The Book Thief Novel Study Unit Plan: Comprehension, Figurative Language, & More
- PDF
Description
This 8-week unit plan for The Book Thief Markus Zusak is ideal for middle and high schoolers as a book unit or for literature study to complement a Holocaust or World War II unit. Comprehension questions focus on responding to literature, figurative language, and understanding the plot within a historical context.
Aligned with state standards, The Book Thief Literature Unit Plan is an 8-week novel study that includes opportunities for short written responses like those used in several states' new state testing formats.
Your download includes:
✔Daily comprehension prompts in 3 formats for differentiation
- Foldable trifold brochures
- Cut & paste journal prompts for interactive notebooks
- Google Slides
✔Weekly word of the day flip books for text-based vocabulary
✔ Easy-to-follow directions for printing & prep
✔ Instructional planning guide
✔Answer keys
In this Novel Unit for The Book Thief by Markus Zusak you'll find:
1) Student comprehension practice (up to 40 instructional days)
- Each day's work focuses on a single standards-based comprehension skill
- Short, written responses include opportunities to apply thinking to text
- Designed with reluctant and struggling learners in mind
- Built-in graphic organizers to support skill acquisition
- Approachable questions help make connections & start conversations
- No boring multiple-choice or fill-in-the-blank questions!
- Available in both printable trifolds, reading journal prompts, and Google Slides
2) Approachable practice with key reading standards and skills, including:
- Text analysis and responding to literature
- Identifying & analyzing figurative language, including simile, personification, symbolism & allegory
- Exploring how character development occurs through events of the plot
- Making inferences and drawing conclusions based on text clues
- Analyzing conflict - including internal and external conflict
- And so much more!
3) Text-based & academic vocabulary
- One target word identified for each day's reading
- A flexible, foldable format allows for the study and application of new vocabulary
- Opportunities to make connections to academic vocabulary for daily skills
4) Teacher support materials
- Unit scope & sequence lays out the day's comprehension & vocabulary focus
- Answer Keys for all comprehension activities
- Tips for preparation and implementation
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How Novel Units from Differentiated Teaching Work...
▸ Teachers can introduce the day's vocabulary word & discuss it before reading.
▸ Students complete just one section of the trifold or a single Google Slide daily.
▸ Daily work focuses on target skills needed for success in reading vs. plot recall.
▸ The low-pressure format provides novelty & encourages student engagement
▸ Less overwhelming to reluctant readers and writers
▸ Requires deep analysis and application of text-based knowledge
▸ Encourages discussion about skills & strategies
Here's why teachers love these novel units...
♥ This has helped me so much in teaching my students this year. Other resources overwhelm students with too much vocabulary and literal comprehension questions but these slides give students one vocabulary word for each chapter and a grade-level higher-order comprehension skill to practice. - Kristin P.
♥ This does a really good job of focusing on vocab and using context clues, practicing quoting from the text, and target skills. I really liked the way it focused on one skill for every two chapters, which made things really manageable for my students. - Beth A.
Here's what homeschool families have to say about the novel studies...
★ I LOVE the layout and how it guides my son and me through our reading time. As a homeschool parent, I still wanted to give him that opportunity to discuss and grapple with the text and I love this quick format as a brochure. I also love the vocab focus for each section and the skill listed so I can monitor his understanding of these as we move through a variety of texts this year. - Antonia S.
★ I am a homeschool mom and my daughter is enjoying the book and I am loving that she is able to respond to the reading through various aspects and not just answering questions. She is more engaged in her reading and asking more questions after she completes each task. - Terri B.
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Terms of Use:
© Rebecca Davies. All rights reserved by the author. These materials are intended for personal use by a single classroom only. Copying for more than one teacher, classroom, department, school, or school system is prohibited. For use in multiple classrooms, please purchase additional licenses. This product may not be distributed or displayed digitally for public view. Failure to comply is a copyright infringement and a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Clipart and elements in this PDF are copyrighted and cannot be extracted or used outside this file without permission or license. See the product file for clip art and font credits.
