Hi, Friends! Thank you for reading ITCH. Here are some Common Core activities (aimed at 5th and 6th grades) for anyone looking for extra enrichment or those looking for activities as they now find themselves homeschooling.
There is also an Educator's Guide by the publisher HERE.
Narration and Point of View
Isaac Fitch, aka Itch, is the narrator of the novel. ITCH is told from the first person point of view (POV) and from only one character’s perspective (Isaac’s).
How does seeing the story through only Isaac's eyes affect the story? [RL5.6; RL6.6] Find 3 scenes that you think might go differently if another character's point of view was included and list your reasons why. [W.5.9; RL5.1; W6.9; RL6.1]
How do you think the story would be different if it were told from Sydney’s, Homer’s, or Nate’s point of view? Pick a scene and rewrite it from another character’s point of view. Be creative! Maybe try it out as a graphic novel… (Here are some printable comics pages.) [W.5.3; W6.3]
Setting
Identify the setting of ITCH. How does the setting influence the story? Find 3 examples that show how the setting is important and list a reason for each example. [RL 6.5; W.5.9; W6.9]
Consider where you live and the setting of your life. Do you live in a rural area? Urban? Suburban? Is the weather where you live different than the weather described in the book? Do the characters in ITCH do things that you CAN'T do where you live?
Pick a scene and re-imagine it or rewrite it to match where you live. (Or anywhere!) [W5.3; W6.3]
Compare and Contrast
Choose two characters from ITCH to compare and contrast. Things to consider are what each character wants and how they act. [W.5.9a; W6.9a]
Choose another book to compare or contrast with ITCH. Identify the point of view(s) used and how it affects the story. [RL5.9]
Or try this!
Learn about Ted Fujita, the meteorologist who came up with the Fujita scale of tornado intensity.
Listen to some music and write about images or characters that it evokes. I think this works better if the music has no words. One of my favorites for this is "In The Hall of the Mountain King" by Edvard Grieg. You can listen to some of it here, and you can probably find the whole piece on a place like Spotify.