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Grade Level:
6 - 12
Literary Form:
American Novel
Paired with:
Holes11 Lesson Plans/ 33 Handouts/ 75 Pages
ISBN:978-1-56077-649-9
Description:
This beautifully crafted novel tells a heartbreaking yet hopeful story about a piano-playing girl growing up amidst the bleak Oklahoma dust storms of the 1930s. She is devastated by a tragic accident that severely burns her hands and ultimately claims her mother’s life. The novel conveys the suddenness and tragedy of loss, the anger and despair of grief, how relationships are restructured, and the self understood. The hopeful message of the text suggests that from charred ground a person might find a single green twig sprouting with promise.
Activities:
In response to the beautiful, poetic style of Karen Hesse’s period novel, the design of this unit emphasizes poetic form and period research. In this unit, students think critically, journal, write a news letter, stage a debate, dramatize, re-write, perform character analysis, participate in cooperative learning activities, make presentations, create dialogue, and explore poetic forms.
Supplementary Materials include exercises that can be used for optional activities or assessment. Also included is a list of activities categorized by subject area including Language Arts, Music, Art, and Research.
Ethical Values:
Compassion, Courage, Endurance, Family commitment, Gratitude, Self-actualization
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