In this novel, a 16-year-old African American teenager is on trial for murder. The teenager, Steve Harmon, who was taking a film class in high school before his arrest, decides to make a movie about his experiences in prison and in the courtroom. Monster is his record of the events that occur during his murder trial, written as a movie script. The otherwise impersonal – though riveting – script is interspersed with diary entries from the defendant. The novel unfolds like a courtroom drama; the reader feels like a spectator at a trial. One of the most fascinating aspects of the novel is that the reader is in the dark about Steve’s guilt or innocence.
Handouts:
| Novel Introduction:
A video interview with Walter Dean Myers:
Parent Letter to Introduce Novel: Monster Parent Letter |
Reading Journals for throughout the novel |
| Lit Circles #1
Students will get into small groups and will answer questions based on each section of the questions Lit Circles #2 |
Lit Circles #3
Monster Lit Questions July 9-10 update Lit Circles #4 Monster Lit Questions July 11-13 update Lit Circles #5 |
| Writing Assignments – Write a Closing Argument
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Monster Literary Analysis
Literary Analysis Rubric |
| Project Ideas and Misc:
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250 page unit plan on novel:
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Monster Pacing
Day One – Introduction of the Novel – anticipation guide and pre-reading activity
Day Two – Finish pre-reading activity
Day Three – Read Monster pp. 1-32 – HW: Reading Log
Day Four – Read to pg 44 -Monday July 6 Lit Circles and juror reflection
HW: pp. 45-88 and reading log
Day Five – July 7-8 Lit Circles
Day Six – Read pp. 89-136
HW: Finish reading and reading log question
Day Seven – July 9-10 Lit Circles
Day Eight – Read pp. 137–200 and reading log
HW: Finish reading
Day Nine – Read pp. 201-238 – question/Writing Assignment
Day Ten – Finish Writing Assignment for Monster
Day Eleven – Read pp. 238-281
Day Twelve – July 14-17 Lit Circles
Day Thirteen – Introduce and work on unit project
Day Fouteen – Work on unit project
Day Fifteen – Present unit project
This unit was very helpful in my teaching this novel. I would add some of the court/legal terms to the vocabulary for general understanding of criminal courts and how they work.
I have put together these materials. If you would like a copy of “Criminal Law in a Nutshell”, please email me.
I would love a copy! Please send them to kimberlylivaudais@gmail.com. Glad I could help. Can I put your materials on my website with a citation?
Hi, can you please send me that list of vocabulary terms for the legal system that you mentioned? Thanks.
Sorry, that list was deleted and I cannot recover it 🙁
I am going to teach Monster for the first time after the first of the year. This unit plan looks amazing! What type of pretest do you give? Thank you for making your materials available.
Sara Weller
Hello! I am teaching Monster for the first time this year (1st time teacher!) and I would love to have any updates you may have made to your unit plan. This is a great start to what I am going to teach!! Thank you so much for making this available!
Stacey
Sorry, I haven’t taught 9th grade in a long time and haven’t looked for updates. If you come across any, I would love to add to this page for other teachers.