- Monster walter dean myers reading level how to#
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- Monster walter dean myers reading level trial#
For my students, I have a list of quotes involving O’Brien and they have to write out what they can infer about her feelings/attitude towards Steve. I focus on the relationship between her and Steve since it is complex and seems to change from day to day. We don’t know what she is thinking, so the students have to make inferences on her feelings towards Steve based on her actions and dialogue. Inferences about O’Brien/Complex Character Developing ThemeĮverything we hear about Steve’s lawyer, O’Brien, comes from Steve’s perspective. Steve is still struggling to find himself again, so I use the talk to begin discussions on what Steve can do now and what the government can do to help others like Steve.Ī few examples: create transition programs, train guards to have better interactions with the youth in jail, create programs for inmates like Steve to learn or work at a talent. He gives suggestions for how we can change jails so people leave and are rehabilitated instead of hardened, angry, and more violent. Much of the talk is how the speaker turned his life around and found himself again. The common theme is the title, so I have my students find the different examples of the theme in the text and the talk. It’s called “Why your worst deeds don’t define you.” Click here to check it out. To go along with this, I have the students watch a Ted Talk given by someone who was incarcerated at a young age.
All my students who are overwhelmed skimming a text for quotes do much better with the natural chunking this book provides.
This novel is great for struggling students because a lot of the quotes for his identity crisis come from the section of the text that looks like his handwriting. Again, I either give students quotes or ask them to find their own in order to identify what the text is trying to say about identity. Throughout there are instances where Steve can’t tell the difference between himself and the other inmates, the prosecutor is trying to make Steve look like all of the other criminals, and his parents no longer look at him the same way.
Monster walter dean myers reading level movie#
Themes about Identityįrom the very beginning, the reader sees Steve struggle with his identity as he calls his movie Monster in reference to himself. Then I have them draw an arrow on the reliability gauge and write out a response to support their answer. I give students quotes or have them find their own in order to demonstrate Steve’s varying level of credibility. I feel like Steve is somewhere in the middle. It just goes through a quick explanation of reliable, unreliable, and somewhere-in-the-middle. I have a Prezi I use to introduce the idea of a reliable narrator. admits he doesn’t really understand himself if he is guilty or innocent.
Monster walter dean myers reading level how to#
He is shown lying to his lawyer and being coached by his lawyer on how to answer questions. is coached by his lawyer on how to answer questions.his lawyer tells him not to write anything in his notebook he wouldn’t want the prosecution to see (don’t admit you did anything in writing).never clearly admits in court or in his writings if he was apart of the robbery.somewhat admits through his movie scenes he was at least approached by King about the robbery.His vulnerability and admitting to crying makes us feel he is telling the truth. is incredibly honest in his notebook writings about his fears in jail.This sets up for good discussions on whether or not Steve is reliable. This section uses a more formal font and is written in third person, but Steve, the narrator, is writing it. The other section is written as a screenplay that Steve is writing in his notebook. The text is even printed with a font to look like handwriting. One section is from Steve’s personal point of view and is written out in his notebook. Monster is broken up into two different sections that alternate throughout the book. To give you a few ideas of how to approach teaching Monster, I’m listing out what I focus on with my high school students when reading this text. The subject of a teenager in jail and witnessing the horrors of what goes on in jail is certainly appropriate for high school students. It’s one of those books that is accessible for younger audiences but can also be more thoroughly analyzed by older students in high school. This actually makes it perfect for my special education students (and sometimes standard students) who are usually reading at around that level. Because it has a Lexile score of 670L, students at the middle school level can read the text.
Monster walter dean myers reading level trial#
Monster, by Walter Dean Myers, is a text frequently read in middle school about a 16-year-old boy on trial and facing a life sentence.