Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos

Dead End in Norvelt (2011)
Written by: Jack Gantos
Farrar Straus Giroux, New York, NY
Lexile: 920L
Accelerated Reader: 5.7
Infographic

Adventurous, Historical, Laughable, Surprising, Unusual

Suggested Delivery: small group reading

Electronic Resources to Support Reading:

    1. Eleanor Roosevelt 

         This website provides readers a look into Eleanor Roosevelt's life and her contributions to the New Deal programs that Norvelt was built under.

    2. Writing an Obituary

         This website provides information and tips on how to write an obituary.  Students will refer to this site while completing an activity after reading the book.

Key Vocabulary:

• abscond - to leave in a hurry, secretly
• contempt - to show that something is beneath care or consideration
• simian - characteristic of an ape
• ingrate - an ungrateful person
• noxious - harmful or poisonous
• feral - an animal in a wild state, acting like a wild animal
• incredulous - unable to believe something
• barter - a trade, involving an exchange for goods or services without using money

Before Reading:  Before reading, discuss with students the time period Dead End in Norvelt was written and discuss elements of the New Deal that Roosevelt put in place.  Students will conduct an interview with someone who was alive during that time period (around 1962, within 5-10 years) and gain information on what the New Deal was like, what people were concerned with and worried about during this time period, as well as their personal opinion about the New Deal, communism, worries, and joys during this period in American history. 

During Reading:  Students will participate in literature circles to conduct discussions and conversations about the book while they are reading.  In order for students to have effective literature circles, a fishbowl discussion will take place with each group, where the teacher is apart of the literature discussion, facilitating and prompting the discussion as needed, while the rest of the class stands around the literature group and observes and listens in on the discussion.  By every student participating in a literature discussion with the teacher, as well as observing literature discussions with the teacher several times, the quality and effectiveness of each group's literature circle will improve.

After Reading:  Students will create a "Wanted" Poster for Mr. Spizz using www.piktochart.com.  Students will include crimes Spizz is wanted for, such as poisoning the elderly town citizens, blaming their deaths on Miss Volker and tying her up in the basement, and being an overall pest to the Gantos family!

Writing Activity:  Students will compose an obituary, referring to the electronic website provided above.  Their obituary may feature a fictional character, a real person, or an animal or pet, such as the deer obituary Jack writes at the end of the story.  Students are encouraged to write an obituary that evokes emotions, feelings, inspirations, and historical content similar to Miss Volker's obituary writing, as well as some humor if they so choose.