We finished Katherine Applegate’s, beautifully crafted piece of fiction, The One and Only Ivan. What I wondered, amid the clapping and what-are-we-gonna-read-next questions was, what did my students walk away thinking about this story. Were they thinking?
My plan was to read Ivan the Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla as a follow-up. My kiddos were aware that a real gorilla named Ivan lived in a mall, but they didn’t know many details.
I started the True Story by asking students to notice the facts that appear in Applegate’s One and Only Ivan.
We agreed that the actual story of Ivan was a good one. Why I wondered aloud, did Applegate decide to invent these other characters for The One and Only Ivan?
I invited students to pick one or two of the fictional characters, and wonder, what purpose does this character serve? Why did Applegate invent this character for us?
E bursts out with, “Bob is the words of the wiser!”
“Ummm, that’s a possibility. He could serve other purposes too,” I say, trying to keep students open to other possibilities.
Students got their post-its and started jotting.
The biggest stack was about Bob. Yep, he was the wise guy. In more ways than one. Many thought he supported Ivan and understood him. Often speaking wise words.
The few I share below are representative of other characters.
Lots of thinking here. Connecting pieces of the story and to the world. A three minute quick jot showed a lot.
The beauty of having an informational text to place alongside Ivan was in the comparison. This exercise was logical in its push to consider the author’s intent, character traits, and theme issues.
While we can’t put all fiction next to informational text in this way, the idea is transferable. Knowing that authors intend, we must ask ourselves, why did the author invent this character, situation, choice. Each character is there for a reason; it’s our job to figure it out!
The practice of writing begets more writing, but also feedback, and a wealth of mentor texts feed writers. Reading your slices informs and inspires me. Thank you, Two Writing Teachers for this place to show up and try things out. Click here for more slices.