Kayla Hanner’s Reading Portfolio

Challenger Deep ​by Neal Shusterman

Dreamland Burning ​by Jennifer Latham
I’ll Give You the Sun ​by Jandy Nelson

Table of Contents​:
1. Text Selection
a. Central Text
b. Supplementary Texts
2. Before Reading Strategies
a. Tea Party
b. Anticipation Guide
c. Probable Passage
d. KWL Chart
3. During Reading Strategies
a. Graphic Organizer
b. Think Aloud
c. Table Talk
4. After Reading Strategies
a. Scales
b. Text Reformulation
c. Sketch to Stretch
5. Discussion Strategies
a. Hot Seat Discussion
b. TQE Method
c. Save the Last Word for ME
d. Concentric Circles
6. Reflection/Summary

Text Selection

Central Text: ​Challenger Deep ​by Neal Shusterman

Essential Questions:
1. How can art be used to deepen/tell a story?
2. How does mental illness impact teenagers? Their families?
3. How does mental illness shape a character?
4. What can be done if you feel you’re dealing with mental illness?

Central Text: ​Dreamland Burning ​by Jennifer Latham

Essential Questions:
1. How is history unreliable?
 2. How has racism evolved well into present day society?
3. In what ways does the structure of a story impact its meaning?

Central Text:​ ​I’ll Give You the Sun ​by Jandy Nelson

Essential Questions:
1. How can art be used to deepen/tell a story?
2. What does “love” look like in different people?
3. In what ways does emotion drive a text?

Chosen Text:
Challenger Deep b ​ y Neal Shusterman
● Depicts mental illness (schizophrenia...unusual for mental illness
● Doesn’t involve romance
● Split perspectives from the same character
● Some action
OR
Dreamland Burning b ​ y Jennifer Latham
● Not super well known race riot
● Really eye-opening
● Heart breaking
● From two different perspectives...present day and the 1920s
OR
Endangered ​by Eliot Schrefer
● Set in 19th century Congo
● Involves animals
● No romance
● Action/Adventure and suspense mixed well
● Female main character
OR
I’ll Give You the Sun ​by Jandy Nelson
● More mental illness but more mainstream
● Homosexual in-the-closet character
● Grief, family tension
● Differing perspectives and time frames
● Kind of girly but told from perspective of both girl and boy
● Really well combined/blended together

Pre-Reading Strategies for Chosen Text:

● Tea Party (Beers)
○ This would involve having phrases, quotes, and excerpts from the text on index
cards or strips of paper that aren’t paraphrased and are taken DIRECTLY from
the text.
■ To make virtual, the teacher could put the phrases/quotes on quizlet
cards, on group layouts/lists with assigned sections, or put students in a
breakout room specific to a quote or excerpt
○ Then, the students are broken into groups and they read their assigned sections
out loud to each other (around 2-3 per quote/excerpt)
■ If virtual, the students could be put into breakout rooms on Zoom or
another platform assigning them to their quote/excerpt and then they
could all discuss one.
■ OR
■ The students could be assigned to a breakout room, all with different
quotes and excerpts, and they could share and discuss that way.
○ The students then make a prediction on what they believe will happen in the text
based off of what they read in their excerpt, and record it on their prediction form
(which could easily be a Google Doc for virtual students)
○ After that, the students “mingle around the room” to discuss their quote/excerpt
and predictions with other classmates
■ With COVID, moving around isn’t possible, so the students would just
have to discuss their quotes and predictions at their table. To make this
more effective, I think there are 2 ways to go about it (if in-person):
● Each student in the group/at the table has a different
quote/excerpt and can discuss theirs with the rest of the group
● OR
● Each group/table has just one quote/excerpt, and the class shares
their predictions with one another as a whole, facilitated by the
teacher
○ To make this virtual, the breakout sessions could be
reorganized/rearranged so that the students are in different
rooms to discuss their excerpt/quote
○ Once done discussing, students go back to their groups and write their final
predictions of what the text is about, why they feel that way, and what they
expect to happen when they read the text. This is something they will continue to
go back to throughout the reading, so they can make note that things do change,
and they can reflect to see whether their prediction was accurate or not.
■ To make this virtual, the breakout sessions could all come together back
as a class, so everyone can share what they predicted. They would
record it all the same, for their personal record and things of that nature.
○ Quotes/Excerpts from Novel to Use:
■ Challenger Deep ​by Neal Shusterman
● “The fear of not living is a deep, abiding dread of watching your
own potential decompose into irredeemable disappointment when
 'should be' gets crushed by what is. Sometimes I think it would be
easier to die than to face that, because 'what could have been' is
much more highly regarded than 'what should have been.' Dead
kids are put on pedestals, but mentally ill kids get hidden under
the rug.”
● “I used to be afraid of dying. Now I’m afraid of not living. There’s a
difference. We go through life planning for a future, but sometimes
that future never comes.”
● “The scariest thing of all is never knowing what you're suddenly
going to believe.”
● “And when the abyss looks into you - and it will - may you look
back unflinching.”
● “You see demons in the eyes of the world, and the world sees a
bottomless pit in yours.”
● “Forget solar energy—if you could harness denial, it would power
the world for generations.”
■ Dreamland Burning b ​ y Jennifer Latham
● “I understand now that history only moves forward in a straight line
when we learn from it. Otherwise it loops past the same mistakes
over and over again,”
● “The dead always have stories to tell. They just need the living to
listen.”
● “The lives that ended that night mattered. It was a mistake for this
city to try to forget, and it’s an even bigger one to pretend
everything’s fine now. Black men and women are dying today for
the same reasons they did in 1921. And we have to call that out,
Rowan. Every single time.”
● “I don’t believe that history holds easy answers or simple lessons,
because those answers and lessons are stretched out over
thousands—millions—of untold stories. But I do believe that if we
seek those stories out, and if we listen to them and talk to each
other with open hearts and minds, we can start to heal. I believe
that good people working together can create meaningful change.”
● “Neo-Nazis, white nationalists, racist skinheads,
neo-Confederates, the KKK - up until that morning, I'd had no idea
those were all different things, or that there were so many different
ways to hate black people. Racists, it turned out, were into
diversity after all.”
■ Endangered by E ​ liot Schrefer
● “... we didn't have the day-in, day-out knowledge of each other that
most mothers and daughters have. It's not like she was a stranger;
we had too much history for that. But at the same time, I couldn't say
I knew her well. Or at least well enough to see her thoughts.”
 ● “You have to learn when to ignore suffering so that you're strong
enough to fight it when the time is right.”
● “I knew at least Banalia was dead; that had happened right in front of
my eyes. They would either eat her now or smoke her body to sell the
meat. It made my stomach turn--the DNA in that meat was almost 99
percent the same as human DNA; it was nearly cannibalism. But the
men were hungry.”
● “Concrete can rot. It turns green and black before crumbling away.
Maybe only people from Congo know that.”
● “But it had always been my mom's philosophy that the way we treat
animals goes hand in hand with the way we treat people, and so she
would dedicate her life to stopping men like this one, bushmeat
traders hoping for sale”
■ I’ll Give You the Sun b ​ y Jandy Nelson
● “Meeting your soulmate is like walking into a house you've been in
before - you will recognize the furniture, the pictures on the wall,
the books on the shelves, the contents of drawers: You could find
your way around in the dark if you had to.”
● “I gave up practically the whole world for you,” I tell him, walking
through the front door of my own love story. “The sun, stars,
ocean, trees, everything, I gave it all up for you.”
● “Meeting your soulmate is like walking into a house you've been in
before - you will recognize the furniture, the pictures on the wall,
the books on the shelves, the contents of drawers: You could find
your way around in the dark if you had to.”
● “I love you,” I say to him, only it comes out, “Hey.”
“So damn much,” he says back, only it comes out, “Dude.”
He still won’t meet my eyes.”
● “Or maybe a person is just made up of a lot of people,” I say.
“Maybe we’re accumulating these new selves all the time.”
Hauling them in as we make choices, good and bad, as we screw
up, step up, lose our minds, find our minds, fall apart, fall in love,
as we grieve, grow, retreat from the world, dive into the world, as
we make things, as we break things.”
● “Quick, make a wish.
Take a (second or third or fourth) chance.
Remake the world.”

● Anticipation Guide
○ This is a guide that will allow students to make predictions for the text that they
will be reading, before they read it. It should include themes and central ideas
from the text, while also incorporating the beliefs of students.
○ These ideas and questions should be considered and used to create general
statements that engage with the students beliefs that allow them to explore what
the text they are about to read has to offer. Normally, these would be in the form
of True/False, Yes/No, or Agree/Disagree questions and responses.
■ There really doesn’t need to be any virtual adaptations because this guide
could be done physically or virtually without much difference, except
maybe in discussion of results.
○ Once the guide is completed, try to have a classroom discussion over what they
put on the Anticipation Guide and why they put what they did on there.
○ If it’s a long text, continue to check back with the Anticipation Guide as you read,
re-assessing position, predictions, and answers at the midpoint of the text (if
long) and the end.
○ This can be done with short or long texts
■ Doesn’t really need much modification to be done virtually
○ Novel Specific Guide Questions/Statements (which would vary depending on my
perception on beliefs of students):
■ Challenger Deep ​by Neal Shusterman
● Agree or Disagree/Yes or No/True or False
○ Mental illness isn’t real.
○ Mental illness shouldn’t be an excuse to miss out on
school or other mandatory functions/events.
○ Mental illness is not a joke.
○ Students experience more mental illness than just
depression and anxiety.
○ It’s okay not to be okay.
○ There is nothing wrong with seeking help for mental illness.
■ Dreamland Burning b ​ y Jennifer Latham
● Agree or Disagree/Yes or No/True or False
○ History repeats itself.
○ Recognizing your mistakes and learning from them is the
only way to grow.
○ History is extremely important.
○ There are multiple sides to one story/multiple perspectives.
○ The past is the past.
○ History isn’t true.
■ Endangered ​by Eliot Schrefer
● Agree or Disagree/Yes or No/True or False
○ Endangered animals deserve protection.
○ Bushmeat trading is a bad and illegal practice.
○ The Congo is a dangerous place.
○ Animals feel pain/experience emotions.
○ Animals are just going to die in the wild anyway.
 ○ Just because someone does something bad, it doesn’t
mean they know it was something bad.
■ I’ll Give You the Sun b ​ y Jandy Nelson
● Agree or Disagree/Yes or No/True or False
○ Sexuality is something to be hidden.
○ Grief presents itself in very different ways in different
people.
○ You should have a good relationship with your siblings and
treat them only with kindness.
○ Art is the act of creating something.
○ Cheating in a relationship isn’t bad.
○ The only way to move on is to forgive.
● Probable Passage (Beers)
○ This strategy involves throwing up 8-14 words on the board/presenting them to
students.
○ Working in groups, the students organize the words into spaces on a
worksheet/form
■ This wouldn’t be too challenging to create virtually, could just use a
Google Doc or Google Slides
○ After compiling the list of words, the students should come up with a “gist”
statement or a statement about what they think the text is about, using the words
provided as a framework for their ideas.
■ Since they are working in groups, if the students were virtual, they could
possibly break into breakout rooms to discuss and organize their thoughts
around the words.
○ Then, students make a list of things they predict they’ll see in the novel, along
with what they want to see in the novel.
○ This could then be turned into a classroom discussion, where the students share
what they think could happen in the text and what they’d like to see happening in
the text.
■ Breakout rooms could come back to the main room if virtual.
○ In the middle of and after reading, can go back and look over what put down
about the Probable Passage
■ Reflect and asses on why they thought the way they did, why they said
what they did, and what they would change now that they’ve read it
○ Words for Probable Passage Each Novel (general):
■ Challenger Deep ​by Neal Shusterman
● Manic
● Hospital
● Pirate Ship
● Denial
● Reality
● Suicide
 ● Medication
● High School
■ Dreamland Burning​ by Jennifer Latham
● Skeleton
● Slaves
● Tulsa Race Riot
● Victrola
● Hospital
● Identity
● History
● Mystery
■ Endangered ​by Eliot Schrefer
● Bonobos
● Sanctuary
● Rescue
● Congo
● Civil War
● Rainforest
● Abandoned
● Dangerous
■ I’ll Give You the Sun b ​ y Jandy Nelson
● Twins
● Depression
● Homosexuality
● Grief
● Sibling Bonds
● Art
● Cheating
● Change
○ (DISCLAIMER: All of these words could be changed to fit something a bit
better...these are just generalized ideas at this point, and for whatever text I do
end up choosing, i can adjust to make them more specific)
● KWL Chart
○ A classic pre-reading strategy is a KWL chart, and it’s easy to modify and adapt
to fit virtual or in-person instruction.
○ This chart would fit for any book, not one specific text.
○ Students fill out what they already know about a text/the central ideas and
themes of a text. Then they fill out what they want to know about a text. After
that, they leave the L blank and begin reading.
○ Once they’ve finished reading the text, they fill out what they Learned during the
read.
 ○ They can reassess in the middle of reading if it’s for a long text, and write what
they learned so far and other things they might want to know when they continue
reading.
○
What you ​K​now What you ​W​ant to Know What you ​L​earned

During Reading Strategies for Chosen Text:

● Graphic Organizer
○ Graphic Organizers are useful tools that allow students to organize information
and thoughts when reading a text.
■ Challenger Deep ​by Neal Shusterman
● A Graphic Organizer for this novel could be something that divides
the two aspects of the story, Caden’s reality and the world he is
living through his schizophrenia. It could be broken up into two
sides and divided into different elements of a story: characters,
settings/location, events, etc.
● I think this would be beneficial for the students because the text is
something that ​can b​ e confusing when reading both sides of
Caden’s perspective/point of view. Having the Graphic Organizer
would help the students keep track of the two perspectives and
worlds, and it could also be something used in a After Reading
setting, because the two sides could be used to form connections
between Caden’s two worlds.
Sample Organizer for ​Challenger Deep​:
The Pirate Ship Caden’s Reality

Characters and Their Descriptions Characters and Their Descriptions

 Settings/Locations Settings/Locations

Events/Story Events/Story

Depiction of Themes Depiction of Themes

■ Dreamland Burning b ​ y Jennifer Latham

● This would be similar to the graphic organizer for the Shusterman
novel, because the story also follows two different perspectives,
100 years apart.
● I think making a Graphic Organizer that compares the two
perspectives would help students build upon what they’ve read
and it will also help them organize thoughts and information that
are listed within the text. Sometimes it can be confusing, and
having all the aspects of the story recorded in one place could
really help the students pick up on connections between
characters and points of view within the text. While it is a “during
reading” strategy, it could also be a really beneficial tool to have
during After Reading discussions and assignments.
Sample Organizer for ​Dreamland Burning:

1921 Present

Characters and Their Traits Characters and Their Traits

 Settings/Locations Settings/Locations

Events/Story Events/Story

Depiction of Themes Depiction of Themes

Noticeable Differences Noticeable Differences

■Endangered ​by Eliot Schrefer

● I don’t know how well a graphic organizer would work with this
text, but there are quite a few things to make note of while reading
the novel. I believe the most effective graphic organizer could be
something that breaks up the different parts of the novel and
provides the students a space to write important aspects of each
part of the novel, so they will have something to go back to and
revisit when it comes time to recall information and complete
discussions/assignments. It will help students keep up with the
information in the text and revisit stuff they might not remember
reading
Sample Graphic Organizer for ​Endangered:​

Endangered ​by Eliot Schrefer

Part 1
 Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

■I’ll Give You the Sun b ​ y Jandy Nelson

● I don’t know how well a graphic organizer would go for this novel
either. I think the best graphic organizer for this text would be
something that organizes the information between the ages of the
two main characters. The novel is told in two different perspectives
of a set of twins, one perspective is the male at 13 and the female
at 16. I think, by splitting the organizer up into the ages of the
characters instead of the lives of the characters, the students
would be able to follow along much better than and organize their
information better.
Sample Graphic Organizer for ​I’ll Give You the Sun:
Age 13 Age 16
 Male’s Story Male’s Story

Female’s Story Female’s Story

Differences Differences

● Think Aloud Strategy

○ This is a strategy that involves verbalizing the thoughts and comments students,
or teachers, have while reading a small chunk of text. This works best blindly, but
it’s a good way of gauging understanding and giving students the space to think
about what they’re reading and slow down to take it all in.
■ Challenger Deep ​by Neal Shusterman
● In order to do a Think Aloud with this text, I would want to pick a
moment that I feel really combines both of Caden’s worlds from
what we read in the book (where he starts calling the characters
by the same name, even though they’re in different worlds from
normal)
● I also think a good spot for Think Aloud could be some of the time
Caden was heavily medicated and floating in and out of
consciousness. There’s a lot to think about there as well.
● I think the best idea would be to separate the class into groups,
have them discuss their section, then come together at the end
and discuss what they learned, read, and questioned.
■ Dreamland Burning b ​ y Jennifer Latham
● Similarly to ​Challenger Deep​, I feel as if the novel would best fit a
Think Aloud in analyzing/incorporating aspects of both
perspectives in a place that they really overlap.
● I also think that a Think Aloud would be good here in thinking
about how the two perspectives are different and similar to each
other
 ○ To do this, I think the class should be divided in half, one
side taking the perspective from 1921 and the other
present day. They will think aloud with one another and
take notes, then the two sides will compare and contrast
their thoughts and findings through whole-class discussion.
■ Endangered ​by Eliot Schrefer
● I don’t know if this would be the best text for a Think Aloud. I think,
if a Think Aloud were to be done with this text, it would be
something involving coming up with questions, then presenting
those questions and discussing those questions with a group for
answers/clarification and to foster discussion.
■ I’ll Give You the Sun b ​ y Jandy Nelson
● This is such a beautifully written text that I feel it could be an
individual Think Aloud, because there are so many devices used
within almost every sentence that I think each student could use a
different excerpt and would get the same experience out of it.
● So, I would give each student different excerpts/sections from the
book and would let them Think Aloud with the text, making notes,
for around five minutes. Then I would have them discuss their
section and findings in their small groups, then altogether in the
big group.
● Table Talk
○ This is a strategy that involves the teacher posing a question to the students for
them to reflect over and respond to individually. Then, the students would work in
groups and discuss what they wrote, ultimately deciding on one response to
share to the class from each group. Each group would share their one response.
The teacher would then facilitate more discussion surrounding the answers.
○ I think this could be good in many ways, especially since it doesn’t completely
rely on the text for the students to do the assignment (in case they didn’t read).
All four of the texts below would follow the format explained here, just posing
different questions.
■ Challenger Deep ​by Neal Shusterman
● I would pose questions surrounding mental illness for this novel,
because it is such a prominent aspect of the novel and main
character.
● The question: Do mental illnesses change the worth of an
individual?
● OR
● Is seeking help for mental illness wrong/inappropriate?
● OR
● Should those with mental illness just “get over it”?
■ Dreamland Burning b ​ y Jennifer Latham
 ● I could ask something about history and how inaccurate because it
is a central theme of the text.
● Question: Is history accurate?
● OR
● Is it true that there’s never really just one side to the story? Why or
why not?
● OR
● Does history actually repeat itself?
■ Endangered ​by Eliot Schrefer
● I would ask stuff about violence and animals for this text because
it is such a prominent aspect of the novel.
● Question: Do animals have feelings and emotions?
● OR
● Is it important to stand up for what you believe in?
● OR
● Can humans have true connections with animals?
■ I’ll Give You the Sun b ​ y Jandy Nelson
● There are quite a few questions I could ask about this but I’d
mainly try to focus on the relationships that are discussed within
the text.
● Question: Are you required to love your sibling?
● OR
● Is it important to forget the past and move on?
● OR
● Is it better to forgive and forget or seek revenge? Why?

After Reading Strategies for Chosen Text:

● Scales
○ Scales give the students an opportunity to organize their thoughts and knowledge
base on a specific text after it has been read. It allows the students a space
where they can organize information, make comparisons and contrasts,
differentiate between fact and opinion, and make sense of what was read
throughout the text. There are multiple ways to do scales within the classroom,
and the type of scale used really depends on the objective of the
strategy/assignment. If wanting character analysis, it’s more appropriate to use a
Semantic Differential Scale and it’s more appropriate to use a Likert scale if
focusing on statements, generalizations, themes, and big ideas of the text.
■ Challenger Deep ​by Neal Shusterman
● I decided to focus on character analysis when it comes to this text
because the main character, Caden Bosch, experiences a huge
character change within the novel that I think is really central to
the text. With the themes that are addressed within the novel I
think the Likert Scale would be just as appropriate as the
 Semantic Differential Scale, so either one would work for this
task/strategy. I believe it would be an effective after-reading
strategy for this text.
● Sample Questions/Scale Prompts:
Caden Bosch is…
Mentally Ill………………………………………………………………………………………”Faking It”

Caden’s Family Is…

Strong……………………………………………....………………………………………………...Weak

Caden’s Two Worlds are…

Similar……………………………………….....…………………………………...Completely Different

The Parrot’s Advice is…

Trustworthy…………………………………………………………………………………….Unreliable

The Captain is....

A Good Influence……………………………………………….……The root of all Caden’s Problems

The Parrot is…

The Enemy…………………………………………………………………………...Only Trying to Help

Callie is…
Hope and Inspiration…………………………………………………………………………....A Trigger

■ Dreamland Burning b ​ y Jennifer Latham

● I think that unlike ​Challenger Deep, t​ his scale should focus more
on agree and disagree statements that are revealed throughout
the reading of the text. The Likert Scale would be more
appropriate in this setting, instead of the Semantic Differential
Scale.
● Sample Questions/Scale Prompts:
1. The 1921 Tulsa, Oklahoma Race Riot is not something frequently discussed in school.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Strongly agree Strongly disagree Agree Strongly agree

2. Rowan uses artifacts from the skeleton to find the story surrounding the body without
permission. This was the right thing for her to do.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Strongly agree Strongly disagree Agree Strongly agree

3. Rowan’s sheltered life was a good thing for her because it hid her from the harsh
realities of racial tension and racism in America.
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Strongly agree Strongly disagree Agree Strongly agree

4. There are multiple perspectives to history, therefore no history is completely accurate.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Strongly agree Strongly disagree Agree Strongly agree

5. William, instead of doing what he was commanded to do, helped his friends during the
riot. He was right to do this.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Strongly agree Strongly disagree Agree Strongly agree

■ Endangered ​by Eliot Schrefer

● I believe another Likert Scale would be appropriate here because
there are very few characters that are seen within the novel other
than the bonobo monkeys, and those characters that do appear
don’t stick around for long. This would help tackle the main
themes, ideas, and questions that the text presents and I believe it
would be an appropriate after-reading strategy to use to give
students a space to organize their thoughts along with their
feelings surrounding a specific text.
● Sample Questions/Scale Prompts:
1. Sophie shouldn’t have purchased the monkey from the poacher on the way to her
mother’s sanctuary.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Strongly agree Strongly disagree Agree Strongly agree

2. Sophie should have left Otto behind and gotten on the van to travel back to the US.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Strongly agree Strongly disagree Agree Strongly agree

3. Sophie is biracial, yet she stays in the war-torn Congo. This is a strong statement
surrounding her pride and feelings toward her heritage.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Strongly agree Strongly disagree Agree Strongly agree

4. Animals are misunderstood and not purposefully malicious towards humans.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Strongly agree Strongly disagree Agree Strongly agree

5. The journey Otto and Sophie go on within the novel is a window into the world the
bonobo monkeys, and other animals not in sanctuaries, experience in the Congo.
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Strongly agree Strongly disagree Agree Strongly agree

6. The bond between Sophie and Otto is more human than animalistic.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Strongly agree Strongly disagree Agree Strongly agree

■ I’ll Give You the Sun​ by Jandy Nelson

● This most definitely would be better as a character analysis than
analysis of themes, even though both of those things would work
extremely well with this text. Both main characters and plenty of
the secondary characters within the novel experience quite a few
changes throughout the book and I think the Semantic Differential
Scale would be a good way to represent that.
● Sample Questions/Scale Prompts:

Jude is…
Self-Sabotaging……………………………………………………..……………………….Manipulative

Noah is…
Impulsive………………………………………………………………………………………..Controlled

The Twins’ Lives are…

Mirrored…………………………………………………………………………………………Opposite

Guillermo....
Cold-Hearted……………………………………………………………………………………...Genuine

Noah and Jude’s Dad is…

Heartbroken………………………………………………………………………………Free/Relieved

● Text Reformulation
○ Text Reformulation gives students the opportunity to rewrite part of a text in order
to support their interpretation and understanding of what they’ve read. They can
do it in a variety of different formats depending on what is the most appropriate
for the text, and they even have the option to create their own style of
reformulation. This is a good strategy because it exposes students to the same
content, just expressed differently, and that could help those confused
understand what’s going on, while it could help those that understand the
material think deeper about what they already know.
■ Challenger Deep ​by Neal Shusterman
 ● For this, I personally think that I would really like it if the student
came up with their own style of reformulation for this text. There
are so many different ways it can be done, and the novel is so
creative, that I believe the students would respond the best to
creative freedom on this one.
● That being said, if I had to pick one for the sake of understanding
and practice for the class, I would pick the ABC book structure for
this text because I believe it would allow the students the most
opportunity to incorporate multiple aspects of this story.
○ Example:
■ A is for adventure because Caden is on an
adventure to explore the deepest point of the
Marianas Trench, “Challenger Deep.”
■ B is for boring because Caden really disliked the
group therapy sessions and instead used them as a
time to escape into his own mind.
■ C is for Calliope because she was the figure on the
ship that somehow kept Caden somewhat sane.
■ D is for dangerous because Caden was risking his
life in both the world inside his head and reality.
■ And it would continue on like that…
■ Dreamland Burning b ​ y Jennifer Latham
● I don’t believe that this text would be extremely effective when it
comes down to the reformulation strategy. I think it would be the
best as an assigned format because students could focus on
implementing the strategy, not just focusing on finding a strategy
to use.
● One format that I would pick for this novel is the Cumulative Tale
Structure because I feel as if all aspects of the novel are based off
of one another and would build up nicely when reformulated in this
format.
○ At its most basic level, an example could go something like
this:
■ This is the house in the backyard where Rowan
found the skeleton.
■ This is the gun of the skeleton that Rowan found.
■ This is the initials of the shooter on the gun of the
skeleton that Rowan found.
■ The killer’s initials are the initials of the shooter on
the gun of the skeleton that Rowan found.
■ And it would proceed in this manner…
■ Endangered ​by Eliot Schrefer
 ● I feel as if this is another one that would benefit from being student
decided, because there are so many directions it can go in. I think
the story can be turned into poetry or other formats and I also
believe that rewriting it into a different narrative would also be an
amazing task, so the best course of action would be to allow
students to pick their own strategy/style of text.
○ Example:
■ Story into poem
■ Story into letter
■ Stories into radio announcements
■ Diary or memoir
■ I’ll Give You the Sun b ​ y Jandy Nelson
● I don’t think a choice format/strategy would be appropriate for this
text because there are so many moving parts that I think students
would get confused and miss important information from the text
when doing this assignment. Instead, I think it would be
appropriate to use the ABC Book Structure again because this text
is written so artistically that I feel like most of it really could line up
with the strategy. If that didn’t work, I believe the Cumulative Tale
Structure would work really well as well.
○ Example:
■ A is for art because both Noah, Jude, and their
mother are extremely passionate artists. Noah and
Jude want to go to an art high school.
■ B is for Brian because Noah begins to really identify
with his sexuality around him, and Noah also
exposes him to avoid embarrassment/harassment
from his peers.
■ C is for coping because it is one of the central
things within the text that both Noah and Jude
struggle with, and it’s a major theme (coinciding
with grief).
■ It would continue on like this for the entire
alphabet…
● Sketch to Stretch
○ This strategy allows students to sketch out their interpretations of a text, whether
literal or symbolic. They explain their sketch after they’ve drawn it, and this is a
strategy that will help them organize their thoughts for a text and explain their
position as to why they feel that way about a specific text.
■ Challenger Deep ​by Neal Shusterman
● I believe that this tool would work extremely well in discussing this
novel because there are so many places for interpretation to differ
 that I believe would result in original, different work from all
students.
○ If I were sketching for this text I would probably draw the
image of the Parrot, and tie it into the image of Dr. Poirot
by making half of the character a bird and half of the
character a human. I would do this because the moment
that Caden called Dr. Poirot the parrot in therapy really
made me see the intricate connections woven throughout
the novel, and it was almost central to my interpretation of
the text.
● Most students would do something different, which would make for
really engaging explanations and interesting discussions.
■ Dreamland Burning b ​ y Jennifer Latham
● Again, this is another text that would probably result in tons of
different interpretations and sketches. I do personally feel as if
there wouldn’t be as much variety in the sketches involving this
book as ​Challenger Deep b ​ ecause there are a lot of strong points
within the novel that I feel like readers are drawn to.
● There’s no way to predict how students feel about a text and how
they are interpreting a text, but if I was doing this assignment on
this text I would probably draw the skeleton living out his daily life
in the 1920s, before he was murdered and buried. I think this
would represent a really strong message and help organize my
thoughts about the text.
■ Endangered ​by Eliot Schrefer
● This book is full of imagery and adventure that I think could be
reflected really well through this strategy. As always, this would
provide students a safe way to draw and express how they feel
through something other than words, which I believe is important
sometimes.
○ If I were completing this assignment I would probably draw
a huge forest with a small girl and an even smaller monkey
standing in the center, eyes staring at them from the
darkness and guns sticking out of the brush. I think this
would represent the danger that Sophie experienced along
with the challenges that Sophie and Otto experienced to
get to safety.
● Most students would each do different things so they’re hard to
predict but I believe it would foster extremely good discussion.
■ I’ll Give You the Sun b ​ y Jandy Nelson
● This text is the only book I’ve ever read that is written like an art
painting, and I think that opens a world of possibilities for this
strategy.
 ○ While I can’t predict what students would draw for this text,
I would draw a huge stone like those that Jude worked
with. On one side of the stone, facing away from Jude,
Noah would be carving an image Jude can’t see. The
same can be said for Noah’s image and Jude’s view of that
image. The kicker, though, is that the picture is exactly the
same (they just don’t realize it). This, to me, represents
how closely the two stories mirror each other even though
the novel follows the twins as they try to separate
themselves from the identities they created with each
other.
● Most students would each do different things so they’re hard to
predict but I believe it would foster extremely good discussion.

Discussion Strategies for Chosen Text:

● Challenger Deep ​by Neal Shusterman
○ While I normally divide the strategies up by strategy, not text, I feel as if these
discussion strategies would be more appropriate if they were picked based on
the novel itself.
■ Hot Seat Discussion
● This is a discussion that involves students taking on the role of a
character or object in the book, with the other students asking
questions and facilitating a discussion. I tried this strategy for my
HLP Discussion and it didn’t work when I did it the conventional
way, so I divided it up and came up with questions to ask the
entire class instead. Both options will be listed here.
● To ensure that this discussion involves more students, the Hot
Seat Discussions will be done in groups of 4-6. One student at
each table will be a different character in the novel. For this
assignment, we will say there are 16 students and they are broken
up into groups of 4. The characters will be Caden Bosch, The
Parrot/Dr. Poirot, The Captain, and Callie, and the rest of the
students in the groups will ask those characters questions.
● The students will have the opportunity to ask the characters
questions, and those students assigned a character will answer
the questions as if they were the character/how they think the
character would answer. This really gives the students the
opportunity to look at the story from a different perspective and
can really help enhance their reading.
● At the end of the small group discussions, the teacher will call the
groups back together for a whole group discussion on what they
talked about in their discussion, some questions they asked, some
answers they received, and how they felt the process went.
 ○ ALTERNATIVELY, the teacher could ask the groups
questions. Each group could be assigned the same
characters and each member of the group could be that
character. The teacher would then formulate questions and
ask each table. This would keep it more whole group but
would also keep students from feeling as if they’ve been
put on the spot. It will also ensure that the students stay on
task and engage in the questioning process. These are just
some ideas of questions that could be asked:
■ Caden Questions:
● During your time in the hospital, at the peak
of your struggle with Schizophrenia, what
kept you grounded/pushing forward?
● Do you think you would’ve continued to get
better if Callie hadn’t gotten discharged from
the hospital?
● Which reality do you prefer, honestly?
■ Callie Questions:
● Do you regret leaving Caden behind, even
though you were better?
● How did it feel, trying to be around someone
who spent much of his time in a different
world?
● What was your first thought when you left
the hospital?
■ The Parrot/Poirot Questions:
● Parrot: What was the most frustrating part of
dealing with Caden on the ship?
● Poirot: Did you ever have any idea that
Caden was envisioning you as a bird, and a
horrible one at that?
■ The Captain
● How did you honestly feel about Caden,
after it was all said and done?
● Do you regret anything that happened with
Caden?
● Where did you go, when he got better?
■ TQE Method
● This method involves breaking the students into small group
discussions and giving them around 15 minutes to complete each
small group discussion, discussing their “thoughts” they had about
a text, “questions” they had about a text, and “epiphanies” they
 had while reading a text. Then, the students will bring their
discussion into a whole group and share what they noted.
○ For ​Challenger Deep, u ​ sing a class about the same size as
before (16 students), the students would be broken into
groups of 4. They would come together and each discuss a
T, a Q, and an E, making note of each one.
○ They would have 15 minutes to do this discussion. Then,
they’d all come back together as a whole group and one
person from each group would write one thought, one
question, and one epiphany that they discussed in their
group on the board (or shared Google Doc if virtual). Then,
the teacher will moderate and facilitate a full class
discussion based off of what’s written on the board.
○ DISCLAIMER: Make sure it’s explained thoroughly to
students and that they are walked through the steps
beforehand for a quick/smooth discussion.
■ OPTIONS could be that the teacher just poses
questions to get the students thinking, then breaks
them into groups, so they’ll have more to talk about
than just a cold discussion on their own. Also, make
sure to guide the students into thinking deeper than
surface level textual things.
● What did you like/dislike? Why would the
author…?
● What surprised you? What theme is the
author creating by using…?
● Dreamland Burning b​ y Jennifer Latham
○ This novel is extremely similar to ​Challenger Deep, ​so some of the same
discussion strategies may apply.
■ Hot Seat Discussion
● This is a discussion that involves students taking on the role of a
character or object in the book, with the other students asking
questions and facilitating a discussion. I tried this strategy for my
HLP Discussion and it didn’t work when I did it the conventional
way, so I divided it up and came up with questions to ask the
entire class instead. Both options will be listed here.
● To ensure that this discussion involves more students, the Hot
Seat Discussions will be done in groups of 4-6. One student at
each table will be a different character in the novel. For this
assignment, we will say there are 20 students and they are broken
up into groups of 5. The characters that will be assigned are:
Rowan, William, Joseph, and Ruby.
● Those students that are assigned a character in the group will be
answering questions from the perspective of that character from
the novel and the remaining students in the group will ask the
character questions that go beyond just plot summary of what was
read in the text. This will give students the opportunity to think
about the novel and the characters from a perspective other than
their own, which might help with textual analysis and
understanding the text.
● After the questions have been asked, the teacher will call the
groups back together and facilitate a whole group discussion
where the students share what some of the questions were, how
they responded to them, and reflect upon what they learned during
the discussion.
○ OPTION!
■ When I tried this discussion in one of my classes,
the students didn’t come up with any questions. If
they tried to, it was usually something off topic,
such as “What’s your favorite color,” which I didn’t
think was appropriate for discussion, so I decided
to instead ask the groups questions and make
every student in the group the same character. This
took the pressure off the one individual student
representing the character and it also allowed
discussion to stay on topic, alongside actually
engaging the students to think deeper into the text
being read.
● Rowan:
○ What was your initial reaction to
finding the body, the moment you
saw the bone? What went through
your head?
○ Do you regret keeping the piece of
evidence to yourself, or do you think
it was the right decision? Why?
○ Did your internship/shadowing at the
hospital change your mind on your
future career?
○ What has this experience done to
affect the way you view history and
the world around you? (DEEP)
● William
○ If you’d known that somehow,
punching Clarence in that
 Speakeasy would end in the Tulsa
Race Riot, would you have done it?
○ Why did you entertain Ruby so
much, if you knew it would get you in
trouble?
○ What made you change your mind,
after all, and help those being
pursued during the Race Riot?
○ Why didn’t you do anything more to
help them, like standing up to your
father? (DEEP)
● Joseph
○ Why did you risk it all to purchase
the Victrola?
○ Were your intentions ever impure?
Did you ever intend on stealing
from/taking advantage of William’s
father?
○ Did keeping up with Ruby make life
much harder for you? Did she ever
scare you just a bit too much?
○ How did you feel when you saw
William in that truck? How did it feel
to see him on your side?
● Ruby
○ What about William made you stick
around? Why did you always bother
him?
○ Why did you feel like you had to take
up for and protect your brother, even
though he was supposed to be
looking out for you?
○ Why do you think Joseph tried so
hard to get the Victrola in the first
place?
○ Did you always know William was on
your side, even before he did?
■ Save the Last Word for ME
● This strategy is really great because it gives all students a space
with which their thoughts, opinions, and ideas can be heard
without fear of interruption or someone trying to refute their claims.
It establishes a really engaging and interactive dynamic that I feel
would work really well in a classroom.
 ● The teacher would begin by dividing the students up into small
groups (sticking with the 20, groups of 5) and directing each
student to find a place in the text that they felt conveyed the most
significant idea or theme within the text.
● Then one student in the group will read what they chose, without
any explanation or interruptions. The remaining group members
will have the opportunity to respond to the passage/text chosen.
Then, the presenter will explain why they chose that part of the
text and build upon what the other group members told them.
● This pattern continues until everyone has had a chance to speak,
and then the teacher will bring the class back together to discuss
some of the things they talked about alongside facilitating a
reflection over the discussion, how they felt about it, and what they
learned about the text and each other throughout their reading and
discussing.
○ IF the students don’t seem to be able to find areas of the
text that they feel strongly about/want to talk about,
questions can be posed that help point them in the right
direction. This novel has so many different themes and
ideas running through it that a little push would go a long
way for the students.
■ SAMPLE QUESTIONS:
● What does the cover of the novel suggest
about its themes? Find that theme in the
text.
● How is race depicted within this novel?
● How does the statement, “History isn’t over
yet?” relate to the novel?
● Where did you notice some class divides
and prejudice within the novel?
● Endangered ​by Eliot Schrefer
○ While I haven’t decided on a novel yet, I do know that I will not be using this
novel for the portfolio so I will not be completing discussion strategies for it.
● I’ll Give You the Sun b ​ y Jandy Nelson
○ This novel is also fairly similar to the other two novels I have picked discussion
strategies for, and yes, some (if not all) will be the same as the other two novels.
■ Hot Seat Discussion
● This is a discussion that involves students taking on the role of a
character or object in the book, with the other students asking
questions and facilitating a discussion. I tried this strategy for my
HLP Discussion and it didn’t work when I did it the conventional
way, so I divided it up and came up with questions to ask the
entire class instead. Both options will be listed here.
● To ensure that this discussion involves more students, the Hot
Seat Discussions will be done in groups of 4-6. One student at
each table will be a different character in the novel. For this
assignment, we will say there are 16 students and they are broken
up into groups of 4. One student in each group will then be
assigned a character: Jude, Noah, Brian, and Guillermo.
● The students in the group that aren’t assigned a character will be
formulating questions to ask that specific character, and the
student taking on the perspective of their assigned character will
be answering as the character would. In the small groups, the
students would ask the character their questions and elaborate on
them a bit, taking one thing and engaging with it enough so that it
continues to expand the discussion.
● Once the students have asked their characters questions, the
teacher will bring all of the small groups back together and ask
them to share some of the questions they asked, some of the
answers they received, and how they felt this discussion
went/what they learned during the discussion. It’s all about the
reflection, and if they have a meaningful reflection, it’s been a
good day.
○ ALTERNATE option is that, if the students aren’t
participating like you’d like them to or aren’t coming up with
engaging enough questions, then the teacher will come up
with their own questions to ask. Assign each group a
character, not just one student at the group, so that there
are 4 of each character in the room. This will prevent
students from feeling singled-out or put on the spot, and
will give the classroom more of a collaborative field than a
place of complete accuracy. The groups could then answer
the questions as the characters together, which I think
would keep the discussion moving much smoother. Some
sample questions are:
■ Noah
● Was it painful watching your sister live her
life without you in it (when you were on the
outside)?
● In hindsight, do you regret not having the
opportunity to go to art school?
● Did you always know that Jude had
sabotaged your portfolio (and in turn your
acceptance into art school), or is it
something you discovered later?
 ● How did it feel, deep down, to see Jude
working with Guillermo?
● Do you think Dianna’s death is your fault?
■ Jude
● Why did you ruin your brother’s chances at
going to the art school? Would you take it
back if you could?
● Why did you do all of your art in secret?
What were you so afraid of?
● What made Oscar different?
● How did it feel to use stone instead of paint,
clay, etc?
● Will it ever be the same between you and
Noah?
● Do you think Dianna’s death is your fault?
■ Guillermo
● Did you always know that Jude was
Dianna’s daughter?
● Do you see Dianna’s daughter coming to
you for help as fate?
● Do you believe Jude and Noah finally see
why Dianna did what she did, and what you
had to offer them?
● Do you think Dianna’s death is your fault?
■ Brian
● Why were you so afraid to come out?
● Why do you think coming out was such a
positive impact on your life, but Noah still
continued to struggle with who he was?
● Deep down, did it hurt to see Noah
struggling?
● Do you forgive Noah for what he did?
■ Concentric Circles
● This Discussion Strategy involves some movement, but I think it’s
a good way of ensuring that the students and the class are
engaged and participating within the classroom discussion.
● This discussion involves two circles, one inner and one outer circle
that face each other. One student on the inside is pair with a
student on the outside, and the two students discuss their
responses to a discussion question posed by the teacher.
● After a few minutes, the teacher tells the group to rotate and they
pair up with another student, ready to answer the next discussion
with their own ideas about the text along with what was discussed
in their previous pairing.
○ DISCUSSIOn QUESTIONS:
■ What is the significance of telling the story between
the perspectives of both Noah and Jude? How
does the differing age play upon this significance?
■ What is the significance of the title within this
novel? What does giving up the sun mean to Jude?
To Noah?
■ Why did Noah often call his dad “big” and use
descriptive words in relation to size?
■ What was your favorite moment in the text?
Favorite character?
■ How did you feel about the ending of the book?
■ Art is extremely important within this novel. How is
this text art?
○ ALTERNATIVELY this can be done in any way that
involves students pairing up with one another and
discussing a text, and can just as easily be done in
breakout rooms on Zoom. The students could also come
up with their own questions to ask one another.