The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls and persuasive writing

I taught the novel for eight weeks and interrogated the themes, characters, and issues that arose in the novel. This particular block allowed for me to develop the most based on the diverse students in the classroom. Initially I had developed a novel study that I had to discard three classes in since I realized that it would not work with the class. I worked closely with my school advisor to adapt to the learning needs of the students, and work to create an environment where students of all levels could learn. To connect the novel to the students’ lives, we had several activities where we did not address the novel directly, but the concepts themselves. We examined needs and wants, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, homelessness, and mental illness. To compare the memoir novel to another work, we studied the film Catch Me if You Can and drew parallels between the two stories to enhance the students’ learning experience.

Examples of class materials:

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Visual sort of needs versus wants

Co-creating as a class the concepts of Maslow’s Hierarchy

Graphic Organizer

Graphic Organizers for Adapted Learning:

The Glass Castle and Catch Me If You Can

Introduction of Editorial Writing

Elements of Persuasive Writing