Farewell to Didacticism

Website: https://midoribookshelf.wordpress.com/

I am a bit of an obsessive reader. At the same time, I am a very picky reader and I often have a hard time getting into a book. Often, instead of picking up a new book, I end up choosing to re-read a book that I know is fabulous. My Harry Potter books and His Dark Materials books are all tattered and I must confess that I have dropped a few books into a tab and tried (and failed) to resuscitate them using a hair dyer. I look at a kid who is carrying one of the Harry Potter books as if he is carrying a precious cargo or a cute puppy and I nod with approval – it is the way it should be.

So here is my dilemma. I am a self-proclaimed book nerd and I still cannot pick up a new book without some kind of an internal struggle. There are so many amazing books that I would not have read on my own if not for the fact that there were assigned as reading materials for my university courses. Here are some examples: Wilkie Collins’ The Woman in White, Lewis Caroll’s Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland, Lawrence Hill’s Book of Negroes, Michael Frayn’s play Copenhagen, and the list goes on. To be completely honest, I had never read any of Jane Austen’s books until I watched the BBC TV adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. Until then, I had no idea that Jane Austen had such a biting wit.

My point here is that even for someone who used to hide a book or a comic book behind a textbook so that I could read during “boring” classes, reading is not an easy business. Then, in a class where there is a mix of avid readers, persnickety readers, and developing readers, how should I balance (1) bringing joy of reading to students, (2) not shoving down books down their throat, and (3) exposing them to new materials so that they can learn to be adventurous when choosing something new?

Also, most classrooms are horribly set up to create a comfortable reading environment for each student. Where are my nooks or my cushy couches, fluffy pillows, and my munchies?

In addition to teaching, my passion lies with the study of literature – children’s literature in particular – and how reading (not only books but all kinds of texts such as films, digital texts, lyrics etc.), writing, and communicating with other human beings as a whole lead to the development of a person. I am also a student of Reader Response Theory and I believe that manipulation of the canon text – for example through fan-fiction writing – is an effective way to grapple with the text and situate “I” within the text. If I had unlimited sources of funds, I would love to fund a study to analyse how imagination cultivated by reading fiction or writing fiction affect human (especially children’s) brains. In the absence of a brain scanner, neuroscientists, and unlimited sources of funds to acquire the items listed above, I rely on my own experiences to introduce and recommend the following four books to be used in a classroom for junior readers.

In choosing my 4 books, I followed a few arbitrary guidelines:

1. No overt didacticism present! – if students today are anything like I am, they are wired to rebel against didacticism but perhaps more open to read a “good story’. I can hazard a guess that students in an urban environment can smell didacticism from miles away.
2. There is an alternative universe element – Imagination is a muscle that we have to train ourselves to use and to use it well. The authors of these four books make their alternative universe come alive and really tickle our imagination.
3. It can take us away from reality through an adventure or a journey – I cannot count how many times I took refuge in the local library when I was a kid because I had a bad day at school and I just really needed something either very sad or extremely thrilling to take my mind off of things. Why not introduce some forms of escapism to students? Everyone is dealing with something that they want to forget at least for a little while.
   

Shaun Tan’s The Arrival is a mature picture book and it is completely without any written words. Instead of using written texts, the book relies on its intricate and captivating illustration to tell the story of an immigrant man who arrives in a new land. Shaun Tan is an Australian illustrator who has worked on pictures books such as The Rabbit (Youtube Video: The Rabbit Part 1 & The Rabbit Part 2) and The Lost Thing (Youtube Video: The Lost Thing Part 1 & The Lost Thing Part 2) as an illustrator. Shaun Tan creates a surreal world in The Arrival, in which his dreamlike sepia-coloured drawings evoke strange feelings of wistfulness. Tan draws a parallel between the fantastical and the real through his complex and enchanting drawings and succeeds at drawing the readers’ attention to the horror, injustices, and cruelty of the real world in a subtle yet so powerful a way. The backside of the front and the end cover pages show 60 panels of portraits. The portraits are of immigrants (taken at a port of entry, I would imagine) and they are all looking into the audiences’ eyes with piercing and solemn expressions on their faces.

The story follows a man who lands in an unfamiliar land. It is implied that the man is leaving his homeland because some kind of a threat, some kind of oppression is present there. He “arrives” at a new land. He does not speak the language (this aspect might also be emphasized by the fact that the picture book is completely wordless), he does not know anyone, but he perseveres for he has to support his wife and daughter that he has left back home. As time goes on, he meets other immigrants, acquires a strange but friendly monster as a pet, makes friends with people who have similarly escaped horrors or wars in their lands, and gets a job, and slowly gets accustomed to how things are done in the new land. The story ends with his wife and daughter joining him in the new land and the very last illustration is of his daughter showing a way to a newly arrived lady with a trunk and a map in her hands. (Tan, 2006)

1. It is a wordless picture book – It is hard or almost impossible to introduce a book and adapt the language level to each student as a differentiation strategy. This book can be introduced to a mixed-ability class because there are no new words, difficult vocabulary to go over before students get to read the book.
   
2. It is a story about immigrants – Students who come from immigrant families would see themselves or their family members in the protagonist and his family. Students who do not come from immigrant families will get a glimpse into the history of their classmates and their families.
   
3. No "one" reading – The drawings are intricate and multifaceted. There are so many layers one could infer from each drawing and therefore, there will be many different “readings” of the story. This aspect will help stimulate students’ imagination.
   

Idea #1: Give it Words

• Students will have an introductory lesson on making inferences using supporting evidence from the texts. Following this introductory lesson, students will choose a set of 3 to 4 pages from the book. In a pair, they will create “words” for the pages.
  
• When groups complete their segments, each group will be given another group’s work and give constructive feedback. (It is probably necessary to give another brief lesson on how to examine other people’s work and how to give critical yet constructive criticism/feedback beforehand if the students are not familiar with providing peer review.) Each group will have a chance to edit their work after receiving feedback.
  
• At the end, all of the pages will be connected and they will read the whole story from beginning to end with the illustration in the background but now with their own “words” added to the story. For example, each group could upload their section through Flipgrid so that the final reveal can be watched via Flipgrid video.

Idea #2: Visual Thinking Strategies

In a class, a teacher may choose one of the two-page pictures and put the picture at the front using a projector or a SmartBoard in order for the students to analyze the one picture in depth by applying Visual Thinking Strategies [A teacher will ask the students prompting questions such as “What’s going on in the picture?” & “What do you notice in this picture?”]. It might be important to give students 4 to 5 minutes of silent time at the beginning before they start sharing ideas in a class so that they have time to “think” and “analyze” independently.

There are a few specific expectations from The Ontario Ministry of Education Language Curriculum 1-8 (2006) the study of this book will meet:

• Grade 7 Reading strand 1.1 and 1.4 state that students will be introduced to variety of literary texts from different cultures and students will learn to make inferences and to interpret texts using what is in the texts to support their inferences/interpretations (p. 127). --> Idea #1 & Idea #2
  
• Grade 8 Reading strand 1.6 states that students will learn to be able to extend their interpretations of the texts and connect their understandings from the texts to their own experiences, thoughts, and the world around them (p. 142). --> Idea #1 & Idea #2
  
• Grade 7 Oral Communication strand 1.2 and 1.3 state that students will learn to identify and adapt respectful and effective listening strategies so that they can listen to their classmates without interrupting them and show interest and empathy while listening to others (p. 124). --> Idea #1 & Idea #2
  
• Grade 8 Oral Communication strand 1.2 states that students will continue to identify and adapt respectful and effective listening strategies so that they could follow their classmates’ arguments critically and ask clarifying questions to solidify their comprehensions (p. 138). --> Idea #1
  

The study of The Arrival will also meet one of the specific expectations from The Ontario Ministry of Education Arts Curriculum 1-8 (2009).

• Grade 7 & Grade 8 Visual Arts strand D2. 1 states that students will learn to “interpret a variety of art works and identify the feelings, issues, themes, and social concerns that they convey” (p. 144, 156). --> Idea #1 & Idea #2
  

Hello again Harry Potter for the third time in the third installment of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. I have a suspicious feeling that I probably do not need to explain what the story is about in details. Well, if I were to summarize the book in less than seven sentences (let me try), here I go. Harry blows up his aunt while at the Dursleys but does not get punished by the Ministry of Magic for breaking the law prohibiting the use of magic by underage wizards outside of school because everyone thinks that someone who broke out of Azkaban Prison is after his life. Harry thinks he is marked for death because he keeps on seeing a black dog whose presence is supposed to bring death. This foreshadows the introduction of Harry’s Godfather, Sirius Black, who can change into a big black dog, who is also the escaped convict from Azkaban Prison. Harry learns that Sirius was locked up because he was an accomplice to Voldemort in the murder of Harry’s parents. In the course of the story, it turns out that Sirius has been innocent for the whole time but someone else who has been quite close to Harry is the actual culprit of betraying his parents to Voldemort. Harry, Ron, and Hermione get into scrapes as usual throughout the school year and Harry struggles to control his fear of Dementors with the help of a new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, Professor Lupin. After Harry, Rom, and Hermione learn the truth about who betrayed Lily and James, Harry and Hermione go back in time to save Sirius when he gets apprehended by the Dementors from Azkaban. (Rowling, 1999)

First of all, when you see children carrying one of the Harry Potter books like a precious cargo or a cute puppy, you know that they are reading the books on their own. I grew up with the books and I know in my bones that children love this story. Why not use something they actually feel passionate about in the classroom? The Prisoner of Azkaban is unique among the series for it is the only book in which Voldemort turns out not to have been behind all the threats and dangers Harry has been facing throughout the year. It is also one of my favourite books in the series because it introduces all four creators of the Marauder’s Map – James, Sirius, Lupin, and Pettigrew – and with them, a question of how friendship should be, which is something children deal with everyday as they interact with their classmates. In addition, the book introduces one of the most intriguing fantastical creatures – Dementors – and a counter-magic to tackle it – the Patronus Charm. To top it all, the book uses time-travel as a final resolution to solve a problem and who has not thought about what they would like to do if they could go back in time?

Idea #1: Mind Map on Dementors

• Students will have an introductory lesson on making inferences using supporting evidence from the texts as well as on making connections within the text. Following this introductory lesson, students will be asked to individually write down words and phrases from the text that describe Dementors on their Mind Map. Then, students will add words and phrases that describe their thoughts and feelings about Dementors on their Mind Map.
  
• Secondly, students will discuss first in groups and later as a class, what a Patronus is (not in terms of a textual definition but as an abstract concept) and why it can protect you from Dementors.
  
• Individually, students will add what they have learned through the discussion about Patronus Charm on their Mind Map on Dementors.
  

Idea #2: Friendship Discussion – Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs

• Students will have an introductory lesson on making inferences using supporting evidence from the texts as well as on making connections between what is in the text to issues that students themselves deal in their daily lives.
  
• o Following this introductory lesson, students will be divided into 8 groups of 4 (adapt depending on the size of the class) and will be assigned a team: Team James, Team Sirius, Team Lupin, and Team Pettigrew. Students will discuss in what way the assigned character is a good or a bad friend to the other three. Students will need to support their arguments by referring to evidence in the text.
  
• After 20 or so minutes, students will be regrouped using the jigsaw technique so that each group contain one specialist on each character. Students are given a handout to fill out so that they can write down both positive and negative behaviours each character exhibits.
  
• At the end of the group activities, students will share what they have learned about friendship and what kind of a friend they should aspire to be in class.
  

There are a few specific expectations from The Ontario Ministry of Education Language Curriculum 1-8 (2006) the study of this book will meet:

• Grade 7 Reading strand 1.1 and 1.4 state that students will be introduced to variety of literary texts from different cultures and students will learn to make inferences and to interpret texts using what is in the texts to support their inferences/interpretations (p. 127). --> Idea #1 & Idea #2
  
• Grade 8 Reading strand 1.6 states that students will learn to be able to extend their interpretations of the texts and connect their understandings from the texts to their own experiences, thoughts, and the world around them (p. 142). -->Idea #1 & Idea #2
  
• Grade 7 Oral Communication strand 1.2 and 1.3 state that students will learn to identify and adapt respectful and effective listening strategies so that they can listen to their classmates without interrupting them and show interest and empathy while listening to others (p. 124). --> Idea #1 & Idea #2
  
• Grade 8 Oral Communication strand 1.2 states that students will continue to identify and adapt respectful and effective listening strategies so that they could follow their classmates’ arguments critically and ask clarifying questions to solidify their comprehensions (p. 138). --> Idea #1 & Idea #2
  

Not in every children’s book, a 12-year old boy kills a man (albeit inadvertently) in the first chapter, let alone have a protagonist declare that this boy is trustworthy because (not despite) he is a murderer. Will and Lyra meet in Cittàgazze after Will stumbles upon a window connecting his Oxford to Cittàgazze. Both Lyra and Will are on a quest. Lyra is guided by her magic compass, alethiometer, which prompts her to look for a Scholar in Will’s Oxford in order for her to learn more about Dust. Will is in search of his father who disappeared during an expedition north. There is a sense of suspense throughout the book, for Will is being pursued by men in search of some documents that his father left and there is also a powerful man who is after Lyra and her alethiometer. Lyra and Will discover that there are no adults in the city of Cittàgazze because there are monsters called Specters and they eat adults’ dæmons (Pullman depicts dæmons as a fundamental element that makes people think and feel). In the course of their journey, Will becomes a bearer of the Subtle Knife, which allows him to open a window between different worlds (for example, between his own Oxford and Lyra’s Oxford). The story ends with Lyra being taken by her pursuers and Will meeting his father (although his father does not recognize Will as his son) who tells him that Will must go to Lord Asriel and fight in the impending war on Lord Asriel’s side. (Pullman, 1997)

While the first book in the series, The Golden Compass could have replaced The Subtle Knife, which is the second book in the series on this list, I chose The Subtle Knife because an already rather dark story which is set up in The Golden Compass gets even darker in the second book. Also, I do think the each book can stand mostly on its own. Throughout the series, it becomes more and more apparent that Pullman does not shelter children from ugly facets of the world they live in, nor does he shield them from the full extent of the cruelty of adults. Therefore, His Dark Materials series is not a story for the faint hearted. Pullman is subversive. It is not a fairy tale where a happily ever after awaits at the end of a dark tunnel. That being said, at the school where I am doing my Practicum, the Grade 7 students are absolutely intrigued by Robinson Well’s Variant. Even the most fidgety students in the class are captivated by the story and I believe that it is the suspense that is keeping them hooked. From this observation, I would hazard a guess that students will be drawn to darker, edgier, and suspenseful stories than stories about happy shiny people or downright didactic and formulaic stories.

Walking down a street when dense fog swallows up the whole city, I feel the air with my hands, a little sheepishly but with a little bit of anticipation, in search of a little disturbance in the air, a subtle break in the air. Of course, there never is anything and the world stays so unimaginatively ordinary. As I quietly laugh at my own silliness, I also smile because I know that I have not lost my imagination, a sense of wonder, my playful hope that there may be some magic in this world. If I am still taken with the story this much, 20-odd-years after I have first read the story in elementary school, I think this book has the power to capture children of today.

Idea #1: A Mock Trial of Heroes & Villains

• Rationale: Pullman is a not writer who makes the question of good and evil even the remotest bit straightforward or one-dimensional. In examining Pullman’s characters, we would risk passing a superficial judgement if we were to label anyone as good only because the character is against the enemy of the protagonists. The moral ambiguity that arises from Pullman’s writing is likely to spark some interesting questions and discussion in class.
  
• Students will have an introductory lesson on making inferences using supporting evidence from the texts as well as on making connections between what is in the text to issues that students themselves deal in their daily lives.
  
• Following this introductory lesson, students will label characters in the story either as a hero or a villain. This activity will be done as a class activity. If there are characters that many students think “both” or “neither”, these characters will be marked “grey”. This should be a quick activity.
  
• Students will then be divided into pairs and each group will either be assigned or choose one character from each category (hero, villain, grey). Students will be tasked to find commonalities between the “heroes” and “villains” (and “greys”). The goal is for students to learn to approach a text as a detective so that they can understand the nuanced workings of characters’ hearts and mind. [e.g. Will kills a man; Lyra has a “gift” for lying; Serafina Pekkala kills a witch under torture by Mrs. Coulter and calls it merciful; Stanislaus Grumman will have no moral qualms about betraying someone’s trust for the greater good, etc.] If students can disagree with a decision or an action of a character but are still able to explain what makes the character act in such a way and show empathy towards the character, this will be an ideal outcome.
  
• Depending on the maturity of the class as a whole, something like a mock trial may be introduced so that students could dissect and judge the morality of characters. For example, students may be divided into groups of 4. Two groups will form a team. Each team (two groups) will be assigned an action of a decision made by a character, which is morally questionable. One group within the team will defend and the other group will prosecute the character. Students will analyse the characters, explain why they did what they did, and justify or criticize their actions. After a short mock trial (each group will be given 3 minutes to present their case and 2 minutes to counter), the whole class will discuss whether they agree or disagree with the decision/action the character have taken.

Idea #2: Deduce What Happened in the First Book – “Elementary, my dear Watson!”

• Students will have an introductory lesson on making inferences using supporting evidence from the texts as well as on making connections within the text.
  
• Following this introductory lesson, because we are dealing with the second book in a trilogy, students will don a Sherlock Holmes hat and deduce what might have happened in the first book.
  
• Students will be divided into pairs or groups of three and deduce what might have happened to their assigned character in the first book. Students will be assigned characters such as Lyra, Serafina Pekkala, Lee Scoresby who also appear in the first book and they will write down at least 4 pieces of fragmented information within the text that refer to what happened to their respective characters or what their characters may have witnessed in the first book.
  
• From these 4 fragmented pieces of information, they will construct a one-paragraph hypothesis of what could have happened in the first book and they will support their predictions with evidence from the text. Since a few groups will be assigned the same character, they will then form a bigger group in order to compare and contrast their findings and predictions. Each group will share the evaluations of each prediction within their group with the whole class.
  

There are a few specific expectations from The Ontario Ministry of Education Language Curriculum 1-8 (2006) the study of this book will meet:

• Grade 7 Reading strand 1.1 and 1.4 state that students will be introduced to variety of literary texts from different cultures and students will learn to make inferences and to interpret texts using what is in the texts to support their inferences/interpretations (p. 127). --> Idea #1 & Idea #2
  
• Grade 8 Reading strand 1.6 states that students will learn to be able to extend their interpretations of the texts and connect their understandings from the texts to their own experiences, thoughts, and the world around them (p. 142). --> Idea #1 & Idea #2
  
• Grade 7 Oral Communication strand 1.2 and 1.3 state that students will learn to identify and adapt respectful and effective listening strategies so that they can listen to their classmates without interrupting them and show interest and empathy while listening to others (p. 124). --> Idea #1 & Idea #2
  
• Grade 8 Oral Communication strand 1.2 states that students will continue to identify and adapt respectful and effective listening strategies so that they could follow their classmates’ arguments critically and ask clarifying questions to solidify their comprehensions (p. 138). --> Idea #1 & Idea #2
  

The link to the archived series website

Readers find a fifteen-year-old sailor, Matt Cruse, atop a crow’s nest of an airship Aurora as she flies towards her home berth in Lionsgate City, on her way back from her trans-Pacificus voyage to Sydney. To my delight, a Canadian author Kenneth Oppel brings us a steampunk in an alternative universe, in which Vancouver (where I spent over 10 years of my life) is called Lionsgage City. Matt works aboard Aurora as a cabin boy and he dreams of one day becoming a captain of his own ship. He is a natural sailor and he considers his ship his true home. During his watch, Matt spots a hot air balloon, which seems to be in trouble. Captain Walken assigns Matt to undertake the difficult task of going outside of the ship to tether the gondola so that the crew could rescue the damaged ship. Matt finds an old man in ill health (he passes away) who deliriously speaks of unidentified flying creatures that he has spotted during his voyage. A year later, ambitious and determined Kate de Vries boards Aurora as one of the first-class passengers. Kate turns out to be the mysterious man’s granddaughter and is now in search of the mysterious creature that his grandfather spoke of. During the passage across the Pacificus, Aurora gets boarded by pirates led by infamous Vikram Szpirglas. The pirates leave Aurora with their loots, however, in an impending storm, Aurora is forced to make an emergency landing on a tropical island somewhere in the middle of the Pacificus. It soon becomes clear to Matt and Kate that the island is where Kate’s grandfather spotted the mysterious creatures. As the crew repairs the damage the ship sustained, off-duty Matt accompanies Kate to explore the island and they manage to discover the mysterious creatures. They decide to call them cloud cats. Kate delights at the prospect of making a mark in the field of zoology and presenting the evidence in front of the misogynistic Zoological Society back in Lionsgate City. As the Captain and the crew prepare to depart the island, Matt and Kate discover that Szpirglas’s base is located on the island. Matt and Kate are captured by the pirates but they manage to escape. They must then fight against time to warn the Captain and the crew, for the pirates plan to attack the ship to prevent Aurora from departing for fear that the base’s coordinates will be given to the authority – the Sky Guards. Matt’s knowledge of his ship and an inadvertent contribution from a lost cloud cat save Aurora and its crew and passengers from their doom.

I am a sucker for a good steampunk. While I find the storyline and characters of the story a wee bit formulaic, the world that Kenneth Oppel creates is very endearing and thrilling. Also, Oppel excels at depicting a sense of exhilaration through Matt – he belongs in the air – and as a result, Matt’s character is quite buoyant (pun intended) and hard not to cheer on. In addition, there are many descriptive passages that evoke vivid imageries, which is likely to stimulate students’ imagination to run wild. This aspect will present an excellent opportunity to plan a cross-curricular lesson plan. Lastly, in the genre of young adults’ literature where many of the popular works are set in a dystopian world, Airborn trilogy might bring a breath of fresh air. Who would not love a steampunk and pirates, I ask you?

Idea #1: Visually Represent a Text

• Students will have an introductory lesson on making inferences using supporting evidence from the texts. Students will then independently choose a segment/passage/concept/apparatus from the story (the Cloud Cat, Aurora, a particular scene on the island or aboard Aurora etc.) that they would like to visually represent.
  
• Some students may choose to paint, sketch, or draw two-dimensionally. Others may choose to make a collage using images collected from print or online sources (magazines, pictures, online sources etc.). Some might choose to build something three-dimensional using blocks, cubes, Lego blocks, or clays.
  
• Students will note down the parts that they inferred from the texts in order to distinguish which part of their representation comes from their imagination and which part from the text.
  
• They will have a gallery day at the end. Each work will be exhibited with a little envelope on the side so that students may leave their feedback in the envelope for each other.

Idea #2: Spot Social Injustices – Misogyny (Kate’s Battle) and Privileges (Matt’s Battle)

• Students will have an introductory lesson on making inferences using supporting evidence from the texts as well as on making connections between what is in the text to issues that students themselves deal in their daily lives.
  
• Students will then be divided into pairs and pairs will be either Team Matt or Team Kate. Each pair within Team Matt will be assigned 4 to 5 chapters (depending on the size of the class) from the text (there are 21 chapters in total) and the same goes for Team Kate pairs. Each pair will mark and summarize a passage where Matt or Kate (depending on the team) is struggling against barriers and injustices imposed on them by society. What are those barriers and injustices and why are they facing them? Each pair will present their finding to class.
  
• As a second part of this lesson, one pair from Team Matt and one pair from Team Kate will get together to form a group. Within the group, students will create a Mind Map connecting prejudices and social barriers Matt and Kate face in their society with prejudices and social barriers students themselves face in our society. Students are also encouraged to discuss how they might fight against such prejudices and social injustices. Each group will share their findings and as a class discuss what needs to be changed in society to create a better society.
  

There are a few specific expectations from The Ontario Ministry of Education Language Curriculum 1-8 (2006) the study of this book will meet:

• Grade 7 Reading strand 1.1 and 1.4 state that students will be introduced to variety of literary texts from different cultures and students will learn to make inferences and to interpret texts using what is in the texts to support their inferences/interpretations (p. 127). --> Idea #1 & Idea #2
  
• Grade 8 Reading strand 1.6 states that students will learn to be able to extend their interpretations of the texts and connect their understandings from the texts to their own experiences, thoughts, and the world around them (p. 142). --> Idea #2
  
• Grade 7 Oral Communication strand 1.2 and 1.3 state that students will learn to identify and adapt respectful and effective listening strategies so that they can listen to their classmates without interrupting them and show interest and empathy while listening to others (p. 124). --> Idea #2
  
• Grade 8 Oral Communication strand 1.2 states that students will continue to identify and adapt respectful and effective listening strategies so that they could follow their classmates’ arguments critically and ask clarifying questions to solidify their comprehensions (p. 138). --> Idea #2
  

The study of Airborn will also meet one of the specific expectations from from The Ontario Ministry of Education Arts Curriculum 1-8 (2009):

• Grade 7 Visual Arts strand D1. 1 states that students will learn to create art works to express ideas (p. 144). --> Idea #1
  

With all four books, students could also write a fanfiction and publish it through a fanfiction site. Readers may leave comments and feedback and responding to readers in a public forum will be a great way for students to learn to respond to communicate online in a respectful and responsible manner. They will be urged to be aware of their choices of words and tones of their voices that they use.

The fan fiction lesson will meet the following expectations from The Ontario Ministry of Education Language Curriculum 1-8 (2006):

• Grade 7 & 8 Writing strand 1.1 states that students will learn to “identify the topic, purpose, and audience for more complex writing forms” (pp. 130 & 144);
  
• Overall Expectations for Grade 7 and Grade 8 Media Literacy strand 3 states that students will learn to “create a variety of media texts for different purposes and audiences” (pp. 133 & 147).
  

Book References:

• Oppel, K. (2004). Airborn. Toronto: HarperTrophyCanada.
  
• Pullman, P. (1997). The Subtle Knife. New York, NY: The Ballantine Publishing Group.
  
• Rowling, J. K. (1999). Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.
  
• Tan, S. (2006). The Arrival. New York, NY: Arthur A. Levine Books.
  

Curriculum References:

• Ontario Ministry of Education (2009) The Arts Curriculum, 1-8.
  
• Ontario Ministry of Education (2006). Language Curriculum, 1-8.
  

Other Resources:

• Bernard Kotze. (2009, October 24). The Rabbits Part 1 [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTvXe84UqIQ
  
• Bernard Kotze. (2009, October 24). The Rabbits Part 2 [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZaROIWniN8
  
• Frederik Vorndran. (2013, September 11). Shaun Tan – The Arrival Animation. Retrieved from: https://vimeo.com/74292820
  
• Kite, L. (2016, August 19). How Shaun Tan Transformed Children’s Literature. Financial Times. Retrieved from: https://www.ft.com/content/b60e8c32-64cb-11e6-a08a-c7ac04ef00aa
  
• Juan Alvarez (2012, January 30). The Lost Thing Part 1. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EMzzJhH1Ec&t=57s
  
• Juan Alvarez (2012, January 30). The Lost Thing Part 2. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODdagZUp4tI
  
• Miller, L (2005, December 26). Far from Narnia. The New Yorker. Retrieved from: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2005/12/26/far-from-narnia
  
• Milton, J. (2004). Paradise Lost. New York: Oxford University Press. (Original Work published 1667)
  
• Oppel, K. (2005). Skybreaker. Toronto: HarperTrophyCanada.
  
• Oppel, K. (2008). Starclimber. Toronto: HarperTrophyCanada.
  
• Pullman, P. (2000). The Amber Spyglass. New York, NY: The Ballantine Publishing Group.
  
• Pullman, P. (1995). The Golden Compass. New York, NY: The Ballantine Publishing Group.
  
• Rotella, C. (2011, April 22). Shaun Tan’s Wilde Imagination. The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/24/magazine/mag-24Tan-t.html
  

Supplementary Resources:

• Shaun Tan’s Home Page: http://www.shauntan.net
  
• J.K. Rowling’s Official New Website: https://www.jkrowling.com/
  
• Pottermore which was set up by J.K. Rowling: https://www.pottermore.com/
  
• The Harry Potter Lexicon: https://www.hp-lexicon.org/
  
• Philip Pullman’s Official Website: http://www.philip-pullman.com
  
• Kenneth Oppel’s Official Website: https://www.kennethoppel.ca
  
• Series Website: https://web.archive.org/web/20080423053832/http://www.airborn.ca/