Amelia Earhart This Broad Ocean by Sarah Stewart Taylor and Ben Towle

Title:  Amelia Earhart This Broad Ocean

Author:  Sarah Stewart Taylor and Ben Towle (with an introduction by Eileen Collins)

Copyright 2010 by the Center for Cartoon Studies

Published by:  Disney/ Hyperion Books, New York

Reading level: Lexile: GN, Grades 5-6

Suggested Delivery: Independent Read

Description: Graphic Novel, Blend of Non-fiction and Fiction

Educational, Inviting, Exclusive, Appealing, Artistic

Electronic resources to support learning:

1.      http://disney.go.com/books/discussion-guides

a.      This is a website for students and teachers to use to collect ideas for discussion questions and projects to accompany the text.  By discussing the text with peers, sharing opinions, and interpretations of the text, students are gaining valuable inferential comprehension, a critical component of learning for this type of graphic novel.

2.      http://www.ameliaearhart.com/about/bio.html

a.      This is the authors home webpage the students can view to collect information about the author.  It provides in-depth details of Earhart’s life and motivation for writing, quotes, and achievements.  Significant dates of events and links to tribute web sites that are dedicated to Amelia Earhart are provided.

Teaching suggestions:

1.      Vocabulary:

a.      Aviation

b.      Shipwrecks

c.      Promoter

d.      Humble

e.      Plagued

f.       Telegram

2.      Teaching strategies:

a.      Before reading:  Students can complete a KWL chart for the author Amelia Earhart.  The “L” section may be left blank to be revisited during after reading learning activities.  The students will activate their prior knowledge which will connect their learning to the text and aid in overall comprehension.

b.      During reading:  Students should record in their daily reading journals a question about the characters, events, or plot of the text after every 5 pages.  This will help aid inferential comprehension of the graphic novel, Amelia Earhart This Broad Ocean.  The teacher can lead discussions with the whole class and randomly ask students to contribute their question to initiate conversations.  This is an extremely valuable way for students who are weak at inferential comprehension build this imperative skill for learning.

c.      After reading: 

                                                    i.     Comic strip production:  Students can complete their own comic strip to share with the class.  Each comic should include:

1.       plot,

2.      theme,

3.      setting,

4.      characters

5.      character dialogue. 

(Teacher can support this activity by visiting http://www.teachkidshow.com/teach-your-child-how-to-make-a-comic-book/, a website designed for teaching students how to write cartoons.)

                                                  i.        Students may complete their “L” section of the KWL  they began earlier.  Students can use the author’s website provided above as reference.

3.      Writing activity:  Students can write a comparative essay to demonstrate their interpretation of the text by comparing and contrasting the goals and dreams of Grace with Earhart.  Students will be able to demonstrate their understanding of the authors’ real aspirations with the fictional character, Grace. This will also demonstrate students understanding of how Earhart impacted life for women of her time.