Repeating workable activities is great! Would you have them think about all the characters or focus on Junior?

Noel Saunders

Questions 8-9:
Three stereotypes which Alexie addresses are the following:

1) Alexie addresses the hard blows which Native American stereotypes deal. (Junior makes fun of/ takes advantage of them, especially on page 120. His "good all-purpose" excuse about having to go to some "Indian ceremony" is not a reality for him; he had mentioned earlier on pg. 35 (through the teacher Mr. P.) and later that the Spokane Indians had lost much of their older traditions. He also addresses stereotypes in Junior's medical treatment on pg. 2.)

2) Alexie addresses not only "white" mistrust of Native Americans but also Native American distrust of "white" Americans. [Rowdy is strongly against Junior's going to Rearden. One of the insults he throws at Junior is "white lover," indicating he has issues with white people (53). It is also evident when both of Junior's parents seem to rather reluctantly associate "white people" with "the most hope" (45).]

3) Alexie addresses the lack of resources which Native Americans experience. [Junior struggles to get a ride to school every single day; he does not even consider asking the school adjust a bus route for him; it is as if that is not even an option (88). He uses a garbage bag as his backpack (57). He also talked about the improper medical treatment he received (2-3).]

Question 10:
The impact these passages would have on the young adult reader would depend on what the individuals have already experienced. I can picture many Native Americans becoming either relieved that someone shares their views "of being Native American" or frustrated because their views are very different from those of Alexie. These scenes are likely meant to shock most "other readers" who are not familiar with Native American life, especially their discrimination. Alexie aims to get the white American readers to apologize for any such offenses they have committed.

Carlee King 1-3

1. Junior encounter prejudice from his fellow classmates when they make fun of him. He already knows that he is different from them but they still continue to make fun of him. He also encounters prejudice from the teacher when he said something and they all made fun of him and did not believe him. His teacher, Mr. Dodge, makes racist comments and continues to degrade Junior. Junior receives prejudice from the school system when he walks into his new classroom where he is made fun of and that he had to walk miles to get too.

2. You could use these passages to show the students that prejudice is a real thing. Have the students point out where Junior encounters prejudice and have the students rewrite the passage to how they would treat Junior. You could also teach them that looks do not matter and your actions will show how you really feel and think.

3. I believe that it is important for books to move past the stereotype and to show the young or old readers that a stereotype doesn’t mean anything, or it shouldn’t mean anything. With political correctness, it’s pointless in my opinion, because people are so worried about offending others that they are holding back the truth. It may be more respectful at times, but with being political correct, it’s not allowing people to interact and really understand each other and their beliefs.

Carlee King 4-10

4. Throughout the whole story, Junior is very out there and different. An example of this is that he is at an all-white school. He was very involved and seemed to have everyone’s attention a lot of the time.

5. The teachers register their students as a class on a website where the students were able to communicate to each other before they saw each other in person. Each student was paired with a cyber friend where they could communicate and get to know each other. They teacher, later on, sent pictures of each other to their cyber friend. They students then communicated about what they had learned and they celebrated with a pizza party.

6. The students and teachers became aware of the political and social issues in the book and in their personal lives.

7. I would have the students do the same activity but let it be anonymous. They would each pick either to relate to Junior or a character from another book that goes through similar things. I would have them post their responses anonymously but they would still be able to read each other’s.

8. He addresses the education system, how it was a struggle to provide for themselves, and how many people struggled with the lack of health care.

9. Junior struggled at school with the poor education system. He was beat up by a group of boys. They called him names, dunked his head in the toilet, etc.

10. The issues that he addresses are issues that everyone can relate too. So many people are being made fun of and don’t feel like they can fit in.

What had the biggest impact on me in this book were actually the friendships between Junior and other Native Americans. I had expected to see the exploitation among his "white friends..." not so much among "fellow Indians." Junior thought Rowdy was kind to him (41), yet I was appalled by the abuse Rowdy heaped on Junior throughout the story, even knowing that he himself suffered abuse; that is not an excuse to bully others. Junior also said his parents did not waste their money (11), yet it was clear to me that his dad had indeed wasted a fortune at the bar over the years. There were times when I felt Junior was blind to the abuse among his closest friends and family. I see this as a universal problem; even I should be alert concerning it, but I was surprised to find such complications as a theme in this book.

I agree that sometimes a good way to show people how they can improve themselves is by doing it with a little humor.

Considering what you said about Junior constantly going out of his comfort zone to better himself, I appreciated that his improvements were not "glorified." Junior admitted that it was sometimes obvious to everyone that he was often awkward.

1) Junior experienced prejudice in school from students by other students making it obvious he didn't look the same, from teachers by him interacting and them intentionally stripping away his confidence, and from the school system by them not being helpful in any manner to getting him a way of transportation from his home to school.

2) To get them to think about how prejudice is unfair I would probably do a physical activity to do with them being blindfolded. One would ask questions and be blindfolded they would receive answers from a classmate reading a piece of paper with the answers another student wrote. I would then ask if they all had the same favorite color or see who was the same and point out that prejudice is like someone not liking the same color, or video game as you.

3) I believe people take Political correctness and role models to deeply of an emotional level. It is important by the teens and young adults that will be creating our future society are being molded and shaped by things said and done by people in high positions.

4) Even though the society wasn't accepting he knew that and Junior went on ahead and didn't let the things being said effected him to deeply.

5. The teachers registered their students as a class on a website where the students could talk to each other first before seeing each other in person. Each student had a cyber buddy. Eventually, the teachers sent pictures of the students to each other and then had them create PowerPoints. The students then presented everything they had learned at a pizza party that the teachers had planned for them.

6. The students began to see the critical social issues in the book they were studying and in their own lives.


7. You could have students type up things that they noticed in the book about prejudice and then they could share it with each other through a website.

8. Identify three issues that Alexie addresses.
How the education system was not good on the reservation.
How it was a struggle to live because jobs were either scarce or not good.
How many of the people struggled with health issues because they could not afford the bad healthcare

9. Describe a scene or passage addressing the issue.
In many parts of the book, Junior struggles at school because of the poor education system. Fellow students bullied him, teachers disgraced him, and the school was far away causing him to have long walks to get there and back.


10. The issues that Alexie addresses are issues that many young adults struggle with. Not being part of something, not being accepted, and not feeling like they look okay because someone or something has damaged the way that they think about themselves. I think if a young adult was reading this book, he or she would be able to relate because of these issues.

1. Junior encountered prejudice from his fellow classmates because they called him names before they ever got to know him.
Junior’s teacher made some rude comments that he felt tear him down.
The school system because he had too long a long way to get there and as soon as he walked in, he was made fun of.

2. You could show them that prejudice is a real thing that we deal with today. The students could look for places in the book where Junior is being picked on or they could read another story as well.

1. Junior gets prejudice from his classmates when they call him names without knowing anything about him. He gets prejudice from his teacher, Mr. Dodge, when he refuses to believe Junior’s reliability until another student backs up what Junior says. He encounters prejudice from the school system because he receives zero aid for travel to school.
2. Students cannot learn what prejudice is by just being told the definition. Delving deeper into what exactly prejudice is and where does it come from could be key questions left for students to answer on their own. Using the previous examples, a teacher could have students identify what they believe is wrong and how they could potentially fix the problem.
3. I think what Glasgow’s point is about moving beyond distinguishing physicality’s between individuals. It’s important we teach students to learn who the individual is rather than basing our opinions off of what we see on the outside. YA novels that point out the importance of this can be references for students especially if they need a starting point.
4. We see a character who withstands injustices and doesn’t cower down to those who make him feel inferior. This is a strong character who can be inspirational for other students.
5. This is where students can relate or talk to each other about specific topics without feeling the fear of an unknown audience. Teachers have access as well to see everything the students are discussing.

6. The students seemed to be freer with how they spoke on these topics because they knew who they were speaking to. Knowing your audience can influence what you say and how you say it sometimes, which could be a good point to make.
7. You can have students do a cyberjournal where they discuss topics that stood out to the in the book, during or after reading the book.
8. Alexie addresses the issue of identity; Junior has many “identities” but he finds one and sticks to that being the “nomad” finding a meaningful form of identity for himself. She also address race and friendship.
9. Junior feels like he's only half an Indian or as he says a "part-time Indian" once he transfers to the white school of Reardan.
10. This character can be relatable to many young adult readers and it can impact them because everyone feels the need to fit in.

I find it interesting that people often refer to "politically correct" language as language that is meant to be more conscious and respectful to others' needs and beliefs.

Regarding Q 4, I appreciate your making a distinction between the students' and teachers' attitudes.

3. Stereotypes are labels that need to be removed from the schools, the workplace, and everywhere we walk. I believe that people can not get along because everyone is too worried about being right or perfect, but no one ever will be.

4. Junior was very different but in a good way. He saw the issues he faced, yet he did not let that stop him.

Keeping the students' cyber activities private is a good idea.

Question 1: Junior gets bullied by his fellow classmates, who do not even really know him. Mr. Dodge even does not treat him with respect he makes him feel dumb, just because he is not white. Prejudice began on just his first day at his new school, he was already treated like an outcast.

Question 2: This is an important lesson for all ages to learn that is it not okay just to judge someone because they are different then you, because as I metioned earlier they bullied him before even getting to know him. You can even ask you students how they would feel if it were them.

Question 3: In society we value political correctness to much, and should focus more on people and their values and morals. It is also important to focus on how we feel and not change our values to please others.

Quesiton 4: It is better to have opinion about someone once you get to know them as a person rather than their outward appearance.

Question 5: It gives students a feeling of saftey and comfort, becaue they can share their feelings without being judged and they get their own buddy to share everything with. Which I think is wonderful for them, becuase nothing is worse than feeling alone and that you have no one to talk too.

Question 6: The results were teachers started to have more empathy for others. They also learned more about teachnology, which led to them meeting new people online leading to new friendships and collaboration.

Question 7: For High School students you could introduce them to Wiki and divide them up into different groups with different books and make them create their own outline of the book and how they relate to it. Once they have finished have them present the project to the class.

Question 8: Alexie addresses the problem of someone who has fallen in love with someone and can not be with them because they have a different skin tone. She also addresses the poor education and health care on the reservation.

Question 9: Poor educaiton and health care about both things that most definetly need to be addressed, because it makes a difference for people like Junior so that one day he can live a better life.

Question 10: This really puts into persepctive that everyone has feelings and everyone is the same and that God created us all equally and loves us all the same.

1. An example from the students would be that be the students in his class treated him differently because of his skin color and nationality.
An example from the teacher was Mr. Dodge did not listen to what Junior had to say in class but rather ignored him because of his skin color as well.
An example from the school system was that when he began at the new school all of the students were laughing and staring at him.

2. These examples in the book could be used as a teachable moment to where the class could discuss if they have ever experienced it on a personal level or have seen in person a situation similar happen. Some questions that could be brought up are how would you maybe feel in that moment? Or what is something you could maybe do to help someone going through that situation?

3. It is important because the students should recognize what is wrong about different situations and why they are wrong wrong and discuss different reactions to the situation. This allows the student to recognize the difference between right and wrong and might be able to help them make better choices when faced in situations.

4. Junior creates a character that passes what is “politically correct” by showing how Junior had he boldness and courage to encounter a new social environment that he was aware was going to test him.

5. The article is designed to allow students to have a place that gives them an opportunity to discuss with their peers about what they believe and their different opinions on social matters. This journal also allows the teachers to have access so that they can keep up with what the students are saying and how they interact with each other.

6. The results allow the students to feel more connected to each other and helps builds a greater sense of community.

7. One cyber activity that could be done with True Diary is allow the students to create videos that discusses their thoughts and opinions on the matter.

8. Three issues that I saw brought up in the book are racism, bullying, and how the education system handled these situations.

9. On pages 64-65 roger makes a comment that Junior even said “I felt like Roger had kicked me in the face. That was the most racist thing I’d ever heard in my life.” Then he reacts to punching Roger in the face.

10. This could be discussed with students in talking about what is it like when someone says something hurtful to us. Does reacting physically to someone really solve any issues? Why might that have been his reaction? This scenario might impact a young adult reader in making them realize how much effect their words might have on someone.

Visual Literacy has to do with being able to understand the meaning "behind" a work of art, not just being able to describe what is physically there.

5) For the cyberjournal the students have a buddy that they can be honest with their writing; to make sure no negativity or bulling takes place the teacher is allowed access. Due to them getting to know one another on a more personal level online rather than inperson; they got to have a party.

6) Both teachers and students realized social and political issues that made projects better in the long run.

7) Something that I throught would be a good cyber activity to do is to have an app where you can post anything literary and it be completely anynomaous. Before anything could be posted their would be a team of literary advisors that read posts and comments. This could potientally be a path to opening up Literary scholerships.

8) The three things that I see he address on the reservation is not a good education system, how hard it is to provide for your family, and lack of a good healthcare.

9) Having bad eyesight and ten teeth pulled in one day due to only having an yearly visit to the dentist indicates that the level of healthcare on the reservation is probabally not up to par.

10) I believe to a young adult reader this type of reading could be found upsetting if they themselves or friend or family member match the discription of the main character.

Comments on Question 7: I like the idea of the blog! I struggled to come up with an idea for this and I think a blog is really creative. I would have enjoyed that as a kid.

Comments on Question 10: I think that everyone has gone through cases of not fitting in and I agree that this can impact someone's life.

basic guidelines for visual literacy in this novel:
1) "somewhat" parallel lines around objects indicate motion
2) words inside word bubbles indicate hesitancy/lack of confidence; words breaking out of the word bubbles suggest shouting or frustration (at not being heard)
3) central things are most important; surrounding objects modify the meaning of the main subject
4) parallel things suggest grace or beauty; things that are not parallel may suggest something awkward or ugly

Kaitlyn, Taylyn, Megan, and Carlee-
The pictures should do more than retell the story. They should enhance it and give it a deeper meaning. The pictures should also not show everything but instead just a glimpse so that the reader can always put themselves into the story and make it their own as well.

The pictures add more than his words ever could. Everyone can interpret a picture. Pictures are understood more than words.

Visual Literacy:

Great for people with ADHD
Brings the story to life
Helps you understand where the author is coming from
Know what the story is about
no matter what language you speak, you can understand drawings
helps visualize the extent of feelings..

The pictures provide small glimpses into the plot, but do not portray the plot in whole. The pictures are more of the narrators thoughts and feelings, and they also seem to show how he interprets the world around him.

HE IS ANGRY, SAD, BITTER AND VENGEFUL.