Marlene H. Kennedy
Goal
Students will respond to literature by reading the historical novel
Dear America
,
Early Sunday Morning
,
The Pearl Harbor Diary of Amber Billows
,
Hawaii
,
1941
, by Barry Denenberg, keeping a journal of personal reactions to the story, and engaging in discourse with other students through roles shared in literature circles. Students will understand reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills are important to their development in a diverse world.
Objective, Do Now, Materials, and Initiation
The objective is for students to identify the components of historical fiction, the purpose of real and imaginary characters, fictional yet accurate setting, plot, internal and external conflict, and tone. Students will connect the history of Pearl Harbor and World War II to their lives. Students will understand and identify how
Early Sunday Morning
is similar to stories found in unit five, "Making Your Mark," from
The Language of Literature
, and how it fits in closely with the theme, "Voices from the Past."
In the Do Now, students will create a three-column Know, Want to Know, Learned (KWL) chart, "What I Know," "What I Want to Know," and "What I Learned," giving it the headline, "Pearl Harbor." They will then write what they know and what they want to know about Pearl Harbor. (3-5 minutes) Materials include composition notebooks, pens, pencils,
Early Sunday Morning
, literature circle worksheets. For initiation, students will share what they know and want to know about Pearl Harbor (2 minutes).
Methods and Activities
Students will open
Early Sunday Morning
and preview the text. They will read "Life in America in 1941," the historical note on pages 134-141, to understand how America became involved in World War II, through the bombing of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Students will complete the "What I Learned" portion of the KWL Chart in their composition notebooks. (15 minutes). Students will understand historical fiction, fictional yet accurate setting, plot, internal and external conflict, and tone (10 minutes). Students will then begin reading pages 3 to 8 (6 pages) in
The Pearl Harbor Diary of Amber Billows
, understanding that, while reading, they must fill in their role sheets for their literary circles. (12 minutes)
Closure, Assignment, and Assessment
During closure, students will review what they learned about historical fiction, Pearl Harbor, fictional yet accurate setting, plot, internal and external conflict, and tone. (4 minutes) Students will, for the homework assignment, write a reaction to what they read on pages 3 to 8 in
Early Sunday Morning
. This may be stapled or taped into the composition notebooks the next day. During assessment, teacher circulates, as students write, and collects composition notebooks and homework for review.
