Out: By Angela May George, Illustrated by Owen Swan

Published June 2016 by Scholastic Canada

Grade 5 English Language Arts (viewing and reading), Social Studies (immigration and war)
ELA Specific GLO: (2) Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to
comprehend and respond personally and critically to oral, print and other media texts.
ELA SLO: 2.2.4 (Grade Five): support own interpretations of oral, print and other media texts,
using evidence from personal experiences and the texts
Objective: Students will personally respond to the novel by creating a short childrens picture
book that focuses on different forms of immigration and/or refuge. Students will be able to
compare and contrast their familys own story of coming to Canada with the story presented in
Out. Students will be able to draw connections between Out and the novel study of
Refugee later on in the semester.
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Summary of Novel:

Out is a childrens picture book that tells the tale of a young girl and her mother who have fled
their homeland. Making their way to a new country, Out details the dangers of coming to the
new land and the issues that are present upon their arrival. Overall, this picture book is able to
portray a moving account of the struggles of refugees and shine hope in the darkest of times.
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Description:

1) I would invite the students in my class to the reading area in my classroom. I would first
start by telling students that what we are about to discuss can be a difficult subject and if
they need to take a break or a breather to just give me a thumbs up when they leave the
reading area. I would also emphasize to my students that there are multiple supports within
our school to help those who feel very strongly about this subject and who would like to talk
it out with a profession. I would then begin with asking questions such as; Can anyone
define what a refugee is for me, Where are some of Canadas refugees coming from?
Why?, Put up your hand if you know of someone who is a refugee, or if you know if your
family was once a refugee. After the last question I would tell students to look around and
see how many of their classmates can answer the question. I can explain then that this is an
issue that has affected many people throughout time and that everyone, at one time or
another, has known of or experienced the refugee status.
2) Next I would take ample time to read this gorgeous picture book. I would make sure to show
each picture to the whole class as there isnt much text within this story. That way I can
emphasize the art and the emotion that art can create when combined with story.
3) After reading the story I would then begin a class discussion that focused on these three
areas; immigration and refuge, how we can help, and the purpose of art to emote emotion.
Students would have the opportunities to share how this story made them feel, and allow the
class to think of creative ways that they can help immigrants and refugees on their own time.
Students would also have the opportunities to share different types of art they think shows
emotion best, or if they would like to share how they use art to help with emotions. To best
encapsulate what the students are learning, I would have a whiteboard by my side that I can
create a quick jot-note list with.
 4) Students would then return to their desks and I would hand out the assignment. I would read
the assignment to the students and answer any questions that they may have. This
assignment would be to create a small 12 page picture book with art that emulates that of
Owen Swans, and follows themes similar to Out. As a class we would look at other
examples of Owen Swans art online through the SMART board and create a jot list of
characteristics of his art. Students would have the remainder of this time period to write the
story.
5) For two weeks, this would be the Art class focus (one class of art per week). In English we
would begin the novel study for Refugee by Alan Gratz. In Social Studies Out would
also kick off a unit that focuses on current events and helping others. Students once
completed their art project, and the novel study is completed, would write a reflection that
makes students critically compare and contrast the two books.
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Assessment:

The art project storybook would be a summative assignment in both Art Education and English
Language Arts Education competencies. In Art Education, things such as composition, time
management and organization would be marked, while in ELA Education competencies that
follow creation in various formats, visually representing knowledge and personally responding to
a subject would be graded. The reflection that critically compares and contrasts the two books
would also be summative as then as a teacher you are able to see if the student has understood
the purpose of combining the two stories. In the reflection I would make sure to focus my
marking on the students ability to critically think and write critically about a subject.
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Reflection:

Although I have chosen to read this book to a Grade Five classroom as a kick off to the
novel study on Refugee, I believe that this book could be taught to Grade 2 and up due to the
simplicity of the text. Although the story is geared towards novice readers due to the length and
type of language used, I believe that this storys powerful message is simple enough for younger
readers to begin to grasp heavier concepts such as war while providing older readers a chance to
critically examine how the text and the art work in combination to portray an even heavier and
more complex message.

I believe that this type of lesson is crucial in integrating different forms of literature into a
classroom. We too often forget that reading is not always about what we are able to comprehend
at our supposed reading level, and forget to examine and read books that are complex in their
own ways above reading level. Based on our current political environment, our world is forcing
students into contact with heavy and disturbing concepts. However, George is able to shed hope
and light on a topic that often leaves students with dread. It is important that children of all ages
understand that even though a situation may be dire, there are ways to find optimism and hope
that will carry them further than any form of negativity ever will.