Book+Talk+Mini+Lessons

Book Talk Mini Lessons

Reading Comprehension

1. How does what I already know help me to comprehend?

(predicting, context clues, inferring, visualizing)


 * **Book/Page #** || **Strategy and Explanation** ||
 * Stargirl, 62-67

(Her interview in the “hot seat”) || Make connections to peer pressure and the mob mentality when Stargirl is being attacked by her peers Predict how Leo and Stargirl will act in school the next day ||
 * HipHop High School

,

p. 8 || Visualization – Theresa’s physical character description of Wardin ||
 * Just Listen

, p. 197 || Inferring (slowing down or rereading to put the author’s clues together) – Read Annabel and Owen’s conversation about Whitney’s eating disorder while they are looking into Annabel’s glass house to figure out how the author uses looking into the glass house as a metaphor for family secrets. ||
 * Just Listen

, p. 230 || Context clues – “If my sister was long-winded on the phone, her e-mails were equally **verbose**.” ||
 * //Shattering Glass//, p. 34-37 || Prediction/foreshadow - How does the scene with Rob torturing the frog in Science class help you predict what may happen in the future? ||
 * //Shattering Glass// || Each chapter begins with an interview quote that invites the reader to make a prediction about the climax - climax is not revealed until last 5 pages of the book. ||
 * //Shattering Glass//, p. 147-148 || Prediction - While researching in the library, Simon and Young discover the secret about their mysterious friend. The author does not reveal the secret and ends the chapter with Simon and Young saying, "I never wanted to know this. We are never going to talk about this again." ||
 * //Gym Candy//, p. 15-17 || Visualizing - Mick's descriptive essay on why he loves football ||
 * //Beastly//, p. 146 || Context Clues - "When did you get so **philanthropic**, Kyle?" Selfish Kyle wants to use wishes to help other people. ||
 * //Kick//, p. 90 || Context Clues - "I had been thinking about what Sergeant Brown had said about people with Hispanic backgrounds being **exploited**, and it bothered me. I knew I wouldn't want my grandmother being cheated in any way." ||

2.

Do I understand what I am reading, and if not, what can I do about it?

(monitoring, questioning, fix-it strategies)

p. 80 || Reading ahead when rereading doesn't work - Simon and Young are going to the Guidance Office to try and hack into the school computer. Young asks Simon how he will get past the counselor, and Simon replies, "All it takes is someone clumsy." I reread this section several times, and still didn't understand what he meant. Who would be clumsy - Simon or the counselor? I know Simon is a clumsy person, but how will that help him hack into a computer? I decided to read ahead with that question at the front of my mind. The answer was revealed on the next page. ||
 * **Book/Page #** || **Strategy and Explanation** ||
 * //Shattering Glass//,

3. What does the __author__ want me to know?

(main idea, summarizing, drawing conclusions)


 * **Book/Page #** || **Strategy and Explanation** ||
 * Hopkins books (//Crank, Glass, Impulse, Burned, Identical//) || Novels are written in verse – find main idea, author’s message, or draw conclusions from individual poems ||
 * Sones books (//What My Mother Doesn’t Know, What My Girlfriend Doesn’t Know, One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies)// || Novels are written in verse – find main idea, author’s message, or draw conclusions from individual poems ||
 * Give a Boy a Gun || Compare author’s message in the interviews from different points of view ||
 * What Happened to Cass McBride? || Examine author’s choice on point of view - each chapter is 1st person narrative from a different character. ||
 * //Coraline// p. 56-59 || Foreshadow: Coraline tells the story of her dad's bravery against the wasps to foreshadow her decision to rescue her parents despite her fears. ||

Writing

Introductions


 * **Book/Page #** || **Strategy and Explanation** ||
 * Story of a Girl, p. 1 || Beginning with who, what, when, where, & why in the first sentence ||
 * Give a Boy a Gun, p. 8 || Very graphic who, what, when, where, & why ||
 * Twilight, p. 1 || Eye catching content: “I’d never given much thought to how I would die…” ||
 * Stargirl, p. 3 || Question/mystery: “Did you see her?” ||
 * Uglies, p. 3 || Unusual comparison: “The early summer sky was the color of cat vomit.” ||
 * Homeboyz, p. 3-6 || Action-packed summary of a character’s life to introduce a pivotal event in the story. ||
 * What Happened to Cass McBride?, p. 1 || Question/mystery: “She’s dead, isn’t she? If she was alive, I wouldn’t be handcuffed to a table in an interview room.” ||
 * //Trance//, Prologue || Intentional Fragments - "Sounds are what I remember most. The crunch of metal on metal. Shattering glass. Screams. The wail of the ambulance siren." ||

Voice/Style


 * **Book/Page #** || **Strategy and Explanation** ||
 * Thirteen Reasons Why || Dual narrators (italics to show difference), 1st person narrative, ||
 * You Don’t Know Me || Stream of consciousness, abrasive, defensive, teenage boy voice ||
 * Story of a Girl, p. 54-55 || Sarcasm (as Deanna describes her job duties at the pizza place) ||
 * //The Burn Journals//, p. 123, 133, 214 || Internal Dialogue - All throughout the book, but really evident comparison between internal dialogue and dialogue between characters when Brent is on his date with Tina, and during his therapy sessions. ||
 * //Cut//, p. 1 || Narrator speaks directly to reader, drawing reader into the story as one of the characters (Callie's psychiatrist). Ex: "You say it's up to me to do the talking. You lean forward, place a box of tissues in front of me.... ||
 * //Coraline// p. 113 || Internal dialogue in italics - //It's listening to me,// thought Coraline. //I must be extra quiet.// ||

Memoir

//of a Part-Time Indian//, p. 9-14 || Junior tells the story of putting down his dog because his family is too poor to bring him to a vet. ||
 * //Absolutely True Diary//

Sentence Fluency


 * **Book/Page #** || **Strategy and Explanation** ||
 * You Don’t Know Me || Mix of choppy and run on sentences to show stream of consciousness ||
 * You Don’t Know Me, p. 3 || Repetition – statement sentence, then one word exclamation ||
 * Story of a Girl, p. 54-55 || Repetition and use of parenthesis ||
 * The Lightning Thief,

p. 18 || Using gerund clauses for description – “I paced around the room, feeling like ants were crawling around inside my shirt. ||
 * I Heart You, You Haunt Me

, p. 22 || Hyphenated adjectives for description – “I turn the/tear-splattered cover. ||
 * //Fever, 1793//, p. 1 || Expanding fragments for emphasis - "It was going to be another hot August day. Another long, hot August days, Another long, hot, boring, wretched August day." ||
 * //Cut//, p. 4 || See-saw sentences - " Most of the girls are anorexics. They're called food guests. Some are druggies. They're called guests with substance abuse issues. The rest, like me, are assorted psychos. We're called guests with behavioral issues. ||
 * //I Heart You, You Haunt Me//, p. 44 || Repetition - "I shop,/ but I don't buy. I eat,/ but I don't taste. Cali talks, /but I don't listen." ||
 * //I Heart You, You Haunt Me//, p. 83 || Descriptive Language - "The sun starts to set/ and tangerine orange/ turns to/ cotton candy pink/ and I wish/ my man/ Jackson was here/ to give me some/ cranberry red love." ||
 * //Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian//, p. 220 || Expanding fragments for emphasis - "It was July. Crazy hot and dry. It hadn't rained in, like, sixty days. Drought hot. Scorpion hot. Vultures flying circles in the sky hot." ||
 * //Bone: Quest for the Spark Book 1 p. 39// || Great Description of Setting (interesting verb &alliteration) - "Thick clouds of gray, far too close to the ground, oozed across the normally tranquil skies, bringing with them a low, rumbling sound like that of a fearsome predator preparing to pounce." ||

Figurative Language


 * **Book/Page #** || **Strategy and Explanation** ||
 * The Lightning Thief,

p. 152 || Unique similes for description: “Grover went flying sideways down the hill like a possessed lawnmower, heading toward the van.” ||
 * Hip Hop High School,

p. 66 || Metaphor/appositive/allusion – “My mom was Darth Vader, evil ruler of my universe.” ||
 * HipHop High School

,

p. 276 || Idiom – “The deck was loaded against students like us.” ||
 * HipHop High School

,

p. 283 || Hyperbole – “The pressure of being a senior was killing me.” ||
 * Crank

, p. 114 || Personification – “Fear danced/up my spine,/jolted/my brain,/dripped onto/the ground.” ||
 * What My Mother Doesn’t Know

, p. 44 || Hyperbole – “My parents just had World War 27.” ||
 * What My Mother Doesn’t Know

, p. 147 || Similes - Tears poem ||
 * Wake

, p. 97 || Idiom – “He looks up. And eats her dust. He’s late for school.” (in reference to Janie speeding past Cabel in her car). ||
 * I Heart You, You Haunt Me

, p. 8 || Personification - I nod,/but inside/my heart is screaming/and kicking/and stomping,/throwing a tantrum/like a two-year-old/because/I am definitely///not// okay. ||
 * I Heart You, You Haunt Me

, p. 16 || Metaphor – I was a garden salad with a light vinaigrette,/and Jackson was a platter of seafood Cajun pasta./ Alone we were good./Together, we were fantastic. ||
 * I Heart You, You Haunt Me

, p. 19 || Idiom – As we pull away,/ my eyes stay glued/ to the casket. ||
 * I Heart You, You Haunt Me

, p. 29 || Simile – Sleep doesn’t come./ Night after night/ I thrash around/ like a fish/ caught in a net/ trying to escape. ||
 * I Heart You, You Haunt Me

, p. 33 || Simile – I’m putting on makeup./ I’ll be like a clown/ and no one will see/ the real face/ behind the mask. || Pg. 15 "Her first reaping. She's about as safe as you can get, since she's only entered once." Pg. 20 - "Effie trinket crosses back to thepodium, smoothes the slip of paper, and reads out the name in a clear voice. And it's not me. It's Primrose Everdeen. ||
 * //Shattering Glass//, p. 57 || 2 Idioms - "Coop may have gotten a case of the warm and fuzzies from Glass, but I just didn't like the guy. I couldn't put my finger on it exactly. ||
 * //Shattering Glass//, p. 62 || Simile - "Shirt off, his tanned, muscular body had drawn girls like cat hairs to dark wool." ||
 * //The Burn Journals//, p. 175 || Simile - "Maybe she is right, but I still have this guilty feeling all over me, like oil on one of those birds in Alaska." ||
 * //Coraline// p. 63 || Simile - a flash of real anger, which crossed her face like summer lightening. ||
 * The Hunger Games, p. 13 & 16 || Irony - Pg. 13 - explanation of the reaping and tessera
 * //Beastly//, p. 10 || Simile - "She blinked a few times, like a rat coming out of its hole." ||
 * //Beastly//, p. 150 || Simile - "But my anger, pulsing, pounding through my veins like fireblood, made me strong, made me not care." ||
 * //Beastly,// p. 164 || Metaphor -"For sixteen years, I've been a prisoner. But I've been digging myself a tunnel. On my own I applied and got a scholarship to one of the best private schools in the city." ||
 * //Beastly//, p. 176 || Simile - "And every night, when I got so tired the book fell from my hand, I lay in bed, feeling her hatred like a phantom walking the night hallways." ||
 * //Beastly//, p. 142 || Symbolism/Metaphor - "Each tiny life that bloomed into being would live only in the greenhouse, then die. In that way, we were alike." Kyle/Adrian becomes obsessed with roses - the roses symbolize the beauty that was taken away from him, and the green house symbolizes his imprisonment. ||
 * //Trance//, p. 21 || Simile - "Once again I felt myself drawn to Nick's velvet brown eyes. Those eyes used to have the power to make me melt like a Popsicle in July." ||
 * //Trance,// p. 21 || Onomatopoeia - "I could see my hand reaching for the pencil. Feel the way my face went dead. Hear the lead scritch, scritch, scritch across the paper." ||
 * //Trance//, p. 35 || Simile - 'My legs start to tremble and my palms start to sweat and my head hums like a chain saw, shooting pain across my skull." ||
 * //Trance, p.// 36 || Onomatopoeia & Personification - "Inside I turned the dead bold with a thunk that echoed through the empty house. As I passed the parlor, I kept my eyes on the speckled pattern of moonlight that danced across the polished wood floor so they wouldn't accidentally stray to the couch-or to the collection of photos on the wall." ||
 * //Trance//, p. 45 || Simile & Oxymoron - "...Kyra's empty bed. It sat there in the shadows like an accusation, the silence screaming in my head." ||
 * //Across the Universe//, beginning quote || Personification & Simile - "Images of broken light which dance before me like a million eyes, They call me on and on across the Universe...And nothing's gonna change my world." - Lennon/McCartney ||
 * //Across the Universe,// p. 9 || Onomatopoeia & Simile - "Ed jerked my eyelids open. Plop! Cold, yellow liquid filled my eyes, sealing them like gum. Plop!" ||
 * //Across the Universe//, p. 179 || Irony - "You talk funny," he says, which is ironic since his words sound like "ya tal-funnae" to me. ||
 * //The Hunger Games,// p. 41 || Personification - "We have to stand for a few minutes in the doorway of the train while the cameras gobble up our images." ||
 * //The Hunger Games, p.256// || Irony - "Ironically, at this point in the Games, my little sister would be of far more use to Peeta than I am." Katniss has a far better chance than Prim of surviving the Hunger Games, but Prim is better with medical trauma, which is what injured Peeta needs right now. ||
 * //I Heart You, You Haunt Me//, p. 86 || Hyperbole - "So if I got up the nerve to ask you out again,/ and promised to be good,/ would you even consider saying yes?/ I stand up/ and hand him the empty glass./ Not in a million sunsets, Nick." ||
 * //Savvy//, p. 36 || Alliteration and Simile - "Once asleep, Gypsy was as difficult to wake as a slumbering sloth." ||
 * //Bone: Quest for theSpark 1 p. 171// || Personification - "The building began to creak and moan as the fire ate hungrily at is lower foundation and supports." ||


 * Editing**


 * //Wake//, p. 48-49 || Strong verbs that show- "He pulls a vinyl-seated chair across the kitchen floor, picks it up, and whirls it around above his head. ||
 * //The Hunger Games//, p. 173 || Strong verbs that show - "I sit on the ground, a few yards from the blaze set off by the fireball. My calf is screaming, my hands covered in red welts. I'm shaking too hard to move." (Change to: My calf screams. Red welts cover my hands. I shake too hard to move) ||
 * //Firestorm//, p. 11 and 153 || Combining Sentences by limiting verbs of being - "Just run. Through brambles. Sliding down rocks. Tumbling down sandy cliffs. (Change to: I run through brambles, slide down rocks, and tubmle down sandy cliffs.)

"I plow through underbrush like a runaway tractor. Thorns rip at me, roots trip me, and branches grab at my arms." ||
 * The Dead & The Gone, p. 35 || Serial commas in a long list to create a dramatic effect - "Nothing seemed to be open, not the supermarket, or the coffee shop, or the deli,....." ||
 * //Coraline// p. 120 || Comma to separate coordinate adjectives - "Not even that anymore," said the dead, whispery voice. ||
 * //The Name of This Book Is Secret,// p. 13 || The Dash - "There'd been no earthquakes at school - none strong enough to shatter a window, anyway. The mildew in her mother's shower turned out to be just that - not the killer mold Cass predicted. And that child spinning around on the grass did not have mad cow disease - he was just having a good time." ||
 * //Trance//, p. 16 || The Dash - "This kid - Evan was his name - pouted, screamed, threw the props, hit his mother, and probably would have hit me too, if I'd have let him get close enough. ||
 * //The Hunger// Games, p. 182 || The Dash - "The girl with the arrows, Glimmer I hear someone call her - ugh, the names the people in District 1 give their children are so ridiculous - anyway Glimmer scales the tree until the branches begin to crack under her feet and then has the good sense to stop." ||
 * //Savvy//, p. 7 || Cool rhythm - "The itch and scritch of birthday buzz was about all I was feeling on the Thursday before the Friday, before the Saturday I turned thirteen." ||