Resource Summary Electronic resources to accompany unit on The Book Thief

Allie Calderon

Introduction

• Grade level: 10th

• Subject Area: English

Language Arts

• Topic: The power of

words, using The Book

Thief by Markus Zusak

Objectives • After discussing foreshadowing in small groups,

students will be able to identify examples of foreshadowing found in The Book Thief correctly 4 out of 5 times.

• After watching “The Sneetches” video clip, students will be able to evaluate the connotations and denotations of words for 8 out of 10 words.

• After reading The Book Thief, students will be able to write about and connect a theme from the book to at least four other aspects of life/contexts.

Technology-Infused Objectives • After discussing foreshadowing in small groups, students

will be able to identify examples of foreshadowing found in The Book Thief correctly 4 out of 5 times using an IWB.

• After watching “The Sneetches” video clip, students will be able to evaluate the connotations and denotations of words for 8 out of 10 words and take class polls and surveys using the internet or clicker devices.

• After reading The Book Thief, students will be able to write about and connect a theme from the book to at least four other aspects of life/contexts using the website www.ThingLink.com.

Resource #1 “The Sneetches” Video

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPhOZzsi_6Q

Description

•This video brings to life Dr. Seuss’ children’s story of the star-bellied sneetches. The animation of the video allows students to see and hear the story more effectively. The story deals with discrimination, and the arbitrary but powerful effects of words and labeling.

Evaluation Credibility:• While there are many

versions of this video posted by random or anonymous users, I do have some sense of security in the source’s credibility because I can cross check the video against the text/book version of Dr. Seuss’ story. As long as the teacher previews the video ahead of time to check its credibility and cleanliness, there should not be a problem with using this video.

With my objectives: • This electronic resource

correlates with the second objective which deals with connotations and denotations. This video will help students notice the different ways people can use words in very different contexts and with very different meanings.

Application

•I would definitely use this resource in my classroom in conjunction with this unit because it serves as another text that students can read to see how words have power. It would also provide a great opportunity to compare and contrast between the two texts.

Resource #2 Trailer for The Book Thief movie

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92EBSmxinus

Description

•This source is a trailer video from the movie adaptation of The Book Thief. It gives a synopsis of the plot and introduces many of the main characters.

Evaluation Credibility: • This source, though

accessed on YouTube, is from MovieTrailers.com which is commonly thought of as a reliable source for information regarding upcoming movies and releases. The source is in now way scholarly, but for the type of source and activity, it is credible enough to do its job.

With my objectives: • Watching this movie

trailer may help students visualize the reading while also aiding their ability to pick out foreshadowing. Additionally, the visual format of this source may trigger thoughts on how the main theme of how words have power can connect to other aspects of students’ lives.

Application

•There are many ways in which a teacher may effectively utilize this resource: it may be used as a “hook” activity to draw students into the topic before reading begins, or it may be used after students have finished reading the book to summarize and compare. The video is also a valuable tool in teaching the concept of foreshadowing.

Resource #3 Wordle

URL: http://www.wordle.net/

Description

•Wordle is a website where you can insert a section of text, and the website outputs a word map of the commonly used words in the passage. This is a great way to visually represent a piece of writing and to analyze big ideas and themes in writing, simply by way of the most used words.

Evaluation Credibility• This website is a very well-

known and used online resource by teachers, students, and the general public.

With my objectives • This resource fits in with

my objectives because it could assist students with a connotation/denotation activity, by allowing them to know which words to focus on. This source may also provide an added advantage in identifying common nouns that may connect to their personal lives.

Application • There are many possibilities on how to implement

this resource into a classroom lesson on The Book Thief. In particular, I would like to use this both to analyze the text of “The Sneetches” and of a selected passage of The Book Thief. Furthermore, an essential activity that I would use this for is having students write their own paragraph summarizing a chapter OR having them write a paragraph about the power of words and what they learned from watching the sneetches video, reading articles, and the trailer. Next, students would type that summary into Wordle to create a word cloud representation.

Resource #4Article: “Text to Text | ‘The Book Thief’ and ‘Auschwitz Shifts From Memorializing to Teaching’”

URL: http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/11/07/text-to-text-the-book-thief-and-auschwitz-shifts-from-memorializing-to-teaching/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=1

Description •The article, “Text to Text | ‘The Book Thief’

and ‘Auschwitz Shifts From Memorializing to Teaching’”, by Sarah Gross and Katherine Schulten, gives an overview of the novel with added “extras” that would stimulate thinking and learning in a classroom. For example, the authors give a brief background on the setting, breakdown and anatomy of a scene, connections to further electronic resources, and discussion questions.

Evaluation Credibility: • This source appears to be

credible because important information like author, date of publication are provided, and it is from the Learning Network, a subsection/partnership with The New York Times online newspaper.

With my objectives: • This source does fit with

the objectives I have laid out because it provides so many different avenues in which to use it. It could both serve as a supplement to building real-world connections and with explaining foreshadowing.

Application

•What I like most about this source is that it serves as a tool for both teachers in lesson planning, and for students in engaging their minds with the material. The authors simultaneously give great ideas for in-class activities like critically reading a text and annotating it, and also provide a handful of other online resources. Really, this resource feels like a bundled package.

Resource #5

Blog: “Teaching Resources for The Book Thief by Markus Zusak” by Lindalinks

URL: http://lindaslinkstoliterature.wordpress.com/2013/11/07/teaching-resources-for-the-book-thief-by-markus-zusak/

Description

•This resource, while similar to the previous one, is more directed at teaching audiences. The text of the source and the materials are more generally useful for teachers only. Some examples of provided material are a video on “Words are Life,” book connections, quizzes, study guides, and discussion questions.

Evaluation Credibility:• As with any blog, there is risk of

bias and objectivity. However, I think that the materials provided on this resource appear credible and may prove very useful in a lesson on The Book Thief as long as the teacher carefully previews and considers each piece of material. Additionally, by clicking on each link provided in the blog, one sees that those materials come from credible sources like Scholastic, public school districts, and public universities. Like with any source, good judgment is the key.

With my objectives: • Because this source offers

such a variety of different texts and materials, this will easily fit in with almost any learning objective, and it definitely coincides with the ones I have determined. For example, the section on book connections, which actually comes from Scholastic.com, would be a great way to encourage students to begin thinking of the book’s messages in contexts outside the classroom.

Application

•This is another one of those “six-for-ones” because the blog is jam-packed with additional resources, links, and material. I would particularly like to use the book connections from Scholastic because it talks about contexts of history and real life that is outside of the fictional characters’ lives.