This unit sets high expectations for students 7-9th grade. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making presents many challenges for students to overcome and discuss throughout the reading of its contents. Students will increase their vocabulary through the use of Vocabulary Journals, improve their creative writing and storytelling abilities, and gain discussion-based skills through comparisons of our modern, political climate, and that of September’s Fairyland.
Students will journal at the start of every class session for fifteen minutes. They can write on any subject, but are encouraged to focus on their own lives and things they experience both socially and emotionally. At the end of the unit, students will be asked to compile all journal writings and notes to create a final project of choice (listed on final assessment page.)
Students will also create “Know, Wonder, Think” charts. Each category lets students create and mull over questions and ideas, while keeping up with actual content. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland will be a difficult read, but do-able and easily monitored with this method. Each chapter should have a “Know, Wonder, Think.” These charts will let the instructor know if a student is on target or not. Individual assistance may be necessary at times. All students will be provided with an abstract of each chapter at the end of the reading day (each abstract is simplified so most reading levels should be able to solidify their understandings.
Chapter 1 & 2 Abstract Example
To be passed out after reading on Day 1 Lesson (homework questions/thoughts embedded)
• September, a twelve year old girl, is carried away from her home in Omaha by the Green Wind and the Leopard of Little Breezes • The Green Wind carries her into the sky and to Fairyland. September does not wave good-bye to the life she is leaving. (Why doesn't she?)
• Green Wind tells September the many rules of Fairyland imposed by The Marquess, the ruler of Fairyland. The Marquess sounds horrible.
• Green Wind gives September his jacket upon which a small key grows on the lapel. They arrive at the entrance to Fairyland and encounter Latitude and Longitude.
• September has to undergo a ritual for admittance which includes having her blood spilled, leaving something behind and telling a lie. She enters Fairyland with the Green Wind.
• They travel through a long corridor cluttered with unused objects and memories. When September asks why they came for her their only answer is that they came for her, and just for her.
• They encounter Betsy Basilstock, a customs agent disguised as a giant gargoyle, who asks them why they have entered Fairyland. The Green Wind says that September is one of the ravished.
• September can pass, but the Green Wind is on a list of barred beings. September says good-bye and Betsy takes her to the entrance and sprays her eyes so she can see in there. (How does this relate to what happens to immigrants? Research U.S Immigration policy for homework and come to class with 3 points that stuck out to you.)
• Betsy also gives her a book which is like a passport and identifies her as a Ravished. The Green Wind tells her never to let anyone know her true, full name and to check her pockets.
• September passes through a soft wall of a closet and to the other side-- into the actual Fairyland.
