Biddle+Review+2

Alexie, S. (2008). //The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian//. Prince Frederick, MD: Recorded Books. **ISBN:** 9781428182974
 * APA Citation**

2009 Odyssey Award
 * Award**

This book will have you in tears and make you laugh. It is a semi-autobiographical story of the author’s freshman year of high school. It is a book written by an Indian that captures the culture of his upbringing brilliantly. The author writes from a point of view that only a true Indian could. The story is about a young man who leaves the reservation in search of better high school education as a 9th grader at a school that is 30 miles away from his home. The main character whom the author renames Arnold has to persevere through tough things that many teenagers have to deal with not just Native Americans.
 * Summary**

I liked this book because it was well written and performed by the author. I think the book could appeal to more than just Native Americans because of the adolescent issues that the main character Arnold deals with and the humor in which he tells the story. The book helps people who are not Native American to understand their culture, specifically what is has become over time.
 * Critique**

KY.9-12.R.D.EU.3 Students will understand that determining the usefulness of text for a specific purpose, evaluating language and textual elements, and analyzing the author's style are all ways to critically examine texts.
 * Curriculum Connection**

YA Fictional Biography
 * Genre**


 * Classroom Activity Using Developing Content Area Literacy**
 * 8 Audiobooks: Modeling and Scaffolding Reading Fluency**

Before: Teacher assigns students into small groups for the reading of the text. To preview the activity the teacher or media specialist does a book talk in order to get students excited about the book.

During: Students will listen to the audiobook for twenty minutes each day for several periods. Students will be responsible for reading portions of the book as homework and listen to the other portions during the twenty-minute listening sessions in class.

After: Students will respond to the following prompt about the text. Do you see any connections between the main character Arnold’s struggles and your everyday lives? Students and teachers will then discuss the question. Students will read aloud their responses and other students will participate by offering their experiences to the discussion. This will allow students to address cultural, personal, and a variety of other themes in making a personal connection to the text.