Destigmatizing Normal: Exploring Mental Health with Literature Circles in a High School Classroom PDF Free Download
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Destigmatizing Normal: Exploring Mental Health with Literature Circles in a High School
Classroom
by
Kaitlin Petersen
Major: English
Program of Study Committee:
Brandon Sams, Major Professor
Donnay Niday
Linda Shenk
The student author, whose presentation of the scholarship herein was approved by the program of
study committee, is solely responsible for the content of this creative component. The Graduate
College will ensure this creative component is globally accessible and will not permit alterations
after a degree is conferred.
Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa
2021
Copyright © Kaitlin Petersen, 2021. All rights reserved.
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Table of Contents
Page
Chapter One: Why My Project is Beneficial to Student Learning 3
Why Does Mental Health in the Classroom Matter? 7
Why Young Adult Literature? 14
Lasting Benefits for Students 15
Social Capital and Literature Circles 19
Rationale for Literature Circles Novels 22
Chapter Two: Grounding My Teaching Approach in Scholarship 31
Instructional Benefits of Using Literature Circles in the Secondary Classroom 31
Students as Questioners 36
Drama in the Classroom 40
Mental Health Coping Strategies 44
Chapter Three: Unit Plan 47
Unit Calendar 47
Lesson Plans 49
Appendix One: Question Stems 75
Appendix Two: Reading Journal 77
Appendix Three: Coping Strategy #1- Journaling Handout 81
Appendix Four: Vote With Your Feet Activity 83
Appendix Five: Coping Strategy #1- Protagonist Application Handout 85
Appendix Six: Coping Strategy #2- Music Handout 86
Appendix Seven: STEAL notes for Character Map Activity 88
Appendix Eight: Coping Strategy #2- Application to Protagonist Handout 89
Appendix Nine: Coping Strategy #3- Art Handout 90
Appendix Ten: Graphic Organizer for Nonfiction Reading Handout 92
Appendix Eleven: Coping Strategy #3- Art Application to Protagonist Handout 93
Appendix Twelve: Research Project Handout and Rubric 95
Appendix Thirteen: Close Read Activity- Postcard Project Handout 97
Appendix Fourteen: Summative Project Description 98
Appendix Fifteen: End of Unit Reflection Questions 100
Works Cited 102
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Abstract
Mental health issues are prevalent in society today, yet there is still a great deal of shame
attached to them. Because of this, steering students towards books where protagonists struggle
with mental health is essential. Young adult literature can teach adolescents about mental health.
In my unit plan on destigmatizing mental health issues, ninth grade students participate in
literature circles while reading novels, such as Breathing Underwater and All the Bright Places,
Made You Up, Underwater, and It’s Kind of a Funny Story that depict mental health issues
directly and without stigma. Students conduct research projects and learn coping strategies such
as journaling, art therapy, and music during class. Students apply coping strategies to their own
lives, as well as the protagonists of their novels. My unit plan also incorporates drama activities,
specifically Theater of the Oppressed, in order for students to bring awareness to the
commonality of mental health issues and teach their peers that there should not be shame around
asking for help with mental health. Using this method, students will realize that everyone
struggles. We can learn from literary protagonists and teach students that mental health is not
something to be ashamed about.
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Chapter One: Why My Project is Beneficial to Student Learning
One of the most challenging parts of teaching English to high school students is that it is
a required course; every student has to take four years of English, whether they enjoy it or not.
This presents a problem for instructors because it can be difficult to keep students who dislike
reading and writing engaged in lessons. One way to combat this problem is to find texts to
include in the curriculum that are relevant to what the students are dealing with in their everyday
lives. Gloria Ladson Billings, a prominent promoter of culturally relevant teaching, believes it
focuses on “specifically collective, not merely individual, empowerment” (160). She believes
that “students must develop a broader sociopolitical consciousness that allows them to critique
cultural norms, values, mores, and institutions that produce and maintain social inequities” (162).
For this reason, I strive to find content that is relatable and will matter for my struggling readers.
The more relatable the content is, the more likely students will engage in the work and come
away with valuable learning experiences.
I came up with the idea for a literature circle unit where the novels students can choose
from center on different mental health concerns featuring young adult protagonists. Throughout
the unit, students are allowed time to research different mental health concerns such as
depression, schizophrenia, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. This research will help
students to better understand what the protagonist of their young adult novel is dealing with, and
what treatment options are available to them. Students will conclude the unit with a group
activism project designed to bring awareness to mental health concerns and fight the negative
stigma surrounding mental health. This unit plan incorporates the tenets of culturally relevant
teaching because students will not only focus on practicing the literary skills they need to master
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by the end of the school year, but the unit will also provide the opportunity for them to empower
themselves outside of the classroom by understanding more about the struggles that accompany
mental health issues, as well as treatment options. By bringing this topic to the forefront of
students’ lives, they will, in turn, become more conscious and empathetic about what their peers
are going through but may not be vocalizing, which will make their relationships stronger and
provide a more accepting climate in our school.
I realized the need for this project through the experiences I have had early in my
teaching career with my students. I have taught at three different schools, all located in fairly
small towns (one of them extremely small and rural). I have also taught each grade ranging from
fifth through twelfth grade. Each year I have had at least one student confide in me about some
significant trauma in their lives. One student felt so comfortable with me that she would come
into my room for her study hall to work every day because it took place during my prep hour. I
would always do my best to be a listening ear for her and someone to confide in, but I never felt
like I was doing enough for her; I have no training or experience in counseling. Where I am
currently teaching, Boone High School, I have multiple students that are called out of my class
on the same day each week to have a counseling session with YSS (Youth and Shelter Services).
All of these experiences combined made me realize that I want to be more proactive
about including mental health exercises in my class routine. It also made me realize I need to
learn more about coping strategies for my students so that I can be a more effective confidant for
them. Recent scholarship in trauma-informed teaching, including works by Elizabeth Dutro and
Patricia Jennings, have been sources of inspiration while crafting classroom activities. The
Vulnerable Heart of Literacy: Centering Trauma as Powerful Pedagogy by Elizabeth Dutro
discusses the importance of leading a classroom that allows a safe space for trauma to be
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discussed and shared with the help of literature, and that is something this unit will help to
accomplish. Dutro discusses how the English classroom can often be a place where students are
reminded of traumas they have endured through connections with literature. One of the critical
tenets of her philosophy is that teachers should be prepared to listen to the stories told by their
students and be able to reciprocate in storytelling. She writes, “teachers have to model and
engage in the risk and vulnerability of bringing difficult experiences into the public space of
classrooms” (Dutro 26). After all, if I expect my students to open up about whatever they may be
struggling with, I can not stand in the front of the room and pretend that everything is great with
me. I have bad days, too. I have days where I struggle to get any work done, and motivation is
hard to find. If I do not share what I do to overcome those issues, my students will not be able to
walk away from this unit saying they learned anything authentic because I would be deceiving
them. I also can not ask my students to open up about their mental health status if I am not
willing to reciprocate. Our open-communication classroom will allow us to work through issues
together with the guidance of coping strategies and from being able to learn from the mistakes
and successes of the protagonists in the novels students are reading.
This creative component considers the tenets of trauma-informed teaching, focusing on
teaching resilience strategies to students. When difficult or traumatic experiences are brought to
discussion in the classroom, I expect emotions to be heightened for many of the students. There
will be emotional responses and reactions to what is shared in both their small groups with peers
and with what they read in their novels. While some adolescents are naturally resilient, others
may need the tools to help them get there. If I am successful in my teaching, students will walk
away with elements of strength, including a feeling of autonomy and the ability to reappraise and
self-regulate emotions in order to reframe challenges as opportunities for growth (Jennings 113).
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This sense of resilience will be fostered through the social capital I am building in my
relationships with the students and through classroom activities that allow students to better
understand the side effects of trauma and mental illness and what treatment options are for
people who are afflicted. While trauma and mental health are not synonymous, they are closely
related. Some mental health issues are biological in nature, such as schizophrenia or bipolar
disorder, but others may be triggered by traumatic events such as the death of a loved one,
natural disasters, neglect, or abuse. While trauma and mental health are not perfectly
overlapping, the symptoms of each potentially mimic each other, including hyperactivity,
disruptive behavior, and passive engagement, making trauma-informed teaching relevant to this
unit. In her book The Trauma-Sensitive Classroom, Patricia Jennings writes that “trauma may
affect how children and teens relate to their peers and teachers” (30). As a teacher, I am trained
to look for these signs and adapt my teaching to their needs. Students do not have that training,
so incorporating trauma-sensitive strategies is beneficial for all students, not just sufferers of
trauma or mental health. The novels I have chosen for the literature circle unit will be outlined in
detail later in this chapter, but they cover a mixture of biological and trauma-induced mental
health issues. I think it is important to expose students to both types of issues because it is
important for them to understand causes of mental health and trauma in order for them to be able
to effectively react to it.
By incorporating novels where each of the protagonists suffers from mental illness or
trauma, I hope to help normalize mental health issues as common among people. I want to
normalize talking about mental health in the classroom and eliminate the stigma with my
students. Young adult literature is crucial in this role because “the young adult novel is a
transitional form of literature which serves important developmental and emotional needs”
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(Samuel 87). Incorporating relevant, young adult novels is a way for students to connect their
lives to that of the protagonists of their novels and use their experiences as a learning point. One
of this project’s end goals is that students will learn more about some types of mental health
issues people go through, and they can share what they have learned with their classmates. I also
hope my students can walk away from the class with some strategies to help them cope with their
mental health ailments positively. In her book, Jennings points out that trauma is “particularly
hard on children and adolescents who have not developed the necessary coping strategies” (11),
so providing my students with the tools to cope is essential to me. A theater project for a final
assessment will also allow me to connect the Iowa Core Standards to the assessment through
focusing on speaking and listening standards, and it allows my students to invest themselves in
real-world learning and application, which is something that is being pushed in education right
now as a priority for students.
Why does Mental Health in the Classroom Matter?
Mental health issues are widespread in society, especially among youth. With social
media being available everywhere and the constant pressure teenagers feel from their peers and
potentially their parents, many students may struggle with where to draw the line on how much
time they should spend trying to please others and what they should be doing instead in order to
take care of themselves. It was estimated in 2011 that one in five adolescents under the age of
eighteen demonstrate symptoms of an emotional, behavioral, or mental disorder (qtd. in Wilson
et al.). A 2018-2019 study conducted by the National Survey of Children’s Health reported that
the number of adolescents diagnosed with at least one or more mental or emotional health issue
rose to 22 percent. The National Institute of Mental Health reports the same statistic for adults,
which means that when in a school environment, you will come across a significant number of
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both students and staff members who may be struggling (Richmond 4). Considering many high
school classrooms will have about twenty-five to thirty students at a time, that is roughly
one-fifth to one-sixth of the class, which is a tremendous number of students. This number is on
the rise with the recent events happening in our world.
For example, in 2020, the Coronavirus Pandemic swept the world. This caused schools to
shut down with very little notice and for students’ entire lives to shift. As of May 2020, more
than 30 million adults had filed for unemployment (Crayne 180). According to the U.S.
Department of Labor, by February of 2021, this number was down to 10 million, which is still an
unusually high number compared to pre-pandemic months. For example, in February of 2020,
the number of adults who filed for unemployment was 5.7 million. The stress this would put
parents under is easily absorbed by high school students who know they are old enough that they
should be able to help but may not have been able to because of the pandemic. The trauma of not
knowing if they had enough money to pay for food or housing is another issue that high school
students are old enough to be acutely aware. In addition to potential stressors in their home
environment, students were physically cut off from their friends for months at a time, and when
schools were allowed to reopen, it was not the same. Everyone was required to wear masks,
which impacted social cues by cutting facial expressions off from conversations. Many
extracurricular activities were canceled, or student participation was severely limited. In some
cases, students were not allowed to attend sporting events, dances, or even graduation, which are
staples in many adolescents’ high school experiences. And that was even for students lucky
enough to be able to attempt going to school in person; some were not that lucky. Many schools
were forced to continue to provide instruction virtually, which caused extra stress on both
teachers and students. In addition to every school in Iowa closing down from mid-March until
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the end of the 2019-2020 school year, according to the Iowa Department of Education, as of
February 2021, 128 school districts had applied and been granted approval to provide education
completely virtually for at least a portion of the 2020-2021 school year. Other schools attempted
a hybrid-solution where students only went to school in person a few days of the week. The other
days they were either given independent work or asked to join virtual classes to receive their
education. The stress students would have felt academically during this challenging time may
have become a trigger for students’ mental health to deteriorate and depression and anxiety to be
on the rise. For example, “In a recent review on the psychological impact of quarantine,
Samantha Brooks and colleagues pointed out that post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) occur
in 28 to 34% and fear in 20% of subjects in quarantine” (qtd. in Fegert).
In addition to the Coronavirus, the political climate of America has been rocky in the past
year. 2020 was an election year with President Trump pitted against Joe Biden, and Democrats
and Republicans in Washington D.C. could not agree on just about anything because of the
extreme political unrest happening between the two sides. Outside of Washington D.C., the
Black Lives Matter movement ramped up following the murders of George Floyd, Breonna
Taylor, and many others, which caused even more tension among citizens of the United States. In
response to the violent murders of people of color being ignored, protests began to occur in the
streets of cities across the country. Add this tension to the fact that students are separated from
their friends and extended family members, and mental illness issues will again either be
exacerbated, or new mental illnesses may begin to occur spurred on by traumatic experiences.
Throughout my first five years of teaching, I have noticed that students who suffer from
anxiety and depression are the most likely to open up to their teachers and talk about their
struggles in the classroom, but that is not always the case. I have had conversations with students
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where they confess to self-harm and having suicidal thoughts. While I am not a trained
professional in getting these students the help they need, I have always thought of myself as
blessed that I was able to form strong enough relationships with those students to the point where
they felt comfortable enough to have those tough conversations with me and allow me to help
point them in the right direction to obtain the help that they need. Not every case of mental
illness has been so extreme, though. Students will often share that they are feeling extremely
overwhelmed or anxious about schoolwork, friendships, or extracurricular pressures. It is also
important to note that while depression and anxiety may be common among youth, those are not
the only two types of mental illness that teens can suffer from.
The American Psychiatric Association defines mental illness as “health conditions
involving changes in thinking, emotion, or behavior (or a combination of these)” (Richmond 3).
Mental health issues can be brought on by stress, trauma, or they can be biological in nature. I
realize I have not been teaching for an exorbitant amount of years, but I still have noticed that
more and more students are opening up about their struggles within the last two years. I believe
social media has a small hand in this change. With the rise of memes as a form of
communication for adolescents, many are able to share information about mental health struggles
without directly mentioning their own trials. In some ways, social media has helped normalize
the conversation regarding mental health issues with many young people. There is, however, still
a long way to go. In some cases, the media makes the problem worse through their depictions of
people who have a mental illness.
In addition to young adult literature playing an important role in how people perceive
mental health issues, the film and television industry also plays an important role, sometimes in a
counterproductive way. Oftentimes, characters who suffer from mental illness are cast under a
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stereotypical trope. They often will be static characters with no real growth or discovery. Even
worse, they could be depicted as someone who can not be helped or who should be feared. For
example, M. Night Shyamalan’s 2016 movie Split is a horror film that depicts a man who has a
dissociative personality disorder. He has twenty-three personalities that vie for the spotlight as he
kidnaps three teenage girls and murders some of them. This movie depicts an accurate portrayal
of how a person may act while suffering from Split Personality Disorder (thanks to extensive
research done by the director), but it does not show any treatment options and is more likely to
have audiences fear a person suffering from this illness than understand how to best interact with
them. In movies and television shows, mental health sufferers may be depicted as crazy or
beyond help, which is not the image youth should be focused on when seeing mental health
issues in the real world. The website for the American Psychiatric Association states:
Mental health misrepresentation in entertainment media can fuel stigma, leading to
discrimination against people with mental illnesses and barriers to treatment. Media that
romanticizes or features graphic acts of violence, especially self-harm and suicide, may
trigger imitative violence, risking copycat acts. (Richmond 5)
This has become more apparent in recent years with popular young adult television shows like
Thirteen Reasons Why.Thirteen Reasons Why is a Netflix series that is based upon the novel of
the same title by Jay Asher. As it always is with Hollywood, the Netflix series deviated from the
novels in many ways (one of which is that the television series went on to have multiple seasons
while there are no sequels to Asher’s original novel). The show’s writers added more characters
and changed some of the scenes to add more drama to the show. Young adult literature is a
superior medium in which to study mental illness because of the depth of information that can be
provided in a novel. In movies and television, some information is left up to interpretation or
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inferences. A book often includes more details and storylines, which allows the author to
represent mental illness with more care. While some educators may argue that reading novels
that depict mental health issues could make problems worse for students, I do not believe that
has to be true of every situation. If a novel is taught and the tough conversations regarding
mental health are not happening, then I can see where that could negatively affect some students.
On the other hand, bibliotherapy, according to Karen Gavigan and Stephanie Kurrts, “is a
method of using literature to help students understand themselves and cope with problems
relevant to their personal situations and developmental needs” (11). Bibliotherapy will take place
in my unit plan as we use the protagonists’ struggles and triumphs as jumping-off points for
classroom discussion where we can unpack and apply our learning to personal situations. There
is absolutely a developmental need for this at the high school level as students are soon being
asked to make life-changing decisions about college and careers and while classes intensify in
their rigor. Coping mechanisms are not something students come to school equipped with: they
are taught.
One of the major changes the writers made to Thirteen Reasons Why had the potential to
have an extremely negative effect on the audience and will be a topic of conversation in one of
my lesson plans. Writers of the Netflix show changed how the deceased character, Hannah
Baker, took her life. In the novel, she swallows a handful of pills, but they show her on-screen
cutting her wrists and submerging them into a bathtub full of water in the television series. When
discussing this dramatic shift, Shelia Quinn writes, “Of utmost concern is that the show may
trigger actual suicidal behavior and completed suicides” (663). When the show aired initially,
there were not any trigger warnings attached to it. The producers did not provide resources for
viewers who may be struggling with the idea of taking their own lives to get help. It was not until
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after the show had aired and received backlash that Netflix retroactively added a warning about
mature content at the beginning of each episode and cameos by the stars of the show providing
resources for the suicide hotline. While there is no definitive evidence that the show did, in fact,
lead to an increased number of suicides, one study did “show an increase in suicide-related
internet searches shortly following the series’ release” (Quinn 663). In addition to needing to be
worried about copycat suicide attempts, critics of the show were worried about how the novel
glamorized suicide. Hannah Baker’s name was known all over town after she took her own life.
The passing around of the cassette tapes so that people she felt were in some way responsible for
her death also gave the impression that suicide could be used as a form of punishment to people
who may have wronged her.
This show is just one example of Hollywood attempting to glamorize some of the adverse
effects of mental illness. The idea that by taking your own life, you can be allowed to force guilt
upon a person or people that you believe wronged you is something that can be taken away from
the plot. I read this novel for the first time when I was a junior in high school. I was immediately
engrossed in this novel. I could not put it down, and I finished it within two days. The idea of me
committing suicide as revenge was never a thought that entered my mind, but then again, I was
not struggling with any mental health issues besides the normal stress of high school life. I do not
believe the novel to be as much of an issue; I believe the issue is with how the Netflix series
twisted the plot to add more drama. They blew the original story out of proportion and added in
events that did not occur in the book to gain viewership. Many of the scenes they added,
especially changing how Hannah Baker committed suicide, were graphic and disturbing.
Because it and other shows and films portray mental illness in a potentially glamorized way, it is
crucial to have conversations with teenagers about the issues with media portrayal of mental
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health. For this reason, I will incorporate lessons into my unit plan about Thirteen Reasons Why
and why the glamorization of suicide is not the avenue that Hollywood should be taking when it
comes to portraying characters suffering from mental illnesses.
Why Young Adult Literature?
In recent years, scholarship regarding the usefulness of Young Adult Literature in
bringing these conversations up with students has grown exponentially. In her article “Not as
crazy as it seems: discussing the new YA literature of mental health in your classroom or
library,” Diane Scrofano writes, “Mental illness isn’t just a symbol or trope for today’s teens; it’s
a real medical experience that ought to be, and now, helpfully, is being represented in literature.”
This current trend where YA literature shows different treatment options and often discusses
therapy and medication use to manage symptoms is not how mental illness has always been
portrayed in literature. Stories like “The Yellow Wallpaper,” and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s
Nest portray mental illness as the sufferer being “crazy” or “mad,” and do not showcase how
mental illness can be positively treated and managed. Trauma literature, such as literature
focused on PTSD, sexual assault, and violence, is the main focus of Amber Moore and Deborah
Borgay’s article “‘The Last Block of Ice’: Trauma Literature in the High School Classroom.”
They write, “If we risk exploring trauma stories, we can provide learners with potentially
transformative learning experiences and also demonstrate that these significant experiences
deserve attention” (180). By providing high school students with a safe space to share their
traumas, ask questions, and be vulnerable, students can examine how mental illness and trauma
can profoundly impact their lives or the lives of their peers. Then, through conversations and
writing exercises, students can be given the opportunity to learn more about the long-term effects
of childhood trauma and start the healing process early. Young adult literature is also helpful in
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positively reaching students because the characters are likely relatable. The settings will be
similar to what they know, and the trials and tribulations the characters go through will be similar
because they are the same age as the protagonists. As long as novels dealing with trauma and
mental illness are taught in a classroom where students feel safe and comfortable, the necessary
dialogue about dealing with issues can happen. Students will have a place they can open up
about their struggles and learn from both fictional characters and from each other to potentially
start the healing process.
Lasting Benefits for Students
Inevitably, every time a teacher starts a new unit, at least one student will ask, “Why do
we need to do this?” or “Will I even need this after high school?” These questions can be
challenging for a teacher to answer, but they should be questions that teachers want their students
to ask. When a student wants to know the purpose of your teaching, it shows that they are eager
to understand what they will be able to take away from your class and how it will help them
grow. For that reason, I always try to be upfront with my students at the beginning of each unit to
let them know what the major goals are and why we are spending our time on XYZ. Because I
am a teacher, I always start by letting them in on our learning goals for the unit in terms of the
Common Core State Standards I am trying to accomplish, and then I try to translate those
standards into real-world applications. Because this unit is designed to provide students with
coping strategies outside of the classroom, showing them the importance of the material we will
be covering will be easier in this unit than in others.
As an English Professional Learning Community (PLC) at my school, we have spent time
looking through all of the standards that students are required to reach at each level of high
school and from there determined our power or essential standards that we believe students need
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to meet at each level in order to be successful in their following year of English classes. While
we still teach and assess the other standards, they may not be a primary focus for a particular
unit, and they generally will only be assessed once per semester. There are two strains of the
Literacy Standards in the Iowa Common Core State Standards that will be addressed in this unit
which fit within our power standards: Reading Literature and Speaking and Listening. Within
those standards, I will be focusing on characterization with the reading literature standard. The
speaking and listening standard will focus on students being able to hold conversations in small
groups. I have chosen characterization as the core literature standard because it creates a bridge
between the majority of the discussions students will be having about their novels to mental
health. The characterization standard asks students to track how a character changes from the
beginning of a piece of literature to the end and to analyze why that change occurs and how it
affects the plot. Throughout the text, students will be asked to track the ever-changing mental
health status of their protagonist and apply social-emotional skills to their situations. The
speaking and listening standard is vital because students participate in literature circles that focus
on discussions, but it is also a place for my students to practice empathy. With discussions comes
differing opinions. When students are placed into small groups with only sporadic adult ears to
monitor, they need to feel comfortable enough with their peers to say what they feel. Other group
members need to respond kindly to differing opinions without causing antagonistic feelings.
This unit will take place towards the end of the school year, so students will have been
exposed to characterization during previous units. Literature circles will be one of their first
significant independent practice opportunities with the skill, though, because their novels will not
be teacher-led. One of the positives about literature circles is that students need to take
responsibility for their learning and understanding, which provides me with an excellent
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opportunity to see what my students can accomplish as they put skills that we have practiced
with other literature pieces to the test. Characterization is a primary focus because many of the
classroom discussions that we will still hold as a whole class will be focused on their
protagonists. One of this unit’s purposes is to follow the journey their protagonist takes them on
as they struggle with their mental health illness. Keeping close track of how they react to others
and what their character does when confronted with a challenging situation will be among the
topics of discussion, so it is imperative that students are able to identify traits their protagonist
displays and the textual evidence to support their inferences. The lasting benefit of analyzing a
character in a novel may not be as clear to students as some other standards that we focus on in
school, but understanding characterization is an important skill. Being able to identify strong
character traits is only one part of this essential skill. The other part is identifying and providing
textual evidence as to why that trait can be associated with that character. This is where the
learning comes in. If students can identify actions or words that someone says that can be
construed either positively or negatively, those interactions can become a learning point. After
all, people, by nature, learn from example. For this reason, I chose to incorporate novels where
the protagonist’s struggle with their mental illness, but ultimately they can either ask for the help
they need or overcome their major obstacles to end their novels with a sense of hope. It is
important that students realize that they can overcome any obstacle with the right type of support
system, even if they struggle.
The other power standard that will be addressed in this unit will be speaking and
listening. There will be multiple types of speaking and listening skills demonstrated throughout
the few weeks we spend in literature circles. The most prominent of those skills will be speaking
in a small group. Students will need to come to their literature circle discussions prepared and
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have done the reading and work that accompanies that reading. Students will also be required to
hold meaningful conversations about their novels, including asking their peers questions. It will
be important that they respond appropriately to each other and not just agree for the sake of
agreeing and moving on. There will also be various whole-group discussions where students are
encouraged to share about their novels, and they will be given an opportunity to compare and
contrast the different struggles and triumphs of the protagonists in our novels.
Finally, the third type of speaking and listening standard that will be addressed will be
presentations. There will be a few opportunities for students to get in front of the class in a more
formal atmosphere to practice their speaking skills. One of those opportunities will be a research
presentation about the predominant mental illness that is featured in their novel. The other
opportunities will involve more creativity and some drama exercises. Any time a student is able
to practice getting in front of an audience in the classroom and holding a meaningful
conversation with a small group, there will be lasting benefits. These are skills that will directly
translate to their lives outside of high school as they will someday hold jobs where they will be
put in these situations. Additionally, students may have friends, family members, or a significant
other where communication about mental health issues will be important to sustain relationships.
Being able to articulate your point and listen to opposing viewpoints clearly is a skill that will be
continually practiced throughout their high school careers.
There are also a few nonessential standards that I will still touch upon during this unit.
For example, there are a few lessons where we will be reading nonfiction works to discuss real
issues prevalent to mental health, including suicide, therapy, and medication. Reading and
understanding nonfiction is a power standard for our freshmen while we scaffold researching
skills, but it will not be a power standard for this unit. The reason for that is because the novels
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themselves are fiction, so our main focus will be practicing the fiction standards versus the
nonfiction ones.
Social Capital and Literature Circles
One significant benefit to this unit is the social capital that will be built among the
students both in their literature circle group and the classroom environment itself. Louis Hanifan
has defined social capital as “good will, fellowship, mutual sympathy, and social intercourse
among a group of individuals and families who make up a social unit” (qtd. by Aldrich and
Meyer 256). There are three major types of social capital: bonding, linking, and bridging.
Bonding social capital occurs between groups of people who have the most in common (this can
be geographically, ethnically, or students in the same class or literature circle). Linking social
capital is the ability for a group of people to have a positive, working relationship with another
individual who has power over them (similar to how a student council works with school
administration). Finally, bridging social capital is the working together of people who do not see
themselves as having a lot in common with their peers (i.e., people from different social classes,
geographic areas, ethnicities) (Zurita). Historically, there has been a lack of research on the
connections between social capital and mental health because there are so many factors to
consider. In their article “Social capital and mental health,” Kwame McKenzie et al. discuss the
challenges of collecting this research. They write about how areas with high concentrations of
people who have a mental illness do not necessarily have many factors in common. These areas
are a melting pot of ethnicities, and socio-economic status varies. The most important challenge
that makes studying the connection between social capital and mental health an issue, though, is
that there are so many varying degrees of severity with mental health. All of these issues
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combined have produced mixed results in the few studies that have been attempted on the
connections between social capital and mental health (281).
English Lab is the only blocked English course taught at the high school, so I often tell
my students that we are like one big family in the class. Because of the extra time we get to
spend together, I can implement a lot of team-building activities into their daily routine that I do
not have time to do with most of my other classes. In this way, I am starting to build bonding
social capital among the whole class right from the start. When the students are put into their
smaller literature circle groups, they will be given the opportunity to build even more social
capital and goodwill amongst each other because of all of the time they will be spending
together. This trust the students will be able to build in each other will be beneficial to them
when it comes time for them to answer the tough questions they will ask of each other during
their small-group discussions. Their small groups will become a place for them to make
inferences, make connections, share stories, and explore the world their novel takes place in
without being worried about saying something incorrect or silly in front of the entire class.
In this unit, social capital will be built in multiple ways. The hope is that through their
various discussions that happen almost daily, students will become much closer and more
trusting in their small groups. They will constantly be discussing the plot of their stories and how
it may or may not relate to their own lives or things they have witnessed elsewhere. They will
also get the opportunity to become expert researchers of a mental illness. The close relationship
they will get to form with their small group will lead to our entire class working together. I want
my students to talk freely and openly about whatever they may be comfortable with within their
lives. I know some students will have no issues opening up about their personal lives and the
struggles they have gone through or may currently be working through. Others may take some
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more coaxing, while some will prefer to keep their private lives private no matter how many
discussions we have. Each of those options is okay with me- I am not out to force anyone to
divulge information they are not comfortable sharing. But because of the sharing students may
see others, including myself, partake in, the likelihood that they will share themselves will
increase. This will also help increase our trust in each other and awareness of what is happening
in other people’s lives, building our whole-class social capital.
Finally, the last type of social capital that can be strengthened with this project is
school-wide social capital. The summative project for my students is a Theater of the Oppressed
activity that will bring awareness to the entire school community about the presence of mental
illness and the importance of treating everyone kindly with the respect that you do not know
what they are struggling with internally. Our school administration does a great job promoting
social capital among the students and staff. Our principal frequently refers to our building as a
family, and he even gave each staff member a shirt that says “Family” and has our school motto
on the back. Because of this very open relationship our administration has with the staff and
students, this unit provides an opportunity for linking social capital to be built. My students will
be performing their final projects to groups of their peers. The cafeteria in our high school
houses a small Cafe that has a stage. As a part of their final project, my students will create
tableaux scenes from their novel that depict the struggles their protagonists face with their
particular mental health issues. Along with the tableaux, one or more group members will
provide information about the mental health disorder their character is ailed from. The
information will come from a research project done earlier in the unit. This project opens the
doors for my students to have conversations with peers from other classes and grade levels
(bonding social capital) and administration (linking social capital) to see what changes can be
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implemented into daily lives at school to normalize the conversations surrounding mental health
issues. More information about this can be found in chapter three, but because the project is
presented to the student body at large, it will help educate and spread awareness about mental
health to the student body.
Rationale for Literature Circle Novels
While planning a literature circle unit, the first thing an instructor must do is choose the
novels that students could potentially read. I knew right away I wanted to choose novels that
each focused on different mental health issues rather than have all the books feature the same
type of ailment. I also knew that I wanted to try to choose novels that featured both male and
female protagonists. There is a push in education right now to choose novels that feature diverse
characters or are written by diverse authors (diversity including ethnicity and gender). While I
have chosen books written by both females and males, the characters in the chosen novels are
primarily white. This was not necessarily a conscious decision, but after I realized that is how it
ended up, I chose to keep the novels that I had already picked. This is because these are young
adult novels, and most of the surge in education is because we are reading classical books written
by dead, white guys. The curriculum throughout other English courses has been diversified,
especially in English 3, American Literature, so I knew that my students would be exposed to
diverse ethnicities in other units and could stand to read novels with white protagonists in this
unit. There also is not a lot of options to choose from when it comes to novels where minorities
are protagonists, but this is something I will always keep my eyes open for to be potentially
included in the future. Diversity is still brought into the unit, though, in other ways. For example,
I have a lesson included where we listen to a song by African-American artist Logic; he sings
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about suicide and ultimately deciding to get help with the title of the song being the number to
the Suicide Hotline.
Following this line of reasoning, I settled on these four novels: Breathing Underwater by
Alex Flinn, Made You Up by Francesca Zappia, Underwater by Marisa Reichardt, and All the
Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. I will also offer an alternative option for students or parents
worried about some of the heavy content in the novels. This alternative will be It’s Kind of a
Funny Story by Ned Vizzini.
Breathing Underwater: This novel follows a high school student named Nick. It opens in a
courthouse where Nick is on trial against his ex-girlfriend, Caitlin. He is accused of striking her.
Nick is one of the “popular” people at his school, so of course, he holds himself in high regard
when it comes to his reputation. Because of this, he made sure that he wanted to have the
best-looking girlfriend so they could portray a picture-perfect relationship. Nick wanted this
image badly enough that he would do anything to attain it, including both physically and
psychologically abusing his first girlfriend. At his trial, Nick is sentenced to attend a self-help
group for other males that have been charged with abusing their girlfriends. The judge also asks
Nick to write in a journal about what happened between him and Caitlin. This novel is told in the
present while we see Nick try to work his way through his sentencing while still pining after
Caitlin and essentially stalking her, but it is also told through flashbacks where the audience
learns just how evil Nick acted towards Caitlin and how he emotionally abused her. Through
these flashbacks, we also learn that Nick has been physically and psychologically abused by his
father (his mother abandoned the family), which played a large part in the way he began to treat
Caitlin.
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One of the reasons I chose this novel is because of its male protagonist. I also chose this
novel because it is potentially more relatable to some students. High school is a time for students
to start forming bonds and figuring out the traits they want their partners to have, and this novel
provides warning signs for students to look out for in a toxic relationship. I thought this might be
a good eye-opener for students and a nice discussion point for their literature circle groups to
focus their attention. Another positive of this novel is that Nick is in therapy. The importance of
therapy is one of the discussions we will be having as a whole-class, so the group of students
who read this novel will get to add to that conversation by drawing on their protagonist’s
experiences. Nick is in group therapy rather than one-on-one therapy, but the basic principle still
applies. Nick is also sentenced to keep a journal as a part of his punishment, and the
effectiveness of journaling to cope with mental illness is the first strategy I introduce to my
students. Nick resists therapy and his journaling at first and does not see the value in them for a
while, but he eventually realizes how helpful both are. He even begins to write way more than
the allotted minimum word count he was sentenced to write each week as he explores his story
and what went wrong in his life. Overall, this novel includes many of the major components of
our whole-group lessons we will be covering, which allows it to be a perfect choice for this unit.
Made You Up: This novel follows a high school female named Alex who is worried about her
very early diagnosis with schizophrenia at age seven, with paranoia being added to the diagnosis
only a few years later. Alex lives each day of her life in the constant fear that she will wake up
and realize she has symptoms of the disorder that she can no longer keep at bay with medication.
She is so obsessive that she carries around a camera and takes pictures of seemingly mundane
objects in her life daily (including the walls of her bedroom and the squirrel she sees in the tree
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outside). Her goal is to compare pictures from day-to-day to reassure herself that she is not
hallucinating. The book begins with Alex having an incident at her school that embarrasses her,
so she transfers rather than face her peers. Her only ally is her younger sister, who is able to
identify with what she is going through and helps Alex cope with the process of starting fresh at
school, making new friends, and even, for the first time, allowing herself to enter a romantic
relationship with a boy, all while trying to hide what is happening inside her mind.
I like this novel because it focuses on a mental illness that is not widely discussed in the
high school setting but is still relevant to students. Schizophrenia is an illness that is equally
common among men as women, but most of the young adult novels that focus on this illness
feature male protagonists. This is because the onset of symptoms usually happens at a younger
age in males than in females. Alex is an anomaly, though, because her symptoms start at the age
of seven, while most females do not present with schizophrenia symptoms until ages 25-35
(Richmond 43). I wanted a novel with a female protagonist to have an even mix of male/female
narrators for the novels, which prompted me to choose this novel over some other great
contenders that feature schizophrenic characters. Made You Up portrays a character that uses
medication to help control her illness and also finds her own coping mechanisms that she
employs to try to live her life as best as she can. Alex is a strong protagonist and example to
show that living with mental illnesses may not always be easy, but it can be done.
Underwater: This novel features a high school senior, Morgan, who is agoraphobic. She used to
live an incredibly normal life. She has a mother and a younger brother; she was a prominent
member of her high school swim team; she had good grades; and she had a few close friends she
could trust. But one day, during her junior year of high school, a classmate of hers brought a gun
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to school. Many of her classmates were murdered before the gunman turned his weapon on
himself and committed suicide. Morgan has had a tough time recovering from this traumatic
event. She no longer keeps in touch with her friends, some of whom moved away, she has quit
the swim team, and she even stopped going to school, at least in person. Morgan will not walk
past the doorway of the apartment she shares with her family. The only non-family member she
talks to is her psychologist, who comes to her apartment to complete sessions. Throughout these
sessions, the reader is slowly made privy to the fact that Morgan is keeping a secret about the day
of the school shooting, something that causes her to feel guilt for the event. It is not until Morgan
gets a new neighbor, a boy in her grade who moved to California from Hawaii, that she starts to
realize what she is missing about the outside world and begins to heal.
One of the major highlights about this novel is that it also features a protagonist who sees
a psychologist for help, and it features both a well-known mental health issue and one that may
not be seen as much by high school students. PTSD is a mental health issue that many students
will likely be familiar with, but it is likely they associate it mainly with war veterans, not
necessarily anyone who witnesses something traumatic. In this novel, students will be able to
discuss how debilitating PTSD can be on a person because Morgan discusses in-depth how her
illness has affected her friendships, family life, education, and physical well-being. In addition to
the PTSD, Morgan has Agoraphobia, which is less likely to be known by my students. Morgan
sees a psychologist once a week to attempt to help her heal from her traumas so that she can
move on with her life. This novel will be helpful for students because it ends on a positive note
where Morgan can repair some relationships with her friends, form new friendships, and is
making progress towards being able to leave her house.
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All the Bright Places:All the Bright Places follows both a male and female protagonist, each
with their inner demons. Violet Markey is struggling with depression while she tries to cope with
the fact that her sister died in a car crash as a teenager. Violet was in the car at the time of the
crash, but she made it while her sister did not, which also causes a lot of survivor’s guilt on her
part. She stops trying in school and stops talking to her friends, basically going through life on
auto-pilot. Theodore Finch is her male counterpart, also struggling with depression as well as
bipolar disorder. Finch is the type of character that tries to hide his diagnosis. He is known
around the school as the funny guy, the rebel, and the outcast. Finch comes from a household that
does not show a lot of love, including having an abusive father. Violet and Finch meet at the
beginning of the novel as they both stand on their school’s bell tower contemplating suicide. This
novel follows Violet and Finch’s adventures while trying to heal each other and bring out the best
in each other and themselves.
I appreciated how this novel is told from the point of view of both a male and female
protagonist. This fact makes it unique from the other novels, but at the same time, it is not too
complicated from the mental health aspect because both of the protagonists suffer from the same
illness: depression. Depression and anxiety are among the most common mental health issues
high school students are likely to suffer from, so this novel will be relatable. Students will also
get the opportunity to compare how the illness affects two different characters and see how the
cause of their depression plays a factor in their coping as well. For example, it is difficult for
Finch to open up to anyone about what he is going through. He uses humor to try to hide the way
he truly feels. In their article, “Carpe Librum: Seize the (YA) Book: We’re Not Crazy:
Overcoming the Mental Health Stigma in YA Literature,” Pauline Skowron and Ashley Corbett
write, “People are trying to help him, but he ultimately needs to want that help” (93). While
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Violet is also resistant to opening up to Finch at first, she is in therapy in the novel, so she copes
with her depression differently.
All the Bright Places is probably the most controversial of the novels I chose for this unit
because Finch commits suicide at the end of the book. Suicide as the answer to your problems is
obviously not something I want to promote to my students, but it is a common occurrence among
teenagers, and therefore something that needs to be discussed. We will discuss this issue as a
whole-class, and this literature circle group will get the opportunity to delve further into the topic
as they analyze what drove Finch to suicide and how it affects Violet afterward.
It’s Kind of a Funny Story: An alternative book for parents who request it will be It’s Kind of a
Funny Story. This novel features a male protagonist, Craig Gilner, who is very open about his
struggles with stress and depression. He attends a very high-stake prep school and talks with his
friends openly about the difficulties he is going through and how he sees both a therapist and
takes medication for his depression. At one point, Craig contemplates committing suicide but
ultimately does not go through with his plan. Instead, he checks himself into a hospital after
talking with an employee of the suicide hotline. During Craig’s stay at the hospital, readers are
exposed to secondary characters dealing with their own mental health issues (self-harm, drug
abuse, anger issues). At the conclusion of the novel, Craig makes the positive decision to change
his circumstances and leave the school that is a major contributing factor to his depression.
This novel will be presented only as an alternative to the other options for parents who
may not be keen on their child reading a book where the characters suffer from mental illnesses.
There could be many reasons a parent does not want their child reading any of these books; a few
of those reasons could be that they are potential triggers for their child or that they do not like the
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subject matter, including but not limited to suicide depictions in some of the choices. This novel
also provides something different than the others in its connection to the author. According to
Ned Vizzini, 85% of the novel is authentic and based on his own life experiences. Vizzini, in his
youth, contemplated suicide but called the hotline before actually attempting anything. When he
checked into a hospital, he was sent to an adult center instead of a teenage center. Many of the
characters that Craig encounters while at the hospital are based on people Vizzini met during his
stay (Blasingame). The fact that many of the events in this novel are based on the truth provides
a new perspective of the topic and allows students to realize that there are people out there living
with mental illnesses that make all the right choices.
It’s Kind of a Funny Story is a good option because of the positive portrayal of mental
illness that the main character exhibits throughout the novel. The fact that Craig is so open to his
friends about his issues shows that he understands the struggles that he has and knows that
support is needed in order to overcome some of his issues. While this novel does have the brief
contemplation of suicide as a part of the plot, Craig calls the suicide hotline himself and does
what he needs to take care of himself. He consistently makes positive decisions that help him
overcome his illness and find a way to live his life with his depression. While this novel does
still fit within the mental health issue parameters for the unit, it will be an acceptable alternative
for students or parents who request it because of the lighthearted nature of the writing and the
way the protagonist does everything he needs to do to take care of himself from the beginning. In
contrast, some of the characters in the other novels try to fight their diagnosis at first.
Conclusion
In chapter two, you will find research supporting the pedagogical strategies I have chosen
to incorporate into my unit plan. This will include literature circles, drama, and questioning
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strategies. Chapter three of this project will showcase a calendar of the unit plan and individual
daily lesson plans. Where appropriate, I have included short rationales behind daily activities
where I go a little more in-depth describing the reasoning behind the choices I made. The
rationale will echo the work discussed in chapter one and chapter two, including the benefits of
the drama activities, the reason I chose specific coping strategies to showcase to my students,
and connections to mental health and trauma research.
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Chapter Two: Grounding My Teaching Approach in Scholarship
This unit has three major components in order to help make it a successful learning
opportunity for students: the use of literature circles, teaching students how to formulate
complex, open-ended questions in order to aid them in their understanding of an independent
novel, and the use of drama in the classroom in order to allow students the opportunity to work
through real-world scenarios of the fictional worlds they will encounter through their reading.
These are common strategies used in the classrooms of various types, from elementary to
college-level students. Through the study of their experiences, I have shaped my unit plan
employing some of the best research-based strategies available.
Instructional Benefits of Using Literature Circles in the Secondary Classroom
Independent reading is a skill that is essential for student success, yet it is difficult for me
to get English Lab students excited about this daily classroom activity. In her article “Creating a
Classroom Where Readers Flourish,” Donalyn Miller writes how the poorest readers often read
as much as three times less than their peers (89). This statistic is hardly startling considering how
independent reading is so closely tied with success in school. In her article “Scaffolded Silent
Reading: Advocating a Policy for Adolescents’ Independent Reading,” Karen Walker reports
statistics from the National Center for Education Statistics that, “17-year-olds who read more for
fun score 11% higher on average than those who did not read for fun” (185-186). Independent
reading “provides opportunities to acquire new word meanings, develop high-quality lexical
representations of words, and improve reading fluency, thereby freeing mental resources for
reading comprehension” (Harlar et al. 2124). All research and evidence point out just how
essential and beneficial independent reading is for kids of all ages. Donalyn Miller also notes that
“No matter what instructional methods we employ, students must spend substantial time
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applying the reading skills and strategies we teach before they develop reading proficiency” (89).
Starting from day two of school, my English Lab students start every class period with fifteen
independent reading minutes. I do not assign reports or projects to go along with their
independent reading because I want them to read to enjoy their books. I do, however, have at
least one conversation per week with them about the book they are reading to hold them
accountable in a low-stakes way. Because this little bit of independent reading is already a part of
the classroom routine, spending the first forty-five minutes of most class periods reading
throughout the literature circle unit will be an easy transition for the students. By allowing
students to spend class time reading books of their own choosing, the goal is that the
achievement gap is closed, or at least lessened, by the end of the school year.
Knowing I want to provide opportunities for students to practice skills through
independent reading, I turned to literature circles when designing my unit. I knew I wanted to use
literature circles in the unit because I had recently read Literature Circles: Voice and Choice in
the Student-Centered Classroom by Harvey Daniels for a teacher quality project. This book set
out a rationale for why literature circles are effective in the classroom, and it has multiple
chapters dedicated to providing pointers on how to run a successful literature circle unit in the
classroom. One of the major takeaways I got from this book was how literature circles are
powerful because of student choice. Usually, in an English classroom, students read what their
teacher tells them to. Whether that is a whole class novel, a poem, or a short story, the student
does not have a choice. A lot of times, this can turn students away from the material because they
are not particularly interested in it. Literature circles allow students some autonomy in their
decision-making process. “In this classroom structure, the students are the ones making the
choices, raising the questions, doing the talking, and making the meaning” (Daniels 7). Having a
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student-centered classroom is becoming increasingly important in today’s educational climate,
and literature circles are a great way to achieve that. Another positive attribute of literature
circles is that they allow students to learn collaboratively. While reading a whole-class novel, it
is extremely common only to hear the perspectives of certain students. However, when students
are put into groups of three to four, they must become active participants (Daniels 10). When
implemented into the curriculum at opportune times, literature circles are also a way for students
to demonstrate the different standards they have been practicing in an independent setting.
Daniels quotes a study completed by Anderson, Wilson, and Fielding in 1988 that found “the
single factor most strongly associated with reading achievement- more than socioeconomic
status or any instructional approach- is independent reading” (10). Students who read on their
own are more likely to become stronger readers in the long run. Literature circles are one way to
achieve that goal while effectively holding students accountable for the independent reading that
English teachers want them to accomplish.
Pedagogically, literature circles have shown to have great success in classrooms of all
kinds. Literature circles are most often used in English classes, but the benefits of literature
circles can be seen in any classroom type, such as a nonfiction literature circle unit in a science
or history course. In her article “The Benefits and Challenges of Culturally Responsive EFL
Critical Literature Circles,” Lori Fredricks writes about her experience using literature circles in
an English as a Foreign Language course with adults. Her methodology was to allow the adults
to choose novels that were culturally relevant to them so that they could both practice the English
language and at the same time read something relevant to their lives and allow them to have
deeper discussions connecting the texts and the world at large. Novels they chose to read include
The Pursuit of Happyness, The Kite Runner, Hatchet, and others (495). This is a similar practice
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to what I am achieving with my students. Instead of practicing learning the English language, my
students are trying to strengthen their critical reading skills. While my students have a limited
number of books to choose from, they will be allowed to choose which one is the most
interesting or relevant to them before the unit begins, with each book providing an avenue for the
students to have a deeper discussion and connect the young adult text with their own
experiences. The secondary learning that happened in Fredricks’ course and that I hope to
achieve in my unit are similar, though. After interviewing the students, she writes, “learning life
lessons and acquiring other new types of knowledge emerged as topics in all of the groups and
this was often related to the participants’ connections and analyses of characters” (497). The idea
that through a close analysis of characterization, tracking how a protagonist responds to certain
situations, and the growth they show throughout the course of a novel, the reader can learn from
their experiences and apply that knowledge to their own lives is at the core of my unit plan
design. Throughout my unit plan, students will have various opportunities to choose an important
portion of their novel and conduct a close-read looking at different characterization elements.
Students will also be applying mental health coping strategies to what the protagonist is going
through in their text. By completing these supplemental activities, students will have a better
understanding of the mental health struggles their character is going through and what could be
done in order to help him or her cope with their circumstances.
In addition to growth in literacy skills, my students’ social-emotional health will be
fostered in this unit plan. Through the social capital being built amongst our class as a whole and
their specific small group, students will have a safe space to work through their issues either
internally or through their group’s help, depending on how much they are willing to share. In her
article “‘We Listened to Each Other’: Socioemotional Growth in Literature Circles,” Elena
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Venegas completed a case study of a fifth-grade student who was involved in literature circles set
up similarly to the ones I am planning. Each of the texts students could choose to read featured
protagonists who model the fostering of intrapersonal or interpersonal skills. Examples of novels
include Rules by Cynthia Lord, Wonder by R.J. Palacio,and The One and Only Ivan by
Katherine Applegate. Venegas determined that the student was able to better understand the
importance of working with her peers, as well as an improved amount of empathy. She writes,
“Grace demonstrated an understanding of the author’s purpose: to provide readers with a better
understanding of the joys and challenges of living with and caring for a loved one with special
needs.” If a fifth-grade student is able to read a novel and, with the help of discussions with
peers, come to the understanding that the author wrote the novel with the purpose of bringing
awareness to life with a sibling with special needs (Rules is told from the perspective of an older
sister of a young boy diagnosed with autism), there is a high probability that my ninth-grade
readers will be able to take similar lessons away from their literature circle experience.
Based on the above research, I have concluded that literature circles contain the elements
I am looking for regarding what I want my students to achieve in this unit. Because this unit
takes place towards the end of the school year, I want them to be as autonomous as possible
while working together. This will be a way for me to assess what they have retained from our
novel studies earlier in the year. Literature circles are a way for them to take charge of their
education and prove to themselves that they can be strong, critical readers, despite the fact that
they have struggled with reading in the past. English Lab is a course with the goal of students
getting extra help to be more successful in their remaining years at school; literature circles
provide the opportunity for them to showcase their growth.
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Students as Questioners
A critical component of literature circles is a small group discussion. Unlike the
traditional instructional practice of reading a whole-class novel and allowing the instructor to
lead discussions and point out key components of a text, the responsibility is left to the students
in a literature circle. They will need to be able to effectively read their text and think critically
about the events in the plot and characterization to guide a discussion about their chosen novel
that goes further than surface-level questions that only revolve around recalling specific events
that happened. Students discussing their novels in small groups is similar to a whole-class
Socratic seminar, which is a type of discussion where a leader asks open-ended questions, and
members are encouraged to respond and build off of each other’s answers to have a meaningful
conversation. Socratic seminars “[provide] teachers with insights about student misconceptions
and understanding of concepts by listening to the student-driven discussion” (Griswold et al.),
similar to the way I will circulate the room and listen in on the conversations my students have
about their literature circle books. Authentic questions, which are questions that do not have one
specific answer the teacher may be searching for (Ritchhart et al. 31), are the types of questions
beneficial to fostering independent thinking among students and, therefore, are the types of
questions students should be asking.
Furthermore, “students’ authentic questions are a good measure of their intellectual
engagement” (Ritchhart et al. 32). Listening to conversations students have with their peers is a
quick, easy formative assessment that allows teachers to gauge how well their students are both
comprehending and critically thinking about a text. Asking authentic questions is a skill that
students need to be taught; they are not automatically going to be able to come up with
higher-order thinking questions without direct instruction and practice.
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Asking authentic questions is a skill that teachers sometimes struggle with, so it is only
natural that students may struggle with this at first. It can be easy for a teacher to ask nothing
other than comprehension questions during a class period because those are the easy questions.
Sometimes they are essential, especially if the text you are reading is complex. Asking
comprehension questions is an easy way to make sure your students have a basic understanding
of a text, but comprehension questions do not help students learn anything. “In a classroom
where low-level questions are being asked, there can be a palpable lack of engagement, thinking,
and learning” (Knight 155). A lack of engagement is something that the class this unit is being
tailored for suffers from, especially when it comes to reading. As mentioned in chapter one,
English Lab is a freshman course explicitly designed for students who have a history of
struggling with reading, yet they are not struggling to the point where they have an IEP. Because
of this, trying to keep my students engaged is constantly on my mind. These students have to be
recommended into this course by their middle school teachers, so they often come in with the
mindset of “I can not do this because I am dumb.” I spend a great deal of the beginning of the
school year (and with some students, the middle and end of the school year, too) trying to break
them of this thought and showing them that they are capable of learning, even in an English
class.
In her article “Student-Made Questions: One Way into a Literary Text,” Barbara Ash has
a similar classroom experience. She talks about leading a class where the students had been
previously held back in elementary school because they struggled and currently found
themselves in an alternative program designed to prevent them from becoming high school
dropouts. Ash taught these students to ask questions about the text and to look for what the
author is not saying when they write. By teaching her students to question a text constantly, she
38
found they were “producing many insightful questions with little prompting from [her] and
without [her] immediate help” (62). This is one of my literature circle unit goals: to be able to
have students gain insights into a text that I even may not have noticed upon my first read. This
can be accomplished through the explicit teaching of the different types of questions that can be
asked and practicing creating those questions as a class. The end goal of our practice sessions is
that students will realize the questions that allow them to delve further into their analysis of the
text are the questions they should be focusing on bringing to their discussion groups. These will
be questions that ask for differing opinions, questions that ask for connections, inferences, or any
question that sparks a real discussion of the text.
In their book Mini-Lessons for Literature Circles, Harvey Daniels and Nancy Steineke
delve into the topic of teaching questioning skills to students. They offer a strategy for teaching
students this skill by having students come up with questions on their own and then creating a
list of the characteristics of the questions they asked (Harvey and Steineke 128-131). This way,
students will have a concrete list of traits questions should and should not exhibit when moving
forward. I like the idea of having students rank their questions in this way because it will force
them to close-read their own work. In addition to listing characteristics of good and bad
questions, I think it will be beneficial for students to understand the different types of questions
that can be asked in a discussion. Strategies that Work: Teaching Comprehension to Enhance
Understanding by Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis includes different types of questions
students may ask (clarification, rhetorical, inference, connections, etc.) and includes mini-lessons
that show how the particular question strategy might be taught to students. In my lesson to teach
good question strategies, I plan on having my students practice with their literature circle books
instead of teaching the strategy with short stories. While using short stories to learn these skills is
39
incredibly beneficial, I thought it would be more effective to have students complete reading they
would need to do regardless of their literature circle books. This way, students can also be
automatically broken into small groups for the discussion to transfer from whole-group to
small-group work quickly. While teaching my students questioning strategies, I plan on having
them categorize the questions they come up with, as well as discuss the positive and negative
characteristics of those types of questions. This will be beneficial for students moving forward
because they will be able to focus their discussion on the higher-order, open-ended questions that
will force them to close read the text.
Small-group work will also be beneficial as I talk to students about the importance of
follow-up questions. “For extended discussions to occur, the groups need to know how to listen
to members’ comments carefully and ask open-ended questions that will get people to explain
their ideas in great detail” (Harvey and Steineke 133). Through the use of follow-up questions,
students are forced to think about what they are saying. It is a time for them to be held
accountable for their opinions and thoughts. Follow-up questions can be as simple as “What part
of the text led you to XYZ?” or “Can you say more about that?” But again, the majority of
students in their rush to finish an assignment quickly will often not utilize follow-up questions.
Teachers naturally ask follow-up questions to students during discussions because “it facilitates
students clarifying their thinking and ideas in such a way that new understanding is developed
that the student owns” (Ritchhart et al. 35). This will be a skill that will need to be taught and
enforced throughout the unit for students. One way to help students make sure they are utilizing
follow-up questions would be to have them keep track of their discussion in a graphic organizer.
They can record a summary of the responses to the questions they discuss and track how many
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questions each person asks their peers. This way, they have visual evidence of who is
participating and a record of the topics discussed that they could reference in future meetings.
During this unit and while I ask students to attempt the particularly difficult skill of
writing questions to guide a discussion, my role as cheerleader to my struggling readers will be
critical. There will be a lot of practice upfront where we will discuss what makes a good
question. I will outline what types of questions they should be thinking about, and we will
practice the art of follow-up questions in order to hold a conversation about a topic. During their
reading, students will record their questions on a document that will be pulled up on their
computers during discussion time. This document is pushed out through Google Classroom,
which means I have access to it at all times and can see what they are writing in real-time. This
way, I am able to formatively assess the questions students write before they actually bring them
to their discussion groups. If too many of their questions are lower-level thinking, or I can tell
they would not spark much of a conversation, I can redirect them to rewrite a new question.
Drama in the Classroom
Drama will be used in this unit multiple times to help the students build social capital
amongst our class as a whole and their individual small group. One focus of the unit is asking the
students to put themselves in the position that their protagonist finds themselves in, and drama is
an engaging way to accomplish this goal. Drama allows students who are kinesthetic learners to
engage more with a text. Certain types of drama activities, like Image Theater, allow students to
spend some time close reading a text to interpret how best the scene should be visually
represented. While participating in Image Theater, students are given a topic. For example, in my
class, it might be depression, and they are then tasked with arranging themselves into a visual
representation of what that word looks like. Variations of this activity can include students giving
41
voice to the scenes they create, as well. In her article “Drama and Imagination: A Cognitive
Theory of Drama’s Effect on Narrative Comprehension and Narrative Production,” Wendy
Mages writes,
Dramatization, however, provides a tangible context for decontextualized language. In a
drama children can use their bodies and voices to dramatize the characters' actions. In this
way they can touch, see, and experience the meaning of the words in the text. As the
children continue to dramatize stories, their drama experiences may support a stronger
more direct pathway from the decontextualized language to the imagination and
comprehension.
This shows that by interpreting the characters' actions in a text, students are forced to think
critically about the roles each character takes in a story. When they are tasked with performing a
piece of a text, they will naturally need to close-read that portion to make sense of their
interpretation. This will, in turn, lead to higher comprehension and understanding of characters
and events. By allowing students to engage with a text in this way, their comprehension of the
text will be higher, and it will allow them to make more connections and create meaning within
the text that they may not have been able to do by simply reading and discussing with their peers.
In Teaching Literature to Adolescents, Beach et al. devote a chapter to explaining how
drama activities can benefit the classroom. They write, “Drama...helps students to evoke,
experience, interpret, and reflect on all kinds of texts” (167). Reflecting upon this, I decided it
would be beneficial to include drama exercises taken from Boal’s Theater of the Oppressed.
Theater of the Oppressed is connected to “social and economic activism,” making it easy to
incorporate a “political value for students” (Shawyer 13). This idea of drama in the classroom to
help students understand a text more, mixed with the idea that mental health issues can be a
42
touchy subject for some students, led me to want to create my summative project over the unit
with Theater of the Oppressed in mind. By asking my students to think through a fictional
character’s issues, I can broach mental health topics without putting pressure on them to share
their personal stories if they are uncomfortable. Because of Theater of the Oppressed’s activist
nature, my students will also get to feel like what they are discussing in class matters because
they will take their knowledge outside of the four walls of my room and make a difference in our
school. Throughout the unit, students will participate in various Theater of the Oppressed
activities with the outward goal of creating something that can be presented to their peers and
help to destigmatize mental health concerns.
Theater of the Oppressed is being used all around the world in order to spark political
activism. Julian Boal, son of Theater of the Oppressed’s founder, Augusto Boal, is a teacher in
Brazil who often uses Theater of the Oppressed in political situations in order to enact social
activism. In an interview with Monica Taylor and Emily Klein, Julian discusses some of the
recent work he has participated in. Of his work, he says:
I normally work with members of [activist] groups using Theatre of the Oppressed in
response to a specific event or action. I collaborate with the group members who are
directly involved in preparing for a specific event, either organizing a play or a
performance. Otherwise our goal is to train the trainers or activists who will return to
their movements to try to build the cultural committees in their own organizations.
He references a few specific events throughout the interview, such as protests regarding deaths
and education reform, that he has participated in recently. Julian understands the importance of
using Theater of the Oppressed to fit the current needs of specific groups. In my classroom,
especially in the time of political unrest and Covid-19, the need is to discuss mental health. My
43
students may not be leading a protest, but their discussion of the stigma regarding mental health
in my classroom is something they can learn about and discuss with their friends who are not in
that class. The summative project for my literature circle unit will incorporate Image Theater.
Image Theater is a beneficial Theater of the Oppressed activity because it allows students and
audiences to visually connect an abstract idea (mental health) to concrete depictions of what
sufferers may look like at any given moment. Depending on how my students present their
tableaus, the comparison of healthy mental health habits and harmful ones can be discussed with
peers. By performing Theater of the Oppressed’s Image Theater to the students eating their
lunch, they will open the door for conversations amongst the students and potentially with
instructors throughout their school day. Sooz Stahl is a high school English teacher who uses
Theater of the Oppressed to address racial injustice and help her students discover their personal
identities. She has seen great success from the program. In her article “Acting Out to Call In:
Practicing Theatre of the Oppressed With High School Students,” she writes:
Boal's rigorous, playful, powerful collection of techniques forever changed my
perception of interpersonal communication, relationships, and how society works to
reproduce harmful institutional dynamics in our everyday lives. Using it in the classroom
to get students thinking more critically about these issues seemed like a natural
imperative.
Knowing that another high school educator had success with Theater of the Oppressed in her
classroom gives me hope for my own unit. My unit on mental health will push students to think
critically about the shame and stigma that currently surrounds mental health. Students will also
develop interpersonal skills and relationships with their peers.
44
Drama in the classroom is a way to draw students in and engage them. It allows them to
come out of their shell and step away from their comfort zone for just a short amount of time. If
drama can be used to help improve students’ thinking about important issues, then that is all the
better for them. Liz Foster-Shaner and her colleagues write in their article “Living and Learning
at the Intersections of Identity and Community: Facilitating Theater of the Oppressed Workshops
with Educators,” “we find that our collective way of understanding TO allows us to feel the
complexity of the world without being overwhelmed by it.” After all, that is what the classroom
should be: a place where students are challenged to take on new perspectives, change their ways
of thinking, and be thinking about the mark they want to leave on the world. Theater of the
Oppressed allows students to choose what is important to them and make a difference in the
world around them.
Mental Health Coping Strategies
One of the goals for my literature circle unit is for students to walk away with concrete
skills they can use when they find themselves struggling with their mental health. In order for me
to work this into the curriculum while still staying true to my English standards, I have opted to
spend a few days out of this unit teaching my students coping strategies and then later having my
students apply those same strategies to the protagonist of their novel. They will take on the
persona of the main character and complete the activities as if they were going through the same
situations described in the novel. There are four coping strategies I have chosen to integrate into
my lesson: journaling, music, art, and meditation.
Journaling is the first mental health coping strategy I teach my students because it is
probably the most accessible coping strategy available to them. Taking the time to write down
your thoughts can be done literally anywhere considering most students have smartphones. The
45
benefit of journaling is not the physical act of writing itself, it is being able to process emotions
and thoughts by slowing down and trying to encapsulate them in words. In their article, “Family
eJournal: benefits of online guided group journaling for women,” Edward Titus et al. found that,
“online journal sharing may provide a buffer from depression.” When my students complete the
journal activity related to themselves, I will not force them to share their thoughts, but they will
be given the opportunity to share what they wrote with myself and the class, or just with me if
they choose to. By sharing their writing with me, they are allowing me to know more about
them, which will provide me opportunities to talk to them about what they are going through.
Even if they do not share their writing with anyone, though, journaling is still an effective way to
cope with mental health.
The second mental health coping strategy I incorporate into this unit is music. Music as a
form of escapism is a practice that many teenagers already utilize. Similar to journaling, this
coping strategy is made easier because of the fact that most students have access to smartphones
and are able to find any music they want with just a few taps on a screen. Another reason I chose
to use music as a coping strategy is because students can reap the benefits in two ways: listening
to music is effective but so is the physical act of playing music on an instrument if they have the
access. In their article “‘Music Therapy Helped Me Get Back Doing’: Perspectives of Music
Therapy Participants in Mental Health Services’,” McCaffrey and Edwards note that “music
therapy may represent an extension of past relationships and events involving music experience
rather than being set aside as a therapy that is distinctively different to other experiences with
music.” Music is something that will hold memories for people, so it is a good exercise to ask
students to think of music that is beneficial in boosting their mood. This can be because the
46
music is upbeat or because of a specific memory connected to the song in order to improve
mental health.
The third mental health coping strategy embedded in my lessons is art therapy. Art
therapy is similar to journaling in that it can be the act of doing something that provides the
catharsis. The art created does not have to be beautiful; the process is a part of the healing. It is
the act of getting your mind off of what is bothering you and instead creating something. The
specific activity I have designed (which will be explained further in chapter 3) also asks the
students to take a critical look at their own emotions. Rather than just tell my students to create
something in order to cope, I have asked them to think about how they are feeling and
incorporate themselves into their art. This will help students to realize the complexity of
emotions. For example, one person can feel both happy and sad at the same time and that is okay.
The fourth and final mental health coping strategy incorporated into my learning is the art
of meditation. This strategy is different from the others in that there is no accompanying
connection to the protagonist of their novels, but it is still an important coping mechanism that I
wanted my students to have in their arsenal. I believe that meditation strategies are important to
students whether they have mental health issues or not. These are strategies that can be used in
any frustrating situation, which is why I wanted to spend some time on them. When I practice
these strategies with my students, I will be playing YouTube videos as a guide. That was a
conscious choice on my part because I will be able to show them how simple it is to access these
resources if they ever find themselves in need.
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Chapter Three: Unit Plan
Unit Calendar:
Rationales for major educational decisions will appear after specific lesson plans as necessary
throughout this chapter.
Day One:
-Book Cafe
-Introduce
Project/Rules
Day Two:
-Groups set up
reading
calendars
-Practice
questioning
strategies
Day Three:
-Read
-Continue
practice
Day Four:
-Read
-Mental Health
coping
strategy-Journali
ng
Day Five:
-Read
-Drama activity-
Vote With Your
Feet
Day Six:
*Discussion Day
#1
*Apply mental
health strategy
to novel
Day Seven:
-Read
-Mental Health
coping strategy-
Music
Day Eight:
-Read
-Close Read
activity
(Characterizatio
n focus)
Day Nine:
-Read
-Drama
activity-Role
playing
scenarios
Day Ten:
*Discussion Day
#2
*Apply mental
health strategy
to novel
Day Eleven:
-Read
-Mental Health
coping strategy-
Abstract art
Day Twelve:
-Read
-Discussion
about therapy
-Discussion
about use of
medication for
mental health
Day Thirteen:
-Read
-Glamorization
of suicide
discussion
Day Fourteen:
*Discussion Day
#3
*Apply mental
health strategy
to novel
-Research
project
introduction
Day Fifteen:
-Work on the
research project
Day Sixteen:
-Read
-Present research
Day Seventeen:
-Read
-Mental Health
coping
strategy-Relaxati
on Techniques
Day Eighteen:
-Read
-Close Read
Activity-Literary
postcards
Day Nineteen:
*Discussion Day
#4 (final
discussion)
-Introduce
Summative
Assessment and
practice Image
Theater
Day Twenty:
-Work on
summative
planning
Day
Twenty-One:
-Present
summative
-Reflection
48
The following lesson plans will show a mixture of both formative and summative
assessments. Larger projects will be used for summative assessments. The research project will
be a summative assessment to assess students’ ability to find information from credible sources,
and because they are presenting their research to the class, it will also be a speaking and listening
grade. The final project will be another summative score for speaking and listening since
students will be presenting to their peers. Other activities will be formative assessments so I can
gauge what the students are taking away from their novels or other texts we bring into the
discussion. For example, the graphic organizer that will be used during our discussion of
nonfiction texts I bring in (suicide, therapy, and medication discussions) will be a formative
grade, as will the Vote With Your Feet activity and the two characterization activities (character
map and postcard). None of the mental health coping strategy projects that students create about
themselves will be graded because I do not want to grade them based on their own feelings.
When the same activities are applied to the protagonists of their novels, though, a grade will be
entered so I can assess the characterization standard.
The English Lab class this unit plan is designed for does not have any students with IEPs
(that population of students are in a co-taught English class instead), but there are students who
have 504 plans. Because of this, I implement a lot of universal accommodations in order to
differentiate the curriculum. Literature circles naturally lend themselves to differentiation
because students are given the opportunity to choose to read something that directly interests
them instead of reading the same whole-class book. Many students in the class have access to
Bookshare, so if they are verbal processors they have the option of listening to an audiobook for
their chosen novel instead of reading it independently. Students also have the choice during their
reading time to read on their own, or the members of the same group can read together. The
49
question stems provided to students is a tool they can take advantage of when preparing for
literature circle discussions. I use graphic organizers during instruction whenever possible, and I
also make it a habit of chunking larger projects into manageable goals so students do not get
overwhelmed.
Lesson Plans:
Day One: Book Cafe
Iowa Common Core Standard(s):
Speaking and Listening 9.1 (small group/whole group discussion)
Instructional Materials Needed:
●Candy/Snacks for the Cafe
●Soft music/virtual fireplace projected on the board
●Copies of each book at the tables
●Book reviews printed off
Classroom Agenda:
1. Students will begin class at the Book Cafe. There will be one set of books at each table
grouping in the classroom. Students will start at one table and will have time to read a
few pages of each book before moving to the next table.
2. After students have read a bit about each book they will rank their number 1-4 choice.
3. Students will then get to enjoy some snacks/drinks at the book cafe. (The book Cafe
will take the first 45 minutes of the class period)
4. During the second 45 minutes of class, students will be introduced to the project. I will
start by showing them the Google Doc they will fill out while they are reading. This
document, referred to as their reading journal, has all of their individual roles for the
entire unit. (10 minutes)
5. Next, students will brainstorm in small groups what they know is needed in order for a
small group to work well, and behaviors that deter a small group from working well.
(10 minutes)
6. Groups will share their discussions aloud while I write the two lists on the board. (8
minutes)
7. We will use these lists to come up with ground rules for our literature circle unit. The
rules will be typed up and printed for each group member with a spot for a signature to
prove they understand the assignment and their role in it (15 minutes)
Day Two: Questioning Strategies
Iowa Common Core Standard(s):
Speaking and Listening 9.1 (small group/whole group discussion)
50
Instructional Materials Needed:
●Novels to hand out to each group
●Worksheets with question stems (Appendix One)
Classroom Agenda:
1. Students will start class by being assigned their group and given their copy of the
literature circle book (10 minutes).
2. Students will work with their groups in order to set their reading calendar for the
remaining unit (deciding how many pages to read each day or for each discussion) (15
minutes)
3. Students will practice how to write good questions about literature in order to bring the
knowledge into the discussions of the novels in the weeks to come. The first step will
be for students to read the first 5 pages of their assigned novel (10-15 minutes)
4. Students will use the first five pages as their practice text for writing questions. Each
student will be asked to write 4 questions, each at a different depth of knowledge
(knowledge/recall, skill questions, open-ended questions, big idea questions). (15
minutes)
5. Those questions will then be posed to the rest of their groups members while I circulate
listening to their conversation about what questions were strong and which were not as
conducive to learning. (30 minutes)
Rationale:
When it comes to reading novels in the classroom, students are generally accustomed to the
teacher asking the discussion questions while they are primarily on the receiving end.
Literature Circles challenge that classroom dynamic and require students to be in charge of
leading small-group discussions. Teaching students good questioning strategies is important in
this lesson because of Sheridan Blau’s principle for literature classrooms: “confusion often
represents an advanced state of understanding… the student who is confused is frequently the
one who understands enough to see a problem, a problem that less perceptive students have not
yet noticed or arrived at” (21). Since the students will be on their own when they are in these
groups, I rely on them pointing out their own confusion and insights into the novel to move
their discussion along. In his book Literature Circles: Voice and Choice in the
Student-Centered Classroom, Harvey Daniels writes, “this is not a matter of ‘letting’ kids
51
choose their own discussion topics… on the contrary, in literature circles we require that
students find and develop their own topics for discussion” (23).
Asking good questions, however, is a skill that needs to be developed with students in order to
ensure they are asking open-ended questions, not quick yes or no questions that require no
elaboration. There is a section on their reading journals for students to jot down a minimum of
four questions to bring to discussion for each section of the book they read. For this reason, I
want to spend a class period digging into what good questions might look like to bring to a
group. Rather than practice with a random short story, it will be beneficial for students to
actually sit with their groups and start reading their novel for two reasons. The first reason is
that they will take the lesson a little more seriously because it is reading that they will be
required to complete anyway. And second, the students will be able to discuss the opening
scenes of the novel with their small groups, which will allow them to all be on the same page
and be able to dig into their reading independently a little bit easier tomorrow. Students will be
able to have conversations with their peers about why some of the questions they wrote were
strong or not strong without the pressure of whole-class attention on them, and with my
feedback, as well, hopefully, they will gain a little bit of insight into what their discussions will
look like in the future.
The types of questions they will be required to write for this practice assignment are
knowledge/recall questions, skill questions (questions that may ask a student to infer or use
other reading skills), open-ended questions, and big idea questions. These four categories
come from Jim Knight’s book High-Impact Instruction: A Framework for Great Teaching. The
52
goal is for students to realize that knowledge/recall questions are not as strong when it comes
to discussing the events in a novel. During our whole class discussion of the questions students
write, students will write characteristics of each of their questions (such as easy/difficult to
answer, which questions required explanation of thought, which questions sparked a
conversation from peers, etc.). Students will then be challenged to focus on the more rigorous
types of questions moving forward for their future discussions.
I have chosen to start the first few lessons of this unit with a focus on literature circles rather
than mental health because most of class time will be spent in these groups. I need to make
sure students understand the expectations while working together before I can start work on
the mental health aspect of the unit. If students are not able to function in the literature circles
or hold meaningful conversations about their novels, none of the work I am trying to
accomplish with mental health will happen, anyway.
Day Three: Practice Writing Questions
Iowa Common Core Standard(s):
Reading Literature 9.10 (reading and comprehending literature)
Instructional Materials Needed:
●Reading Journals (Appendix Two)
Classroom Agenda:
1. Read the novel (first 45 minutes of class with a brain break about halfway through) and
have students fill out their reading journal while working
2. The second half of class will be spent continuing practice on asking questions about
literature (finishing the steps from the previous day that we did not have time to get to,
continue to classify and refine questions, etc.)
3. Since students will have read more of their book at this point, they can also use this
time to start writing and workshopping questions they will bring to their first
discussion. These questions can be written in their reading journals.
Rationale:
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The reading journal (Google Doc linked in the materials section) has two purposes. First, it is a
way that I can hold students accountable for their reading for each section of the literature
circle process. Based on the observations about the books that students write in that document,
I can formatively assess whether they are keeping up with their reading and plan appropriate
interventions to assist them. The journal also provides a jumping-off point for students during
the discussion because it gives them work to share with their peers. The second purpose of the
reading journal is for students to practice the skills I have taught them through whole-class
reading previously in the year in an independent setting. There are four sections to each
reading journal: quotation collection, characterization, theme, and a place for students to
record their questions. These sections of the reading journal are loosely based on Harvey
Daniels’ literature circle roles, but I have modified them to fit the needs of my project. The
quotation collection urges students to think about figurative language, tone, mood, and other
literary elements we have studied previously in the year. Theme is also a primary continuous
focus for English Lab. Because literature circles are done independently, this document will
allow me to assess what my students have remembered from previous units, and I can see how
well they are applying their knowledge to their own readings. The last page is a place for
students to write the questions about their novel they come up with to bring to the discussion
and a place for them to make notes about the ensuing conversation that happens in relation to
their questions.
Day Four: Journaling as Coping Mechanism
Iowa Common Core Standard(s):
Reading Literature 9.10 (reading and comprehending literature)
Reading Literature 9.3 (character development)
Instructional Materials Needed:
54
●Document explaining journaling and prompts for students (Appendix 3)
Classroom Agenda:
1. Read novels and fill out Google Doc as necessary (first 45 minutes with a brain break
in between)
2. During the second half of class, students will be introduced to the first mental health
coping strategy- journaling. There will be about 15 minutes of direct instruction where
we discuss how journaling is effective, and then the other 30 minutes of class will be a
chance for students to start a journal of their own in order to apply the strategy to their
own lives. (See document linked above for journal prompts)
Rationale:
Journaling as a way of expression is a method for coping with any issue a person may have,
not just mental health issues. It is a place for people to explore their feelings and work through
different issues or traumas they may be suffering from. One of the nice things about journaling
is after the writing, a person can choose whether or not they want to share the writing. Some
therapists may suggest that as a way to open the road to conversations, but it can also be
cathartic to write and vent out frustrations knowing that no one but you will ever see what is
written. Edward Titus et al. write, “when we make a written record of our fears, thoughts, and
emotions, we may feel free from judgement… in turn, the benefits may result partly from
acquiring better insight, coping, interpersonal skills and understanding” (136-137). For these
reasons, I wanted to introduce journaling as the first mental health coping strategy for my
students. Journaling is a coping strategy that people can complete anywhere, at any time.
Especially since the majority of students now have smartphones. There are many apps where
students can write notes and type, and any time a person is in a rough place, they could utilize
that as a journal in a pinch. Because of the ease and flexibility of journaling, it is the most
applicable to the students’ lives outside of the classroom. Another benefit to journaling is that
it can be an outlet for students who want to talk to someone and get help but they may not be
55
comfortable having a face-to-face discussion. A journal can be a place for an adolescent to
write down their thoughts, feelings, and questions, and then rather than keep it private as a
personal outlet, they can pass the journal on to a trusted adult or friend. A conversation can
then happen through written words rather than verbally, and a healing process may begin.
Day Five: Vote With Your Feet- Introduction to Mental Health
Iowa Common Core Standard(s):
Reading Literature 9.10 (reading and comprehending literature)
Instructional Materials Needed:
●Vote With Your Feet worksheet (Appendix 4)
Classroom Agenda:
1. Read novels and fill out Google Doc as necessary (first 45 minutes with a brain break
in between)
2. The second half of the class will be spent on a Theater of the Oppressed game created
by Augusto Boal. The activity will be a Vote With Your Feet assignment. Students will
start by answering a series of open-ended questions about mental health. (15 minutes)
3. After everyone has responded to the open-ended prompts, students will then get a
chance to move around the room depending on how they answered the question and
have a discussion with their peers about how their opinions on topics related to mental
health differ from each other. (30 minutes)
Rationale:
One easy to prepare Theater of the Oppressed activity (or game, according to Augusto Boal’s
book) I like to use to frontload any new unit is the Vote With Your Feet activity. In this activity,
students are given a statement, and they have to decide if they strongly agree, agree, strongly
disagree, or disagree with the statement. They then will move to a designated corner of the
room that expresses their opinion and will be tasked with discussing, explaining, and
defending their choice to the rest of the class. This activity is powerful because it allows
students to see just how different their opinions can be from their classmates (and sometimes
how similar their opinions are). In order to allow for the further sharing of ideas, I allow the
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small groups to discuss why they made their decisions and then move the students into a
mini-debate. Each group is allowed to give an “elevator pitch” summarizing their central
arguments. They are allowed to question each other, and then before I move onto the next
statement, I ask if anyone has been persuaded to change their answer. Susanne Shawyer used
this activity as a warm-up exercise in her college-level Theater of the Oppressed class. She
wrote, “students appreciated how physical embodiment not only allowed for nuance and
uncertainty but also allowed everyone’s opinion to be represented at once” (14). Learning the
opinions of peers at the beginning of a unit of study is an easy way to survey the emotional
readiness of the class, as well as to assess the level of understanding each student will have
towards the topic at hand. There will be students that are already familiar with mental health
issues because they suffer from them themselves; some of those students may feel comfortable
sharing their journey right from the start. Other students may take some persuading and may
need to feel more comfortable, and others may not ever reach that point. A low-stakes activity
like Vote With Your Feet can give me insight into which category some of those students may
fall into and will help me facilitate their group choices and provide support throughout the
unit. It will also allow students to have their voices heard right from the get-go, showing them
that this is a unit where their voice matters and letting them know that I am interested in
hearing what they have to say.
Day Six: Journaling as Coping Mechanism-Literary Practice
Iowa Common Core Standard(s):
Speaking and Listening 9.1 (small group/whole group discussion)
Reading Literature 9.3 (Characterization)
Instructional Materials Needed:
●Directions for students to apply strategy to their protagonist (Appendix five)
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Classroom Agenda:
1. This will be the first discussion day for the small groups. Students will spend the first
45 minutes of class sharing the information they put into their Google Docs and asking
each other the questions over the novels they have written.
2. The second 45 minutes of class will be spent asking the students to apply the mental
health coping strategy to the protagonist in the novel. They will be given the same
journal prompts and asked to do some brainstorming in their small groups about how
their protagonist would answer and then write a few journals from that character’s
perspective.
Day Seven: Music as Coping Strategy
Iowa Common Core Standard(s):
Reading Literature 9.10 (reading and comprehending literature)
Instructional Materials Needed:
●Document explaining instructions for music assignment (Appendix six)
Classroom Agenda:
1. Read novels and fill out Google Doc as necessary (first 45 minutes with a brain break
in between)
2. The second half of the class period will be spent introducing the second mental health
coping strategy to students: music. This lesson will start with a discussion about the
importance of music and how music can be a way to escape. Then students will be
asked to either gauge how they are currently feeling, or they can choose a moment in
their life that either reminds them of a troubling memory or a happier time. They will
be asked to create a playlist of 10-12 songs that they would play in order to match the
mood of that time. There should be a 1-2 sentence rationale accompanying each song.
Rationale:
Music is something that all students can connect with. In this day in age where everyone has a
smartphone, it is almost impossible to get students to stop listening to their music and instead
pay attention during class. Music is often used as a reward in class: if students can get their
work done, they can listen to music while working independently. Because most students
already find solace in music, it is only natural that I do what I can to use that to my advantage
when it comes to providing my students with mental health coping strategies. In her article
“‘Music Therapy Helped Me Get Back Doing’: Perspectives of Music Therapy Participants in
Mental Health Services,” Triona McCaffrey interviewed six subjects that have used music
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therapy as a part of their mental health services. The sort of music therapy that she was
researching involved the subjects playing music, not just listening to it, but the skills are
transferable. One of the study’s findings was that “music therapy may represent an extension
of past relationships and events involving music experience rather than being set aside as a
therapy that is distinctively different to other experiences with music” (137). In other words,
both playing and listening to music is a way to transport a person back to their past
experiences. Music triggers memories, and depending on what songs students choose to listen
to, it may provide them a chance to fight their demons and be reminded of more challenging
times, or they can focus on music that associates them with positive memories in order to use
music as a form of escape. Either option has its benefits as a coping mechanism.
Day Eight: Characterization Practice
Iowa Common Core Standard(s):
Reading Literature 9.10 (reading and comprehending literature)
Reading Literature 9.3 (characterization)
Instructional Materials Needed:
●Blank paper, markers/crayons/colored pencils
●Graphic organizer for STEAL(Says, Thinks, Effect on others, Actions, Looks) method
notes (Appendix 7)
Classroom Agenda:
1. Read novels and fill out Google Doc as necessary (first 45 minutes with a brain break
in between)
2. The second half of the class will be spent practicing characterization methods with a
close read activity of the text.
3. In their groups, students will be able to gather notes/information about their character
from the text. They will need to provide specific quotes and page numbers that provide
insights into different character traits their character has shown so far in the text.
Students will use the STEAL method to collect their notes. (25 minutes)
4. Students will then be given paper and other supplies in order to draw their character
(based on descriptions provided in the text) and put the appropriate character
traits/information on their chart. (Thoughts by their head, actions by their hands/feet,
important quotes by their mouth, effect on others by their heart) (20 minutes)
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Rationale:
I enjoy using character maps with my students because it reminds them about each section of
STEAL that we have practiced as a class, it allows them the opportunity to be creative, and it
forces them to read the text closely. STEAL is an acronym used to help students identify
moments where indirect characterization is used by an author. It stands for Says, Thinks, Effect
on others, Actions, and Looks. Students should demonstrate an understanding of what the
character looks like by how they choose to decorate their person, but they should also be
thinking much more critically about what makes their character who they are. They need to
refer to specific moments in their novels when deciding the most important actions, quotes,
and thoughts their character has had so far. From there, they need to turn their interpretations
into character traits and attributes. For example, when interpreting the deeper meaning behind
the words a character speaks, students may need to do some inferencing and interpreting.
“Based on the type of speech act being performed, students infer character’ beliefs about their
own and their audience’s status or power, their intended meaning and actual effect” (Beach et
al. 146). How they choose to analyze their character and which character traits they choose to
highlight in these character maps gives me an understanding of how each student interprets
their novel.
Day Nine: Role-Playing
Iowa Common Core Standard(s):
Reading Literature 9.10 (reading and comprehending literature)
Speaking and Listening 9.1 (small group/whole group discussion)
Instructional Materials Needed:
●Reflection sheets for students
Classroom Agenda:
1. Read novels and fill out Google Doc as necessary (first 45 minutes with a brain break
in between)
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2. The second half of the class will be spent on a drama activity where students will
practice role playing. This part of the class period will start with a whole-group
discussion about asking for help. Students will be asked:
a. What are some reasons a person may need to ask a friend or adult for help?
b. What is the difficult part of asking for help?
c. What qualities are you looking for in someone to give you advice?
d. What kind of response/advice do you typically look for when someone does
give advice? (15 minutes)
3. First, in their literature circle groups students will break from groups of 4 into partners.
Students will be asked to determine who their protagonist might go to if they needed
help with anything. Then, students will take turns role-playing how the conversation
might go. One student will be the protagonist and the other will take the place of their
confidant. They will then need to role play what the conversation would be like based
on their knowledge of the two characters they are portraying. (20 minutes)
4. After the activity, the pairs will answer a few reflection questions over their experience
together.
a. Partner A (the confidant from the novel)- describe your relationship in the book
with the protagonist.
b. Why did the two of you decide on this character for the protagonist to go to
help?
c. Partner A- if you had played the part of the protagonist, what would you have
done differently than your partner did?
d. Partner B (the protagonist)- If you had played the part of the confidant, how
would your advice have been different?
e. Do you think your protagonist is ever going to ask for help throughout the
course of the novel? Why or why not? What do you think will prompt the
conversation?
Rationale:
I chose to incorporate this drama activity at this point in the unit because students should now
feel a little more comfortable working with their groups. I also think they have enough
background knowledge about their characters to make inferences about how the conversations
would play out. There are multiple benefits to using drama in the classroom, including
increased student participation. While having students perform, all participants will be actively
involved in multiple ways. While using drama, “the learner is both participant and observer,
playing a role while interacting with others in role” (Andersen 282). This active role is
beneficial in a high school classroom because many times, there will be students who attempt
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to take a “back seat” role and consistently rely on others to do the work for them. Theater of
the Oppressed does not allow students to default out of participating in the classroom. Bridget
Kiger Lee and others compiled a meta-analysis of research from 1995-2012 that studied the
effect of drama-based pedagogy in PreK up to high school classrooms. They found that
drama-based pedagogy positively affected “21st-century skills, attitudes toward the domain,
attitudes toward others, motivation, drama skills, and absenteeism” (18). These are all essential
skills to lifelong learning.
Another benefit to this type of activity in the middle of the unit is that it will strengthen each
literature circle group’s social capital. Most of the research on social capital has been done on
neighborhoods, cities, and larger groups of people, but the tenets can easily be applied to
smaller groups, such as a literature circle group. According to McKenzie et al., one of the
“most commonly studied aspects of social capital, at least in studies of health outcomes, have
been perceptions of the trustworthiness of others” (280). Many of the activities I have
incorporated into the unit are designed to build trust within the classroom. The Vote with your
Feet activity is a place for students to share their differing opinions and hold a debate in a
structured, respectful environment. Having students working closely in small groups allows
them to form bonds of trust amongst each other. The students being in the same environment
for one and a half hours a day, working closely with the same small group of peers will allow
them to create a strong sense of social capital amongst themselves where they will be able to
answer any questions their peers have and help them out with issues (academic or otherwise).
Knowing they have each other or me to turn to should allow a more relaxed environment for
my students, which will help ease anxiety over having to read an entire novel in the span of a
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few weeks (something my struggling readers generally assume they will not be able to
accomplish).
Day Ten: Music as Coping Strategy- Literary Application
Iowa Common Core Standard(s):
Speaking and Listening 9.1 (small group/whole group discussion)
Instructional Materials Needed:
●Directions to application to character from novel assignment (Appendix 8)
Classroom Agenda:
1. This will be the second discussion day for the small groups. Students will spend the
first 45 minutes of class sharing the information they put into their Google Docs and
asking each other the questions over the novels they have written.
2. The second part of class will be spent asking the students to apply the mental health
coping strategy to the protagonist in the novel. Students will be asked to choose a
section from the novel that is important to their protagonist (a time of triumph or
struggle, up to them). They will need to create a playlist of music that connects with the
way their protagonist is feeling. Students will also be asked to provide a short rationale
(1-2 sentences) explaining why they chose each song. The lists should have 10-12
songs. (30 minutes)
Day Eleven: Art as Coping Mechanism
Iowa Common Core Standard(s):
Reading Literature 9.10 (reading and comprehending literature)
Instructional Materials Needed:
●Art Key/Instructions (Appendix nine)
●Paper
●Crayons/This is suggestive of the idea that music therapy may represent an extension
of past relationships and events involving music experience rather than being set aside
as a therapy that is distinctively different to other experiences with music.
makers/colored pencils
Classroom Agenda:
1. The first 45 minutes of class will be spent reading (with a brain break halfway through)
2. The second half of the class will be spent learning the third mental health coping
strategy- art. Students will be shown a key that has different shapes on it. Each shape is
representative of a different feeling/emotion. Students will be asked to draw abstract art
using the different shapes and whatever corresponding colors they choose to
incorporate. The different sizes/colors/frequency of the shapes should correlate with
how the students are feeling that day. I will also ask them to write one paragraph
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explaining their choices.
Rationale:
Art as a coping mechanism is one that I wanted to explore because I think it is important to
speak to different types of learning styles and interests when providing my students with their
coping strategies. One of the nice things about art therapy for mental health is that you do not
have to be a strong artist to see the benefits. The benefits come from doing something with
your hands and the accomplishment of creating something from nothing. In their article
“Material interaction and art production in art therapy assessment in adult mental health,”
Ingrid Penzes et al. discuss the distinction between art in therapy and art as therapy. “The
perspective ‘art as therapy’ focuses on the inherently therapeutic nature of art-making and the
primary role of art materials” (213). Art as therapy is what I will be focusing on with my
students. They can choose within a few different mediums in the class period (crayon, marker,
colored pencil, and potentially paint or watercolor if I can approve their use in my classroom),
and from there, what they create will depend on them. The activity is designed to get them to
tune into their emotions at a particular moment in time, which can be difficult for some people
to do.
Day Twelve: Mental Health Treatment Options
Iowa Common Core Standard(s):
Reading Literature 9.10 (reading and comprehending literature)
Reading Informational Text 9.1 (cite specific evidence from the text)
Reading Information Text 9.6 (author’s purpose)
Instructional Materials Needed:
●Copies of this article: “Do the benefits of psychiatric drugs outweigh their side
effects?”
●Copies of this article: “The Challenges and Benefits of Treatment for Mental Health”
●Graphic Organizer for note taking (Appendix ten)
Classroom Agenda:
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1. Read novels and fill out Google Doc as necessary (first 45 minutes with a brain break
in between)
2. The second half of the class will be spent discussing treatment options for mental
health diagnoses. We will spend some time discussing both therapy and medication.
There are two articles I would like to read with the class: one specifically talks about
the use of medication and the other talks about other types of treatment (including
therapy) and also provides tips for teens who may struggle with asking for help. (35
minutes to read/fill out notes)
3. While we are reading the articles, students will fill out the graphic organizers provided.
Anyone comfortable will be able to share some of their answers, and I would also like
to provide a few minutes for groups to discuss how they answered the last question as it
applies to their lit circle book (10 minutes at end for discussion)
Rationale:
This lesson will be important to the unit because it will allow us to have a whole-class
discussion about mental health. Up to this point, the students have only been discussing in
small groups, other than when I introduce new coping strategies. This lesson is designed to be
a place where students can share their own experiences if they are comfortable doing so, but if
not, they are able to expand what they know about mental illness and learn something new.
The lesson focuses on treatment because it is important to me to stress to my students
throughout this unit that mental health issues are not something that should rule their lives.
There are many different treatment options depending on the severity and type of mental
illness a person may suffer from, and having this knowledge is imperative. I chose to have the
students organize their thoughts using graphic organizers to guide them to which parts of the
article I think will be the most beneficial for them moving forward. Graphic organizers are an
excellent way for students to organize their thoughts and will hopefully help them recall the
information quicker during class discussions both today and in the future. According to the
article Promoting Students’ Reading Comprehension Using Graphic Organizer: A Classroom
Action Research, graphic organizers “encourage the students to understand the text, there is
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interaction and cooperations between students and a reading activity, [and] the students
became actively involved in the teaching and learning activity” (126-127). These are
worthwhile goals in my English Lab classroom because all of the students in this class have
been placed there because they are identified as struggling readers, which often means they are
reluctant readers. Reading nonfiction can be difficult for reluctant readers, especially if they
cannot choose the topic they are reading about. Any way I can help them organize their
thoughts and make their learning easier to access is helpful.
Day Thirteen: Suicide and Mental Health
Iowa Common Core Standard(s):
Reading Literature 9.10 (reading and comprehending literature)
Reading Informational Text 9.1 (cite specific evidence from the text)
Instructional Materials Needed:
●Copies of this article for students: “Is ‘13 Reasons Why’ Raising Awareness about
Teen Suicide, or Glamorizing it?” from the NY Times
Classroom Agenda:
1. Read novels and fill out Google Doc as necessary (first 45 minutes with a brain break
in between)
2. The second half of the class will be spent on a discussion of the glamorization of
suicide in books, movies, and media. Students will read an opinion article linked above
and then answer some of the discussion questions found at the end of the article.
a. Do you agree with Dr. Madelyn Gould, Columbia University professor, when
she says, “The series is actually depicting suicide contagion, and at the same
time, it’s denying the suicide contagion exists.” Why or why not?
b. Do you think the Netflix show raises awareness about teenage suicide, or
glamorizes it? Does the show help or hurt people who already have severe
depression or suicidal tendencies? Why?
c. Would you know how to help a friend who had suicidal thoughts or severe
depression? What would you do, and to whom would you turn for support?
3. I would also like play this song for students that came out a few years ago that
highlights the suicide prevention hotline number and talk about the effects of music
like this.
Rationale:
Suicide is an issue that comes up in three out of the four novels the students are reading (one
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has a main character that actually commits suicide, the other two have secondary characters
that either commit suicide or mention it in conversations throughout the novel). With some of
the recent television shows that have featured suicide lately (13 Reasons Why, Looking for
Alaska), it is important to discuss the reasons novels might include events such as this in their
plot lines. I have chosen the placement for this lesson to be while students are in the middle of
their novels because it will be before any of them encounter suicide in their novels, but it is
also a place where they will know enough about the characters in their novels to be able to
apply the conversation to what is happening in their fictional world.
I chose to incorporate news articles so we can practice applying some of our informational text
standards skills, but in order to make the lesson more engaging and relatable for them, I chose
to bring music in, as well. My hope is that by playing that song which depicts suicide and
alludes to how to get help if you need it, it will spark connections the students can make to
other songs where the issue comes up, and they will be able to extend our conversation further.
Day Fourteen: Art as Coping Mechanism- Literary Application
Iowa Common Core Standard(s):
Speaking and Listening 9.1 (small group/whole group discussion)
Reading Informational Text- 9.1 (cite evidence), 9.2 (determine central idea)
Instructional Materials Needed:
●Art Key/Instructions (Appendix 11)
●Paper
●Crayons/markers/colored pencils
●Research project guidelines/rubric (Appendix 12)
Classroom Agenda:
1. This will be the third discussion day for the small groups. Students will spend the first
45 minutes of class sharing the information they put into their Google Docs and asking
each other the questions over the novels they have written.
2. The second 45 minutes of class will be spent asking the students to apply the mental
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health coping strategy to the protagonist in the novel. They will be asked to choose one
moment in the novel that was important for the protagonist (it can be one where they
are having a good moment or really struggling) and create a piece of abstract art based
on the way the character was feeling at that moment. Students will also be asked to
write one paragraph explaining the choices they made. (25-30 minutes)
3. Students will then be paired with another group and given a chance to share their
artwork and rationale with their peers. (5-8 minutes)
4. Students will then be introduced to the research project and be given time to ask any
questions they have so that tomorrow can be spent working. (15 minutes)
Rationale:
A power standard for English 9 at my school is being able to conduct research on both shorter
and longer research projects. This will not be the first time during the school year that my
students will have been exposed to research, but it will be the first time they will be completely
independent, which allows for the final phase of scaffolding and gradual release of
responsibility. Gradual release of responsibility, which is sometimes referred to as the “I do,
we do, you do” method of teaching, allows students to be exposed to a skill and practice it
before being asked to accomplish the task independently. The first time the students complete a
research project, we talk about the importance of finding good sources, but I provide the
sources. The second time they research, they are given some of their sources, and students are
required to evaluate other sources they find for credibility. This time they will be responsible
for finding all of their research and putting the presentation together. This project is not
designed to be an intensive research project; instead, it is designed to be completed in just a
few class periods and presented to their peers.
The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that “one in five teens experiences a
debilitating mental disorder” (Richmond 9), which highlights the importance for students to
understand the warning signs of different diseases, which is why discussing symptoms of
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multiple types of disorders can help students recognize common signs that they or their friends
may be experiencing. My ultimate goal is for them to get used to being in front of an audience
again because their summative project will be a Theater of the Oppressed activity where they
will be in front of a group of their peers, not just their classmates. Another goal of this project
is for students to gain a deeper understanding of the internal struggle their protagonist is facing
and learn a little bit about what their classmates are reading. Since one of my overall goals for
this unit is to destigmatize mental health issues, students researching the causes, symptoms,
and side effects of different mental health issues and treatment options will help to normalize
the conversation surrounding mental health.
Day Fifteen: Research Project
Iowa Common Core Standard(s):
Reading Informational Text- 9.1 (cite evidence), 9.2 (determine central idea)
Instructional Materials Needed:
●Research project guidelines
Classroom Agenda:
1. Students will get both class periods to work on their research projects today. Projects
will be due tomorrow and presented in the second half of the class period.
Day Sixteen: Research Project
Iowa Common Core Standard(s):
Reading Literature 9.10 (reading and comprehending literature)
Speaking and Listening 9.4 (present findings clearly/concisely)
Instructional Materials Needed:
Classroom Agenda:
1. Read the novel and fill out Google Doc as necessary (first 45 minutes of class with a
brain break about halfway through)
2. The second 45 minutes of class will be spent on presenting research projects that were
completed the day prior and allowing students to ask questions about each other’s
presentations.
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Day Seventeen: Meditation as Coping Mechanism
Iowa Common Core Standard(s):
Reading Literature 9.10 (reading and comprehending literature)
Instructional Materials Needed:
●Meditation Video to project
Classroom Agenda:
1. Read novels and fill out Google Doc as necessary (first 45 minutes with a brain break
in between)
2. During the second half of class, students will be introduced to the fourth mental health
coping strategy: meditation strategies.
3. Students will practice three types of meditation in the class period. The first will be
breathing exercises in order to calm down (10 minutes)
4. The second type of meditation will be stretching exercises. I would like to introduce
students to this video that is only 10 minutes long and will guide students through some
meditation procedures. This will allow students to walk away from class with some
exercises, and some ideas of where they can find more activities like this one (10
minutes)
5. The third type of meditation will be positive affirmations. Because this is the first time
I am introducing this topic to students, we will come up with some of our own positive
affirmations, as well as getting some from our peers. Students will start by writing
down five things they like about themselves on a piece of paper. Then, they will tape
the paper to their backs. They will walk around the room and write on each other’s
backs different affirmations/positive qualities of their classmates. After each student
has had multiple people write on their papers they can then look at what their peers
wrote and these can all be turned into positive mantras for the students to carry around
with them in times of need (15 minutes)
Day Eighteen: Close Reading- Postcards
Iowa Common Core Standard(s):
Reading Literature 9.10 (reading and comprehending literature)
Reading Literature 9.1 (cite evidence)
Reading Literature 9.6 (point of view)
Instructional Materials Needed:
●Postcard Project handout with template (Appendix 13)
●Crayons/markers/colored pencils
Classroom Agenda:
1. Read novels and fill out Google Doc as necessary (first 45 minutes with a brain break
in between)
2. The second half of the class will be spent on a close reading activity that will require
students to write a postcard to an important person in the life of their character. Since
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the students should be almost finished with their novels, there should be another
character who can easily be identified as a confidant or someone that has helped them
on their mental health journey. From the perspective of their protagonist, students will
write a postcard to that person which references specific events/ interactions from the
text. On the flip side of the postcard students will need to draw a photo that is relevant
to an important scene from the novel, or a place in the novel that is important to the
protagonist. (45 minutes)
Rationale:
I chose this project to complete at this point in the unit for two reasons: first, close reading is
something I want my students to be used to doing. Looking for specific scenes and pulling
specific details out of a text is one of the standards they should have mastered by the end of
this year, and this unit will take place in the Spring. Students will demonstrate their
understanding of events in the novel through the details they incorporate in their letter. Second,
one of our power standards for this unit is characterization. Students should be making a note
of how the protagonist is transforming from the beginning of their novel to the end, so this is a
nice way for students to showcase what they have learned about their character. It is also a
place where they get to do a little bit of creative writing since they get to take their
protagonist’s persona and write from someone else’s perspective.
Day Nineteen: Drama as a Coping Mechanism
Iowa Common Core Standard(s):
Speaking and Listening 9.1 (small group/whole group discussion)
Instructional Materials Needed:
●Summative project instruction sheet (Appendix 14)
●Image Theater scenarios
○A student having an anxiety attack in the classroom
○A child not wanting to get out of bed and a parent angry with them
○A student withdrawing from their friends
Classroom Agenda:
1. This will be the final discussion day for the small groups. Students will spend the first
45 minutes of class sharing the information they put into their Google Docs and asking
each other the questions over the novels they have written.
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2. Students will then apply the drama mental health coping strategy to their novel. This
will take place through their summative project, which will be a Theatre of the
Oppressed workshop with Image Theater. The second half of the class will be spent on
a miniature Image Theater from Theater of the Oppressed that is designed in a way that
students can practice what Image Theater is used for before designing their own group
projects. Students will be given one scenario and in small groups will be asked to
create a tableaux of their situation to be presented to the class. (10 minutes)
3. One at a time, each group will present their tableaux to the class. Following each
tableaux, the following questions will be discussed:
a. What person in the tableaux draws your attention? Why?
b. What do you notice about the placement of all of the characters? Are they close
together? Spaced apart? Where are they looking? What do these choices tell
you?
c. How could this tableaux be changed in order to reflect a situation in which the
person struggling is getting help, instead of being the center of attention for a
negative reason? (30 minutes- 10 for each scenario)
Rationale:
When it comes to a summative Theater of the Oppressed activity, I chose Image Theater
because I believe it is an activity that will allow students to express themselves without me
asking them to jump straight into acting roles. Since this will be presented to their peers, I
thought staying away from acting would make some students a little more comfortable. The
more outgoing students can take leadership during the presentation, but everyone will still be
involved this way.
Image Theater is also helpful because it is the actions that the kids take and how they choose to
arrange themselves that will lead the class discussion. With this experience, “the emphasis has
to be on learning together, rather than viewing the ‘intellectual’ as the sole teacher” (Hansen
178). While I will facilitate the discussions and the activities, it will be the students’ ideas and
perceptions that will guide discussion topics. There will be a significant shift in thinking for
my students. Students are used to viewing the teacher as the absolute authority when it comes
to the subject matter in a classroom, but because these activities are based on their own biases,
72
their own perceptions, and their own experiences with the issues at hand; they will need to take
charge of their learning for today by asking the questions about each other’s tableaux and
making inferences based on changes that are applied to each scenario.
In the project description, I ask students to have a short bit of information ready to present to
their peers along with the tableaux. The purpose of this is so that the audience will understand
the reason behind the tableaux in the first place. The second reason I am asking at least one
member of the group to address the audience is so that awareness can be made about mental
health issues. The person addressing the audience can pull some of the information from the
group research project that was done earlier in the unit in order to help educate their peers.
They can also give some context into what is happening in the scene after the audience gets a
chance to analyze what is happening. By talking about how the illness affected the protagonist
and showing the audience some of the side effects, group members can steer the audience
towards talking about the normalcy of people living with different disorders every day of their
lives.
Day Twenty: Final Project Work Day
Iowa Common Core Standard(s):
Speaking and Listening 9.1 (small group/whole group discussion)
Instructional Materials Needed:
Classroom Agenda:
1. This will be a work day on the summative project
Day Twenty-One: Unit Reflections
Iowa Common Core Standard(s):
Speaking and Listening 9.4 (present findings clearly/concisely)
Instructional Materials Needed:
73
●Unit Reflection (Appendix 15)
Classroom Agenda:
1. Theatre of the Oppressed activities will be presented today. Students will perform their
piece during their lunch hour when there are many students in the cafeteria, and
because we have a small stage in Cafe Ole. During class, each group will get a chance
to present their tableaux again and talk to their peers about how their performance went
(summarizing what the audience noticed, what questions they asked, etc.)
2. Students will complete a Unit Reflection form that reflects on the unit as a whole.
Rationale:
One of the most important parts of education is asking students to reflect on their learning at
the end of a unit or lesson. This is a key component of Theater of the Oppressed and the drama
exercises I will use in my classroom. Students will be asked to portray situations that are often
uncomfortable for people because mental health is something that is still uncomfortable for
many people. How to react when someone is struggling or when someone acts differently than
the “norm” is something that not all students understand; it needs to be taught and discussed.
By acting out the roles they might encounter in real-life situations, students will be able to be
informed “in some way about what they could and should not do in future situations [and]
about consequences and ramifications they may not have yet considered” (Beach et al. 175).
Because this will be done and practiced in my classroom environment, students will be able to
work through potentially awkward situations in a safe environment and receive constructive
feedback from their peers about their socialization skills. They will then be able to transfer
their learning to real-world situations where they encounter a classmate or potential stranger
struggling in a public place. This unit reflection is designed for students to think about what
they will be able to take away from this unit, what skills they learned that they could apply to
their lives, and it also provides an opportunity for me to find out what went well or what I can
do to improve this unit in the future.
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Appendix One: Question Stems
Bloom’s Taxonomy Question Stems:
UNDERSTAND (Level 2) Interpreting, exemplifying, classifying, summarizing, inferring,
comparing, explaining
Elaborate on__________.
How can you describe_________?
How would you clarify the meaning _________?
How would you compare/contrast_________?
How would you differentiate between________ and _________?
How would you express_________?
How would you generalize_________?
How would you identify_________?
What can you infer from_________?
What can you say about_________?
What did you observe_________?
What is the main idea of _________?
What would happen if _________?
Will you restate_________?
APPLY (Level 3) Executing and implementing
How would you develop_________?
How would you after _______ to _________?
How would you change_________? How would you modify_______?
How would you demonstrate_________?
How would you develop________ to present _________?
How would you present _________?
How would you solve_________?
What actions would you take to perform_____?
What examples can you find that _________?
What other way would you choose to _________?
What would the result be if _________?
Why does ________ work?
ANALYZE (Level 4) Differentiating, organizing, attributing
Discuss the pros and cons of __________.
How can you classify ________ according to _________?
How can you compare the different parts of _________?
How can you sort the parts of _________?
How is _________ connected to _________?
How would you explain _________?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of _________?
What can you infer _________?
75
What can you point out about _________?
What evidence in the text can you find that _________?
What explanation do you have for _________?
What ideas support/validate_________?
What is the problem with _________?
What is your analysis of _________?
Why do you think _________?
EVALUATE (Level 5) Checking and critiquing
Create a poem/riddle/song that explains_________?
Devise a way to_________?
How would you compile the facts for_________?
How would you elaborate on the reason_________?
How would you generate a plan to_________?
How would you improve_________?
How would you portray_________?
Predict the outcome if _________?
What alternative would you suggest for_________?
What changes would you make to revise_________?
What could you invent_________?
What facts can you gather_________?
What would happen if _________?
CREATE (Level 6) Generating, planning, producing
Determine the value of _____.
How could you verify_________?
How would you determine which facts__________?
How would you grade_________?
Rank the importance of ______. Rate the _________. Explain your rating.
What choice would you have made_________? Explain your reasoning.
What criteria would you use to assess_________?
What data was used to evaluate_________?
What information would you use to prioritize_________?
What is the most important_________? Tell why.
What is your favorite_________? Why?
What would you suggest_________?
What is your opinion of _________? Support your response.
76
Appendix Two: Reading Journal (to be completed individually before each discussion day)
Dialogic Journal
3-5 quotes per section:
● Quotes should be 3-5
lines in length
● Cite properly
Questions:
● Why is this quote important?
● What does it remind you of?
● Can you make personal connections to the text?
● What changes do you notice in a character or author?
● What literary device[s] is the author using?
● What tone or mood is the author trying to evoke?
● What theme[s] is the author developing?
“........” (34)
77
Character Analysis
Character Name:
Description:
Motivations:
Relationships:
Actions:
78
Theme
Identify a theme and write a
theme statement.
When did this theme
emerge in the text? Include
textual evidence.
How has this theme
developed in the first
section of your book?
Does this theme feel
relevant to your life? Why
or why not?
79
Questions About Your Novel
Come up with 4 open-ended
questions for your group to
discuss here.
Type a small summary about the
discussion that ensued during
class about this question.
1.
2.
3.
4.
80
Appendix Three: Coping Strategy #1 Handout (Journaling)
Mental Health Coping Strategy- Journaling
Journaling can be a helpful strategy when you are dealing with mental health issues for many
reasons. Depending on what you journal about, the writing process can be incredibly
cathartic. By writing your anxieties down, it will give you a chance to realize how you are
truly feeling. Sometimes, emotions will come out in your journals that you didn’t even realize
you felt. Journaling can also provide an avenue for you to prioritize your anxieties, brainstorm
ideas to solve your problems, and it can also allow you to view your own growth or understand
potential triggers for your problems. For example, if every time you journal about being upset
the entry starts with one specific friend, it may help you realize that the friendship is toxic
and no longer a benefit to you.
You may start a journal that you write in every day whether it was a good day or a bad day,
or you may only turn to your journal during times of stress, anxiety, and depression. Either
way, the benefits are still there. It also does not matter whether you are responding to a
specific prompt or if you are just writing the first thing that comes to mind.
Writing is writing.
Directions: I would like you to start a journal for at least one week. Below I will post prompts
for you to respond to if you would like me to, or you can simply choose to write about
whatever feels natural. Try to write each day for a minimum of 15 minutes, but you are
welcome to write more than that if it feels natural to you. At the end of the week, you will
be asked to answer the reflection questions.
Day One: Write about a time you felt extremely frustrated. What made you feel that way?
How did you respond?
Day Two: Write about an event that brought you joy. What were you doing? Who were you
with? Why did you enjoy yourself?
Day Three: Describe your perfect day.
Day Four: Write about your future. What are some goals you have for yourself, both long and
short term?
Day Five: Write about 5 things you are grateful for.
Day Six: Think about a time you were upset/anxious/depressed. Describe physically how you
felt.
Day Seven: Write a letter to the future you (5 years? 10 years? You decide.) What would you
say? What advice would you give?
Reflection Questions:
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1) What did you enjoy about the process of journaling? What did you not enjoy? Explain.
2) What insights about yourself did journaling help you to learn?
3) How did you feel each day after you finished journaling? Explain.
4) Is this something you can see yourself doing without being prompted in the future?
Why or why not?
82
Appendix Four: Vote With Your Feet activity
Name _________________________________
Anticipation Guide for
Mental Health Literature Circle Unit
Directions: How much do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements?
Give your reasoning in 1-2 sentences. Be prepared to discuss with the class.
1. People should work out their own mental health problems.
TOTALLY AGREE SOMEWHAT AGREE SOMEWHAT DISAGREE TOTALLY DISAGREE
2. Once you have a mental illness, you have it for life.
TOTALLY AGREE SOMEWHAT AGREE SOMEWHAT DISAGREE TOTALLY DISAGREE
3. You can tell by looking at people whether they have a mental illness or not.
TOTALLY AGREE SOMEWHAT AGREE SOMEWHAT DISAGREE TOTALLY DISAGREE
4. Adults are more likely to have a mental illness than kids/teenagers.
TOTALLY AGREE SOMEWHAT AGREE SOMEWHAT DISAGREE TOTALLY DISAGREE
5. Mental illness only happens to certain kinds of people.
TOTALLY AGREE SOMEWHAT AGREE SOMEWHAT DISAGREE TOTALLY DISAGREE
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6. People with mental illness are generally violent and dangerous.
TOTALLY AGREE SOMEWHAT AGREE SOMEWHAT DISAGREE TOTALLY DISAGREE
7. Medication is the best treatment for mental illness.
TOTALLY AGREE SOMEWHAT AGREE SOMEWHAT DISAGREE TOTALLY DISAGREE
8. People with a mental illness should be able to “deal with it.”
TOTALLY AGREE SOMEWHAT AGREE SOMEWHAT DISAGREE TOTALLY DISAGREE
9. There is nothing I can do to help someone struggling with mental health issues.
TOTALLY AGREE SOMEWHAT AGREE SOMEWHAT DISAGREE TOTALLY DISAGREE
10. People with mental health issues can’t hold down a job or do well in school.
TOTALLY AGREE SOMEWHAT AGREE SOMEWHAT DISAGREE TOTALLY DISAGREE
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Appendix Five: Coping Strategy #1- Protagonist Application Handout
Mental Health Coping Strategy- Journaling
Journaling can be a helpful strategy when you are dealing with mental health issues for many
reasons. Depending on what you journal about, the writing process can be incredibly
cathartic. By writing your anxieties down, it will give you a chance to realize how you are
truly feeling. Sometimes, emotions will come out in your journals that you didn’t even realize
you felt. Journaling can also provide an avenue for you to prioritize your anxieties, brainstorm
ideas to solve your problems, and it can also allow you to view your own growth or understand
potential triggers for your problems. For example, if every time you journal about being upset
the entry starts with one specific friend, it may help you realize that the friendship is toxic
and no longer a benefit to you.
You may start a journal that you write in every day whether it was a good day or a bad day,
or you may only turn to your journal during times of stress, anxiety, and depression. Either
way, the benefits are still there. It also does not matter whether you are responding to a
specific prompt or if you are just writing the first thing that comes to mind.
Writing is writing.
Directions: I would like you to write 2 journal entries from the perspective of your
protagonist. I would suggest choosing a part in the novel where they have struggled and have
the character describe that moment. What were they feeling? What might they have been
thinking? For your second entry choose a point in the novel when they seem to be content
with their life and use the opportunity to compare how the tone of their writing might
change.
Entry #1:
Please provide a quick summary of what was happening in the novel at this time.
Entry #2:
Please provide a quick summary of what was happening in the novel at this time.
85
Appendix Six: Coping Strategy #2- Music Handout
Mental Health Coping Strategy- Music
Music is a way for many people to escape. It is a way for you to be able to tune out the
outside world and just be alone with your thoughts. Music is also strongly associated with
emotions. Songs that you hear during a time of joy will hold those memories for you. Likewise
with times of trauma or bad news. This is why couples cherish the songs that they dance to at
their wedding, or why a child’s favorite song might be the one their grandfather taught them
to play on the guitar. Music is like poetry; it revolves around feelings and emotions. Because
of that, it works well as a coping mechanism to have a list of songs that you know will help
you to work through problems you may be experiencing or to boost your mood.
Directions: Choose a moment in your life that either brought on feelings of anxiety or joy.
Create a playlist of 8-10 songs that describe that feeling. You may also include songs that help
you to improve your mood, especially if you choose to write about a time that made you
anxious. Write a short 2-3 sentence explanation where you talk about what the song is about
and why you chose it to be a part of your soundtrack. Fill out the reflection questions at the
end.
Song Title/Artist (link to Youtube version
would be nice, too)
Explanation
Song #1:
Song #2:
Song #3:
Song #4:
Song #5:
Song #6:
Song #7:
Song #8:
Song #9:
Song #10:
Song #11:
Song #12:
86
Reflection:
1) How often would you say you use music to escape?
2) What do you see as the benefits of music as a coping mechanism?
3) How likely are you to use this strategy when you are experiencing difficulty in the
future? Explain.
87
Appendix Seven: STEAL notes for Character Map activity
Text Evidence
Trait the evidence shows
S
What does the character
SAY?
T
What does the character
THINK?
E
What EFFECT does the
character have on others?
A
What are the character’s
important ACTIONS?
L
What does the character
LOOK like?
88
Appendix Eight: Coping Strategy #2- Application to Protagonist Handout
Mental Health Coping Strategy- Music
Music is a way for many people to escape. It is a way for you to be able to tune out the
outside world and just be alone with your thoughts. Music is also strongly associated with
emotions. Songs that you hear during a time of joy will hold those memories for you. Likewise
with times of trauma or bad news. This is why couples cherish the songs that they dance to at
their wedding, or why a child’s favorite song might be the one their grandfather taught them
to play on the guitar. Music is like poetry; it revolves around feelings and emotions. Because
of that, it works well as a coping mechanism to have a list of songs that you know will help
you to work through problems you may be experiencing or to boost your mood.
Directions: Choose a moment from the novel where your protagonist struggled. Create a
playlist of 8-10 songs that describe how they may have felt. You may also include songs that
may help them improve their mood, just make sure that it is a song you think the character
would listen to, not just you. Write a short 2-3 sentence explanation where you talk about
what the song is about and why you chose it to be a part of the soundtrack for your
protagonist.
Song Title/Artist (link to Youtube version
would be nice, too)
Explanation
Song #1:
Song #2:
Song #3:
Song #4:
Song #5:
Song #6:
Song #7:
Song #8:
Song #9:
Song #10:
Song #11:
Song #12:
89
Appendix Nine: Coping Strategy #3- Art Handout
Mental Health Coping Strategy- Art
Art therapy is a common mental health coping mechanism. Art can be a way for a person to
escape into a world of creationism. Because art will require you to use your hands in order to
create something you can be proud of, it can become a great distraction from your stresses or
worries. It can be a place to vent frustrations, or, like journaling, it can be a place where you
discover you are harboring feelings that you didn’t even realize until the time came to create
something. Art can also come in many forms, which is helpful for people who don’t see
themselves as the creative type. Sculpture, pottery, paint, watercolors, drawing,
photography, sketching, and drawing are all different ways a person can express themselves.
Directions: Even if you don’t think of yourself as a strong artist (I know I don’t!) this activity
will revolve around abstract art, which means that the final product doesn’t have to resemble
anything specific. Refer to the key that is below. Each shape is representative of a different
feeling/emotion. I would like you to create a drawing of abstract art using the different
shapes The different sizes/colors/frequency of the shapes should correlate with how you are
feeling. You can either choose to complete this activity with how you are feeling right now, or
you can think back to a moment in your life that was important to you (for either a negative
or positive reason). It may also be important to think about the colors you choose to include
in your drawing and colors are symbolic of feelings. When your drawing is complete, please
write one paragraph explaining the choices you made and fill out the reflection questions.
Key:
￨-(Line) Tired
-(Swirl) Anxious
◁-(Triangle) Bored
-(Squiggle) Excited
○-(Circle) Happy
▭-(Rectangle) Sad
-(Scribble) Angry
▢-(Square) Content
-(Blob) Meh.
90
*If you would like to add another emotion/shape, feel free to do so as long as you explain the
emotion and shape in your explanation paragraph.
One paragraph explanation of your artwork:
Reflection:
1) What did you enjoy about this project? What did you not enjoy? Explain.
2) Did you find it difficult to put your emotions out on paper like this? Explain your
answer.
3) How could this project be beneficial to someone who was having difficulty expressing
their emotions?
4) Is this a coping mechanism that you can see yourself doing in the future?
91
Appendix Ten: Graphic Organizer for Nonfiction Reading Handout
Treatment for Mental Health: Medication and Therapy
3 Important Facts or Statistics I
Learned:
1.
2.
3.
92
Appendix Eleven: Coping Strategy #3- Art Application to Protagonist Handout
Mental Health Coping Strategy- Art
Art therapy is a common mental health coping mechanism. Art can be a way for a person to
escape into a world of creationism. Because art will require you to use your hands in order to
create something you can be proud of, it can become a great distraction from your stresses or
worries. It can be a place to vent frustrations, or, like journaling, it can be a place where you
discover you are harboring feelings that you didn’t even realize until the time came to create
something. Art can also come in many forms, which is helpful for people who don’t see
themselves as the creative type. Sculpture, pottery, paint, watercolors, drawing,
photography, sketching, and drawing are all different ways a person can express themselves.
Directions: Refer to the key that is below. Each shape is representative of a different
feeling/emotion. I would like you to choose a moment in your novel that was significant for
your protagonist. Create a drawing of abstract art using the different shapes. The different
sizes/colors/frequency of the shapes should correlate with how the character was feeling. It
may also be important to think about the colors you choose to include in your drawing and
colors are symbolic of feelings. When your drawing is complete, please write one paragraph
explaining the choices you made and fill out the reflection questions.
Key:
￨-(Line) Tired
-(Swirl) Anxious
◁-(Triangle) Bored
-(Squiggle) Excited
○-(Circle) Happy
▭-(Rectangle) Sad
-(Scribble) Angry
▢-(Square) Content
-(Blob) Meh.
*If you would like to add another emotion/shape, feel free to do so as long as you explain the
emotion and shape in your explanation paragraph.
One paragraph explanation of your artwork:
93
94
Appendix Twelve: Research Project Handout and Rubric
Mental Health Research Project
Each of the literature circle novels you are reading features a protagonist that has a different
mental health struggle than the others. Some of your protagonists could potentially suffer
from more than one mental health issue. The goal of this project is to learn more about the
illness your protagonist suffers from and what treatment options are available.
Your group will be responsible for creating a short (4-5 minute) presentation where you
present the following information:
●A brief overview of your mental health issue
●Common symptoms
●Possible causes of the illness
●How common is your illness among people? Among teens?
●Treatment options
○If there are any major side effects to certain treatment options
●Any other relevant statistics you find
●Prominent figures in society that suffer from the disorder (if applicable)
○This could include politicians, actors, actresses, musicians, etc.
4
3
2
1
Reading
Informational
Text
-Use of three or
more sources,
including at
least two
Internet and
one print
source; use of
two search
engines
-Variety of
domain name
suffix (.com,
.edu, .net)
-Factual
information is
accurate
-Narrow focus
of topic
-Use of two
sources,
including,
including at
least one
Internet source;
use of one
search engine
-Most
information can
be confirmed
-Topic could be
more narrowly
focused
-Use of one
Internet source
-Some errors in
information
-Topic
somewhat
broad
-Use of only one
source
-Numerous
errors in
information
Produce and
Publish
-Logical
sequencing
-Somewhat
logical
sequencing
-Sequencing is
poorly planned
-Sequencing is
confusing
-Inconsistent
95
-Original;
inventive;
creative
-Slides are
polished
-Little
originality
Speaking and
Listening
-Effective use of
PVLEGS
throughout the
presentation
(76-100%)
-Visuals are
used in a
manner that
enhances
information
-Effective use of
PVLEGS through
the majority of
the presentation
(51-75%)
-Visuals are
used in a
manner that
aids in the
sharing of
information
-PVLEGS is
utilized but it is
missing for
much of the
presentation
(26-50%)
-Visuals are
used in the
presentation but
use lacks
reasoning
-PVLEGS is
missing or
sporadically
applied (0-25%)
-Visuals are
lacking or used
sporadically
without
reasoning
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Appendix Thirteen: Close Read Activity- Postcard Project Handout
Postcard Project
Assignment: Using the provided cardstock, create a postcard from your main character to
another person in your novel that s/he is close to. The topic of your postcard should work
together with the front design to illustrate/depict the various key conflicts experienced by your
author.
● On one side of the provided cardstock, write your detailed, thoughtful, and well-written
letter about the event portrayed on the other side.
● Use the blank side of the cardstock to depict images relevant to the conflicts about which
you are writing. Your pictures should be original (hand-drawn), colorful, and neatly
constructed.
Dear _______,
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
Sincerely,
(also sign your real name)
To:__________
______________________
______________________
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Appendix Fourteen: Summative Project Description
Literature Circle- Final Project
You did it! You’ve worked hard this last month with your group, you’ve finished your entire
book, and you have hopefully learned a little bit about yourself and about mental health in
general.
Throughout all of the discussions we’ve been having, two things that I have hoped you were
walking away from this unit with are some mental health coping strategies that you can use
outside of class in order to help yourself cope when you struggle, and I also hope you realize
that mental health issues are incredibly common. No one has a perfect life and everybody has
their own personal struggles and demons that they need to conquer. Mental health is
something that people should be allowed to talk about openly without fear of being
ostracized by their peers. This is one of the major goals of your summative project for this
unit.
Your Task: You and your literature circle group will be completing an exercise called Image
Theater, which is a part of Theater of the Oppressed. Theater of the Oppressed is a drama
program that has the goal of pushing boundaries and teaching people how to stand up for
themselves in situations in which they feel uncomfortable. Image Theater is a tableaux
project that will require you to choose an important scene from your book to visually
represent as if you were filming a movie. Since the goal of this project deals with mental
health awareness, it would make sense that you choose a scene from your novel where mental
health is at the forefront of the action.
Step One: Decide what scenario you would like to present with your group. I would like the
mental health issue you are trying to raise awareness about to be the same as the one found
in your book. How can you and your group show the struggles of this in a public setting in
order to gauge the reactions of your classmates?
Step Two: Choose a few key lines from the text from the scene. While most of the group
members will get to be silent during the presentation of the tableaux, at least one student
will need to speak.
Step Three: Decide how you will stage your scene. Think about using the space given to you.
These will be presented on the stage in Cafe Ole during lunch, so you will have a small,
elevated space to show off your work. How will you fill the space allotted? How many
characters are included in the scene? Which character should be prominently placed to draw
the eye of the viewers?
Step Four: Before and after you present your tableaux, you will be addressing the audience
giving them key information needed to understand the intent of your scene. Before you begin,
98
you should explain the title of your novel and what mental illness your scene is trying to
depict. Decide which person in your group will be responsible for this role. While you are
presenting, it would be helpful if you had one group member who is not involved in the
tableaux itself. This person would be available to interact with the audience. This person can
ask them questions about the scene (like what do they notice, what is important in the scene,
how is the mental illness being portrayed through the frozen actions) and should also pull in
factual information about the mental health issue the group is trying to portray (the research
you did earlier in the unit will be a great place to start with this information!). This person
will also answer questions from the audience if they have them.
Step Five: Be prepared to share the story of your performance piece with the class.
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Appendix Fifteen: End of Unit Reflection Questions
Literature Circle Unit Reflection
1. What was the thing you enjoyed the most about this unit?
2. What was one thing you would do differently if you were to do this unit again?
3. Tell me about your book: Were you satisfied with your choice? Why or why not?
4. Do you feel like your group worked well together throughout this process? Explain.
5. What are three things you learned from this unit?
a.
b.
c.
6. Which mental health strategy did you find to be the most helpful? Explain.
7. Have you already started to implement any of the strategies in your life outside of
class? Explain.
100
8. Explain what your group did for your summative project. How did you feel being an
actor in the scenario?
9. Did people respond the way you expected them to? Write a paragraph or two
describing your experience.
101
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Accessed 1 Apr. 2020.
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Blasingame, James. "Interview with Ned Vizzini." Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, vol.
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link.gale.com/apps/doc/A162469806/PROF?u=iastu_main&sid=PROF&xid=c978a49d.
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Blau, Sheridan D. The Literature Workshop: Teaching Texts and Their Readers. Heinemann,
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