Paperboy, by Vince Vawter: A PDF and Easel Digital Novel Study
- PDF
What educators are saying
Description
This is a ready-to-use, custom-made packet designed for teachers to use with students in grades 5-8 as they read the 2014 Newbery Honor Book, Paperboy, by Vince Vawter. The PDF packet was originally designed to be printed. With increased need for digital products for distance learning, this PDF can now be exported as an Easel digital product that can be assigned, completed and turned-in digitally on any device. So, buyers may select to have both PDF and Digital versions or either one.
This packet helps the teacher guide and enrich the reading experience for students using activities that incorporate the CCSS. It also promotes empathy, support, and understanding as peers face challenges.
Included in this product:
1. overview and teacher tips
2. vocabulary lists to go with each assignment
3. ready-to-use, 25 printable or digital pages
4. answer key (16 pages)
5. Listing of Common Core State Standards for grades 5-8 supported in this packet
Before-Reading Vocabulary Lists for Teacher Use: I have included lists of challenging words that appear in each reading assignment for those teachers who like to have lists available to use with their own activities. There are also vocabulary activities in the Student Booklets.
Student Pages: the student pages divide the text into five reading assignments (each consisting of approximately 40 pages of text). Each assignment also includes at least 3 pages of activities designed to go with the reading. All pages, except the cover, appear in black and white to honor tight school budgets. The pages provide mini-lessons that should enable students to work independently. Depending on length and number of class periods, it is expected that most students will need a week to complete each reading assignment along with the accompanying activities. The assignments could be given as homework or for a summer reading list depending on the needs of the students and teachers.
Reading and writing skills/crafts that are addressed in the student pages include:
interpreting figurative language (similes, metaphors, & onomatopoeia)
explaining/describing
evaluating
clarifying
recognizing point-of-view
vocabulary extension
demonstrating comprehension
creating a summary
character traits
providing evidence from the text
understanding theme
understanding unusual expressions
finding historical evidence
compare and contrast characters
Culminating Activities: The last five pages are intended as optional extension activities to be done once the reading has been completed. They may be self-selected by students or considered as a required part of the booklet, or assigned in some other way depending on the needs of the students and the teacher.
Paperboy in a Nutshell:
Little Man is eleven-years-old and while he is stellar on the baseball field, talking is a whole different matter. His stuttering makes communication a nightmare. When he agrees to take over his best friend's paper route for a month, he knows it will be a challenge but never imagines that it will change his life: he conquers many of his fears and makes unexpected friendships even while his life is put in danger by an unexpected turn of events.
The story exposes some great characters and touching relationships and is definitely a page-turner. Your students will be hooked from the first line, "I'm typing about the stabbing for a good reason. I can't talk."
Full of appeal for both boys and girls, this story is as much a memoir as it is a novel. The author knows the inner turmoil of the severe stutterer and exposes it with tenderness and accuracy as the hero moves from victim to victor. While he never gets rid of his stutter, he gradually learns to not allow it dictate who he is.
Published in 2013, this is Vince Vawter's first novel. It has received a host of awards and recognitions:
A Newbery Honor Award Winner
An ALA-ALSC Notable Children’s Book
An IRA Children’s and Young Adults’ Choice
An IRA Teachers’ Choice
A Bank Street College of Education Best Book of the Year
A National Parenting Publications Award Honor Book
A BookPage Best Children’s Book
An ABC New Voices Pick
A Junior Library Guild Selection
An ALA-ALSC Notable Children’s Recording
An ALA-YALSA Amazing Audiobook
Content is appropriate for students in grades 5 and up. Reading level approximately 6th grade.
