The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Activities · PDF fileBook Club: Grade 12...
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Book Club: Grade 12 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night‐Time by Mark Haddon Summary: Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night‐Time is a captivating story about Christopher Boone, an autistic 15 year‐old boy who sets out to investigate the suspicious death of his neighbour’s dog. The novel, written in the first‐person perspective of Christopher, gives the reader insight into the mind of a person with autism. Activity One: “It looked as if there were two very small mice hiding in his nostrils.” (p. 17) An introductory performance to jump‐start students’ reading Learning Outcomes: Students will listen, speak, read, write and view to explore thoughts ideas, feelings and experiences as well as to respond personally and critically to oral and print texts. Context and Rationale: In order to prepare students for this novel and to identify elements of the first‐person narrator’s character that may present obstacles to understanding, we’ll jump right in by performing chapter 31. This chapter is heavy on dialogue and full of details about Christopher and his mindset, and uses some British vocabulary that students will have to get accustomed to reading. This activity also allows students to encounter Christopher before knowing (via the book cover, for instance) that he is autistic. From this activity, students will have first experienced Christopher on his own terms, without interpretive labels. This will allow room for authentic discussion and comparison in following activities about what makes someone “normal”. (Nelson 7) Grade and Timeline: This introductory activity can be used at any grade level. Students are actively engaged with the text immediately through performance and are removed from any preconceptions about the book, since they don’t know what book they are reading from. This novel is suited to a more mature level of students as it deals with more
Transcript of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Activities · PDF fileBook Club: Grade 12...
BookClub:Grade12
TheCuriousIncidentoftheDogintheNight‐TimebyMarkHaddon
Summary:
MarkHaddon’sTheCuriousIncidentoftheDogintheNight‐Timeisacaptivatingstory
aboutChristopherBoone,anautistic15year‐oldboywhosetsouttoinvestigatethe
suspiciousdeathofhisneighbour’sdog.Thenovel,writteninthefirst‐person
perspectiveofChristopher,givesthereaderinsightintothemindofapersonwith
autism.
ActivityOne:
“Itlookedasifthereweretwoverysmallmicehidinginhisnostrils.”(p.17)
Anintroductoryperformancetojump‐startstudents’reading
LearningOutcomes:
Studentswilllisten,speak,read,writeandviewtoexplorethoughtsideas,feelingsand
experiencesaswellastorespondpersonallyandcriticallytooralandprinttexts.
ContextandRationale:
Inordertopreparestudentsforthisnovelandtoidentifyelementsofthefirst‐person
narrator’scharacterthatmaypresentobstaclestounderstanding,we’lljumprightinby
performingchapter31.Thischapterisheavyondialogueandfullofdetailsabout
Christopherandhismindset,andusessomeBritishvocabularythatstudentswillhaveto
getaccustomedtoreading.ThisactivityalsoallowsstudentstoencounterChristopher
beforeknowing(viathebookcover,forinstance)thatheisautistic.Fromthisactivity,
studentswillhavefirstexperiencedChristopheronhisownterms,withoutinterpretive
labels.Thiswillallowroomforauthenticdiscussionandcomparisoninfollowing
activitiesaboutwhatmakessomeone“normal”.(Nelson7)
GradeandTimeline:
Thisintroductoryactivitycanbeusedatanygradelevel.Studentsareactivelyengaged
withthetextimmediatelythroughperformanceandareremovedfromany
preconceptionsaboutthebook,sincetheydon’tknowwhatbooktheyarereading
from.Thisnovelissuitedtoamorematurelevelofstudentsasitdealswithmore
complexissues.Thereforeitismoreappropriateforgrade11or12students.The
activitywilltakeone60minuteclass.
Materials:
ScriptfromChapter31(enoughcopiesforallstudents)withenlargedmarginsfor
studentstomakenotesin
Whattodo:
Withnointroduction(i.e.don’tsay“Thisisfromthenewnovelwe’llbe
reading”),passoutLesson1script,oneforeachstudent.Askforfour
volunteers,onetoplayChristopher,onetoplayhisfather,onetoplaythe
inspector,andonetoplaythenarrator(i.e.toreadanythingnotinquotes,
includingthefootnote).HavingtwostudentsplayChristopherasnarratorand
Christopherindialoguewilldifferentiatebetweennarrationanddialogueaswell
asallowingmorestudentstoparticipate.
Askallstudentswhowillnotbeperformingtoannotatetheirhandouts(have
extra‐widemarginstoallowforthis).Theyshouldnote:wordsorphrasesthey
don’tknow;expressionsorreactionsthatseematallstrangeorthatdefy
expectation;wordsorphrasesthatarouseastrong(negativeorpositiveorin‐
between)reaction,foranyreason;anyquestionsorthoughtsthatoccurto
them,whetherfromthetextitselfortheperformanceofit.Thesedirections
shouldbeincludedonthetopofthescript.
Bringperformerstocenter(orfront)ofroom.Telltheclassthatthescenebegins
inajailcellthenmovestoaninterrogationroom.Fromthisinformation,have
therestoftheclassdirect(whileperformersremainsilent):howshouldthe
performerbesituated?Whatshouldtheirbodylanguagebe?Whattoneofvoice
shouldtheyuse?Thenlettheperformersactoutthescene.
Aftertheperformance,opendiscussiontoentireclass(performersincluded),
basedonwhattheynotedduringtheperformance.(Foraquitelargeclass,I
mightbreakthemintosmallergroupsfirst,andthenreconvene.)Wheredothey
thinkthisistakingplace?Whatisgoingon?WhoisChristopher?Whathas
happened?And,mostimportantly,how,basedontextualclues,dotheyknow
(orsuppose)thesethings?Andhowdidtheperformersfeel?Whatdidthey
thinkoftheircharacters?Whatwastheeffectofhaving,ineffect,two
Christophers?Perhapsthesequestionscouldbeonaworksheetforthemto
respondtoeitheringroupsorindependentlyaftertheperformanceandbefore
thewhole‐classdiscussion.(Nelson7)
AdditionalConsiderations:
Theeffectivenessofthisactivitywillvarydependingonthenatureofthestudentsinthe
class.Amoreoutgoingclasswillbemorewillingtoparticipateinandaddcreativityto
thepresentationaspect.Foramoreintrovertedclass,allowstudentstimetowriteand
considertheirresponsesfirsteitherinsmallgroupsorindependently,beforeengaging
inwholeclassdiscussion.
PersonalConnection
Ihavenothadtheopportunitytousethisexactactivitybuthavedonesimilar
performancepiecespreviouslyinagrade11IBEnglishclass.Byactingoutpiecesfrom
playsornovels,studentsareabletoseethestorycometolife,whichdeepenstheir
appreciationforandunderstandingoftheplot,aswellasengagementwiththe
characters.
ActivityTwo:
FoundPoetry
Playingwithwordsasanapproachtotone,voice,andtheme
CurricularGoals
Studentswilllisten,speak,read,write,viewandrepresenttomanageideasand
informationandtoenhancetheclarityandartistryofcommunication.
ContextandRationale:
Atthispoint,studentsshouldhavecompletedreadingthefirst43chapters.(Since
chaptersarelabeledinprimenumbers,thisisreallyonly30pagesorso.)
Inordertopromotestudents’understandingoftherelationshipbetweendiction,
syntax,tone,voice,andtheme,they’llconstructpoemsfromthesentencesthey
decidedwerethemostimportant(see“whattodo”below).Thisactivitywillprime
themtoreadcloselyandwilldemonstratetothemwhysuchattentiontodetailis
importanttounderstandingwhatisgoingoninthisnovel,whosemeaningiscompletely
boundupinChristopher’svoice.(Nelson15)
GradeandTimeline:
Thisactivitycouldbeusedingrades8‐12forvariousnovels.Foundpoetryisagreatway
tomakepoetrymoreaccessibletostudentsandengagetheminwritingtheirown.In
thecontextofthisactivity,itenablesstudentstodiscoverthesignificanceofwordsand
imagesthattheauthorhasusedinthenovel.Theactivityshouldtakeatleastone60
minuteclass,butitcouldbeextendedintofollowingclassesforstudentswhoreally
engagedwithwritingtheirownpoetry.
Materials:
Compilationofemailsthathavebeensenttoyou(enoughcopiesforallstudents)
Whattodo:
Intheclassprecedingthisactivity,havestudentsselectapartner.Students
should,viaanemail,decidebetweenthetwoofthemwhattheythinkarethe5
mostimportantsentencesinthesefirst43chapters.Studentscaninterpret
“important”tomeanwhatevertheywouldlike–mostimportanttotheplot,
mostinterestingsounding,mostcomplicated,moststraightforward,orany
combinationoftheseorotherideas.Theyshouldemailyouandprintoutthe
transcriptoftheirconversationandbringittoclass.Theyshouldalsonotewhat
theirreasoningwaswhenchoosingthesentences.
(Dependingonthegroupofstudentsthiscanbeanindividualhomework
assignmentaswell)
Giveeachstudentaprintoutoftheclasscompilation(whichwillhavebeencut
andpastedfromtheiremailsthenightbefore)ofallthesentencestheychoseas
themostimportantintheirreadingassignmentfortoday.
Askstudentstolookoverthesentencesandspendabout15minuteswriting
fromthemanoriginal,20‐line,titledpoem.Theymayusephrases,ortheymay
useonlysinglewordsinadifferentorderthantheyoriginallyappear,butthey
maynotuseawholesentenceasitexistsinthenovel.Thepoemsdonothave
tobeaboutthenovel.
Spendabout5minutesdiscussingwhatstudents’criteriawereforchoosingthe
mostimportantsentences.Isthereanyconsensusastowhatmakesasentence
important?
Askstudentstoreadtheirpoemsaloudthenaskthemwhattheynoticedabout
eachother’scompositions.Isthereacorrelationbetweenthewordsand
phrasesavailabletothemandhowtheyfelttheycouldusethosewordsand
phrases?Didtheyfindthemselvesawareofthewords’originalcontext?Did
theytrytoaligntheirpoemswiththatcontextorsubvertit?Wouldanyone’s
poemserveasanaccuratedistillationofthereading(chapters1‐43)?Whyor
whynot?Howisthis“paraphrase”ofthenovelunliketheoriginal?What’sleft
out?Whatmightbeenhanced?(Nelson15)
AdditionalConsiderations:
Theactivitywouldworkbestwithstudentswhohavebeenpreviouslyintroducedto
foundpoetry.Perhapstheunitshouldcomeafteraunitonpoetryortakesometimeto
introducetheconceptandprovideexamples.Theactivityalsohelpsstudentsdevelop
anunderstandingofwhatconstitutesanimportantsentence.Thisshouldhelpthemin
theirownacademicwritingwhentheyneedtochooseappropriatequotationstouseas
evidencefortheirarguments.
PersonalConnections:
Poetryofteninstillsalotoffearamongstudents.Themoreweexposethemtoitin
unassumingways,themorecomfortableandconfidenttheywillbeinreadingand
analyzingmorecomplexforms.Asastudent,IthinkIwouldhavebeenmore
comfortablewithpoetryhaditbeenincorporatedmorefrequentlyintonovelstudy.
Activity3:
“APicture’sWorth…”
ExploringMotionandStillness
CurricularGoals:
Studentswilllisten,speak,read,write,viewandrepresenttocomprehendandrespond
personallyandcriticallytooral,printandothermediatexts.
ContextandRationale:
Priortothisactivity,studentswillhavestudiedfilmandfilmterminologyandhave
watchedclipsfromvariousfilmsthatdiscussautismand/ortheideaofbeing“normal”
oroutcastsinsocietylikeRainManandBeingThereinordertolookforcertain
techniques,discusstheirrhetoricaleffects,begintoseeparallelsbetweenthetextual
featuresandvisualfeaturesoffilms.Inthisactivity,theirpriorknowledgeoffilmsis
appliedtophotographs.ThefocusofthisactivitywillbeonthestillphotosofDiane
ArbusandMaryEllenMark,bothofwhomhavedocumentedpeopletraditionallyonthe
fringesofsociety.Bynowstudentsshouldbemakingconnectionsbetweenearlier
discussionsofpointofviewinwritingandpointofviewinvisualmediaandwillbeable
todiscusswherethese2photographersseemtosituatethemselves.Theissuesof
Christopher’sbookasatextthatincorporateslanguageandpictureswillbebroughtup,
sothatstudentsmaybegintoapprehendandappreciatethisnovelasmorethana
typical“novel.”(Nelson34)
GradeandTimeline:
Thisactivityisrelatedspecificallytothenovelanditssubjectmatter.Duetothemature
content,itisbettersuitedtoagrade11or12class.However,asimilaractivitycanbe
appliedtoothernovelswithlesscomplicatedsubjectmatterandcouldbeusedinlower
grades.Thisactivity,incombinationwiththeprioractivityofwatchingvideos,willmost
likelytake4classes.
Materials:
Slidesofvariousphotographs
Whattodo:
ShowslidesofseveralofArbus’sandMark’sphotographs[followingthisactivity
areseveralrepresentativeimages.FormoreofMaryEllenMark:
http://www.maryellenmark.com]
Holdclassdiscussionofeachphotoasit’sbroughtuponscreen(asaclass),
remindingstudentstocalluptheissuesandvocabularythey’vebeenusingto
talkaboutthenovel,stories,non‐fictionwritings,andfilms.Pertinent
considerations:Arewemeanttoidentifywiththepeopleinthephotos?Howdo
weknowthat?Howarepeopleframed?Whatdoesthatframingleadusto
concludeaboutthem?Aboutthephotographer’sattitudetowardthem?How
wouldthesephotographerssituateChristopher?Hisfather?Hismother?
Siobhan?WouldChristopherlikehowhewasdepictedinthephoto?Would
anyoneelse?HowwouldChristopher’smotherframehim?Howwouldhis
fatherwanthimtostand?Wouldtheyusecolororblackandwhite?Encourage
studentstojotnotesintheirreadinglogsduringdiscussion.(Nelson34)
AdditionalConsiderations:
Inassessingthiseffectivenessofthisactivity,considerthefollowingquestions:
Didstudentsenjoythephotos?Didtheyhaveavarietyofreactionstotheseimagesin
lightofongoingconversationsaboutwhat’s“normal”?Didtheycontinuetomake
connectionsbetweennarrativetechniquesinlanguageandinphotosandfilm?(Nelson
34)Perhapsanextensionofthisactivitycouldbetoactuallyconstructtheirownimages
orfilms.
Photographs:Seenextpage
Resources:
Nelson,E.(2004).NovelUnitPlan.Retrievedfrom http://www.geocities.com/erinlnelson/CuriousDog.doc
Asylum Inmates, 1970-71 (Arbus)
King and Queen of a Senior Citizens Dance, N.Y.C., 1970 (Arbus)
A Jewish giant at home with his parents in the Bronx, N.Y., 1970 (Arbus)
Marina Campa (Batman's Grandmother), Kimberly Crown Circus, Mexico
City, Mexico, 1997 (Mark)
Miami Beach. South Beach, Florida, USA 1979 (Mark)
Leakey, Texas, USA 1991 (Mark)
