4 Week Unit Plan:
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland
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Subject Area:
English Language Arts
Grade Level(s)
7-9
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making
"She, September, is caught upon a precipice, at twelve years old, of duty and leisure, of the childish world behind her and the world of responsibility that waits ahead. Through the friends she meets, and the challenges she overcomes, she does, by the end of novel, begin to understand that these two worlds, these two sides of her, need not be mutually exclusive, and arriving at this realization alongside her is gratifying and rewards readers who have faced a similar struggle. Her friends, from the Green Wind, the boy Saturday, and the Dragon A-Through-L, are, as companions, as important to September’s journey and self-discovery as she is. Valente’s wonderful creativity and sharp ability to draw life to her characters shines through in each of them."
-- Aidan Mohar, A Dribble of Ink
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Book Trailer
"September read often, and liked it best when words did not pretend to be simple, but put on their full armor and rode out with colors flying."
-- Catherynne M. Valente,
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Essential Questions
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How does fiction writing communicate questions/issues surrounding our own world?
What is the text trying to teach about diversity and acceptance?
How can students and teachers create a positive classroom and social environment for all people, and how can we continue that environment’s message outside of the classroom?
What influences a perspective? How do perspectives change?
What does perspective have to do in a coming-of-age story?
How do we have control over our own fate?