Deep Blue by Jennifer Donnelly

Deep Blue WaterFire Saga: Book One (2014)
Written by: Jennifer Donnelly 
Endpaper maps & chapter opener illustration by: Laszlo Kubinyi
Disney Hyperion, New York, New York
Lexile: HL580L
Accelerated Reader: 10.0

Majestic, Harrowing, Mythical, Venturesome, Brave 

Suggested Delivery: small group reading

Electronic Resources to Support Reading:

      1.  WaterFire Saga

           This website provides information on the author, Jennifer Donnelly, as well as summaries of all of the four books in the WaterFire series.  Students may begin reading excerpts from each of the other books.  The site also provides a fun "Mermaid Quiz" for students to take to see which mermaid they most identify with.  

      2.  Jennifer Donnelly
           This website is the author, Jennifer Donnelly's, personal website.  Students may explore her other books, FAQ, and news and events.

Key Vocabulary:

      A complete glossary of all relevant and unique terms used in Deep Blue are located on pages 329-340.

• beguiling - to influence someone through trickery or flattery or misleading
• fractious - irritable or quarrelsome, difficult to control
• scimitar - a sword or sabre with a curved blade, originating from the Middle East 
• infallible - incapable of making mistakes or errors
• adversary - an opponent in a contest 
• talisman - an object believed to have magical powers and bring good luck 
• brusque - to converse in a curt, short, or sharp manner 

Before Reading:  As students read together in their groups, they will record words that will be presented and defined on a class word wall.  Many vocabulary words appear in Deep Blue that are unique to the story and are not apart of conventional English vocabulary.  Starting in the first chapter, the word wall will be added to throughout reading the rest of the story, constantly being expanded and added to.  This will serve as a reading strategy for students to keep terms clarified and to enhance the reading experience of the story.  Students may also refer to the glossary in the back of the book, but the word wall will solidify understanding as students are selecting vocabulary as they read and producing their own definitions, as well. 

During Reading:  Students will participate in Literature Discussion groups to discuss sections of the story as it is being read.  In order to model effective discussions, the class will participate in a Fishbowl Discussion each week, alternating groups to be in the fishbowl group with the teacher.  The other groups will form a circle on the outside of the fishbowl discussion group and observe the discussions and types of questions and responses that are shared in the fishbowl discussion.  Students will pick up on discussion strategies and concepts to discuss, as well as appropriate behavior in their own Literature Discussion groups.

After Reading:  Have a whole class discussion about the beginning of the novel to the end.  Many changes occurred, specifically, the main character Serafina experienced many changes that caused her character to grow and evolve.  On chart paper, record these events that contributed to Serafina's character change, similar to the manner of a timeline.  Discuss with students how people change and evolve in real life, as well.  What are some events that have occurred in students' lives that caused them to change as young people?

Writing Activity:  Each member in the literature groups will write from the point of view of one of the mermaids: Serafina, Becca, Neela, Ava, Ling, or Astrid.  Students should fully immerse themselves in their mermaid's life, using their family background, personality traits, special powers, and beliefs they hold to write about what might happen during the next part of their adventure.  Because Deep Blue ends on a cliffhanger, students are to write about what will happen on the next leg of the journey, according to the character's perspective they write about.  Students will then divide into groups based on which mermaid they chose to be in their writing and share aloud their writing pieces.