High School Development Book Project
For
The Comprehensive High School class, we had to do a project where we read a
young adult book or a book about a high school student and their development
throughout the novel. We could choose any way we wanted to present it to the
class. The directions for the project were really open-ended and vague because
our professor wanted us to have fun and get creative with it.
Here are the directions for
the project:
While reading your book, mark pages and passages that reveal
things about the character you are “following” that relate to the character’s
development. In particular:
·
Introspective
·
Somatic
·
Intellectual
·
Familial
·
Communal
Be prepared to describe your character’s growth (or changes)
from the beginning to the ending of the book. You may do this through easy, captioned illustrations, or a
digital presentation. Or any other form that appeals to you as long as you
check with me first.
I chose
to create my project using PowerPoint to present my information in a slideshow
form. But I can't figure out how to get it on this blog without using a program
that asks for money or a credit card, so instead I'm going to put the outline of
my slideshow on here instead, which is the next best thing I could think of. If
you really want to see me slideshow (which is really cool may I add), leave a
comment with your email address & I will send it to you by email as an
attachment.
Young Adult Book Assignment:
Out of My Mind
By:
Sharon M. Draper
Slideshow
created by: Marissa Kleckner
Introduction to the Main Character: Melody
•
Has Cerebral Palsy
•
Has a photographic memory
•
Smartest kid in her whole
school
•
But no one knows it
•
Teachers & doctors
don’t think she’s capable of learning
•
Can’t talk, walk, or write
Basic Plot
•
Melody is was an only child
•
Hates her special education classes & that
she isn’t able to talk or communicate
•
Eventually she is given a
communicative device to help her talk
•
She gets the opportunity to
participate in a trivia competition
•
Her Mom becomes pregnant
& Melody has a baby sister
Basic Plot Continued
•
Inclusion classes =
included in the normal classrooms
•
Gets a special aid to help
her communicate & do better in school
•
Melody makes the
competitive Whiz Kids Trivia Team
•
Everything goes downhill
•
But the day of the
competition the team ditches Melody & she never gets to participate
•
Her younger sister gets hit
by a car
Introspective Domain
•
Personal Identity – wants
to be able to talk & to express herself
•
Who am I? – She is trying
to answer this question herself constantly throughout the book
•
Self talk where they weigh,
reevaluate, & critically analyze everything
•
Melody does a lot of self
talking throughout the book, especially in the beginning when she couldn’t talk
or communicate to anyone else
Introspective Domain Continued
•
Has obvious positive &
negative thoughts depending on her mood & the situation
•
Melody learns a lot about
herself and her potential when she is included into the normal classes &
studies & prepares for the Whiz Kids Trivia Competition
•
She develops her personal
identity and understanding of herself throughout the book
Somatic Domain
•
Physical changes – Melody
has mainly physical problems, where she doesn’t have much control of her body,
but her brain isn’t really affected
•
Has no balance
•
Uses a wheelchair to get
around
•
Has to rely on other people
for eating, drinking, clothing, and going to the bathroom
•
Tornado Explosions = lose
control of her body
Somatic Domain Continued
•
Worried about their looks –
She’s constantly worried about how she looks & wants to look as normal as
possible & wants to fit in
•
Wants her mom to dress her
up in nice clothes & tries her best to have good personal hygiene
•
Concerns regarding their
sexuality, personal hygiene, & overall well being
•
Prone to mood swings &
violent behavior = tornado explosion when gets mad, excited, or frustrated
•
Melody explains at the end
that 5th grade is pretty rough, rocky, & awkward
Intellectual Domain
•
Cognitive development
•
Students all at different
levels
•
Read a lot growing up
•
Loves watching the
Discovery channel, listening to the radio, & likes facts
•
Melody is smart & has a
photographic memory
Intellectual Domain Continued
•
Gets an assistant to take
her to classes, sit with her, and help her participate
•
Knows the answer to almost
every question
•
Is very smart for her age
•
Strong in every subject
area (especially language arts) but weak in math
Familial Domain
•
Relationship/how interact
with siblings, parents, and other family members – very close with her family
& her neighbor Mrs. Valencia
•
Has major support from her
family & neighbor Mrs. Valencia who all believe in Melody & encourage
her
•
Changing roles &
tensions in the family may affect self-concept & self esteem (birth of
Penny)
Familial Domain Continued
•
In the beginning of the
book, her relationship with her parents wasn’t as good because she wasn’t able
to talk & communicate
•
Mom becomes pregnant &
Melody has a baby sister, which changes the dynamic of the family
•
Jealous that Penny is born
normal & can walk, talk, and function normally
Communal Domain
•
Social aspect of school
•
She’s constantly comparing
herself & her development to the normal kids
•
Wants to be like all the
other kids – she wants to be normal
•
Likes watching the normal
kids
•
She’s jealous of all the
things they can do & she can’t
Communal Domain Continued
•
Kids ignore her, pretend
she’s invisible, or mock & make fun of her
•
Want to belong & feel
accepted
•
All Melody wants is a
friend
•
Even some of the teacher’s
don’t give Melody a chance & discriminate against her
•
Group participation in
their school, neighborhood, & local community
Last Communal Domain Slide
•
Because Melody has an
assistant other children get jealous & accuse her of cheating
•
Doesn’t feel like she
belongs anywhere. She feels like she doesn’t fit in with the special education
kids, but she doesn’t feel like she fits in with the normal kids
•
Does not like eating,
drinking, or going to the bathroom in public because she gets embarrassed
Conclusion
•
Author Sharon M. Draper
Short Interview (3 minute YouTube Video)
•
Are there any questions,
comments, or concerns?
•
Thank you for watching
& listening to my presentation, I appreciate it.