What
Jamie Saw
by Carolyn Coman
What
Jamie Saw
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Carolyn Coman lives in Newburyport, Massachusetts with her eighteen-year-old
son and seven-year old daughter. She proves to be an accomplished author
and is respected by readers everywhere! Her most acclaimed book, What
Jamie Saw
has earned a Newberry Honor Medal and was a finalist for
a 1996 National Book Award. The ironic part concerning her awards for this
book is What Jamie Saw was her first novel published. Obviously,
readers and literary critics feel Coman is a natural. An interesting fact
about Coman is she never intended to write novels for young children. She
started writing from an adolescent's point of view and suddenly people
labeled them as young adult novels. Coman says her ideal audience is, "Anyone
who the book speaks to."(Penguin Putnam Catalog biography) The one essential
element of all of her works is hope. Coman states in her interview with
Peguin Online, "It's not about wrapping up everything and having a happy
ending, but it is an ultimate sense of affirmation about life and the love
that family members have for each other. Finally, Coman proves to everyone
that she has the literary talent and the ability to reach peoples' hearts
and souls.
-Another classroom activity could include the amount of money Jamie spent at the carnival on games and food. A student could find out different limitations students would have for the amount of money Jamie has to spend. They could come up with a variety of combinations of games and food he could purchase with his money.
-The games at the carnival could also develop a math lesson. Jamie plays a variety of carnival games. Students could begin to learn odds and statistics by using games such as when you have three balls and twenty holes, What are the chances of getting one ball in, then two balls, then three balls. The students could make their own assembly and test the odds.
Science
-A
great science activity would involve the scene when Jamie and his mom is
stuck in the trailer. Students could test a variety of temperatures that
could make a metal trailer stay shut and freeze together. As the teacher
you can go over how negative degrees go in a different direction than positive
degrees. Negative degrees get colder as they get larger. Where positive
degrees get hotter as they get larger.
-The main part of science is to experiment. So the students could experiment with a variety of temperatures and how those temperatures change the living environment. Students could experiment with water in a glass. They would first put water into a glass then they would put that into a freezer. The glass would not need to be filled to the top. The water will expand and break the outside glass holding the water. The mold of the glass will break leaving only the ice in the shape of the glass. The next day and the day after the students would check the glass to see if anything has changed. They would eventually find the glass had broke and they would explain why. The glass broke due to the water expanding at different temperatures.
-The next experiment would consists of the students finding out the temperature that water would expand and to what degree expansion exists. They would keep one bottle as a control and maintain the temperature. However, two other bottles would be used, these bottles would maintain a temperature slightly lower than the control and slightly greater than the control. Than after a couple days the students would test the bottles and compare their results.
History
-Students
would begin a history lesson with the role of women in the present-day
society compared to the role of women in past societies. Since the issue
of Women's rights is brought forth in the novel this lesson will address
that issue. Students will observe how women have maintained high positions
in government along with having children. It will also show that women
do not just take care of children, but have succeeded in great things.
-Another history lesson may include background on home environments and how people lived in the past. The students could compare and contrasts the level of divorce and single parenthood in the twentieth century compared to the nineteenth century. They could also observe the technological examples in history compared to the present. Jamie lives in a trailer with very little technology. This would relate to standard of living. The poor in our society live at a lower standard of living than the people with more money.
Reading
-A
reading lesson could be incorporated with "What Jamie Saw" by using other
reading materials such as poetry about the same issues that Jamie
faces in his life. The lesson could be focused on different forms literature.
The novel "What Jamie Saw" is a contemporary realistic fiction therefore
it is fictional, but relates to problems real people have.
Writing
-Another
writing experience would include the chance to finish the story yourself.
The students would be given the chance to change the ending to what they
wish it to be. They could make it a much happier ending or sad one. They
would have the freedom to choose their own ideas and incorporate them into
the text of the story.
-The students could also develop an essay on how they would feel in Jamie's situation. How they would react to his situation. This would give the students a chance to sympathize with the character and maybe help them in their own lives.
Art
-Students
would begin an art activity by developing illustrations to fit the text.
The text does not come with illustrations. The pictures could help the
students understand the text a little better.
Go to: www.magictricks.com/beginhobby.htm
Read the page and list three other reasons why magic might be a good hobby for someone.
Click on “magic insider”
Click on "3 unbreakable rules"
Summarize these reasons, do you agree or disagree with the magicians' reasons for abiding by them.
Next
Go to:
www.powow.com/breakit/tricks.html
or web.superb.net/cardtric/tricks.htm
Now learn a trick, perfect it and perform it in front of the class!
In What Jamie Saw, Patty, Jamie’s mom smoked rather frequently. This is a bad habit
to get into, so now go to
http://www.sbcss.k12.ca.us./sbcss/services/educational/cctechnology/webquest/tobacco.html
And follow the directions for the web quest. Answer the questions on a sheet of
loose-leaf paper and hand it in after you have completed the assignment.
