaries

Session 23 - Final Project/Discussion #4


2. Members share their audio/video diaries

3. Final party! OR begin work on new books for the book club



Appendix 1 – Icebreaker

*This is a popular icebreaker which can be found in numerous places online

Adapted from:

Life with the Wright Family (n.d.). Retrieved November 22, 2009, from

http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/SHI/training/10-Resources/docs/WrightFamily.pdf

LIFE WITH THE WRIGHT FAMILY

MATERIALS NEEDED:

� The Wright Family Story

� One pencil for each person in the group

ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Have your entire group stand in a circle, shoulder to shoulder.

2. Give each person in the circle a pencil

3. Tell the group that you are going to read them a story and every time they hear any word that sounds

like right, they are to pass the object in their hand to the person on their right, and every time they

hear the word left, they should pass the object to the left.

4. Start reading the story (below) slowly so that they have a chance to catch on to what you want them to

do. After a few passes stop the story and ask them how they are doing. Check to see that everyone

has an pencil in his hand. If your group is typical, some will have two or three objects and others will

not have any. Have them redistribute the objects so that everyone has one again.

5. Now continue to read the story, getting faster as you go. Stop the story a couple of more times to

check on how they are doing.

6. After reading the story, ask the following questions:

� How much of the story can you remember?

� What does this activity tell us about communication?

� What does this activity tell us about teamwork?

� What does this activity tell us about listening skills?

7. After the group has discussed the purpose of the activity, tell them that this activity required

teamwork, much like the bookclub will.




Appendix 1 - Icebreaker (Continued)

STORY:

―Life with the Wright Family‖

One day the Wright family decided to take a vacation. The first thing they had to decide was who

would be left at home since there was not enough room in the Wright family car for all of them. Mr.

Wright decided that Aunt Linda Wright would be the one left at home. Of course this made Aunt Linda

Wright so mad that she left the house immediately yelling "It will be a right cold day before I return".

The Wright family now bundled up the children, Tommy Wright, Susan Wright, Timmy Wright

and Shelly Wright and got in the car and left. Unfortunately, as they turned out of the driveway someone

had left a trash can in the street so they had to turn right around and stop the car. They told Tommy

Wright to get out of the car and move the trash can so they could get going. Tommy took so long that

they almost left him in the street. Once the Wright family got on the road, Mother Wright wondered if

she had left the stove on. Father Wright told her not to worry he had checked the stove and she had not

left it on. As they turned right at the corner, everyone started to think about other things that they might

have left undone.

No need to worry now, they were off on a right fine vacation. When they arrived at the gas

station, Father Wright put gas in the car and then discovered that he had left his wallet at home. So

Timmy Wright ran home to get the money that was left behind. After Timmy had left, Susan Wright

started to feel sick. She left the car saying that she had to throw up. This of course got Mother Wright's

attention and she left the car in a hurry. Shelly Wright wanted to watch Susan get sick, so she left the car

too. Father Wright was left with Tommy Wright who was playing a game in the backseat.

With all of this going on Father Wright decided that this was not the right time to take a vacation,

so he gathered up all of the family and left the gas station as quickly as he could. When he arrived home,

he turned left into the driveway and said "I wish the Wright family had never left the house today!

Right?‖



Appendix 2 – Natasha Friend

Background note about the author/selection:

Natasha Friend seems to truly grasp the intricacies of distress in teenagers, most likely because of her

time as a camp counselor and teacher. Of course, at one time in her life, she was a teenager too! This

insight cannot be undervalued, by all means. Natasha Friend writes on her website about the angst she

suffered as a teenager and lets it all come out in her books – Perfect, Lush, and Bounce.

Read full bio and FAQ from:

http://www.natashafriend.com/natasha.html and http://www.natashafriend.com/FAQ.html

Read excerpts from Natasha Friend’s acceptance speech for the Golden Sower Award:

http://www.nebraskalibraries.org/goldensower/museum/youngadult/img_ya/2007.Perfect_Transcript.pdf

http://www.natashafriend.com/natasha.html

http://www.natashafriend.com/FAQ.html

http://www.nebraskalibraries.org/goldensower/museum/youngadult/img_ya/2007.Perfect_Transcript.pdf



Appendix 3 – Perfect

Title: Perfect

Author: Natasha Friend

Publisher: Scholastic

Date

published:

September 2006

Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction

Grade level: 6-12

Booktalker: Kate Olson

(Written by Kate Olson, 2009)

Booktalk Script:

Many teenagers deal with the issues that Isabelle struggles with in Perfect – body image, eating

disorders, friendships, and grief. While there is no perfect solution for teenagers dealing with these

issues, there is one thing that can truly help – talking to a trusted adult. That is brought up in Perfect and

I would encourage anyone listening to or reading this booktalk to seek out a trusted adult if you are in a

time of distress.

Isabelle thought things were bad enough when her dad died unexpectedly, but oh no. Things

turned from bad to horrid when her younger sister discovered her throwing up one day, and then, horror

of horrors, told their MOTHER! Isabelle barely had time to think before she found herself in an eating

disorders therapy group. Now, Isabelle isn’t a girl who thought very highly of herself, and envied the

―perfect‖ girls at school. You know the ones I’m talking about, right? The ones with perfect hair, perfect

skin, and of course, the perfect clothes. Are these creatures even REAL? How can they be? Anyway,

Isabelle totally looked up to these girls in her middle school and desperately wanted to be one. This is

part of why she turned to bulimia, which means eating a ton of food and making oneself throw up, in the

first place. She thought she had to be skinny to be perfect. However, when Isabelle was at group

counseling, one of those ―perfect‖ girls ended up being in the SAME group. Is it possible that a perfect

girl could have problems too?

In the book Perfect, Isabelle discovers that there are different kinds of friends, different ways of

handling grief, and most importantly, that being perfect does NOT include being skinny. Find out how

she deals with her friendship with Ashley – does she have the strength to heal herself without losing a

new friend?



Appendix 3 – Perfect (Continued)

Discussion Resources:

Students will be developing discussion questions based on the topics of fitting in, therapy, eating

disorders, the importance of talking about problems, mother-daughter relationships, grieving for a lost

parent, sibling relationships, and unexpected friends.

As students learn to develop higher-order thinking questions, the following resource will be helpful:

Kate Olson’s QAR Delicious Links: http://delicious.com/kolson29/QAR

In addition, discussions can be prompted from the following guides:

Aubrey Wardle’s Discussion Module - http://english.byu.edu/novelinks/Novel%20Pages/Perfect.htm

Natasha Friend’s Mother-Daughter Book Guide - http://www.natashafriend.com/2080464433.html

Eating Disorders Resources:

Eating Disorders Resource Guide in the back of the 2006 Scholastic printing of Perfect

Center for Young Women’s Health Eating Disorders Guide for Teens –

http://www.youngwomenshealth.org/eating_disorders.html

http://delicious.com/kolson29/QAR

http://english.byu.edu/novelinks/Novel%20Pages/Perfect.htm

http://www.natashafriend.com/2080464433.html




Appendix 4 - Lush

Title: Lush



Date

published:

September 2006


Grade level: 6-12


(Booktalk written by Joni Richards

Bodart for Scholastic)

Booktalk:

A great booktalk for Lush is Scholastic’s version written by Joni Richards Bodart. This can be retrieved

from: http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collateral.jsp?id=1507


Students will be developing discussion questions based on the topics of fitting in, secrets, alcoholism,

the importance of talking about problems, mother-daughter relationships, forgiveness, caring for a

younger sibling, and unexpected friends.

In addition, discussions can be prompted from the following guide:

Rhode Island Teen Book Award Lush Discussion Module:

http://www.yourlibrary.ws/YA_Webpage/ritba/ritba08/lush.htm

Alcoholism Resources:

Alcoholism Resource Guide in the back of the 2006 Scholastic printing of Lush

Alanon/Alateen - http://www.al-anon.alateen.org

Children of Alcoholics Foundation - http://www.coaf.org

National Association for Children of Alcoholics - http://www.nacoa.org

http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collateral.jsp?id=1507


http://www.al-anon.alateen.org/

http://www.coaf.org/

http://www.nacoa.org/



Appendix 5 - Bounce

Title: Bounce



Date

published:

September 2007


Grade level: 6-12


(Booktalk written by Joni Richards

Bodart for Scholastic)

Booktalk:

A great booktalk for Bounce is Scholastic’s version written by Joni Richards Bodart. This can be

retrieved from: http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collateral.jsp?id=31079.


Students design all discussion questions with prompts to develop higher-order questions – topics should

include family relationships, dealing with grief over a lost parent, fitting in at a new school, and the

changing relationships with friends as life circumstances change.

Stepfamily and Remarriage Resources:

Bonus Families Kids & Teens - http://www.bonusfamilies.com/bonus-teens.php

Stepliving for Teens by Joel Block and Susan Bartell

TeenCentral.net – Remarriage - http://www.teencentral.net/Stuff/remarriage/remarriage1.htm


http://www.bonusfamilies.com/bonus-teens.php

http://www.amazon.com/Stepliving-Teens-Getting-Stepparents-Siblings/dp/0843175680

http://www.teencentral.net/Stuff/remarriage/remarriage1.htm



Appendix 6 – References

Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters. (2004). Retrieved November 22, 2009, from Al-Anon/Alateen:

http://www.al-anon.alateen.org/

Block, J. D., & Bartell, S. (2001). Stepliving for teens: Getting along with stepparents, parents, and

siblings. New York: Price Stern Sloan.

Center on Addiction and the Family (n.d.). Retrieved November 22, 2009, from http://www.coaf.org/

Bonus families: Kids and teens (n.d.). Retrieved November 22, 2009, from

http://www.bonusfamilies.com/bonus-teens.php

Eating disorders: A general guide for teens (2008, December 5). Retrieved November 22, 2009, from


English Language Arts - Standard A - Performance Standards Grade 8 (2009, September 16). Retrieved

November 20, 2009, from http://dpi.wi.gov/standards/elaa8.html

Bodart, J. R. (n.d.). Bounce scholastic booktalk. Retrieved November 22, 2009, from


Bodart, J. R. (n.d.). Lush scholastic booktalk. Retrieved November 22, 2009, from


Friend, N. (2004) Perfect. New York: Scholastic.

Friend, N. (2006) Lush. New York: Scholastic.

Friend, N. (2007) Bounce. New York: Scholastic.

Friend, N. (2007) Natasha Friend’s acceptance speech at the NLA/NEMA Conference. Retrieved

November 22, 2009 from

http://www.nebraskalibraries.org/goldensower/museum/youngadult/img_ya/2007.Perfect_Transc

ript.pdf

Friend, N. (2009). Natasha Friend Awards. Retrieved November 22, 2009 from

http://www.natashafriend.com/Awards.html

Friend, N. (2009). Natasha Friend Bio. Retrieved November 22, 2009, from

http://www.natashafriend.com/natasha.html

Friend, N. (2009). Natasha Friend FAQ. Retrieved November 22, 2009, from

http://www.natashafriend.com/FAQ.html



Friend, N. (2009). Perfect Mother-Daughter Book Guide. Retrieved November 22, 2009 from

http://www.natashafriend.com/2080464433.html

Life with the Wright Family (n.d.). Retrieved November 22, 2009, from


National Association for Children of Alcoholics (n.d.). Retrieved November 22, 2009, from

http://www.nacoa.org/

Olson, K. (2009). Kate Olson’s QAR Delicious Links. Retrieved November 22, 2009 from

http://delicious.com/kolson29/QAR

Rhode Island Teen Book Award Lush Discussion Module (n.d.). Retrieved November 22, 2009, from


TeenCentral: The marriage-go-round (n.d.). Retrieved November 22, 2009, from

http://www.teencentral.net/Stuff/remarriage/remarriage1.htm

Wardle, A. (2007). Perfect: Novel information and resources. Retrieved November 22, 2009 from

http://english.byu.edu/novelinks/Novel%20Pages/Perfect.htm



Appendix 7 – Reflection

Reflection on Project Creation:

While I have not had the opportunity to implement this unit plan with actual students, I truly look

forward to doing so. In addition, I plan to post a version of the plan on my website for use by other

teachers, so even if I do not get to start my book club in the near future, I know all of my hard work was

not in vain. During the creation of this unit, I knew that in actual implantation, things would change due

to the fluid nature of any lesson. However, the basic skeleton of the plan will allow me or other teachers

to use all or parts of the unit with enough flexibility to mold it to their timeframe and audience. In

addition, I hope to be able to add my own full discussion guides based on questions that my students

develop during the course of the unit. I am very excited about going through the question-generation

process with students and realize that although the discussion will not be as regimented as it would be

with teacher-prepared questions, a large part of this book club is having the students feel ownership.

Designing their own questions will do a great deal of good when working toward that goal. The process

of creating this project renewed my excitement for young adult literature and I will be walking away

from this course and project re-energized and looking for more eager minds on which to imprint my love

of reading.

Documents

Kolson Rdged704 Final Project Web Version