Kaczur 1 Sarah Kaczur L408 Dr. Carter Book Rationale ... - Oncourse

Kaczur 2evidence, etc. Topics to be covered/explored with students through discussion: Race,Multiculturalism, Racism, Stereotypes, Civil Rights in the U.S.(past and present),Ethnocentrism, Harlem, NY(history and currently), Socio-economic status in the UnitedStates, Murder, Ethics, Judicial System in the U.S., Jail life, Fear, Persuasive Arguments,etc.Another approach to teaching Monster would be to have students engage in a journaling project.With a journaling project, students are responsible for answering specific journal questions incoordination with the text on a daily basis. This way each student would have moreopportunities to reflect on the topic areas and internalize what Steve Harmon goes through.Providing students with a journaling project will give shy students a venue for expressing theirideas; rather than the competitive classroom environment of acting out the scenes. Students willconnect with the personal tragedies of the author as well as outside potential discussion if read incorrelation with another novel; i.e. Scorpions, also by Myers, where a boy feels pressure to “actlike a man” with his brother in jail.Brief Summary:Steve Harmon, a 16 year-old African American male, is caught in the middle of a drugstore robbery and murder that may have him locked up in jail for twenty years to life. Until adecision is made upon whether Steve is guilty or innocent, Steve remains living the horrible lifeof a jail tenant. In jail Steve gets a taste of what his life could be as he feels the pangs of fear andexperiences in-mates whose end result is hopeless. As a reader you get a look on Steve’sperspective and feelings about the situation via his disheartening journal entries. The other