Summary: Inspired by the life of a real silverback gorilla held captive for 27 years, The One and Only Ivan tells the story of a gorilla kept at the Big Top Mall. Having been captured as a small gorilla, Ivan has grown accustomed to life in a cage, watching TV and painting pictures bought by the people who come to watch him. However, when Ruby, a baby elephant, is brought into the circus, Ivan’s world starts to change. As Ivan starts to remember his life in the wild, his desire for freedom grows. He decides to try to communicate with Julia, the mall cleaner’s daughter, by spelling out the word HOME on pieces of paper. With the help of her father, Julia pastes these onto billboards advertising Ivan and Ruby. These bring excellent media attention, and soon protesters gather to protest for the freedom of Ivan and Ruby. The story ends with Big Top Mall being shut down, and the two animals are translated to the local zoo, where they integrate with other animals.

Author’s Purpose: to highlight the plight of animals kept in captivity under poor conditions and make young adults aware of how animals suffer when their rights are violated.

Comprehension Questions:

1. Why do you think that Mack encourages Ivan to act angry and fierce when people come to watch him?

2. In what ways is Julia different from the other people who come to watch Mack’s shows?

3. Stella says, “A good zoo is how humans make amends.” What do you think she means by this?

4. What role do Ivan’s memories and the stories he tells Ruby play in developing the story?

5. Why do you think Ivan is reluctant to join the other gorillas when he arrives at the zoo? (Rockman, n.d.).

Classroom Activity based on new literacies discussed:

1. Students are given a choice board to use digital media to create a campaign raising awareness for animal rights. They can create a poster, a blog post, a social media campaign, etc. If students know existing organizations that protect animal rights, they are encouraged to make media that can serve that organization and be shared for real-world impact.

Reference:

Applegate, K., & Castelao, P. (2015). The one and only ivan (1st ed.). HarperCollins.

Rockman, C. (n.d.). Ivan, the one and only: Teaching guide. Bound to Stay Bound Books. https://media.btsb.com/TitleLessonPlans/597.pdf

Summary: The Unteachables is an infamous group of outcasts, delinquents, and academic trainwrecks. As is the case with Aldo, who struggles with anger management; Parker, who cannot read; Kiana, who does not belong in this class—or any class; and Elaine (rhymes with pain). The Unteachables have been secluded from the rest of the student population in room 117.

Their instructor is Mr. Zachary Kermit, Greenwich’s most burned-out educator. He was once a rising star, but an ongoing infidelity scandal destroyed his career. He is now one year away from early retirement after years of phoning it in. On the other hand, the superintendent has his own schemes to sabotage that notion—and one of them includes sending Mr. Kermit to The Unteachables.

The Unteachables never imagined they’d encounter an instructor with a more negative attitude than they did. And Mr. Kermit never imagined he’d be interested in teaching again. However, over the course of the school year, room 117 will see mayhem, devastation, and maybe even a chance at redemption.

Author’s Purpose: The book emphasizes positive attributes, such as tolerance and patience. The idea is for readers to understand never to give up and always try.

Classroom Activity based on new literacies discussed:

1. Students can use an online dictionary to find out the meanings of unfamiliar words.

2. Students can also write a diary entry considering the perspective of one of the student characters on an online document such as Google Docs.

Reference:

Korman, G. (2019a). The unteachables (Reprint ed.). Balzer + Bray.

Summary: “Smile” is a graphic novel. The story takes place in the sixth grade. An 11-year-old girl named Raina has an overbite that requires braces. She breaks two teeth on her upper jaw when she falls while running after her friends. Raina has to deal with tooth surgery and other things following, like disasters and relationship issues.

Author’s Purpose: In the book, several important themes include body image issues, unhealthy friendships, crushes, and bullying.

Classroom Activity based on new literacies discussed:

1. Creating a crossword puzzle using words from the book and writing definitions to them.

2. Students think of a challenging moment they have had to go through and create a story based on that moment using a graphic novel format.

Reference:

Telgemeier, R. (2020a). Smile: A graphic novel. Graphix.