Read more
Many middle grade novels published in the past 50 years focus on the personal experiences of a prominent fictional world individual age 10-14. This singular focus on one adolescent character, which is sustained for the full length of the novel, is most common in contemporary realistic or period novels. To explore the personal experiences of a prominent fictional young person with middle grade students, teachers will select novels whose exclusive focus is the lived experiences of one fictional world individual age 10-14 and guide students’ efforts to develop full and enlightened understandings about these individuals. Collaborative Explorations of Character Experience: Reading Actively in Middle Grade Language Arts draws on the personal experiences of eight fictional young people in an effort to answer three key questions: What can middle grade students learn about a prominent adolescent character in a middle grade novel by focusing on the personal experiences of that individual? In what ways do middle grade students benefit from reading assigned novels with a sustained focus on character experience and the personal experiences of a fictional young person? How can middle grade language arts teachers help their students to read assigned novels with a sustained focus on character experience?
List of contents
AcknowledgmentsIntroductionChapter 1. One Crazy Summer: One Character's Experience Briefly
Chapter 2. Character Experience Explained: Jesse Aarons in
Bridge To TerabithiaChapter 3. The Lived Experiences of Gilly Hopkins in
The Great Gilly HopkinsChapter 4. The Lived Experiences of Brian Robeson in
HatchetChapter 5. The Lived Experiences of Lolly Rachpaul in
The Stars Beneath Our FeetChapter 6. The Lived Experiences of Frannie Barnes in
FeathersChapter 7. The Lived Experiences of Doug Swieteck in
Okay For NowChapter 8. The Recalled Experiences of Katie Takeshima in
Kira-KiraChapter 9. Classroom Explorations of Character Experience
Appendix A-CReferencesAbout the Author
About the author
Don K. Philpot is a teacher, teacher educator, and writer. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on the topics of instructional methodologies, content area reading, reading and writing instruction, and children’s literature in south central Pennsylvania.
