Summary: The story takes place in a dark world where the only light is the Ember. Here, children age 12 start working for the City of Ember, and jobs are selected at a draw. The main character, Lina, wants to be a messenger, and Doon wants to work underground, where is the generator is located. Lina gets the Pipeworks laborer at the draw, and Doon gets the messenger. He makes the trade with Lina, who stumbles across ancient fragments of parchment, and when Doon puts them together, finds a vital message that sparks the start of their adventure.

Author’s Purpose: The author writes the book to give the reader a post-apocalyptic world, mystery, and adventure. It is a story of friendship and trust as they uncover the secret and try to find a solution for their city.

Questions for the read-aloud:

• What character traits are you noticing are present for Doon?

• What personality traits are you seeing are present for Lina?

• What evidence is the text giving us for these traits? What do the characters do, say, or think to show these traits?

• How does Lina not having parents affect her decisions or who she is?

• Doon is very curious and always wants to learn - What is something you are curious about and think about?

• How do you connect to Doon?

• In what ways might you connect with Lina?

Classroom Activity based on new literacies discussed:

1. Students will consider writing a piece on what they are curious about. They can use Book-Creator to make a small book and use the classroom library and the internet to find answers for their curiosities.

2. Use active participation. The teacher will create a secret message spread throughout the classroom (using small clues on poster boards, anchor charts, etc.). The teacher will give the first clue, and teams of 2-4 may work together to solve the mystery.

Reference:

DuPrau, J. (2004b). The city of ember (the city of ember book 1) (1st ed.). Yearling.

Summary: At the beginning of the last year of middle school, Greg Heffley’s mom gives him a journal. He proceeds to record many of the important events of that year, as well as write about many of the key people in his life, such as his brother Rodrick and his best friend, Rowley Jefferson. Much of Greg’s journaling also centres around his desire for popularity and to fit in at school. However, many of his attempts often backfire and either end up getting him into trouble or severely test his friendship with Rowley.

Author’s Purpose: To write an entertaining book that is easily accessible for middle school readers.

Classroom Activity based on new literacies discussed:

1. Students are asked to keep a journal for a school week. They can choose whether to do it in a physical book or in an online journal such as a blog. They are to record simple events, how they feel about them and any funny anecdotes that might arise.

Reference:

Kinney, J. (2007b). Diary of a wimpy kid (diary of a wimpy kid #1) (Illustrated ed.). Harry N. Abrams.

Summary

Lexie is the West’s finest wrangler. She monitors the development of newborn letters into words. She ties small words into larger ones, organizes them into sentences, links phrases, and then writes them together to create stories. However, something has been strange at the ranch recently. The “D” in her bandana vanishes, leaving her with a banana to wrap around her neck. Suddenly, every S-T-A-R in the sky morphs into R-A-T-S. Lexie thinks that a word rustler is responsible for all of these difficulties and is determined to track him down. In this creative celebration of words and their meanings, a powerful cowgirl wrestles with words alongside cattle.

Author’s purpose: This fascinating twist on cowboy stories teaches kids about the history or etymology of words and word structure, such as compound words.

Comprehension questions.

• What new words have you learned from this story? Give examples.

• Would you like to be a character from the story? Why or why not?

• Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

• What is the funniest, most interesting, or most fun part of the story? Read it aloud.

• Could this story be true? Why or why not?

Classroom Activities based on the new literacies

Word Wrangler: Students will be able to:

• Identify and match compound root words to have a complete compound word.

• Create games to practice creating compound words

• Provide students with a list of precut compound words separated on index cards. Give students a check sheet and go around the room and try to find words that match to create a compound word. Use a point system to motivate students.

• Using a deck of cards, they model how students can create games using compound words to practice the skill. Have students use index cards or online using a flip or memory game board to match words to make compound words and add to their word wall.

Reference:

Slyke, V. R., & Hartland, J. (2017). Lexie the word wrangler (Illustrated ed.). Nancy Paulsen Books.

Summary: George's grandmother is really mean. Whenever his parents go shopping, his grandmother grumpily bosses George about, bullying him and asking him to do menial tasks. George decides to get back at his grandmother by concocting a medicine that will replace the usual medicine his grandmother usually takes four times a day. By mixing together a variety of ingredients that could be found around the house and garage, George creates a medicine that has unexpected effects. After taking George's medicine, his grandmother grows incredibly tall with her head bursting through the roof. As uncomfortable as it may be for the grandmother, George's dad sees great potential in the medicine to sell to farmers around the world, setting George off on further experimenting with even more dire results.

Author's Purpose: To write an entertaining story in which the child attempts to seek some more justice in the face of mistreatment suffered at the hands of an adult. This is a recurring theme in many of Roald Dahl's stories (Newson, 2016).

Classroom Activities based on the new literacies:

1. Students can use online tools such as Canva or Google Docs, to create a poster advertising George's medicine to local farmers.

2. Students write a biography for George's grandmother. Was she always so mean? If so, why? If not, what could have happened to her earlier in life to have made her so mean?

References:

Dahl, R. (1981), George's marvellous medicine, Jonathan Cape

Newson, A. (2016), The story of Roald Dahl, https://theculturetrip.com/europe/united-kingdom/wales/articles/the-story-of-roald-dahl/