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Novel 7: A Monster Calls
Novel 7: A Monster Calls
Students explore ideas about how mental health can influence our perceptions, motivations and behaviours. Using a headlines routine to make students' thinking visible, they explore a variety of texts to answer four guiding questions:
What forces are motivating characters to act as they do?
Which behaviors of the main character are conscious? Unconscious?
How does the mental health of the character influence his/her perceptions of others and situations?
Which literary techniques are used to help the reader understand the character’s psychological struggle?
Students Read “A Monster Calls” and discuss character, literary element, important quotes, images, and the monster’s stories. Throughout the novel, students continue to build on their generalizations about mental health and its impact. To showcase their ideas students create a digital zine.
Before Reading: Understanding Mental Health and Guiding Questions
Before Reading: Understanding Mental Health and Guiding Questions
Students complete a mental health survey, and complete the novel anticipation guide to understand how mental health impacts people's lives. In preparation for the novel students read "Knife," by Sarah Ellis and watch "Spellbound" to think about how the character's mental health impacts character's perceptions, behaviours and motivations. Establish classroom norms for discussion skills.
A Monster Calls: Anticipation Guide
ELA 7 - Knife.pdfDuring Reading: Cooperative Jigsaw Discussion Structure
During Reading: Cooperative Jigsaw Discussion Structure
After breaking the book into four sections, students use a cooperative jigsaw discussion structure to complete one of the following tasks:
Image Inisghts
Notable Quotes
Light up Literary Elements
Inner Workings of Character
Students share their ideas with expert groups and then present their findings to the class. Teacher supplements ideas with Book Club Resource KEY.
As a class analyze the deeper meaning of the Monster's stories. Use the discussion skills rubric and google form to have students self-assess and monitor discussion goals.
After Reading: Represent our Thinking with Digital Zines
After Reading: Represent our Thinking with Digital Zines
Students create a digital Zine to showcase their three strongest understandings of the relationship between mental health and perceptions, motivations and behaviours.
Zine Creation Process:
"Tour de Zine" to explore samples and understand the form, use
Compare effictiveness of zine pages with "Bad Tree Example" and "Better Tree Example"
Get basic planning done by hand with "Zine Planner"
Model how to use piZap for the creation of zine pages
Use "Feedback Form" and "Zine Rubric" to self-assess and make improvements
Students complete "Being an Attentive Audience" during zine presentations
1. Tour de Zine
Better Tree Example
4. Planner By hand: Zine Template 11x17~piZap Instruction5. Zine Feedback7. Monster Calls Zine: Rubric6.Being an Attentive AudienceReport abuse