Ms. T's Class-Book Review Blog: Little Brother-Cory Doctorow

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Little Brother-Cory Doctorow

I picked Little Brother up at the bookstore on a whim. It wasn’t until I was finished reading it and searched for more information online that I learned it has been reviewed and recommended all over the place. Marcus is at the wrong place when San Francisco’s Bay Bridge is attacked by terrorists. He spends the next week at ‘Gitmo by the Bay,’ and the next few months after that using technology, namely security, to fight against the Department of Homeland Security. I made it through the technological descriptions with little trouble-thanks to the metaphors. How close are we to this world? How closely can the government track us? After reading this book I was tempted to get rid of my I-pass and began to notice cameras everywhere. The mature relationship that develops between Marcus and his girl Ange is just lovely-but a little mature for readers below 7th grade.

No comments:

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Illinois Learning Standards Middle/Junior High School

Using available technology, students produce compositions and multimedia works for specified audiences.
Students summarize and make generalizations from content and relate them to the purpose of the material.
Students respond to literary material from personal, creative and critical points of view.
Students read age-appropriate material with fluency and accuracy.
Students produce documents that convey a clear understanding and interpretation of ideas and information and display focus, organization, elaboration and coherence.
Students interpret and analyze entire narrative text using story elements, point of view and theme.
Students edit and revise for word choice, organization, consistent point of view and transitions among paragraphs using contemporary technology and formats suitable for submission and/or publication.
Students continuously check and clarify for understanding (e.g., in addition to previous skills, draw comparisons to other readings).

NETS Learning Standards

NETS Standard 1.b. create original works as a means of personal or group expression.
NETS Standard 2.a. interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.
NETS Standard 2.b. communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats.
NETS Standard 5.a. advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology.
NETS Standard 5.b. exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity.
NETS Standard 6. d. transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies.
NETS Standard 6.a. understand and use technology systems.

Illinois Learning Standards Late Elementary

Students produce and format compositions for specified audiences using available technology.
Students edit documents for clarity, subjectivity, pronoun-antecedent agreement, adverb and adjective agreement and verb tense; proofread for spelling, capitalization and punctuation; and ensure that documents are formatted in final form for submission and/or publication.
Students establish central idea, organization, elaboration and unity in relation to purpose and audience.
Students generate and organize ideas using a variety of planning strategies (e.g., mapping, outlining, drafting).
Students write paragraphs that include a variety of sentence types; appropriate use of the eight parts of speech; and accurate spelling, capitalization and punctuation.
Students respond to literary material by making inferences, drawing conclusions and comparing it to their own experience, prior knowledge and other texts.
Students identify definitive features of literary forms (e.g., realistic fiction, historical fiction, fantasy, narrative, nonfiction, biography, plays, electronic literary forms).
Students identify literary elements and literary techniques (e.g., characterization, use of narration, use of dialogue) in a variety of literary works.
Students explain how authors and illustrators use text and art to express their ideas (e.g., points of view, design hues, metaphor).
Students summarize and make generalizations from content and relate to purpose of material.
Students make and support inferences and form interpretations about main themes and topics.
Students continuously check and clarify for understanding (e.g., in addition to previous skills, clarify terminology, seek additional information).
Students establish purposes for reading; survey materials; ask questions; make predictions; connect, clarify and extend ideas.