The Wreckers Novel Notes

The Wreckers

Pre-reading Strategies(Preview, Predict, Connect)

Before each chapter you should:

• Preview all vocabulary for the chapter• Predict what you think is going to happen• Connect ideas, characters, and events to your

life, other books, or the world.

Predicting

• Before each chapter make a prediction about what you think will happen next in your journal. – Predictions should include specific examples to

support what you think will happen.– Example: I predict that __________will happen

because…______________.

Predictions

• Set up predictions like this:

Background Information

Iain LawrenceIain Lawrence was born in Ontario, Canada. A

former journalist, he now writes full time. In addition to his magazine and newspaper articles, he is the author of numerous acclaimed novels, including The Cannibals, The Convicts, Gemini Summer, B for Buster, The Lightkeeper's Daughter, Lord of the Nutcracker Men, Ghost Boy, and the High Seas Trilogy: The Wreckers, The Smugglers, and The Buccaneers. He lives on Gabriola Island, British Columbia.

Setting

Pendennis in Cornwall

The Brig

What is a “wrecker”?

• Wrecking is the practice of taking valuables from a shipwreck which has sunk near or close to shore. Often an unregulated activity of opportunity in coastal communities, wrecking has been subjected to increasing regulation and evolved into what is now known as marine salvage.

• “Wreckers” are people who deliberately set up false lights on shore, in order to trick approaching ships into thinking they are near a safe harbor, but instead lure them onto rocks and their doom. Often, it is said that these wreckers would not only steal from the wrecked ship, but would also drown the survivors so they could not notify the authorities.

Wreckers off the Brittany Coast

Big Idea

• Do YOU think that residents of coastal communities have the right to salvage and keep cargo from wrecked ships? (if they did not cause the wreck i.e. using false beacons)

• Or should the recovered items be given back to the company owning the ship?

While You Read Strategies(Connect, Question, Visualize, Evaluate)

During the reading you should:

• Connect to characters, events, places.• Question what you don’t understand and

answer questions you are given for each chapter

• Visualize what the author describes• Evaluate or make judgments about how you feel

about characters or events

After You Read: Answering Questions

• Date and title (Chapter number) the top of the page in your journal to start a new chapter.

• Make your prediction for the chapter.• Use scissors and glue to cut out the questions

from the sheet and glue the questions into your notebook after your prediction.

• Write your answers after the questions.• Number your answers and use complete

sentences.

Page Setup

Conflict: External vs Internal

• External conflict is between characters and an outside force– Man vs Man– Man vs Nature– Man vs Society

• Internal conflict is between a character and his/herself. Usually has to do with a choice or mixed feelings about something.

What are some conflicts so far in The Wreckers?

• Man vs Man

• Man vs Nature

• Man vs Society

While You Read: Storyboard• Movie directors and producers use storyboards

to plan out how they think a scene in a movie should look by drawing key moments or events in the order they occur.

• Create a visual storyboard of the chapter by choosing the 6 most important parts and drawing a picture of each. Then include a quote from the text or summary of what is happening in that part of the scene.

• Include page numbers in the top left of each box.

After Reading Strategies(Question, Summarize, Evaluate)

After you read each chapter:

• Answer questions about each chapter.• Summarize the main points.• Evaluate or make judgments about characters,

events, and ideas.

After You Read: Summarize

Directions:

Write a 2-3 paragraph summary of the novel. Make sure to include setting, characters, key events, and resolution. Your summaries will be graded using the following rubric. It will be counted as a test grade.

Writing Rubric

Paragraph Graphic OrganizerTopic Sentence:

Supporting Details:

Closing Sentence:

Jeopardy Game

• http://jeopardylabs.com/play/the-wreckers-jeopardy