middle grade – Of Paper and Magic

Great MG Reads: Number the Stars

Posted on November 9, 2016November 13, 2016 by Jenn Brisendine

Free, printable teaching materials: Here are 3 free sets of questions to assess or review plot, character, and deeper-meaning components of the great MG novel Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. Feel free to change the documents to suit your needs, and please share with others!

chapters-1-to-5-reader-questions-for-number-the-stars

chapters-6-to-11-reader-questions-for-number-the-stars

chapters-12-to-17-reader-questions-for-number-the-stars

Kristallnacht happened on this night 78 years ago. So many important stories have been written with the Holocaust as a subject or historical backdrop, many of them YA and MG works. Lois Lowry’s Number the Stars is not just a great MG read, with a well-crafted main character and positive themes; it’s also a delicate yet gripping introduction to the Holocaust for younger readers. When I taught this last year, not many of my fifth graders had a clear grasp on what the Holocaust was, and several had it pegged incorrectly in the wrong era of history. The experience of introducing them to the subject of the Holocaust taught me of the importance of being reminded, staying mindful, and never forgetting the events and facts of this dark, dark time for humanity.

Lowry’s Newbery Award-winning MG novel works on so many levels—a springboard for historical timelines, a perfectly-suited storyline for teaching the Plot Triangle, a moving and realistic character and thematic study. In the language arts or homeschool classroom, you can do as much or as little with this novel as your students are ready for. If you are lucky enough to teach multiple grade levels, it’s the kind of book students will recall easily year to year, making it a valuable tool for comparison and exemplification in more mature lessons down the road.

Free Study Guides, Great Middle Grade Reads, Teacher Resources, Writing

Great MG Reads: Bud, Not Buddy

Posted on June 23, 2016November 15, 2016 by Jenn Brisendine

Teachers — Here are three free resources for your use when you teach Bud, Not Buddy, a great historical choice for the classroom. Just click to open, and save and print as needed! Feel free to share these freebies with a teacher who might use them. There’s an editable Word version followed by a pdf for each.

Reading quiz for use after Chapters 1-3:

Bud, Not Buddy Chapters 1-3 20 pt. Quiz

Planning worksheet for young writers to use in crafting their own story “pitch”:

Original fiction pitch worksheet after Bud, Not Buddy

Character trait/proof from text chart:

Bud, Not Buddy Character Analysis worksheet

The indomitable Christopher Paul Curtis came to speak at a writers’ residency I attended years ago. He talked about the importance of keeping the story at the heart of the book (as opposed to the history) when you write historicals. Bud, Not Buddy has excellent attributes for instruction: character voice and development, the “quest” or journey plot structure, great morals and themes…and history as a vivid backdrop that impacts the story without taking over.

I used this book in a 5th grade Language Arts classroom, but it would fit into a variety of grade levels and content areas, and it would be a great choice for homeschool audiences as well.

Fast summary: Ten-year-old Bud escapes a not-so-nice foster situation, but instead of heading back to the “home,” he decides to find his father. He’s never met him, but he’s certain the clues in his suitcase left by his mother before she died will be all the help he needs in finding the man. Set against the background of the Great Depression, the various lifestyles Bud experiences (as an orphan, a vagrant, a traveling musician) take the reader solidly into another time and place.

Genre: Historical Middle Grade

Note for teachers/homeschooling parents: Bud, Not Buddy has so many teachable moments! You can sidebar social studies, writing, morality, and arts topics with every chapter: What’s a Hooverville? What’s a worker’s union? Find some examples of people caring for others in the book. How does jazz music differ from music of other genres?

Real (modern) world connections: The book centers around Flint, Michigan. Students may bring up the current status of Flint, which might spur a discussion of other American cities and how they have developed over time.

Any alarms/flashing lights? (Potentially controversial facets of the book): There’s a brief scene in which Bud gets a kiss from a girl he doesn’t see again. Some discussion of race relations in the 1930s would deepen students’ awareness and understanding of Bud’s decisions and emotions. Bud imagines using a rifle he finds at the foster home, but doesn’t.

Notes for writers/readers: Study this book as a great example of voice! My fifth graders were quick to point out all the grammar “mistakes” on page one, which immediately prompted a good lesson on voice and style, what voice means for deep characterization in a novel, and descriptions of POV.

A great MG read — can’t wait to teach this one again.

How-to Guides, Parenting, Writing

A Few Words to Start

Posted on February 19, 2012February 19, 2012 by Jenn Brisendine

I am a lousy blogger.

I know this to be true, because in the last two years I’ve tried a couple blogs and I’ve given up on them almost immediately. I never could keep a diary, either, and I have yet to scrapbook my second son’s baby pictures. (He’s four next month.) I think it has something to do with stamping a date on something–a post, a photo, an entry–because then it becomes a marker of time. How much time, how little time, how much time gets away from you between updates. Too much pressure, the passage of all that time. I’d probably do much better with a dateless blog, just a stress-free blank wall of space to make notes or put up quotes or jot a thought or two.

I am, however, a writer. And I’d like to reconcile my anti-blogging side with my writer side and see if they can’t get along.

I’ve been published in lit mags and anthologies, and this past year I contributed how-to articles to two excellent writing guides. I’ll talk about those in upcoming posts, as well as other great guides to this craft. Middle grade fiction and agent searching are subjects near and dear to me right now, since I’m writing a MG and starting to look for someone to rep me. Another common thread you’ll see through future posts: some thoughts on trying to break into a writing career while parenting two small boys, freelancing a part-time job, and keeping home and family. (Thought: it’s like running a marathon on a balancing beam. Thought: it’s harder than teaching high school. Thought: I love a challenge.)