Language+Arts+Semester+Two+Final+Review

Language Arts Final Review



Wednesday Wars The Story: It's 1967 and Hollis is a seventh-grader in Long Island during the Vietnam War. His dad is nagging him to take over the family business, his mother is out of touch, and he is pretty sure his teacher, Mrs. Baker, hates him. But when he is forced to have one-on-one instruction from Ms. Baker on Wednesdays, they bond over a shared passion for Shakespeare. Influenced by his politically active sister and the works of Shakespeare, Hollis begins to look at the world in a whole new way. The Scoop This squeaky clean coming of age story is both poignant and humorous. Racial/ethnic issues are a theme in this story: Catholics, Jews, and Protestants pretty much keep to themselves, while a young vietnam refugee student is hated by the lunch lady, who lost her husband in the war. All ends tie up nicely, though, and understanding is achieved. Hollis works past his fears and become his own person, rather than the person his rigid father assumed he would become.

Key Words / Themes [|courage] [|divorce] [|ethnic issues] [|humor] [|non-conformity] [|positive teacher or mentor relationship] [|racial issues] [|social activism] [|teen smoking] [|understanding] [|war]

Hatchet by Gary Larson

The Story Thirteen-year-old Brian's parents are getting a divorce, and he thinks he knows why after he saw his mother kissing another man. When his mother puts him on a plane to go see his father, she gives him a strange gift, a hatchet, which becomes more valuable than he can ever imagine. This is the story of Brian's fight for his life after his plane crashes and he must survive in the Canadian wilderness for fifty four days alone.

The Scoop This classic book contains themes most teens and tweens can relate to: divorce, ambigious feelings about parents, independence, and self-relaince. Brian feels a sense of pride every day he stays alive. Parents should note that Brian attempts suicide by slitting his wrist in the wild, but when he wakes up, he is filled with new found hope and determination. Animals are killed in order to survive.

Key Words / Themes [|courage] [|despair] [|divorce] [|hope] [|perseverance] [|problem solving] [|self-reliance] [|triumph over adversity]

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie The Story: Arnold Spirit, aka Junior, is living a hard life on an Indian reservation. He has been picked on all his life, and is not exactly destined for greatness. To try and save himself, he switches to the white school off the reservation, where he is the only Indian besides the school mascot. Overcoming personal tragedy, outcast status with his own people, and being a high school misfit, Junior demonstrates strength of character and determination that is truly extraordinary.

The Scoop: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian is a poignant and exceptionally worthwhile read. Alcoholism is a sad but very real problem on the Indian reservation and is involved in multiple tragic deaths that affect the main character. Although told with incredibly sharp wit, and often hilarious to read, underlying messages about tolerance, racism, acceptance, and triumph over adversity do not lose their importance. Subject matter is mature; masturbation is mentioned, use of derogatory homosexual slurs is frequent, violent fighting occurs, and several main characters die.

Key Words / Themes: [|academic triumph] [|alcoholism] [|bulimia] [|character death] [|courage] [|family member death] [|implied domestic violence] [|language] [|positive coaching] [|poverty] [|racial slurs] [|racism] [|tolerance] [|triumph over adversity]

Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Patillo Beals The Story: In 1957, Melba Pattillo turned sixteen. That was also the year she became a warrior on the front lines of a civil rights firestorm. Following the landmark 1954 Supreme Court ruling, Brown v. Board of Education, Melba was one of nine teenagers chosen to integrate Little Rock's Central High School.Throughout her harrowing ordeal, Melba was taunted by her schoolmates and their parents, threatened by a lynch mob's rope, attacked with lighted sticks of dynamite, and injured by acid sprayed in her eyes. But through it all, she acted with dignity and courage, and refused to back down.

Key Words / Themes: racism triumph over adversity courage racial slurs perseverance hope memoir

Animal Farm by George Orwell The Story: A farm is taken over by its overworked, mistreated animals. With flaming idealism and stirring slogans, they set out to create a paradise of progress, justice, and equality. Thus the stage is set for one of the most telling satiric fables ever penned--a razor-edged fairy tale for grown-ups that records the evolution from revolution against tyranny to a totalitarianism just as terrible. Available in April.

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton The Story: This classic coming of age story follows two rival gangs: the poor Greasers and the rich Socs, whose socioeconomic classes divide them. Fourteen-year-old Ponyboy is a sensitive Greaser who enjoys school. Parentless, he is well cared for by his wild and unruly brothers and their close-knit group of friends, who do their best to protect him from the everyday threat of the menacing Socs. When Ponyboy befriends a pretty Soc girl, the two begin to question the boundaries that separate them, but this friendship puts Ponyboy in danger. When the situation erupts in violence, life is changed forever for both the gangs. The Scoop: This poignant and timeless book provides excellent material for discussing class discrimination and prejudice. Greaser life is reckless and violent, with some carrying weapons and engaging in brawling, shoplifting, and underage drinking. But by the end of the book, after three characters are killed (one a Greaser who dies a hero after saving children from a burning building) and a large rumble occurs, both sides begin to adopt a more pacifist sensibility, renouncing the violence that once was part of their lives.

Key Words / Themes: [|bullying] [|character death] [|gangs] [|language] [|loneliness] [|loyalty] [|murder] [|positive sibling relationship] [|prejudice] [|running away] [|shoplifting] [|supportive friendship] [|triumph over adversity] [|underage drinking] [|understanding] [|vandalism] [|violence]