Classroom | Candid Shoeplay #129

Added: 2026-05-15

[00:00:00]Mr. Cody's classroom at Mountain View Elementary School. He actually provided me with an assignment example of what he would use with his sixth graders. He does a wonderful job and it has been very well received there from what I understand.

[00:00:11]Thank you, Mr. Cody.

[00:00:13]All right.

[00:00:15]Come on.

[00:00:17]Hey.

[00:00:19]Higher level questions, outcomes, and why should we include higher level questioning in class?

[00:00:24]So, I'm going to go and head and read two of my questions. Um how does Lena use art as a form of resistance and a form of survival throughout the novel?

[00:00:34]And then how does Lena's family's separation shape identity and influence Lena's choices and perspective?

[00:00:39]All right. So, why should we include these in class?

[00:00:41]Using discussion questions like these will help students develop deeper thinking. So, they're not reading something at the surface level and then asking a was Lena's hair brown question.

[00:00:51]No, we want kids to be able to dive in deeper into these novels.

[00:00:55]And this is done by requiring these students to explain these ideas using evidence. This allows them to build critical thinking skills that will help them in their academic discussion later on in life and in this class.

[00:01:10]An example activity. So, this is something that I personally would use in my own classroom with my students. So, I would ask the students to choose something that is symbolic or like something that happened or something that is symbolic to Lena or to them throughout the novel. I will ask them to find that, uh cite it, and then they're going to write a short paragraph explaining how that object connects to theme like survival, identity, or loss.

[00:01:35]So, after that part is done, students will pair up and they will share it briefly. Um they'll share what object they chose and what theme it represents.

[00:01:44]Um and I were to do this, I would choose the tomato tin that is gifted to Lena's little brother in the novel when he is on death's door from scurvy. He is gifted tomatoes and he is able to literally be restored. This is a moment of restorative hope that we see in the novel. Students may use this as an example or they may use more.

[00:02:03]And I think this activity helps students practice theme identification, symbolic thinking, and also shows that they know how to locate evidence within a text.

[00:02:14]Alternative text.

[00:02:18]All right. So, let's say that The Book Thief is not available in our school library for a class set at the time. Um, hopefully. If Zusak's novel, The Book Thief, is not available during the time that I am teaching it, there are two alternative texts that I feel like I could accurately teach the same way that I am going to teach Zusak's novel.

[00:02:31]So, we have The Book Thief and we also have Number the Stars. Both of these are still historical texts that are set during World War II and they both still follow young adult children. So, The Book [clears throat] Thief is a It supports analysis of character, narrative, and perspective and structure. It explores themes of resistance, identity, and power of language. And then for Number the Stars, it highlights themes of courage and resilience. Courage and resilience is something that we see in all three novels and I feel like I want that to translate even if I don't get to use one or the other. And both of the novels still support the historical context that I am trying to provide.

[00:03:21]All right. So, what standards does this address? In terms of Georgia, it's how to analyze plot, conflict, and craft techniques shaped by author's purpose and analyze how texts draw on themes, generate questions and connections to guide research. So, like through the projects they'll be doing, they'll be flipping back and forth. They're going to be allowed to write in their books on little sticky notes or slips of paper so they have their notes throughout and it contributes to discussions and collaborative learning. So, this will not be a novel that is taught to a singular student and they're just expected to do it. They are going to collaborate and work together throughout the entirety of our time together.

[00:03:58]How [clears throat] are these standards addressed? Students will meet the standards by analyzing how Sepetys uses conflict structure and narrative perspective to shape meaning while also connecting the novel to World War II history and recurring themes of oppression and survival.

[00:04:12]They will develop research-based questions about Soviet deportations and historical context, much like the higher-level questions that I provided a minute ago.

[00:04:21]Do do do.

[00:04:23]And how language and setting influence reader response empathy and engage in collaborative discussions that require evidence-based academic dialogue.

[00:04:34]So, right here, this will be our last slide and our last minute together. So, we have some of the awards that Between Shades of Gray has won. My favorite one is the Golden Kite Award winner. It is a very prestigious award that you can get for a novel. So, this literally has a wonderful um stamp of approval. We also have New York Times Notable Book of the Year.

[00:04:56]Um Junior Library Guild Gold Selection.

[00:04:58]If you don't know what Junior Library Guild is, it is a selection of books that have met these requirements that are shipped around the um the country in like a box. So, there'll be like 15 or 20 of them that will get shipped monthly out to libraries. So, a lot of school libraries probably actually have this if they have the Junior Library Guild's But, that is going to be the end of our time together.