Reading Update: CCSS.R.L.7.3

Okay, so not too creative of a title this morning for my most recent post. For those of you teaching 7th grade ELA, that mix of letters and numbers means something... for those of you who don't, I'll shed some light.

Common Core State Standards Reading Literature Grade 7 Standard 3: SWBAT (Students will be able to) analyze how particular elements of a story or drama interact (e.g. how setting shapes characters or plot)

Susan Beth Pfeffer has published a long string of books based in an apocalyptic future where the moon has been hit by a meteorite and knocked off course. Severe repercussions result for humans on Earth. Epidemics plague the country, food shortages cause starvation and rioting across the country, and extreme weather changes cause natural disasters that further endanger people and wipe entire cities off the map. I have only read her first two books in the series, and these are the two I'll discuss shortly, so I cannot speak to any of the others. However, please feel free to share thoughts if you have read any.

Life As We Knew It tells the story of how 15-year-old Miranda survives with her family in rural Pennsylvania. Although there is a female protagonist, two other major characters include Miranda's brothers, and I think middle school boys could relate easily to this suspenseful book.

In The Dead and the Gone, Alex lives in New York City with his family, and he learns how to survive in the dangerous city. Alex has the added responsibility of keeping his younger sisters safe, too, since his parents disappear (and are presumably dead) when the first catastrophes occur. Although the story has a male protagonist, I think most of my boys in rural Montana and Wyoming wouldn't relate to The Dead and the Gone any better than Life As We Knew It because of the urban setting, Alex's Hispanic culture, and the smattering of Spanish throughout the book.

I would recommend both books to readers in my middle school classroom with no qualms, but I think the real power of these two books lie in what they can offer when read at the same time in the classroom. They offer a unique opportunity for students to explore and discuss how characters and plot are affected by setting. Both books feature the same problem: how to survive after the moon is knocked off course. However, the means of survival differ greatly in the two books due to the different settings. I would possibly assign Life As We Knew It to the girls and The Dead and the Gone to the boys and then hold discussions with both groups that focus on the effect of setting.

Another consideration for both of these books, particularly Life As We Knew It, is to use them as a modern-day connection to the Great Depression and World War II. What were once every day necessities become rare luxuries, and the characters have to adjust and become resourceful.