Fan Fiction for The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Junior 10 years later:

I often wonder what would have happened to me if I never left the reservation to go to high school. Where would Rowdy and I be off to now? Would I have gone to college? Who knows? All I can say is that my experiences have made me who I am, my entire persona, my entire being. I do not need o explain myself to anyone, I know my where I come from, I know who I am, and I know where I am going.

Down the street to the café to get a latte with my new wife. That is where I am going, then maybe back to the apartment for a little roll in the hay. I love the way she holds my arm when we walk, she reminds me a lot of Penelope, tough but fragile all at the same time. We met at a book shop reaching for the same book. I really like the way we look together.

Too bad the world is probably going to tear us apart at some point, I just hope we an fit back together as closely as we fit in my sketch. Who knows? I think my grandmother might, too bad she can’t tell me so easily with words.

Milkweed Post

As someone who has read a decent amount of historical fiction discussing the Holocaust, I was quite impressed withMilkweed. Most of what I have read is not from the perspective of a child/adolescent, and Misha’s naïve nature and search for identity in the Holocaust is familiar yet resolute. The story very matter-of-factly deals with so many issues of the Holocaust. Meeting a Nazi afterwards (fatman), life after the Holocaust in Europe and America, the world returning to normal, asking “Why me?” and wanting to die, life in the Ghetto as a non-Jew and as a Jew, the disbelief that the concentration camps could be real, etc. However, none of these situations are ever so overwhelming or realistic because the story is more about personal relationships rather than the Holocaust.

Identity for adolescents is a common theme, however, it is also a theme in many Holocaust novels and short stories. The experience is such that it can rip away the connection one has to his or her self, to loved ones and to the world. I think Milkweed does not necessarily represent any loss of identity since Misha doesn’t exactly know himself at the beginning of the novel and is not actually Jewish. The story is more about the search for identity, and since during the Holocaust identity was tough to ascertain, Misha’s journey to find his true name is long and tireless. That is why I think this book could work well in a classroom in both teaching students about the Holocaust and their own identities, though I feel it is more about identity in dealing with difficult issues.

Questions:

After reading The Wave by Todd Strasser, I was inundated with ideas about teaching the Holocaust. What do you think is the best way to do this and how can Milkweed contribute?

How can Milkweed be taught as something other than a Holocaust novel? Is this the way it should be taught?

What is the significance of Misha’s naivete? How is this a good jumping off point for teaching the novel?

Professor Nana

In case anyone hasn't gotten a chance over the course of this course to check out this website (http://professornana.livejournal.com/)I sincerely hope you do so over the summer. Checking this site will ensure that you know what the newest books are about and will allow you to keep your classroom library up to date. I couldn't find one YA book I've read that hasn't been reviewed or discussed on this website. You will not be disappointed!

Fan Fiction Assignment for The Diary of Anne Frank

This is a fan fiction assignment I actually gave to my students this year. -Marina Podokshik

For your final assignment, you are going to write FIVE diary entries. You can choose to write from the point of view of any of the following characters:

• Anne Frank
• A Jewish person living in the concentration camp (Must do additional research)
• Miep
• Peter
• Mr. Frank
• Mrs. Frank
• Margot

In your diary entries, you must answer the following questions:

1. How is the Holocaust affecting the characters life?

2. What difficult decisions does the character need to make?

3. What fears does that character have?

4. What does the character believe will happen to them?

5. What challenges does the character face?

· Must be at least 3 pages typed, double space

· Must include accurate dates

· C cannot include words taken directly from the play or book.

Fan Fiction- Can't Get There From Here by Todd Strausser

The Other Side of the Library Glass

The girl looked cold and hungry and I couldn’t help but think about how I felt as a kid, tormented by this awful skin condition. I used to steal my Mom’s makeup before school to cover it up. That ended when Tommy Johnathan Mascillo , God knows I will never forget his name, wiped my face with his finger the first week of 6^th grade and announced to the entire class that I was wearing makeup. No one would let it go after that. None of them would look at me without mumbling something underneath their breaths. And girls, forget about it, they were too insecure to be seen around me, God forbid what someone would say.

So I stayed angry for a year until I got lost in the books. My mom got a side job as a librarian the summer I turned 12. She felt bad that I had no friends I suppose so she told me to tag along at the library. I’d take the subway there after school in the winter, and when it was nice I used to walk there in the spring afternoons. The library was a solace and I wound up applying for a job there in my junior year after school. I figured I’d be there anyway so I might as well get paid for it. Anyway, I hadn’t paid much mind to anyone else I worked with until I heard the story of Bobby tormenting that poor homeless girl.

I had never felt less than a man like that in my life until just then when I saw that girl outside the library window, my reflection in the glass eclipsed her spotted face. I wanted to run out and tell her that everything would be alright like my mother had told me, but I felt like that’d be making a promise that I couldn’t keep.

She didn’t talk much outside the library, but I got the vibe that she had a good heart and that’s important. A good heart is what keeps this world going, especially in this city. She certainly wasn’t like Bobby, though; Bobby has got one mean heart in that chest, it makes the bile and acid turn up in my stomach. They wanted to bathe for Christ sakes. Who wants to walk around in soiled clothes that haven’t been washed? Sure they dirtied up the place, but they’re just kids.

I begin to clench my fists every time I think of how he made those girls go outside still soaking wet. They could have caught pneumonia. I made sure to give the girl plenty of donuts when she came in. I can’t imagine walking around in the cold wondering when the next time I’m going eat will be. I stopped feeling sorry for myself I’m sure she has a mom and dad out there somewhere, but some of them have mean hearts which is why a few of these kids end up like this. The kid’s got no place to go. No home. It’s hard to get anywhere from the streets. At least that’s what they say.

I told the girl to come back anytime and I’d have her back. Bobby won’t be bothering her or her friends again as long as I still work here. I’m pissed that the library didn’t let him go after that stunt. I do hope the girl comes back. I brought a few old sweatshirts to my office and am keeping them for her. It’s been a brutal winter so far. It’s horrible out there on the streets. Kids dying all the time, no one even knowing their real names. As bad as I had it as a kid, I still had my mom and my books, and a home. It really makes you appreciate what you do have.

As for now, I’ll wait for her to come back. I want the girl to be able to get out of the cold even if just for an hour or so, make the library a solace for her as well. I have a feeling that she’ll come back, maybe not right away, but when she does I’ll have some donuts waiting for her.

Fan Fiction Assignment

NB This is an assignment which I put together for my students.

Latin 3 Advanced – Alternate Endings

Directions: Post your 200-300 word response to one (1) of the following two (2) questions below on the class Moodle page. Total: 25 points.

tandem his Aenean compellat vocibus ultro:
“dissimulare etiam sperasti, perfide, tantum 305
posse nefas tacitusque mea decedere terra?
nec te noster amor nec te data dextera quondam
nec moritura tenet crudeli funere Dido?
quin etiam hiberno moliri sidere classem
et mediis properas Aquilonibus ire per altum, 310
crudelis? quid, si non arua aliena domosque
ignotas peteres, et Troia antiqua maneret,
Troia per undosum peteretur classibus aequor?
mene fugis? “

1. Create an alternate ending to Book 4, in which Aeneas, warned by Mercury and confronted by Dido (see above), does NOT leave Carthage. What makes this new version of events attractive or unattractive? Why?

… ille, oculis postquam saevi monimenta doloris 945
exuviasque hausit, furiis accensus et ira
terribilis: “tune hinc spoliis indute meorum
eripiare mihi? Pallas te hoc vulnere, Pallas
immolat et poenam scelerato ex sanguine sumit.”
hoc dicens ferrum adverso sub pectore condit 950
fervidus; ast illi soluuntur frigore membra
vitaque cum gemitu fugit indignata sub umbras.

2. Create an alternate ending to Book 12, in which Aeneas, having seen Pallas’ belt (see above), does NOT kill Turnus. What makes this new version of events attractive or unattractive? Why?

Book Trailer Review

Laura McDaniel’s book trailer was effective. The build up of the dramatic music and use of pictures and text could, I think, successfully motivate kids to read the book. I'm curious what book this trailer is about. Cool trailer, Laura!