by Sharon M Draper
Melody has a photographic memory. She’s the smartest kid in the school, but no one knows it because she can’t talk, walk or write. Being stuck in her head is making her go out of her mind until she discovers something that will allow her to speak.
Strategies/Skills Used
Reading Strategy 1: Access background knowledge.
Reading Strategy 2: Predict what will be learned or what will happen.
Reading Strategy 3: Figure out unknown words.
Reading Strategy 4: Self-monitor and self-correct.
Reading Strategy 5: Make mental pictures.
Reading Strategy 6: Connect what you read with what you already know.
Reading Strategy 9: Identify and interpret literary elements in different genres.
Reading Strategy 10: Summarize what has been read.
Reading Strategy 11: Make inferences and draw conclusions.
Reading Strategy 12: Reflect and respond.
Writing Skill 1: I generate ideas in a variety of ways.
Writing Skill 2: I organize my ideas based on my purpose for writing.
Writing Skill 6: I choose the tone and point of view that suit my writing purpose.
TEACHING THE ACTIVITY: PRE-READING
(1) Use the Sort and Predict process to complete this lesson.
(2) Sort pre-set vocabulary into categories: Out of My Mind: Sort and Predict Word List.
(3) Have the students predict what the text will be about, then read Chapters 1, 2 and 3.
(4) Students confirm or revise predictions as they receive more information.
TEACHING THE ACTIVITY: DURING READING
(5) Use the Response Logs/Reflective Journals process and suggested prompts to complete this lesson.
(6) Read a section of Out of My Mind to students or have them read independently. Example: read Chapter 9, in which Melody discovers her parents are going to have another child and they are concerned the baby may have the same physical challenges as Melody.
(7) Have students read silently or listen and take notes on things that interest them, recording in Response Logs/Reflective Journal.
(8) Have students share their entries with a partner prior to entering into a class discussion.
TEACHING THE ACTIVITY: POST-READING
(9) Have students identify the characters in the story and their relationships with Melody. Ask the question: Is this a positive, negative or neutral relationship? See Sociogram.
(10) Provide students with the Sociogram Example: Charlotte’s Web. Discuss and record words that describe the relationships between the characters.
(11) Provide students with their own Sociogram Graphic Organizer. Fill in the centre circle for Melody. Have students complete the other circles with supporting characters and the words that describe the nature of their relationship with Melody.
(12) Have students participate in Oral Language Connections Activities: Inside/Outside Circles to share ideas from and make revisions to their completed sociograms.
(13) Show students a sample of a Concept Map. Brainstorm the concepts found within Out of my Mind. Have students place the words in the concept map and explain their relationship.