Anchor Text: Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Anchor Text
The anchor text for this text set is Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. This award winning novel follows the story of Melinda, a young girl, who called the police on the night of a big party and now will not speak about the incident, or about anything else. As she returns to school she deals with depression surrounding the loss of friends, bullying, and the incident at the party. Her emotional journey is extraordinary and the text itself deals with many important themes for youth.
Audience
The audience for this text is Grade Eight students. While the Lexile score for the novel is 690, placing it at a third grade level, the text deals with difficult topics and thus a certain level of maturity is necessary in order to comprehend the text. Students in Grade Eight have learned about bullying, depression and sexual assault during Grades Six & Seven, under the California Common Core Standards, and would thus have the background as well as the emotional maturity to handle discussions around these topics.
Purpose
The purpose of this text set is to explicate the theme of depression in youth. Students will analyze the signs of depression, how depression affects teens, as well as the internal and external influences that affect depression. This will tie literacy into the Health Education curriculum. Students will work on their critical thinking skills, their text analysis skills, their reading and writing skills as well as their oral communication skills through the use of this text set. Interlacing the Health Education curriculum along with English skills will encourage interdisciplinary learning, a main concern of education today.
The anchor text for this text set is Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. This award winning novel follows the story of Melinda, a young girl, who called the police on the night of a big party and now will not speak about the incident, or about anything else. As she returns to school she deals with depression surrounding the loss of friends, bullying, and the incident at the party. Her emotional journey is extraordinary and the text itself deals with many important themes for youth.
Audience
The audience for this text is Grade Eight students. While the Lexile score for the novel is 690, placing it at a third grade level, the text deals with difficult topics and thus a certain level of maturity is necessary in order to comprehend the text. Students in Grade Eight have learned about bullying, depression and sexual assault during Grades Six & Seven, under the California Common Core Standards, and would thus have the background as well as the emotional maturity to handle discussions around these topics.
Purpose
The purpose of this text set is to explicate the theme of depression in youth. Students will analyze the signs of depression, how depression affects teens, as well as the internal and external influences that affect depression. This will tie literacy into the Health Education curriculum. Students will work on their critical thinking skills, their text analysis skills, their reading and writing skills as well as their oral communication skills through the use of this text set. Interlacing the Health Education curriculum along with English skills will encourage interdisciplinary learning, a main concern of education today.
Supporting Text Annotations
Schrobsdorff, S. (2016, November 15). There’s a startling increase in major depression
among teens in the U.S. Time Health. Retrieved from: http://time.com/4572593/increase-depression-teens-teenage-mental-health/
This newspaper article will provide students with background information on depression and mental health, along with statistics about depression in youth. It tells how youth depression is on the rise as well as the reasons behind this increase.
The text would be best used as an introductory activity led by the teacher, even though the text itself is at grade level.
The text would be best used as an introductory activity led by the teacher, even though the text itself is at grade level.
Weitz, C. (Director). (2009). The twilight saga: New moon [Motion picture]. United States:
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Angelo, M. (1983). Caged Bird. Shaker, why don’t you sing? Random House. Retrieved
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Coldplay. (2005). Fix You. On X & Y. Hollywood, CA: Capitol Records.This song details the types of feelings that someone with depression might experience, and also provides examples of situations where someone might require help for depression. The lyrics speak to the experiences of someone who is dealing with depression.
Students can listen to the song multiple times. The lyrics are written in a way that will be understandable at grade level, and the students should be able to work with the lyrics as individuals. |
Crawford, K. (2015, May 12). My anxious heart [Photographs]. Retrieved from:
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Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health. (2017). Youth suicide rate. Retrieved from:
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Macur, J., & Schweber, N. (2012, December 16). Rape case unfolds on web and splits city.
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