This book is written in a very interesting way; as a scene from the Academic Bowl unfolds and a question is posed and answered by a specific student answers, the following section of the chapter is the personal account of that student in relation to the question answered.
Konigsburg, E. L. (1998). The View from Saturday. New York: Aladdin.
Here's a lesson plan, presented in Eastern Connecticut State University format, in which students write a personal account, like the one's presented in the novel and then formulate a question to match, just as the students in The View from Saturday:
Content Standards:
3.1 Students use descriptive, narrative, expository, persuasive and poetic modes.
3.2 Students prepare, publish and/or present work appropriate to audience, purpose and task. 2.2 Students explore multiple responses to literature.
Learner Background:
Students are capable of writing essays with full and complete thoughts.
Students can support their ideas with adequate details.
Students have had experience with different kinds of writing.
Student Learning Objective(s):
-Students will read E.L. Konigsburg’s The View from Saturday
-Students will write a narrative essay in which they describe a memorable learning experience that occurred to them outside the classroom
-Students will formulate a question that precedes their essay
Assessment:
Students will be assessed based on the complexity and depth of their essay. Students essays should also be written in first person and include details. Students should be using proper grammar, as well as proper punctuation. Student’s question should be answered in their essay.
Materials/Resources:
E.L. Konigsburg’s The View from Saturday
Learning Activities:
Initiation/Exploration:
Just as the characters in E.L. Konigsburg’s The View from Saturday gained the answer to their Academic Bowl question through a personal experience, students will also be sharing a memorable experience in which they learned something. By making a personal connection like this, students are expanding how they think about learning and seeing that learning takes place not just inside a classroom, but rather all around us, even in the most unlikely situations.
Lesson Development/Concept Introduction or Invention:
Students will first read E.L. Konigsburg’s The View from Saturday. After each full chapter, as a class, students will discuss how the Academic Bowl question directly related to the character’s life. This information will be charted on a T-chart for the class. At the end of the book, the teacher will present a personal example of he/she learned something interesting or important in life. As a class, the details of what a narrative essay is and how to write one will be covered. Students will then be asked to begin brainstorming their own ideas about an experience. Students will complete a graphic organizer, a main idea map type of thing, to organize their own thoughts, either by experience or by lesson learned.
Expansion/Closure:
Students will have written a complete narrative essay, complete with original thought and personal connection. Students will also better understand that characters in The View from Saturday because they will have generated a similar experience in their own writing.
In addition, here are some web resources to support the novel:
Meet E. L. Koningsburg! This website gives an interview with the author. This could be used for pre-reading, as it is important to gain a background knowledge of who wrote the book you are about to read. There is also a list of other books written by E. L. Koningsburg if students are interested in reading another book by her.
Reader's Theater! Here's a link to a Reader's Theater script, developed by Dr. Rosalind M. Flynn with Ms. Mouton’s Class at Matthew Henson Middle School in Charles County, Maryland. Reader's Theater is a great way to get student into the book and put a twist on reading. It's interactive and can engage students in a fun way.
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