Popular: Book review with curriculum resources

Book cover from Penguin

Van Wagenen, M. (2014). Popular: Vintage wisdom for a modern geek. New York, NY: Dutton Books.

*Grade level 7-10

**2015 YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction

Maya is an eighth-grader who feels like she is at the bottom of the social ladder. She wants to be more popular, but doesn't know how or exactly what that entails. She discovers an old book, Betty Cornell's Teen-age Popularity Guide, in her dad's collectibles one day, and decides to use it to become popular. She learns many lessons over the next year: how to be more poised, how to take care of her hair and skin, ways to make money, and how to make friends. She records the results of each experiment as she tries it, and reflects on what she has learned. Eventually, Maya learns that people are all the same and essentially want the same things in life. She keeps up with the lessons that make sense for her, and rejects the ones that don't. Teenagers can learn a lot from her enthusiasm and confidence.

Partner Titles:

Book cover from Penguin

Cornell, B. (2014). Betty Cornell’s teen-age popularity guide. New York, NY: Dutton Books.

Originally written in the 1950s, this book was Maya’s inspiration for her social experiment. It was reprinted after Popular became a big hit. It’s fun to see the entirety of the extremes that Maya went to in order to discover what popularity is all about.

Book cover from
Scholastic

Telgemeier, R. (2012). Drama. New York, NY: Graphix/Scholastic. 

**2013 Stonewall Honor Book

Callie is a seventh-grader who lives for the theater, but that inherently has a lot of drama involved. She has crushes and deals with gossip and the judgments of her classmates, just like Maya. This graphic novel pairs with Popular because it deals with many of the same themes that middle and high school students face every day.

Book cover from
LB Teen

Alexie, S. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company.

**2007 National Book Award for Young People's Literature

**2008 Boston Globe Horn Book Award for Excellence in Children's Literature

**2008 American Indian Youth Literature Award from the American Indian Library Association

When Junior starts going to the nearby all-white school, he is judged harshly by both his new classmates and his community on the Spokane reservation. Like Maya, he has to come up with ways to prove he belongs, and both Junior and Maya realize that being true to who they are is important too. Themes of popularity and family tie these books together--both are both lucky to have supportive families as they work to discover who they want to be.

Book cover from
Candlewick Press

Medina, M. (2013). Yaqui Delgado wants to kick your ass. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.

**2014 Pura Belpre Award

Piddy is getting bullied by a girl named Yaqui Delgado. She begins to fear going to school because of the threat of being beat up. Piddy doesn't know what to do, and starts to close herself off. Piddy would really benefit from Maya's advice from Popular, and it is an interesting contrast to see how different the attitudes are between the two girls in their reactions to feeling like outcasts.

Book cover from
Penguin

Hinton, S.E. (1967). The outsiders. New York, NY: Viking Press for Young Readers.

This modern classic is about a gang of greasers, narrated by the youngest member of the group, Ponyboy. He must deal with being judged for where he is from and the constant threat of being attacked in the street. When a rival is killed in a late-night fight, Ponyboy and his best friend Johnny choose to run away and hide out from the police. Ponyboy is very introspective, like Maya, and over time he discovers that even though the two rival gangs hate one another, people are really all the same: the same revelation that Maya has after her social experiment.









Teaching Ideas:

Memoir: Maya's memoir about her experience boosting her own popularity could inspire students to write their own memoirs. Ask them to write about an experience in which they tried to better themselves, or about their struggles with the idea of popularity in middle school. 

English 7.7 The student will write in a variety of forms with an emphasis on exposition, narration, and persuasion (VDOE, 2010b, p. 3). 

Movement: Betty Cornell's book has an exercise section, and Maya tries out many of them. Betty's intentions were to make girls look better, but this can be translated into activities that make everyone feel better. Ask students to demonstrate an exercise or physical game that they enjoy and teach it to the class. 

P.E. 8.1 The student will demonstrate competence in one or more modified versions of various game/sport, rhythmic, and recreational activities (VDOE, 2008, p. 1).

 Alternate Ending: Maya's dad re-writes the ending of Old Yeller for her. Students can choose a book that had an unsatisfactory ending and change it to what they wish had happened. 

English 8.7 The student will write in a variety of forms, including narration, exposition, persuasion, and informational (VDOE, 2010a, p. 3). 

Spanish in America: Maya lives in Texas and she frequently uses words in Spanish--some that are familiar to her and some that she has just learned. Beginning Spanish students can begin to compile a list of Spanish words that are instantly recognizable to them, as they work to increase their vocabularies. Not all students will think of the same words, so they can collaborate by using a shared page like Padlet. 

SI.5 The student will present information orally and in writing in Spanish, using a variety of familiar vocabulary, phrases, and structural patterns (VDOE, 2014, p. 13). 

 1950s Culture: Betty Cornell's book was published in the 1950s, so much of her advice was dated. To understand some of the advice that Maya followed, students should have a grasp on America in the 1950s. They could research trends and technologies of the time and create a Smore online flyer to share their information. 

USII.9 The student will demonstrate knowledge of the key domestic and international issues during the second half of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries by b) describing the development of new technologies in communication, entertainment, and business and their impact on American life (VDOE, 2008b, p. 3).

References:

Padlet. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://padlet.com/

Smore. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.smore.com/ 

Virginia Department of Education. (2008a). Grade eight. Physical education standards of learning for Virginia public schools. Retrieved from http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/physical_education/k-8/stds_physed8.pdf 

Virginia Department of Education. (2008b). United states history: 1865 to the present. History and social science standards of learning for Virginia public schools. Retrieved from http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/history_socialscience/next_version/stds_ushistory_1865-present.pdf

 Virginia Department of Education. (2010a). Grade eight. English standards of learning for Virginia public schools. Retrieved from http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/english/index.shtml

Virginia Department of Education. (2010b). Grade seven. English standards of learning for Virginia public schools. Retrieved from http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/english/2010/stds_english7.pdf

Virginia Department of Education. (2014). Spanish I. Foreign language standards of learning for Virginia public schools. Retrieved from http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/foreign_language/2014/spanish/stds_spanish1-4.pdf 

Further Explorations:

Maya Tweets: Maya keeps up with her Twitter account regularly. She tweets about the events where she will appear, news about the book, and more.

Tumblr: The book’s Tumblr contains art, photos, quotes, and news about Popular and Maya.

"Self-proclaimed 'geek' follows popularity guide": In this short video, USA Today asks Maya five questions about her experience writing and promoting her book. 

The 1950s: This History.com video gives a brief introduction into the 1950s, the decade Betty Cornell’s advice comes from. The accompanying article goes deeper into a few of the issues of the time.

Betty Cornell’s Glamour Guide for Teens: Betty wrote several other books targeted at teens. This one is very similar to her popularity guide, and it is interesting to see the original pages scanned in as well. It gives an idea of what Maya’s copy of her vintage book looked like.

Mexico's Drug Wars: At Maya’s school in Texas, they often had lockdowns because of the nearby violence across the border. CNN has organized a few pictures and “fast facts” about the Mexican drug wars to give some perspective.

Learn to Sing: Maya enjoys being in chorus, even though she doesn’t always feel like she fits in. These BBC pages have tips for learning to sing, including proper posture, breathing, and video tutorials.



References:

Cornell, B. (1958). Betty Cornell’s glamour guide for teens. [Scanned book]. Retrieved from https://archive.org/details/bettycornellsgla00bett

CNN Library. (2015, July 13). Mexico drug war fast facts. Cable News Network. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/02/world/americas/mexico-drug-war-fast-facts/

Self-proclaimed ‘geek’ follow popularity guide. (n.d.). USA Today. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/videos/life/books/2014/04/23/7869429/

Learn to sing: Step-by-step guides. (2014). British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/sing/learning/

Maya Van Wagenen. (2015). Twitter. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/mayavanwagenen

The 1950s. (2010). History.com. Retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/1950s

The Popular book. (2015). Tumblr. Retrieved from http://mayavanwagenen.com/

Grasshopper Jungle: Book review with curriculum resources

Book cover from Andrew Smith

Smith, A. (2014). Grasshopper jungle. New York, NY: Dutton Books.

*Grade level 10 and up

**2015 Michael L. Printz Honor for Excellence in Young Adult Literature

**2014 Boston Globe Horn-Book Award for Fiction

Austin Szerba is the historian of the end of the world. He's a Lutheran school boy from Ealing, Iowa who is in love with both his girlfriend Shann and his best friend Robby, even though he doesn't understand how this could be. Austin's hormones are out of control, even by the standards of a normal sixteen-year-old. One night, the world ends, but it takes several days before anyone realizes. Six-foot-tall praying mantises have begun to kill and breed in Ealing, and only Austin and Robby really know what is happening, and they feel partly responsible and want to stop the creatures from ending humanity. Austin records the events as they happen and after, tying them back to historical events and his own family's history. The story is sometimes scary, often crude, and always hilarious--a perfect book for teenagers who want to read a story that is honest and true to life, while also being crazy and sensational.

Partner Titles:

Book cover from
Penguin Australia

Vonnegut, K. (1963). Cat's cradle. New York, NY: Holt Rinehart and Winston.

Smith has often been compared to Vonnegut. Their writing styles are undoubtedly similar, so it's only natural to read a Vonnegut novel in conjunction with Grasshopper Jungle. The science fiction book Cat's Cradle is a fantastic partner title because it is also about the negligence of scientists in their work, resulting in the end of the world. There are also themes of truth throughout both novels. The narrators would make for an interesting contrast in their storytelling. Austin states, "I have no reason to lie" and Vonnegut's narrator Jonah states, "All of the true things I am about to tell you are shameless lies." They face the end of the world in different ways, but they both analyze their very serious situations with humor.

Book cover from
Lee & Low Books

Bruchac, J. (2013). Killer of Enemies. New York, NY: Tu Books.

**2014 American Indian Youth Literature Award from the American Indian Library Association

This steampunk/science fiction novel is about Lozen, an Apache teenager who learns to protect herself and must save her family in a post-apocalyptic world. Lozen is unlike Austin and Robby in that she has supernatural powers, but like Austin's predilection for tying the present to the past, Lozen's powers are connected to ancient myths of her tribe. The themes of history and survival tie these stories together.

King, A.S. (2014). Glory O'Brien's history of the future. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company.

**2014 Andre Norton Award Nominee from the Science Fiction Writers of America

Glory has the ability to see into the future in this science fiction novel. What she sees is scary, but can she really do anything about it? Like Austin and Robby, maybe she can help save the world. She begins writing down the future just as Austin records history. They both ask themselves the question: What am I going to do?

Book cover from
A.S. King

King, A.S. (2010). Please ignore Vera Dietz. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf.

**2011 Michael L. Printz Honor

**2011 Edgar Allan Poe Award Nominee

Like Austin, Vera is also in love with her best friend, but Charlie never knew it. When he mysteriously dies, Vera doesn't know how much to tell. Both books are dramatic and funny at the same time and share the theme of confusing love. Austin and Vera are both observant of the world around them and sensitive without being mushy.

Book cover from
Simon & Schuster

Saenz, B.A. (2012). Aristotle and Dante discover the secrets of the universe. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. 

**2013 Pura Belpre Award

**2013 Stonewall Book Award

**2013 Michael L. Printz Honor 

Ari is a loner who is angry most of the time. His brother is in prison and he doesn't feel close to his parents. He meets Dante (another Mexican-American boy with a Greek philosopher's name) one summer and they become best friends. Dante surprises Ari by telling him he is gay, and they continue to support one another no matter what, even as Ari works to discover who he really is. Shared themes of homosexuality and friendship connect this book to Grasshopper Jungle. Both sets of boys love each other unconditionally.

Teaching Ideas:

"A Good Iowa Name": Some of the names of people and places in the novel are remarked upon as having "a good Iowa name." Ask students to analyze these poetic names to see what kinds of sound devices they have in common. What makes these names more interesting than the ones that are not good Iowa names? After discussing, have students come up with some Iowan names of their own, for both people and businesses.

English 11.4 The student will read, comprehend, and analyze relationships among American literature, history, and culture. f) Explain how the sound of a poem (rhyme, rhythm, onomatopoeia, repetition, alliteration, assonance, and parallelism) supports the subject, mood, and theme (VDOE, 2010a, p. 2).

Genetic Engineering: In the novel, scientists have used genetic material from both humans and praying mantises as fertilizer, with negative consequences. After studying basic genetics, biology students could analyze the science in the novel to explain why it is indeed fiction. Which parts seem possible? Which parts are impossible? Why does science fiction require some of the science to seem likely? 

BIO.5 The student will investigate and understand common mechanisms of inheritance and protein synthesis. Key concepts include i) use, limitations, and misuse of genetic information (VDOE, 2010c, p. 7).

The Cave of Altamira: Austin refers to the Altamira cave paintings, comparing them to the journals he uses to record history and show connections throughout history and all over the world. World History students can research the cave paintings and explain how their discovery has changed our perspective on history and early people. 

WHI.2 The student will demonstrate knowledge of early development of humankind from the Paleolithic Era to the agricultural revolution by: d) explaining how archaeological discoveries are changing present-day knowledge of early people (VDOE, 2008, p. 1). 

Relationship Advice: Ask students to brainstorm what is important to them in a relationship, both their role and the role of a boyfriend or girlfriend. Discuss and share ideas, then have them come up with some advice for Austin. Austin loves both Robby and Shann, which creates a lot of tension in the story. For an extra challenge, give advice to Robby and Shann as well. 

10.2 The student will describe his or her own attitudes concerning expectations of self and interpersonal relationships (VDOE, 2011, p. 36).  

 "Dulce et Decorum Est": Robby's favorite poem is "Dulce et Decorum est" by Wilfred Owen, and Austin refers back to the poem several times throughout the book. Discuss the poem as a class. Students should pay attention to each allusion as it appears in the novel. They can pick their favorite instances and analyze why they think it is appropriate for that moment in the book. Also, why is this an appropriate poem to represent Robby?

12.6 The student will develop expository and informational, analyses, and persuasive/argumentative writings. c) Clarify and defend a position with precise and relevant evidence (VDOE, 2010b, p. 2).  

References:

Virginia Department of Education. (2008). World history and geography to 1500 A.D. (C.E.). History and social science standards of learning for Virginia public schools. Retrieved from http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/history_socialscience/next_version/stds_worldhistory_geography_to1500.pdf 

Virginia Department of Education. (2010a). Grade eleven. English standards of learning for Virginia public schools. Retrieved from http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/english/2010/stds_english11.pdf 

Virginia Department of Education. (2010b). Grade twelve. English standards of learning for Virginia public schools. Retrieved from http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/english/2010/stds_english12.pdf 

Virginia Department of Education. (2010c). Science standards of learning for Virginia public schools. Retrieved from http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/science/2010/courses/stds_biology.pdf 

Virginia Department of Education. (2011). Family life education standards of learning for Virginia public schools. Retrieved from http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/family_life/familylife_guidelines_standards.pdf

Further Explorations:

#keepYAweird: Andrew Smith's book tours are called "Keep YA Weird" because so many critics have called his books weird (giant praying mantises? body parts in jars? pulsating black mold?). Now fans of "weird YA" are encouraged to tag their favorites. This is the compiled hashtag on Twitter. Find some new weird books to read from other YA book lovers.

Article about Andrew Smith: Find out more about the author with this Entertainment Weekly article. He talks about his life and books, including his writing process and inspirations and fun references to Grasshopper Jungle.

Tumblr tags: There are many fans of Grasshopper Jungle on Tumblr. See some of the things that have been tagged here, including some amazing fan art and collages.

The 10 Most Outrageous Military Experiments: Explore this LiveScience article about U.S. military experiments that could be considered questionable. In Grasshopper Jungle, McKeon Labs works on experiments that the military wants to use someday. Do any of these compare to the experiments in the novel?

Killer Mutants: The Science Channel created this outrageous video series about ways the world could end. One of the possibilities they list is killer mutants. Grasshopper Jungle may seem a bit scarier after watching this.

Why become a historian? Austin is the historian of the end of the world in the novel. Why would someone want to be a historian? This page has the perspectives of several historians from the American Historical Association, and has career information about being a historian as well.

The Cave of Altamira: Austin refers to the cave paintings at Altamira as a record in history and who we were as humans at that time. This link goes to the Museo de Altamira (Altamira Museum) in Spain, and includes articles about the paintings, history, geology and archeology, and has pictures of the paintings themselves.

St. Casimir/Kazimierz: Austin discusses St. Casimir, or Kazimierz, throughout the book. Learn about this saint from Catholic Online with a brief overview, a longer article, and a video so that you can get the information quickly or read more detail about the Polish saint.

References:

#keepYAweird. (2015). Tweets [Twitter]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/search?src=typd&q=%23keepyaweird 

Breznican, A. (2015, March 5). Author Andrew Smith keeps YA weird with Grasshopper jungle and The Alex crow. Entertainment weekly. Retrieved from http://www.ew.com/article/2015/03/05/author-andrew-smith-keeps-ya-weird-%E2%80%98grasshopper-jungle%E2%80%99-and-%E2%80%98-alex-crow%E2%80%99 

Grasshopper jungle. (2015). Tags [Tumblr]. Retrieved from https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/grasshopper-jungle 

Hsu, J. (2011, February 26). The 10 most outrageous military experiments. LiveScience. Retrieved from http://www.livescience.com/12991-10-outrageous-military-experiments.html 

Matz, T. (2000). Saint Casimir. Catholic Online. Retrieved from http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=33 

Science channel. (n.d.). 10 ways the world will end: Killer mutants. How stuff works. Retrieved from http://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/30687-10-ways-the-world-will-end-killer-mutants-video.htm 

The cave of Altamira. (n.d.). Museo de Altamira. Retrieved from http://en.museodealtamira.mcu.es/Prehistoria_y_Arte/la_cueva.html 

Why become a historian? (2015). American Historical Association. Retrieved from https://www.historians.org/jobs-and-professional-development/career-resources/why-become-a-historian 

Scowler: Book review with curriculum resources

Book cover from Daniel Kraus

Kraus, D. (2013). Scowler. [Audiobook version]. Available from Audible.com

Kraus, D. (2013). Scowler. New York, NY: Delacorte Press.

*Grade level 11 and up

**2014 Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production

An intense psychological horror story, Scowler is about 19-year-old Ry Burke, who lives on his family's farm with his mother Jo Beth and little sister Sarah. His abusive father Marvin has been in prison for the past eight years for trying to murder Ry. When a meteorite falls on their farm, it is only one of the things they must worry about. Ry is still struggling with emotional and psychological scars, and with a nearby prison break and the threat of his father returning, the family is in turmoil. Three childhood toys--Mr. Furrington, Jesus Christ, and Scowler--were a comfort to him when he escaped his death years ago, and they come back to help him in his new crisis. Ry has to decide what is real and what is imaginary, and how he can use his friends to his advantage. Several questions are raised about the Burke family: Why is this happening to them? Can they stick together and survive the father who terrorized their lives? Is Ry more like his father than he realized? Young Adult fiction is rarely as frightening and thought-provoking as this novel. The violence and gore may be too extreme for readers under sixteen, but older teens who are lovers of horror will be drawn in immediately. The audiobook version is highly recommended. Kirby Heyborne, the audiobook narrator, does a fantastic job of portraying all the voices and even the sound effects, like Scowler's throaty, scratchy growls and Marvin's incessant, repetitive humming. Try a sample excerpt from Audible. Listen during the day to prevent nightmares.

Partner Titles:

Book cover from
Walter Dean Myers

Myers, W.D. (1999). Monster. New York, NY: Harper Collins.

**2000 Coretta Scott King Award Author Honor

**2000 Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature

**1999 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Excellence in Children's Literature--Honor

Steve is on trial as an accomplice to murder, but he's not quite sure whether or not he is guilty. He's writing the script of his experience behind bars as he contemplates who he is. He has been called a monster, but is he? This is a great partner to Scowler because it questions what monsters are and both Steve and Ry must use their minds to protect themselves.

Book cover from
Barry Lyga

Lyga, B. (2012). I hunt killers. New York, NY: Little Brown and Company.

**2012 Bram Stoker Award Nominee for Superior Acheivement in a Young Adult Novel

**2012 Cybil Award from Children and Young Adult Bloggers

For those who like Scowler as a horror story, this book is a great companion that looks at the connection between father and son in a similar way. Like Ry in Scowler, Jasper "Jazz" Dent worries that he could become like his father. Jazz's father is a serial killer, and Jazz wants to prove to others that he is different, but he isn't so sure.

Book cover from
Bloomsbury Publishing

Harrold, A.F. & Gravett, E. (Illus.). (2014). The Imaginary. New York, NY: Bloomsbury.

**2015 Kirkus Prize Nominee

This middle grade novel makes a great partner to Scowler because it centers on an imaginary friend. Rudger is Amanda's imaginary friend, but when she may not need him anymore, he is alone and struggling to survive. Do Ry’s toys, which become imaginary friends for him, depend on him to exist as Rudger does on Amanda? What do they do to remain relevant?

Book cover from
Matt de la Pena

De la Pena, M. (2013). The Living. New York, NY: Random House.

**2014 Pura Belpre Award Nominee for Narrative

Like Scowler, this novel centers around the theme of survival. The protagonist of The Living and Ry each feel responsible for taking care of their mother and sister.  However, their situations are very different. Shy must survive an earthquake and tsunamis while at sea, where his new job on a cruise ship has gone horribly wrong. He must learn, like Ry, if he can do what it takes to survive a horrible situation. 

Book cover from
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Pfeffer, S.B. 2006. Life as we knew it. Orlando, FL: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 

**2007 YALSA Best Books for Young Adults

**2006 Booklist Editor's Choice: Books for Youth

A meteor hits the moon and Miranda and her family struggle to survive and to make sense of the new world. Ry's family also deals with the after-effects of a meteor, and must work together to overcome their situations. 

Teaching Ideas:

Love and relationships: Ask students to journal about the relationships in their lives, making lists of the types of relationships and writing about how they interact with the people who are most important to them. Give plenty of time for brainstorming and writing, and prompt them with ideas of family members, friends, romantic relationships, and self. Create some Padlet boards for students to answer key questions anonymously, such as “What is love?” “How do you show that you care about others?” “How do you communicate with those you love?” When everyone has had a chance to share thoughts on the Padlet boards, discuss the answers together, and how they are similar and different. What could the class members teach the Burke family about love?

Family Life 10.2 The student will describe his or her own attitudes concerning expectations of self and interpersonal relationships (VDOE, 2014, p. 36).

Letter of Advice: Students should choose one of the family members--Ry, Sarah, or Jo Beth--and think about all the difficult situations that character endures throughout the course of the book. After brainstorming about events in the book, students can write a letter giving the character advice about what to do and how to cope.

Family Life 12.9 The student will analyze stress and crisis situations which affect family life (VDOE, 2014, p. 43).

Character Archetypes: As students read, they should keep a character chart with descriptions of their characters and evidence from the story. This could be done as a group using a collaboration site like Mindmeister. When they have finished reading, they should categorize all of the characters using traditional character archetypes. They can present their designations (with textual evidence) using a presentation tool that others can navigate independently, like Haiku Deck or Emaze. Post their presentations to the library website for everyone to enjoy.

English 11.4 The student will read, comprehend, and analyze relationships among American literature, history, and culture. c) Discuss American literature as it reflects traditional and contemporary themes, motifs, universal characters, and genres (VDOE, 2010a, p. 2).

Meteorites: Sarah is fascinated with space, but when a meteorite falls on their farm, it changes everything. Physics students can research meteorites and use what they have learned about calculating gravitation and planetary motion to calculate meteorite impact. Use Purdue University's Impact Earth! website to check calculations.

PH.5 The student will investigate and understand the interrelationships among mass, distance, force, and time through mathematical and experimental processes (VDOE, 2010b, p. 7).

Farming Economics: The Burke family farm is failing, and Ry, Jo Beth, and Sarah plan to sell and leave before Marvin returns to terrorize his family. Economics students can use the information from the novel (the 400-acre farm and taking into account the livestock and crops) to explain what the farm could do to improve. 

EPF.1 The student will demonstrate knowledge of basic economic concepts and structures by a) describing how consumers, businesses, and government decision makers face scarcity of resources and must make trade-offs and incur opportunity costs (VDOE, 2009, p. 1).

References:

Collins, G., Melosh, H.J., & Marcus, R. (2015). Impact Earth! Purdue University. Retrieved from https://www.purdue.edu/impactearth/

Emaze. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.emaze.com/ 

Haiku Deck. (2015). Retrieved from https://www.haikudeck.com/ 

Meister Labs. (2015). Mindmeister. Retrieved from https://www.mindmeister.com/ 

Padlet. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://padlet.com/ 

Virginia Department of Education. (2009). Economics and personal finance standards of learning. Retrieved from http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/economics_personal_finance/economics_personal_finance_sol.pdf

Virginia Department of Education. (2010a). Grade eleven. English standards of learning for Virginia public schools. Retrieved from http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/english/2010/stds_english11.pdf

Virginia Department of Education. (2010b). Physics. Science standards of learning for Virginia public schools. Retrieved from http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/science/2010/courses/stds_physics.pdf

Virginia Department of Education. (2014). Family life education. Retrieved from http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/family_life/familylife_guidelines_standards.pdf


Further Explorations:

NASA’s Solar System Exploration pages are full of photos and amazing information. This link goes to the overview about meteors and meteorites, but click on the other tabs to find out more. Sarah is fascinated by space, and the meteorite is an important part of their story.

New York Prison Escape: NBC has compiled their articles and videos about the recent (summer 2015) escapees from a New York state prison. Marvin escaped after an occurrence that caused the prison wall to explode, but what is it really like when prisoners escape? Follow the story of this real-life escape and search.

National Domestic Violence Hotline: This website for victims of abuse has a 24-hour hotline and online chat option. It also includes information about what is considered abuse and what victims should do. 

Q&A about Child Physical Abuse: An interview between the National Child Traumatic Stress Network and Dr. David Kolko, an expert in psychology, psychiatry, and pediatrics. They discuss the effects of physical abuse on children. Ry not only witnessed the domestic violence against his mother, but was almost killed by his father, which landed his father in prison.

The Farm Crisis: This video clip is a preview of a longer documentary about the farm crisis in the 1980s. In Scowler, the Burke family is facing hard times not only because of their lack of knowledge, but because farming in America was suffering as a whole. 

The “Occupational Outlook Handbook” from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics gives an overview of jobs and industries in our country. This page lists some of the things farmers must do to maintain their businesses. When Marvin is sentenced to prison, his family must go on running the farm in his absence. 

The Twilight Zone is an iconic, creepy show that always has some sort of twist at the end. In Scowler, Ry imagines his childhood toys have their own personalities and roles in his life, and they become more real to him when he is older and his father returns. In this episode, “The Dummy,” the main character is a ventriloquist who imagines that his dummy is real and has ulterior motives of his own. Analyzing how the dummy and Scowler are alike makes for a frightening comparison.

References:

Iowa public television. (2013, June 24). The farm crisis (extended preview) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOAXvg0AvkM

Meteors and meteorites. (n.d.). Solar system exploration. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved from http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Meteors

National domestic violence hotline. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.thehotline.org/

New York prison escape. (2015). NBC news. Retrieved from http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/new-york-prison-escape

Questions and answers about child physical abuse. (n.d.). National Child Traumatic Stress Network. Retrieved from http://nctsn.org/sites/default/files/assets/pdfs/qa_kolko_final.pdf

Serling, R. (Writer), Polk, L. (Writer), & Biberman, A. (Director). (1962). The dummy [Television series episode]. In Houghton, B. (Producer), The Twilight Zone. Culver City, CA: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios.

What farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers do. (n.d.). Occupational outlook handbook. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/farmers-ranchers-and-other-agricultural-managers.htm#tab-2