The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

The Raven Boys

By: Maggie Stiefvater

Lexile Level: HL760L

Genre: Fiction

Summary: Every year, Blue Sargent stands with her clairvoyant mother as the soon-t0-be-dead walk past. Blue cannot see them herself...until this year. A boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her. His name is Gansey. Blue soon discovers he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has long had a policy of staying away from the Aglionby boys. They are known as Raven Boys and only mean trouble. But, Blue is drawn to Gansey. He is on a quest with his three best friends and fellow Raven Boys. For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause the death of her true love. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, she is not so sure.

Selling Tool: This is the book trailer published by the author, Maggie Stiefvater. It is a great selling tool for the book.

Possible Learning Activity: Throughout the novel, the main characters reference the Medieval Welsh ruler, Owen Glendower and the tales that surround him. Students will compare and contrast how the novel portrays the tale of Glendower and the factual information on the last king of Wales.

Standards:

New York State Learning Standards and Core Curriculum:

CC.RL.9-10.2. Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.

CC.RL.9-10.3 Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.

Learning Objective:

1. Students will compare and contrast how the novel portrays the tale of Glendower and the historical facts on the king.
2. Students will analyze how the author has changed some of the facts in order to better tell the story.
3. Students will discuss an author’s creative license to change historical facts.

Possible Learning Outcome: Students will compare and contrast how the novel portrays the last king of Wales and the historical facts of the king. They will also react to how authors use creative license to “change” history in order to better tell their stories.

Nate the Great and the Halloween Hunt - Tanya Beers

Tanya Beers

IST571: Children's Literature Lit Kit

Book: Nate the Great and the Halloween Hunt by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat

Lesson Plan:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xp2zGoZh7rzeD1vNaJN_NNMgfxNNhsj2mO6m9mkzyYc/edit?usp=sharing

Selling Tool: Book Talk 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bx77YIjj3mbtMWhLeEk2bDBET2M/view

Book Talk Form:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IMFSjvzlhYDr1eGIDoQc6pzyWFZ-S1z_CR7qo4U5fzw/edit?usp=sharing

Tanya Beers

IST571: Nate the Great and the Halloween Hunt by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat - Lit Kit

Title: Nate the Great and the Halloween Hunt

Author:  Marjorie Weinman Sharmat

Lexile Level: 370L

Grade Level: 1st through 4th grade

Age Range:   6 to 9 years old

ISBN #: 044080163X

Lesson for 2nd graders (tied in with Halloween):

A. I will read Nate the Great and the Halloween Hunt by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat to the class.

B. Students will fill out these questions about the reading:

https://c8859befb3f181b271f3-9499a632d82ae750b4b793e070f6eee5.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/225511-
A5YRPPGUXJMC7MKD.jpg

https://c8859befb3f181b271f3-9499a632d82ae750b4b793e070f6eee5.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/225511-
7ZKY2MRJW845H5XG.jpg

C. Then students will write two paragraphs about how they would feel to be a detective, solve crime, 

rescue people and/or animals in trouble? Have they already had to do this in real life and how/why?

*The above questions are the only part of this lesson that are not mine.

D. Students will have a PowerPoint lesson about how to find books online at their grade level from 

reputable sources. Students may be at home and need to find a book at their grade level to read at 

their teacher’s request for an assignment in class. They may go to the public library with a parent 

but not know where to begin finding a book on their own; of course they could ask the librarian 

but if they wanted to find it by themselves this may help.

These are websites that give examples of books that are at a second grade reading level:

1.  https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/2nd-grade

2. https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/series-books-and-beyond-

grades-2-3/

3. http://www.scholastic.com/parents/books-and-reading/book-lists-and-recommendations/

ages-6-7

4. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/best-books-for-second-graders

5. https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/teachers-picks-top-25-

picture-books/

E. At the end of class, I will tell them a ghost story while they have snacks, drinks and some 
Halloween candy.

Learning Standards:

Common Core ELA Reading Standards for Literature K-5 (Grade 2)

2.1. Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate 

understanding of key details in a text.

2.3. Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.

2.5 Describe the overall structure of a story, including describing how the beginning introduces 

the story and the ending concludes the action.

2.11. Make connections between self, text, and the world around them (text, media, social 
interaction).

Learning Goal:

Students will demonstrate their knowledge of the reading through answering questions and 

writing 2-paragraphs about how they feel about the reading.

 

Learning Objectives:

1. Students will have a PowerPoint lesson that details how to find a book 

  at their grade level at the local public library so they have that skill on their own. 
(Psychomotor)

2. Students will write  a 2-paragraph description about how they would feel to be a detective 

like Nate the Great in order to identify with the main character of the book. (Affective)

3. Students will demonstrate their knowledge of the reading by writing down answers to 

the assigned questions about the reading. (Cognitive)

Learning Outcome:

Students will be able to go to the public library and choose a book at their grade level by 

themselves and demonstrate their knowledge of the reading through the question activity and 

written assignment.

Works Cited:

New York State Department of Education. (2011). New York State P-12 Common Core Learning 

Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy. Retrieved from 

 https://www.engageny.org/resource/new-york-state-p-12-common-core-learning-standards-for-
english-language-arts-and-literacy.

Sharmat, Marjorie Weinman. Nate the Great and the Halloween Hunt. Yearling, 1989.

Teacher’s Notebook. (2017). Nate the Great and the Halloween Hunt Comprehension Questions.  

Retrieved from http://www.teachersnotebook.com/product/aslyn769/nate-the-great-and-the-
halloween-hunt-comprehension-questions.

The Nobody by Jeff Lemire

(Image courtesy of amazon.com)
Title: The Nobody
Author: Jeff Lemire
Lexile: N/A
Genre: Graphic Novel, Mystery, Horror
Summary:
When a mysterious resident, covered from head to in bandages comes to a small fishing village, to seemingly escape from it all, the young girl June becomes intrigued by the stranger. As the stranger becomes more familiar in town so does the town in the stranger, and soon the town begins to unravel. In this reimagining of The Invisible Man, Jeff Lemire upturns the town of
Large Mouth into a paranoia-filled adventure.

Selling Tool:
Interview. The imagery of The Nobody is enough to sell the book, but if you can’t get your hands on a copy, this interview with the author should help clear up some reservations!
http://wednesdayshaul.com/wordpress/2009/08/14/guest-interview-with-jeff-lemire/

Activity:
A classic writing prompt for any early English writer is imitation, as Jeff Lemire has done with The Nobody. Students will write an original short story or poem that approximates the story of a classic work of fiction.(Grades 6th-7th)

Standards:
CC.6.W.10 Range of Writing: Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

Learning Goal:
Students will write a work of fiction based on the works of a published author.

Learning Objective:
Students will write a short passage or poem that mimics the theme or structure of another fictional work.

Learning Outcome:
Students written work will clearly represent the theme or structure of another published work.

Works Cited:
Cederlund, S. (2009). Guest Interview with Jeff Lemire. Wednesdays Haul. Retrieved 12/10/17 at http://wednesdayshaul.com/wordpress/2009/08/14/guest-interview-with-jeff-lemire/.

Thornhill by Pam Smy

(Image courtesy of amazon.com)

Title: Thornhill

Author: Pam Smy

Lexile: 730L

Genre: Mystery, Graphic Novel, Fictional Memoir, Horror

Summary:

Ella recently has moved next door to the abandoned remains of the orphanage Thornhill. Seemingly
abandoned by her family Ella begins investigating the ruins of the orphanage only to find a journal
written by the orphan Mary. Years earlier Mary is scorned and shunned by the girls of Thornhill and
has only her puppets and a journal to keep her company. In this time jumping graphic novel Mary and
Ella become irrevocably connected for better or worse.

Selling Tool:

Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/oi8SMjIgink

Photo Credits: http://britishisles.scbwi.org/wp-content/blogs.dir/15/files/2017/02/Thornhill
-image-03.jpg
http://pamsmy.blogspot.com/

Activity:

Mary’s story has no dialogue but is revealed through full page panels, Anna’s tale is told through
journal entries, both tales come together at the end to make the whole. A student project would be to
create a one page story that has two perspectives or two characters, than relate the story of each in
two different forms that form the whole of the story.

Learning Standards:
AASL Personal and Aesthetic Growth 4.1.3: Respond to literature and creative expressions of ideas
in various formats and genres.

Learning Goal: Students will create comparative creative works founded in the examples of past
readings.

Learning Objective: Students will use the structural example provided by Thornhill to produce a
unique work of literature or art in the same comparative theme.

Learning Outcome: Students will more deeply understand how written and visual communication can
be a compilation of many forms that inform the whole.  

When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead

Author: Rebecca Stead

Genre: Science Fiction, Mystery

ISBN: 978-0375850868

Lexile Level: 750L

Grade: 3 – 7

Awards: Newbery Medal

Summary:  Miranda is in sixth grade and lives with her mom and mom’s boyfriend Richard. She also has a few friends, like Sal, Annemarie and Colin, whom she has a crush on. Things get weird when Miranda starts to receive these notes that tell her what will happen in the future and when she should look for the next note.  After the last note came true and Sal almost got hit by a truck, she realizes who was writing all those letters: it was the “laughing man” who everyone made fun of and who actually saved Sal’s life by giving his own away. On her mom’s show, Miranda realizes that the man who she should give her notes to is right there, his name was Marcus, and he just traveled in time as a laughing man.

Selling Tool: Book Talk

This was a very interesting book! The story goes on about a sixth grade girl, Miranda, whose mom is about to be in a show to win $20,000. I know: sounds awesome! Miranda also has some great friends who along with her, on their lunch hour work at the sandwich shop called Jimmy’s. Also pretty cool. But one day, Miranda’s life takes a twist when she finds this weird note:  And she figures out, there were plenty more to come. Who is this person and why does he need her to record everything about her life? Well, you will have to read the book to find out.

Activity:  After reading the book, the students will be given paper and pencils and brainstorming a mystery story. They will make sure to have clues, or notes in their story and can mimic the ones found in the book.

Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.6
Describe how a narrator's or speaker's point of view influences how events are described.

Goal:  Students will understand that the point of view is very important to the tone and perception of the book.

Objective:  Students will write two advantages and two disadvantages of a first person point of view

Outcome: Students find out how point of view contributes to the tone and interest of the book.

Works Cited:

Stead, Rebecca. When You Reach Me. Random House Publishers. 2009

https://www.amazon.com/When-You-Reach-Yearling-Newbery/dp/0375850864

https://www.shmoop.com/when-you-reach-me/summary.html

https://www.bmionline.com/files/samples/S3813-sample.pdf

http://www.rebeccasteadbooks.com/whenyoureachme.html