Canyons
I participated in an online literature circle on the Gary Paulsen book Canyons with students in Ms. Hunt's class at Emily Gray Junior High School. Our discussion was held on Wikispaces. Each student had a prescribed role for participation in the wiki discussion.
Our first point of discussion was exploring how Paulsen's portrayal of the story's setting, contemporary El Paso, Texas, affected the students' perception of the story. Students felt that Paulsen's attention to describing the physical setting in detail made them feel involved with the story.
Students also undertook a literary exposition exercise, with relevant passages selected to highlight parts of the book that affected them strongly. A few passages noted and commented on by Saffie follow.
Page 82 / Last full paragraph / Line 5 and 6 from bottom
Passage: "He dropped it instantly, jerking his hand away and pushed it back under the rock."
Reason: This passage shows how creeped out he is and how terrifying the situation is.
Page 88 / 2nd to last full paragraph / Line 5 - 8 from bottom
Passage: "It was so frustrating! Here he was, hiding a skull with a bullet hole in it in his closet, hiding it even from his mother, maybe breaking the law and he had no reason for it, no excuse."
Reason: This passage shows his frustration with the whole situation concerning the skull and how he might be doing something that is against the law.
Page 93 / 2nd to last paragraph / Line 4 - 5 from the bottom
Passage: "Is it possible for crazy people to know that they're going crazy?"
Reason: This dialogue shows that he wants reassurance that he is not going mad in a way that he does not have to explain the situation to his mother.Page 118 / 1st paragraph / First and second line
Passage: "He did not, could not turn away - but couldn't stand it either and he stopped."
Reason: This shows how bad the feeling inside Brennan was and how he felt towards the place he was in.
Page 130 / 7th paragraph / 11 - 13 lines
Passage: "He tried not to run fast the three miles or so to Homesley's - tried to set an easy pace. But he couldn't hold it."
Reason: This shows his excitement when the packages arrived and how he wanted to know who skull it belong to.
Page 142 / 5th paragraph / 17 line
Passage: ""Chaaach!" Brennan's breath expoded"
Reason: This showed his excitement when he finally found the paper he was looking for.
Marisa, one of the students in Ms. Hunt's class, created the following illustrations as interpretations of the story:
This is a painting of Horse Canyon and where Brennan found the skull, as well as where Coyote Runs was killed. This is where most of the story took place.
This is a painting of the skull that Brennan found in Horse Canyon. Without it, there would be no story.
