Having students choose a favorite quote or scene from the book allows them to express which parts of the story resonated with them on a personal level. In this way, students are making a text-to-self connection that demonstrates their understanding of the characters and their development or the themes of the novel. Students can share their storyboards afterwards and have a short discussion about what the quotes mean to them. In this activity, students will select a quote or scene from the novel and illustrate its importance.
Some students may end up choosing the same quote, but have different perspectives. This is always interesting for students to see and can open up a discussion as to how not everyone can read the same lines in the same way based on their own perspectives and personal experiences.
“He tells me I can set a record one day. A real record. Be one of the world’s great somethings. Maybe.” - Ghost about Mr. Charles, Ch. 1
“And I think he’s got potential. With proper coaching, he could be a serious problem.” - Coach Brody about Ghost, Ch. 2
“Trouble is, you can’t run away from yourself.” Coach snatched the towel from his shoulder, folded it into a perfect square, and set it in the space between us. “Unfortunately,” he said, “ain’t nobody that fast.” - Coach Brody to Ghost, Ch. 3
“And the same thing running did for me, I felt like it could do for you . . . Show you that you can’t run away from who you are, but what you can do is run toward who you want to be.” - Coach to Ghost, Ch. 9
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Due Date:
Objective: Create a storyboard that identifies your favorite quote or scene in Ghost. Illustrate your quote and write what it means to you.
Student Instructions:
Requirements: Quote, Illustration, 1-2 sentences about what it means to you.
Depending on where and how students grow up, they might not understand that humans have an awful lot in common, no matter what their nationality, religion, age, gender, or politics. People want to feel successful, they want to have friends, they want to have their voices heard, they want to have personal relationships. Understanding this will help students relate more easily to all characters.
As you read stories with your class, help your students see similarities. Too often we focus just on outward differences, but actively looking for similarities will help your students relate to characters that are different from themselves.
Both in your students and yourselves, there is bound to be some built-in bias based on one of the hot button differences that students see. Knowing is half the battle, and if they are taught to look for bias, students will be more open to relating to characters that are different from themselves.
Everyone who reads a story brings their personal insights and experiences as they read. Your insights matter a lot, and inform how you will deal with the plot, theme, conflicts, and other major elements of the story.
Because you have had different experiences and life stories than other people in your class, you will also relate to characters very differently. Use your personal experiences to help you decide if you would act in a similar or different way from the main character in the story as you read.
Although at first it may seem difficult to relate to main characters who are different races, religions, ages, or socioeconomic classes from ourselves, the human condition shines forth and we are more similar than it seems at first glance. Every human has hopes, wants to succeed, has to find their place with family and friends, etc. We are more alike than we think.