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"The Thing about Jellyfish" by Ali Benjamin.

I thought this story was a very interesting a deep one. I liked how the author developed the feelings and experiences that loss brings up even when it is not someone in their family. Children and students that are able to read this book I think will benefit because loss is a part of life and it is important to understand the depth of it. I think the way that it showed how Suzy tried to explain her friend's death and how she coped with it was very important to the story.

My heart map is about the main character Suzy. All of the different parts of the map are important things to Suzy as well as the story. The colors relate to the importance and feeling that relates to Suzy.

I think the heart map activity can be very beneficial for students because it lets them dig deeper into characters and the story they read.

How do the events that take place in the book impact the character?

What traits of the character impact the story?

What themes are related to the character's growth?

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This book is an incredibly eye opening story about a young girl, Ally, who struggles with undiagnosed dyslexia. Through her strength and support system she is able to give herself grace and learn to turn her struggles into strengths. She focuses on her artistic talent as her gift and does not let her struggles become her identity. I thought that this was a powerful and impactful story as well as a reminder of how a supportive and passionate teacher can make a difference in a students life. Activities like this heart map are beneficial to students because it asks them to dive deeper into the characters and how their character traits and beliefs affect not only them, but the story as well.

How do each of these character traits and emotions impact the character throughout the story?

What traits are the most important to the character?

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New Kid by Jerry craft tells the story about a 12 year old named Jordan, who lives in New York. In hopes of giving him a brighter future, his parents send him to a private school in a wealthy, prestigious area. Jordan, being of an African American background, faces bullying and is perceived by his peers in a stereotypical manner. Jordan struggles with trying to fit in to a school culture with low diversity. He even changes his appearance and pretends to relate to many of his peers' interests. Despite the many challenges Jordan faces, he makes new friends and connects with teacher who appreciates who he is. Jordan is able persevere through adversity and build lasting relationships. The heart map focuses on Jordan's interests, challenges, background, and themes within the book. Activities like a heart map can help students' analyze different characters, their traits, and central details in the story.

Questions:

What experiences contributed to this characters' growth or outcome?

Can you relate to this character in any way?

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Sophia Gruber- The Thing About Jellyfish (Suzy)

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Sophia Gruber- The Thing About Jellyfish (Suzy)

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"The Thing About Jellyfish" is a novel by Ali Benjamin that focuses on a 12-year-old girl named Suzy. She is dealing with the trauma of losing her best friend, Franny, and the complexity of her parents' divorce. I really enjoyed this book and felt that by the end, I truly understood and connected with Suzy. I believe that students will encounter a new level of emotion described in this book that some may resonate with, while others will gain insight for the first time. This is a great coming-of-age story that addresses challenging topics in a way that is accessible for students.

I enjoyed making a heart map for Suzy and think it would be a great activity for students to do with any character from a book they read. This activity allows for a deeper look into the individual character and what makes them who they are. Students would also benefit from creating a heart map about themselves. This could serve as a brainstorming tool for writing and help them reflect on the different elements that shape their identity.

How does Suzy grow throughout the novel?

What elements of Suzy/the story do you most relate to? How do you see yourself in Suzy?

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The thing about jellyfish heart map.HEIC

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Connections: I can relate to Beezus throughout the story because I have siblings who can be frustrating at times, but at the end of the day, I still love them.

Thoughts: Beezus shows a lot of patience and growth throughout the book, especially with how she learns to cope with Ramona’s chaotic behavior. This is an essential skill for young readers to grasp and understand the importance of.

Questions: How do Beezus’s feelings change towards Ramona as the story progresses?

Heart Map Description

In my heart map, I focused on Beezus’s feelings toward her sister, Ramona, and her feelings of everyday life. The center of the heart includes Ramona’s name, symbolizing her importance to Beezus, despite the frustration she feels. Each little image that I drew includes a short description of why I chose it. For example, I added books to symbolize Beezus' love for reading.

This heart map activity is effective because it encourages students to think deeply about how the character’s feelings and relationships impact their actions. It also helps students connect with the character on a personal level and makes the story more relatable.

Discussion Questions

How does Beezus’s relationship with Ramona change over the course of the story?

In what ways does Beezus learn to balance her feelings of frustration with her love for her sister?

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I found New Kid by Jerry Craft to be a powerful and relatable story about identity, belonging, and navigating different social worlds. Jordan Banks’ experience as one of the few Black students at a private school resonated with me because of its honest portrayal of microaggressions, code-switching, and the pressure to fit in. His love for art also reminded me of how creative expression can be a safe space for students who feel like outsiders. The book made me think about how schools can do better in making all students feel valued and how friendships can bridge differences if people are willing to listen and learn from each other.

A Heart Map is a visual representation of what matters most to a character. I did mine from the perspective of Jordan. I drew art supplies representing his love for art and self-expression. In the top right I included his mom and dad, who have different ideas about what’s best for him. I also have his friendships, balancing between Liam and Drew. I also drew a plane for his dream to travel the world. I drew a split world with his school and home because Jordan cant decide where he belongs and has been switching his identity. This activity would be good for student because it encourages making personal connections while analyzing a character.

Jordan struggles with feeling like he has to be “different versions” of himself at school and at home. Have you ever felt like you had to change parts of yourself to fit in?

How did that experience make you feel?

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Book Title: The Thing About Jellyfish

Personal Response:

This story is about Suzy’s journey of dealing with grief. It made me think about how we all cope differently with loss, and how sometimes, answers aren’t as important as the feelings we experience. This story can help young students undertstand loss and how to grow from it.

Heart Map Description:

Suzy’s heart map shows the most important things to her: Franny’s death, her guilt, and her search for answers through jellyfish. The heart map also shows Suzy’s family and how science influences her. This activity helped me understand how each part of her life shapes her emotional journey. this could be effective for students because it makes abstract feelings easier to analyze.

Discussion Questions:

1. How does Suzy’s obsession with jellyfish help her cope with Franny’s death?

2. In what ways do Suzy’s relationships with her family impact her healing process?

3. What does Suzy’s journey teach us about accepting loss?

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Book Title: Ramona and Beezus

Personal Connections: Ramona and Beezus perfectly depict the highs and lows of sibling relationships, which is why I truly enjoyed it. Beezus is very likable; she is responsible, kind, and occasionally overpowered by Ramona's crazy conduct and vivid imagination. I understood how difficult it was for her to be an admirable older sibling while also being annoyed by the chaos that Ramona caused in her life. The story brought back memories of my childhood when I experienced the joys and difficulties of sibling relationships.

Description of heart map: My heart map highlights Beezus's most significant beliefs, feelings, connections, and experiences. I made her values, beliefs, feelings, and emotions the biggest parts of her heart because I believe they were the most defining parts of the story. I also added items that represent her hobbies and personality, including painting tools and library books. Because it allows students to graphically arrange a character's thoughts, feelings, and relationships, the heart map is a useful tool for students. Students can observe the character's priorities and the connections between various concepts through the use of color, size, and spatial placement.

Discussion questions:

1. If the story were written from Ramona’s point of view, how might it be different? How does perspective change the way we understand characters?

2. Beezus is responsible and mature, while Ramona is carefree and imaginative. Do you think Beezus secretly wishes she could be more like Ramona? How does this reflect the real-life challenges of growing up?

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Personal Response: It's an emotional book that explores themes like friendship, acceptance, grief, and loss. In the story, there is a character named Suzy who loses her best friend Franny. Suzy loves science and uses that to figure out her friend's death. She thinks the cause is the sting of a jellyfish. She tries to make sense of what happened.

Heart Map: My heart map on Suzy's name in the middle because she is the main character. We then have themes and other important people that come across Suzys journey. I also drew a picture of a sunset over water, jellyfish, and a notebook.

Discussion Questions: How does Suzy's journey reflect on how different people grieve?

Have you ever experienced a shift in a friendship?

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"The Good Egg" is a beautiful and heartfelt story that I found both entertaining and thought-provoking. As I read, I found myself reflecting on the demands we put on ourselves to be "perfect," and how this may sometimes cause us to neglect to care for our well-being. The story of the egg attempting to be "good" all the time reminded me of the necessity of balance in our lives. It's easy to become overwhelmed when we try too hard to meet others or our expectations. The egg's path to self-acceptance serves as a reminder that being imperfect is normal, and that self-care is just as vital as helping others.

For the heart map, I would prioritize feelings related to self-care, perfectionism, and personal development. I would place "Balance" at the center of my heart map because it is central to what the egg learns throughout the story. I would surround it with terms like "self-compassion," "imperfection," "helping others," and "taking breaks" to illustrate the various facets of self-acceptance and the hardships of striving for perfection. The heart map activity is useful because it helps students consider their feelings and personal connections to the story's themes. It enables individuals to picture every aspect of their emotions and see how the story relates to their own experiences.

1. Why do you believe the egg felt compelled to be perfect all the time? How did the pressure influence the egg?

2. How does the story of The Good Egg teach us about self-care? Why is it vital to find a balance between helping others and helping yourself?

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Heart of the Samurai

This story was especially compelling to me because I am currently taking a class that studies ELL students and how being unable to fluently speak a language impacts their lives, so I was able to connect some of that class's content to this story.

Some questions you could ask students to have them further explore some of the feelings and values from the Heart of the Samurai could include:

How do you think Manjiro felt when he was first stranded on the island? Why do you think he felt that way?

What are some challenges that Manjiro faces due to being a part of a different culture? How did he handle them?

Who were Manjiro’s most important friends? How did his friends play a role in his journey?

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Connections: When reading this book, there are some themes that I can connect to the characters. How Beezus was feeling towards her sister's wild behavior and actions. In this book, I get to see two different personalities from the characters and how they interact with one another. This story is similar to my story of growing up with siblings. From the constant bickering and arguments to the normal talking and loving again. This book highlights the importance of how sibling relationships work and that it isn't always perfect.

Description of heart map: My heart map focuses on Beezus and her personality. I kind of sum up what type of a character she is: responsible, rule followers, as well as her interests like reading books or doing art. With a heat map like this, it can help students gain a deeper perspective of the book they are reading. Having information about their characters or a story.

Discussion questions :

1. Have you had similar feelings to Beezus in the book? Where does she feel frustrated and embarrassed towards someone's actions/behavior, if so, how did you act upon these feelings?

2. Where Beezus is calm, responsible, and follows the rules; Ramona is highly energetic, fun, and chaotic, which of these characters do you relate to?

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Personal response: I really enjoyed reading this book, the New Kid, because it felt real and relatable for kids going through this same situation. In this book, you get to hear about Jordan's story of what its like to be the new kid while also dealing with other factors such as race and identity. His love for drawing helps him express himself, which is really cool and inspiring. This book also made me realize how students of color experience school differently.

Heart Map: My heart map highlights things I think are important to Jordan. In the center, I have the book's title and character. In the top left, I put Jordan's main beliefs and values, such as fairness, respect, and art. In the emotions category, I put excitement, nervousness, and frustration. I also mapped important relationships like his parents, friends, and teacher. I included his sketchbook because this helps him express himself. I also included his backpack, as he is struggling to balance home and school life. Some key events I mapped were his first day of school, facing stereotypes, and embracing his identity.

1. How do Jordan's values and beliefs shape his experiences at his new school, Riverside?

2. What challenges does Jordan face as one of the few Black students at Riverside? How does he handle them?

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Show Me a Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte

This book was so interesting. An amazing read to learn about life for deaf people in the early 19th century. I would love to have this book in my classroom!

My heart map includes being deaf at the center, along with Mary's family members, her community Martha's Vineyard, reading, wanting to become a teacher, sign language, and wanting change for the deaf community. The heart map activity is wonderful to get students thinking about the things that are important to them. The activity can be modified by age and used as a reading comprehension tool as well.

2 discussion questions that engage students in thinking and exploring the major themes of the story might be:

What challenges does ___ face, and how do they deal with it?

How do you think ___ felt before and after overcoming that challenge?

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Heart of a Samurai

Written by: Margi Preus

Personal response to the story:

This story is an historical fiction about the life of Manjiro Nakahama. This tale is one of heroism, bravery, survival, identity, and belonging. A great example of the historical fiction genre and engaging for older elementary and middle school students.

Description of my heart map and the effectiveness of the heart map activity to students:

My heart map depicts some of the major events of Manjiro's life and the journey he takes in the story. It also included things of importance to him. Depicted on the map is imagery of. samurai, the Japanese flag, the American flag, a ship, a deserted island, waves, and words such as survival, identity, friendship, honor, and family.

The heart map activity is one that I believe students would connect to very well. it involves creativity and allows students to express themselves in a way that they may not often get to. It is also a useful tool to use in literacy as it can help students to get in the mindset of and understand a character from a book.

2-3 discussion questions that engage students in thinking and exploring the major themes of the story:

Where do you consider home? Is your home the place you were born? Can someone have more than one home?

What role do duty and honor play in this story and Manjiro's personal journey?

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Kate Muchukot - The Breadwinner: A Graphic Novel

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Kate Muchukot - The Breadwinner: A Graphic Novel

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The Breadwinner: A Graphic Novel by Deborah Ellis

This book was an amazing read. We, the readers, follow a young girl named Parvana who lives in Afghanistan during war time. She and her family struggle once her father is taken away to jail. Without the father, they have no income and the women are not allowed to go outside. Eventually, Parvana cuts her hair off to make her look like a man. For me, while I know that people have had to, and still do, have to do things like this, it is astonishing to think about. This book allowed me to fully step into Parvana's shoes and watch her story play out.

My heart map has 7 sections : The middle is Parvana since this is a heart map about her. We have the scissors that cut her hair to fully go for her transformation, the handcuffs her father was taken away in, her family she wants to protect, landmines that she has to watch out for when walking, the money she has to make and save to get her father out of jail, and her shop/market stall where she makes money by selling items and offering to read or write something.

1. Why do you think Parvana felt the need to step up and take over the "breadwinner" title of the family?

2. What does the book tell us when Parvana finds another person who is a girl dressed and acts like a boy?

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Book Title: Melissa by Alex Gino                       Response to the Story:I really connected with Melissa because of its message about identity, acceptance, and courage. The story is about a transgender girl named Melissa (who everyone else calls George at the beginning) and her journey to be seen for who she really is. I found it powerful and emotional watching Melissa try to express her true self while facing misunderstandings and fear. It made me think about how important it is to create safe spaces in our classrooms and communities where students feel seen and supported. I also appreciated how her friend Kelly supported her, showing the importance of friendship.                                                                  Heart Map Description: My heart map for Melissa includes large, bold colors in the center for her identity and her desire to be herself. I drew theater masks to represent the class play, which was a major moment of bravery for her. Around that are smaller drawings of her mom and brother, with different colors showing the complicated feelings she has about their reactions. I included a big heart for her best friend Kelly, who accepts and encourages her. I used arrows to show how all of these people and moments connect to Melissa’s emotions of fear, hope, frustration, and pride. This activity helped me understand how layered a character’s emotions and experiences can be, and how they all tie together to shape the story.                                            Effectiveness of the Heart Map Activity:This was a very effective activity. It allowed me to visualize what matters most to Melissa and better understand her inner world. For students, this could be a powerful tool for empathy, close reading, and discussion. It makes abstract ideas like values and identity more concrete and allows for personal creativity and interpretation.        Discussion Questions:                                                Why is it so important to Melissa to play Charlotte in the class play?                                                            What does this moment represent for her?               How does Kelly’s friendship help Melissa feel more confident in her identity?