On a different no
As I progress through The Reading Strategies book by Jennifer Serravalino, I stumble through new and familiar strategies. Strategy 5.4 is the good old plot map. I added it to my sketch notes, in order to turn my sketch notes into a one pager. Depending on the reader, this is an activity that be done as the reader progresses through the book, or at the end of the reading. In the past, I have asked students to pick the five most important events only. After, students can write a summary of the book if required.
On a different note, at one of our professional developments, Penny Kittle spoke. She briefed over thematic notebooks, in which students write to the theme based off the book they are reading. Because books hold various themes throughout them, students can write to theme prompts reading a singular book. (At least this is my understanding). I created several theme notebooks to practice this. I try to just pick the next notebook in the pile, as if it was randomly assigned to me, as if I was a student. Today's theme is WAR.
WAR
Phoenix is at war with himself. Snagging his younger brother, Ari, before he can be indoctrinated into the local gang in Ilopango, El Salvador. They flee through Guatemala and Mexico for the United States. Along the way, they are subjected to abuse, witnessing tragic deaths, sexual assaults; becoming slaves and escaping, to finally turning themselves into US border patrol, seeking asylum. It is at the border, the brothers are separated, rendering Ari mute. Phoenix has so much guilt associated with these events, Ari's muteness, and the events in EL Salvador that brought them to this point, that he feels he does not deserve a second chance. He feels guilty that Amanda and Sally, his sponsors, want to help him, - he is living in an upper middle class neighborhood, has plenty of clothes; has enough food to eat; and a lawyer they are paying for to help remain in the US. It is always this. The money and the kindness these women want to give to him makes him feel guilty and undeserving because of his past life in EL Salvador, and the trauma his brother experienced on their escape out of Ilopango.
Gretchen is also at war with her PTSD. Assaulted by an MS-13 gang member upon leaving work, and witnessing his murder, she no longer attends school, wears make up, or participates in social events that most 17 years old girls do. She is plagued by panic attacks that can occur at any moment - triggered by a memory of the night of the violation.
When the two meet, (one is so mentally and emotionally fragile, and the other consumed with guilt, and feeling that he does not deserve the life he is currently living), they recognize the trauma inside the other. They prop each other up, building up a defense against anxiety and guilt. As a result, they fall in love building a stronger defense for themselves and the other.
#theradiousofus #sketchnotes #readingstrategies
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