Mockingbird+(Horn)

Page created by Laura Horn

Erskine, K. (2010). //Mockingbird//. New York, NY: Penguin.
Book cover found July 18, 2011 at http://www.justchildrensbooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/mockingbird.jpg

=**Summary**= Caitlin, the narrator, is a ten-year-old girl who has Asperger's Syndrome. Therefore, how she sees the world isn't quite the same as how others - her classmates, her family, her teachers - see the world. Through Caitlin's eyes we not only see how difficult it is to navigate in a world where it's impossible to see beyond black and white, where color is scary, and reading social and emotional cues is formidable, but also how difficult it can be to cope with the loss of a loved one. //Mockingbird// is a novel that tackles issues of bullying, school shootings, family, death and loss, and finally hope for the future.

=Online Links:= Animoto trailer: @http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOeZBt68ajw

Author website: @http://www.kathyerskine.com/Kathryn_Erskine/Home.html

Online lesson plans: @http://us.penguingroup.com/static/pages/youngreaders/teachers-librarians/tl-guides.html (there's a pdf file for //Mockingbird//)

Online connections: Information about Asperger's Syndrome @http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/brain/asperger.html Information about movie version of //To Kill a Mockingbird// @http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056592/ Trailer of movie version of //To Kill a Mockingbird// @http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mi88P7KfaMA Information about discussing school shootings with kids (more for parents) @http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15109195/ns/health-kids_and_parenting/t/how-talk-your-kids-about-shootings/

=Discussion Questions:=
 * 1) Using the phrase, “This is a story about...” supply five words to describe //Mockingbird//. Explain your choices.
 * 2) Explain the importance and the symbolism of Devon's chest with the title of the book.
 * 3) What is the importance of the capitalized words Caitlin uses throughout the novel (such as Look At The Person)?

=Classroom Activity:= This connects with the image of the mockingbird and why it's important to the symbolism.
 * 1) Provide each student with a piece of paper. Have them think about an object or an image they feel symbolizes them at this point in time.
 * 2) Once they have the image chosen, have them either draw the image themselves on the paper or find the image (such as on the computer) and then trace it on the paper
 * 3) Once the image is drawn (or traced) have them turn the paper over and write an explanation of how the image symbolizes them.