The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrauThe City of Ember is a modern fantasy novel intended for grades 6-8. It received numerous awards, two of which are the Mark Twain Award and the William Allen White Children's Book Award. The book tells the story of Lina and Doon, two friends who live in the City of Ember, an underground city that was created as a last resort of safety for the human race. After 200 years, Lina and Doon begin to notice that the lights in the city are flickering, along with many other uncommon things. They then begin their mission, when they find an old message, and become determined to decipher its meaning and save the city and all of its inhabitants from destruction. An interdisciplinary activity for this book would be an assignment in which students create their own city or ideal place to live. The students would have to identify the essentials things that are needed in order to support a town, and then create a map of their town and a plan for supplying all of the things necessary. This would be a great lesson not only on a creative level, but also in researching the resources that are needed to support a city or town.
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Princess Academy by Shannon HalePrincess Academy is a modern fantasy book that is a Newbery Honor winner and is intended for grades 6-8. In this book, Miri is a 14 year old girl who wishes to work among the rest of the people in the village, yet finds her small size to be an obstacle. Suddenly, Miri learns about the king's decree to have all girls study in an academy, and after a certain amount of time, only one girl will be deemed suitable to marry the prince. The book details the struggle of the girls against their strict teacher, and their ability to fight for certain privileges such as weekly visits home. Although Miri is not chosen to be the prince's bride, she does find love in her close friend, Peder. This book highlights the themes of relationships and education. An appropriate activity for this book would be to begin a discussion on why education is important. The teacher could ask prompting questions such as "if the girls in the academy had not been educated, would they have known how to fight for their rights such as weekly visits home?", or "how does education empower people, specifically women?" These prompts could not only create a great class discussion, but they could be used further for a lesson in women's history, as the students could research when and how women gained the ability to go to school, vote, ect.
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Echo by Pam Munoz RyanEcho is a modern fantasy book which won the Newbery Medal and is intended for grades 5-9. The book begins with the story of Otto, who becomes lost in a forbidden forrest and meets three sisters with whom he goes on a journey. This fairytale aspect of the book fuses into its realistic aspects through one object: a harmonica. The book then tells the tale of 3 characters, Friedrich, Mike and Ivy, who all receive the same harmonica and are thus mysteriously connected. The harmonica brings Friedrich courage during the rise of Hitler, it brings Mike hope during the Great Depression, and it is therapeutic for Ivy who lives just a year after Pearl Harbor. The story lines eventually come to a climax that speaks of hope, history and the importance of finding something to love and cherish amongst the great suffering that the world can bring. A possible interdisciplinary activity for this book is asking students to pick one thing that they cherish and that brings them relief or consolation during difficult things. The students could then write a creative piece, such as a poem or a story, about this item and present it to the class. This would serve not only as a great creative writing assignment, but as a great opportunity for classmates to share their work with their peers as well.
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The Giver by Lois LowryThe Giver is a modern fantasy novel, or more specifically, a dystopian novel. It was awarded the Newbery Medal and is intended for grades 5-8. The story focuses on the life of Jonah, and his role inside the community without pain, without color, without war, and much more. In this community, each person is assigned a specific role or job in the community at a large ceremony. Jonah receives the very important role as the "receiver of memories". The book unfolds as Jonah spends time with the Giver and learns more and more about the controlling community that he lives in. It then tells of his escape to "Elsewhere", a place away from the community which restricts so many things from its inhabitants. This book explores the importance of memories, both painful and joyful ones, and the importance of variety in a community or place. As an interdisciplinary activity, the students could be asked to focus on chapters 14-18, in which Jonas receives several memories that include historical events such as The Civil War. Each student should pick a topic from these memories, and once approved by the teacher, they should research the event or topic and create a timeline of that event. This would serve as a great lesson both in history and in reading, as it allows the students to remain organized as they read and thoroughly analyze the events in the story.
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