Malinda Lo, Ash: A lesson in understanding literature through imagery.
Visit 1: November 19, 2009
A mixed grade class read Ash by Malinda Lo. Ash is a Cinderella story retold: a young girl named Ash (short for Aisling) is orphaned and lives with her cruel stepmother who makes her work as the housekeeper. Ash’s only consolation is to remember the fairy tales her mother used to tell her as a child. But her world is turned upside down when she meets Kaisa, the king’s huntress and falls in love.
Ms. Lo visited the class and led students in a discussion about her book; its plot, characters, and major turning points. As a final project, students created PowerPoint presentations through which they analyzed a chapter of the book, pointing to imagery and other literary devices, and gave responses to the reading that reflected on their own experiences.
Here are the PowerPoint presentations two students created after the visit with Malinda Lo:
