Michelle

or What is courage?
 * __Novel__**: //Wolf Rider// by Avi
 * __Essential Question__**: How far are you expected to go to help another person?

I'm going to start using this with my seventh graders when they read //Wolf Rider// because so many students want to know why Andy keeps pursuing the killer when everyone tells him to stop. I created the feature analysis because I want the students to be able to articulate what makes something courageous and to create a ranking system. At the end of the novel we will go back and look at where Andy ranks according to their requirements.
 * __Frontloading__**: [[file:wolf rider courage scenarios.doc]] Ranking (This can also be used as a manipulative activity if you have students cut them into strips.)
 * __Reflection__**--We have great discussions when we use these scenarios with //Deathwatch.// The students are able to create stronger definitions of courage when we do this instead of just asking them to define courage right off. It's interesting to see how they distinguish between doing something that's expected of you or of your own choice versus putting someone else's life above your own.

Reflection__**
 * __Questioning:


 * __Visualization:__**
 * __Reflection__**

Reflection:__** This is the cat and mouse part of the story where the killer is figuring out who Andy is while Andy is setting a trap for the killer. There are several ruptures in this section as you see the action happening on both sides. This is also a section of many crossroads, where a different decision at each junction would create a totally different result. I have previously read this section with the students and pointed them out, but I want to use the think aloud to teach the kids to recognize the //ruptures, crossroads,// and //causes and effects// for themselves.
 * __Think aloud:

__**Drama strategy**__: Hotseating--
 * __Reflection__**

Tableaux Reflection

Reflection;__** I originally worried about this assignment because the symbols in the story are obvious and I was afraid we would be seeing the same things over and over. I then decided to assign different parts of the story to different groups and use a jigsaw activity for students to present the story in its entirety within a small group. The groups could then nominate the best presentations for each section of the novel to be presented to the whole class. I model the activity using the part where Andy is clinging to the carousel because most students miss the symbolic meaning of this section.
 * __Symbolic story representation

Our curriculum teaches news writing during this same quarter, so this activity creates coherence between the units. I have also found that students don't understand the importance of the dad finding Lucas's ring, and news writing, which incorporates the 5Ws within the first few paragraphs, is a good way to check comprehension while giving students creativity in determining how the information was discovered. The op/ed piece ties in with the essential question of "What is courage?" or "How far are you expected to go to help another person?"
 * __Culminating project/reflection:__** Many students are unhappy with the ending of the story and feel that the author ends the story too soon. Next year I'm going to have the students write a news lead or news article telling how they think the story should end. They can create a police report, tell what the media reports as more details about Lucas come out, or create a breaking news story. They also need to write a letter to the editor telling if Andy was courageous or not and why.