Striker

Resource Guide

Larry Swartz and Debbie Newman

CONTENTS

About the Activities

A Literature Circle Approach

Reading Response Journals

Discussion Questions

Activities: Before Reading

1. A Sports Inventory

2. Athletic Questions

3. My Sports World

Activities: During Reading

4. Cody's Journal

5. Becoming a Soccer Expert

6. Let's Hear It for the Team

Activities: After Reading the Novel

7. Sports Writer

8. A Graphic Story

9. Meet the Family

10. Cody Makes a Speech

11. May I Quote You

About the Authors

ABOUT THE ACTIVITIES

Reading novels provides us with opportunities to reflect on human behaviours, emotions, values, relationships, and conflicts. When we read a novel, we are invited to step outside of our own lives and to become spectators observing imaginary events that might or might not occur in real life. At the same time, we become participants in these events as we are drawn into the story and share the feelings and experiences of the characters.

RESPONDING TO NOVELS

Students should be encouraged to experience a variety of response modes. Whenever possible, students should be given choice in the response activities that they will spend time with. Students can work on activities independently, with a partner, or perhaps in groups of four or five. Activities fit into one of the following response modes:

Reading Activities

Writing Activities

Talk: Discussion, Personal narrative, Interviewing, Making a speech

The Arts

GOALS OF THE PROGRAM

To offer a range of response activities that includes reading, writing, and speaking; exploring the arts; and researching in order to help students make sense of what they read;

To enrich reading comprehension strategies (e.g., visualizing, questioning, making connections, making inferences, etc.) through response activities;

To complete response activities that help students consider the plot, character, style, and language of a novel, as well as to offer a critique of the novel as a whole;

To connect reading to cross-curricular subjects;

To make links from the world of books to students’ own life experiences;

To develop critical-thinking skills by having students reflect on and review the novels they have read;

To deepen students’ understanding of the sports world by considering the skills, challenges, and accomplishments of those who choose to participate in sports;

To enrich students’ enjoyment of reading by experiencing success in completing a novel and completing activities that encourage personal response.

A LITERATURE CIRCLE APPROACH

A literature circle typically comprises a group of students who are reading the same book and who come together in small heterogeneous groups to discuss, react to, and share responses. The purpose of the circle is to promote reading and responses to literature through discussion, and to provide opportunities for students to work in small groups. Students take charge of their learning and improve listening and comprehension skills as ideas are exchanged. Generally, through literature circles, students come to appreciate that everyone has different points of view while all have the opportunity to speak and be heard.

Teachers are often encouraged to assign roles to students to focus their attention on particular aspects of the novel and facilitate group management. Harvey Daniels, the pioneer of the Literature Circle program, suggests that students be assigned different roles for each literature circle meeting. Sample roles include:

Discussion Director: raises issues for the group to discuss based on the reading completed over a period of one or two days.

Linguist: draws attention to interesting words in the story, perhaps finding examples of effective use of the author’s language and literacy techniques.

Reteller: summarizes the day’s reading for the group.

Questioner: presents puzzling issues and can help readers make connections to their own personal experiences.

Literary Artist: chooses an event or mood conveyed in the reading and illustrates it for the group.

Assigning roles might be a good way to begin, but these roles sometimes get in the way of interesting, thoughtful, from-the-heart conversation. Daniels himself offers caution, saying that the roles were meant to be used on a temporary basis until students become familiar with the routines and expectations of literature circles.

A literature circle approach may be useful with the Sports Stories series. Teachers may organize the class into groups of four to six, with each student reading the same novel. It is recommended that a journal be used both as a follow-up to the discussion and as preparation and guiding statements during the discussion. Journal entries can be prepared before meeting as a group. Students can share their entries in literature circle discussions. Alternatively, students can write journal entries following a discussion they’ve had with others about the books they’ve read.

READING RESPONSE JOURNALS

The Reading Response Journal (also called a dialogue journal or a literature log) is a convenient and flexible tool to help readers reflect on their reading. Keeping a journal permits readers to communicate and explore the ideas and feelings that a novel evokes, and to relate what they read to their own lives. It can be both enjoyable and informative to share journals with others. A teacher, friend, or family member who reads selected entries can begin a dialogue with the reader by offering comments on their responses, pointing out connections with their thinking, and expressing their viewpoints. When a trusted audience responds to the journal in a conversation, readers can clarify their thinking about the story, raise questions to explore further, or make connections with their own lives. A reading response journal fosters a connection between reading and writing.

Reading response journals place readers at the centre of their learning. These journals can serve as a record of the reader’s thinking about literature and of his or her reactions as a reader. They prompt learners to reflect on, interact with, and find personal meaning in works of literature. They encourage storytelling, questioning, imagining, and speculating. A journal provides ongoing information about readers’ thinking and learning – for students as readers and for teachers as audiences and guides. A reading response journal is a powerful way to stimulate interaction among teacher, text, and learner.

JOURNAL PROMPTS

The following sample journal prompts can help students reflect on their reading as they record their responses:

1. What are you enjoying/not enjoying about the novel?

2. What, if anything, puzzles you as you read the novel?

3. Is the novel easy or hard to read? Do you sometimes reread parts?

4. During your reading, do you “see” the story in your mind? Draw illustrations of scenes that you visualize.

5. What problems emerge in the novel? How do you think these problems will be resolved?

6. What words, phrases, or sentences made an impression on you?

7. What interests you about the character(s) in the novel?

8. What advice would you give to one of the characters in the novel?

9. What advice would you give to the author of the novel?

10. How do you feel about the way the author tells the story? Is it true to life?

11. Have you or someone you know experienced events similar to the ones that took place in the novel? What happened?

12. What did the novel make you wonder about?

13. What do you think the author is trying to say about participation in sports?

14. Do you think the chapter titles are appropriate? How do they summarize the events of the chapters?

15. What will you tell your friends about this novel?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Cody hopes to play soccer again and compete at a high level. What are his fears throughout the novel? How do you know he is afraid?

2. Why is Cody afraid to tell people, players, and coaches that he has had cancer treatment? Do you agree with his reasoning?

3. Cody has fought hard to come back after cancer treatment. How has his situation affected his parents? How have they responded to the situation? Do you think many family members would respond this way?

4. Cody is a talented soccer player but it is more than talent that leads to his success. Describe those qualities that bring him success as a player and person. Which quality do you most admire and why?

5. The team faces conflict and tension when certain players and parents begin bullying and insulting other players. How does Trevor resolve the situation? Do you agree with his strategy? Why do you think this happened and what impact did it have on the players who stayed?

6. Do you think this conflict was caused by the competitive nature of sports? Do you think competition is healthy for players this age? What are the positive and negative aspects of competition? What can coaches and parents do to make competing a positive experience?

7. What do the coach, players, and parents attribute to the Lions’ success? How were they able to win the tournament?

8. Striker is about soccer and teams and tournaments, but the novel is also about many other issues in life, such as health and friendships and competition. What issue did you relate to in the novel? How did the novel help you to better understand this issue?

9. If you were to make a film of this story, which scene(s) would you expect to be the most appealing? What scenes from the novel might you eliminate? Explain.

10. Is the title appropriate for this novel? If not, suggest alternatives.

Comment [MB1]: Haven’t read the book so I can’t be sure, but is Trevor a teammate of Cody’s? 

BEFORE READING STRIKER

# 1 A SPORTS INVENTORY

Response focus: Writing

Curriculum connections: Health and Physical Education

Comprehension strategy: Activating prior experience

Complete the following Sports Inventory in order to help you consider your views on the world of sports.

A sports inventory

1. My favourite sport to play is __________________________.

2. I love playing this sport because ____________________________.

3. Two skills you need to play this sport are: _______________________.

4. Two skills you need to coach this sport are: ______________________.

5. Two challenges of this sport are: ___________________________.

6. An exciting moment in this sport occurs when ___________________.

7. My favourite athlete is _______________________.

8. My favourite sports movie is ________________________.

9. I like this movie because __________________________.

10. My favourite sports video game is _____________________.

#2 ATHLETIC QUOTATIONS

Response focus: Talk: Discussion

Curriculum connections: Health and Physical Education

Comprehension strategy: Making Text-to-Self Connections

Read the following quotations by successful athletes.

“I’m attracted to soccer’s capacity for beauty. When well played, the game is a dance with a ball.”

Eduardo Galeano

“Somewhere behind the athlete you’ve become and the hours of practice and the coaches who have pushed you is a little girl who fell in love with the game and never looked back … play for her.”

Mia Hamm

“My approach has been that a player with determination and a willingness to work harder than anyone else can accomplish anything. It’s a simple formula. I’ve found it works.”

Steve Nash

“Commitment is a big part of who I am and what I believe. How committed are you to winning? How committed are you to being a good friend?”

Lebron James

“Scoring goals is a great feeling, but the most important thing to me is that the team is successful — it doesn't matter who scores the goals as long as we're winning.”

Cristiano Ronaldo

“Champions aren’t made in the gyms. They are made from something they have deep inside them — a desire, a dream, a vision.”

Muhammad Ali

“Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”

Michael Jordan

Read the quotations and choose the one you feel is most true for you as an athlete and explain why you chose this quotation. Share with a partner.

Extension: Can you find additional quotations about sports that resonate with you?

#3 MY SPORTS WORLD

Response focus: Talk: Personal narrative

Comprehension strategy: Activating Prior Experience

What activities do you participate in after school or on weekends that require some assistance from your parents or siblings or other family members? For example, maybe they drive you or accompany you to the activity. Maybe they talk to you about your involvement or advise you. Describe a family member in your life who supports you in an activity, sport, or club in which you are involved. Explain how they help you and the part they play in your enjoyment and/or success in this activity.

DURING READING

#4 CODY’S JOURNAL

Response focus: Writing: In-role journal

Comprehension strategies: Determining important ideas, Making inferences

Writing a journal entry in role of a character helps you to understand how that character might feel about the problems, people, and events of a novel. A journal is a medium that allows writers to be reflective by discussing problems, feelings, attitudes, and opinions about events.

Imagine that Cody keeps a journal throughout the novel. Write a journal entry in the first person, in the role of Cody, after the first four chapters and then again after chapter 9, and after chapters 17 and 24. Share the thoughts, feelings, attitudes, hopes, and fears that are going on inside Cody’s mind and heart. You can reflect on events such as the tryouts, games, and the relationships, or Cody’s journey to regain his strength and playing ability.

Extension: Students exchange in-role journal entries with a partner and interview each other in role. One partner can role-play the novel character; the other partner, the interviewer. The interviewer could be the character’s friend, parent, teacher, or coach.

#5 BECOMING A SOCCER EXPERT

Response focus: Writing, Research, and Reporting

Curriculum connections: Health and Physical Education

Comprehension strategy: Determining important ideas

For this activity you are invited to research the game of soccer and become soccer experts by answering the following questions. Some of the information can be found in the early chapters of the novel.

• How many players? • Describe the positions and roles of the players. • Describe the playing field, the dimensions of the field, and conditions of the

field. • List the rules of the game, the equipment, time played, the penalties, and

scoring. • Research the history of the game, and where it was first played. • Where is soccer played in the world today, and by whom, including amateur

and professional leagues? • List four outstanding soccer players, male and female, in the world and

describe their successes. • What position does Cody want to play on the team? • What position would you want to play and why?

#6. LET’S HEAR IT FOR THE TEAM

Response focus: Writing/Lists

Curriculum connections: Health and Physical Education

Comprehension strategy: Making inferences

Chapters 4 and 5 outline and describe the tryouts for the Lions. Imagine you are helping the coach choose the team. Make a list of the skills you would be looking for in a player. Make a list of the characteristics you would be looking for in a player to make this team. Refer to the chapters to find information.

In the novel, we learn that Cody does make the team. Imagine that you are choosing Cody and write out the reasons why you are choosing him for this team.

AFTER READING THE NOVEL

#7 SPORTS WRITER

Response focus: Writing/Sports article

Curriculum connections: Health and Physical Education

Comprehension strategies: Determining important ideas, Making inferences

You have been hired by a sports magazine to write a story on young athletes. You will be writing the story of Cody and his success with the Lions. To prepare for this writing assignment, make a list of headings they will use in your story. What aspects of Cody’s story, apart from his contribution to the team, are important to share with the readers? Choose three headings to organize the information that will make up your article.

Extension: Once you have revised and edited the piece, you can present your article as it might appear in a magazine or sports section of the newspaper. A headline and “photograph” (illustration) might be included to capture the reader’s attention.

#8 A GRAPHIC STORY

Response focus: The Arts/Illustrating

Curriculum connections: Visual arts

Comprehension strategies: Visualizing, Determining important ideas, Summarizing

Imagine that Striker is going to be transformed into a graphic story or comic. Choose a significant event from the novel and create a graphic page featuring six to eight panels to tell the story. For the graphic presentation students might consider:

• Which characters will appear in the illustrations? • Will the panels show a scene up close, at a middle distance, or far away? • How will the setting of the story be captured? • How will narrative captions be used to tell the reader what is happening in

some panels? • Who will be speaking in speech bubbles? Will there be thought bubbles?

NOTE:

If available, you may wish to use a computer program (e.g. Comic Life) that helps create a graphic story.

Some students may wish to create a comic that is longer than 6 to 8 panels.

If more than one student has read the same novel, they can work collaboratively to create a graphic story drawn from a single chapter or several chapters.

#9 MEET THE FAMILY

Response focus: Talk: Interviewing in role

Curriculum connections: Dramatic Arts

Comprehension strategy: Questioning

Discuss the importance of Cody’s family in his successes in soccer. List the ways Cody’s parents support and help him to play and compete.

Imagine that Cody's parents will be interviewed after the championship game. Develop the questions and, working in pairs, interview a parent. One student will play the role of the parent and one student will be the interviewer. After rehearsing the interview, you can share a part of the interview with the class or report something you learned about the parents from the interview.

Extension: Write a thank you letter in the role of Cody to his parents at the end of the season, using information from the novel and from the discussion and interviews.

OR

Write a letter in the role of Mom or Dad to Cody, reflecting on the season, sharing their feelings of relief and pride for Cody and his accomplishments over the season.

#10 CODY MAKES A SPEECH

Response focus: Writing and Talk: Making a speech

Comprehension strategies: Determining important ideas, Synthesizing

At the end of the novel Cody tells his teammates about his cancer, describing the treatment and prognosis. Write an inspirational speech that Cody might deliver to other young people facing obstacles that will impact their ability to play a sport. The obstacles might be physical illness or a disability or a mental health issue.

Extension: Once completed, volunteers can pretend that they are Cody and rehearse a presentation of the speech to the class that will prepare Cody for presenting the speech to a future school assembly.

#11 MAY I QUOTE YOU?

Response focus: Talk/Discussion

Curriculum connections: Health and Physical Education, Visual Arts

Comprehension strategy: Making Text-to-text connections

Revisit the quotations by athletes (see Activity 2). Which quotation do you think best summarizes and communicates the main themes of the novel?

Write a new quotation in the role of Cody to express what he has learned about soccer, competition, and life from his journey through the novel. Students can share their quotations or illustrate them and transform them into posters.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

David Skuy is the author of the Game Time! hockey series, and a Silver Birch Award winner. He lives in Toronto.

Larry Swartz is an instructor in literacy as well as dramatic arts at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto. He has been an educator for over thirty-six years and is well known for his use of children’s literature to help young people grow as readers, writers, and citizens of the world. As a classroom teacher, consultant, author, and speaker, Larry has shared his enthusiasm and expertise with teachers, administrators, teacher-librarians, and parents throughout Canada, the United States, and Asia. He is the other of numerous other teacher resource guides.

Debbie Nyman has been a drama teacher and consultant for the past three decades for the Toronto District School Board. She has been involved in the development of documents at the board and provincial level. She has shared her extensive drama experience through hundreds of practical workshops for educators, administrators and young adolescents. Recently, Debbie has co-edited the resource Truth in Play: Drama Strategies for Building Meaningful Performances by Playwright’s Canada Press.