th-1My girl and I left Barnes & Noble today with four brand new books.  When we got home I began to read Within Out & Dorsum Again — a book my daughter had discovered on our Amazon search yesterday.  While she had been attracted to the book'south cover…I was attracted to the author'south style of writing.  Thanhha Lai tells her story in free verse poetry.

This book is nearly x twelvemonth old girl who escapes to America from Saigon during Vietnam War and the struggles she has beingness a fourth grader in a new country.  While the book is not a biography it is inspired by true events.

The volume is listed as a F&P level W or DRA level 60.  I was shocked that the book was leveled so high since I read all 260 pages in i sitting (an amazing accomplishment for me)!  What I love about this volume is that the chapters easily stand alone and can exist used for minilessons or strategy lessons.  My book (or should I say my daughter's book) currently has 13 flags popping from it.

Hither are my ideas on how to use some of the chapters of this volume with 4th and 5th graders next year:

  • 1975: Year of the Cat (p.i) – Character Analysis – The reader learns then much nearly the main character in this beginning chapter.  Ha does something super naughty that no one but her knows virtually which is fun to explore why she may accept done information technology!
  • Current News (p.eighteen) – Inferencing – Living in a War is hard and students must use inferencing nigh this fact to understand the brusk chapter.
  • Feel Smart (p.19) & Feel Impaired (p. 156) – Compare & Contrast – In the chapter Feel Smart Ha shares that she cheats her mom out of her marketplace order in Saigon then that she can buy sweets with the extra money.  In Feel Dumb she retells how dumb she feels when her 4th course instructor in Americaasks her to recite her ABCs and all her classmates clap when she is able to practice this.
  • Choice (p.55) – Text-to-Self Connections – In this chapter Ha has to choose the one thing she wants to take with her from Saigon.  Students can think about when they accept fabricated a difficult pick OR about what one thing they would cull.  My daughter and I had an interesting give-and-take about this!
  • Passing Fourth dimension (p. 129) – Multiple Significant Words – I beloved this chapter!  Ha attempts to understand sentence "Jane sees spot run." by looking up all the words in the dictionary…this doesn't work!
  • Sadder Laughter (p.139) – Compare & Contrast – This chapter describes her feelings on the first day of school in Alabama
  • New Word Day (p. 166) – Vocabulary – This describes the SMART manner her neighbour taught her English language.  This can also be compare the poor mode her teacher at school taught her.
  • More is Not Better (p. 168) – Empathy, Character Change, Main Idea – As she learns more English she discovers that her classmates are making fun of her and doesn't like knowing this 😦
  • Spelling Rules (p.177) – Spelling – Ha's have on how hard English is to learn: "Whoever invented English language should take learned how to spell."
  • Someone Knows (p.180) – Bullying – She finally tells someone that she is eating in the bathroom during luncheon and life gets amend when she shares this with her tutor.
  • Nearly Relieved Day (p. 183) – Responding to Reading by Writing – The best chapter by far…I won't ruin it.
  • War and Peace (p. 194) – Critique – How nosotros need to be hesitant on believing everything we hear and see…
  • Start Over (p. 253) – Theme – Learning is messy and we should feel gratuitous to make mistakes

Using one (or two chapters) like this for a stand alone strategy lesson exposes students to a volume by giving them a taste of the author's way, the characters, and practice on how to call up while reading the book.

My FAVORITE function of doing stand lone chapter lessons is afterwards I always give a curt summary of the rest of the book earlier offering upward my One copy of the text to anyone who is interested in reading more.  This often creates a dash of hands and a waiting line for the book.  Equally one person finishes the volume they and so paw the volume over to someone new and the talk about the text grows!