Inside Out:  Portrait of an Eating Disorder, by Nadia Shivack.  New York:  ginee seo books, 2007.  ISBN 978-0-689-85216-9

                The personal story of a young girl’s battle with an eating disorder and her mental health.  Shivack’s illustrations make a serious subject,   more interesting for young readers.

 

Media:  Ink, crayon and colored pencil

            Q4/P4

            Level 7-12th

 

Curricular Connection:  Level 7-12; Health, Language Arts

 

LESSON PLAN IV:

 

LEVEL AND RESOURCES

  7-12^th Grade

One period/hour

Inside Out:  Portrait of an Eating Disorder, by Nadia Shivack

Journal writing paper and pencils

 

OBJECTIVES

Ø      Students gain an understanding of Nutrition and Eating Disorders.

Ø      Students will be able to write about personal feelings and relate to others.

 

BACKGROUND

Prepare the students with a lecture on Nutrition and discuss several types of eating disorders, the health risks, symptoms and risk groups.

 

ASSIGNMENT

Copy 5-10 critical pages in the book for students to take home to read.  Have students search online for colleges offering educational programs about the dangers of eating disorders.

In class:  Have different students read pages that were sent home outloud, and present any schools they found with programs.

 

BOOK DISCUSSION

In the book, Shivack says, "Every day, meal by meal, millions of people suffer from eating disorders. I am one of them."

Do you know anyone that suffers from an eating disorder?  Do you think they are aware of it or not?

What do you think of this style of writing?  Did it draw you into the book or was it difficult to read?

In the book it says, “80 percent of women are dissatisfied with their appearance.”  What role do you think society plays in this dissatisfaction?

      

IN CLASS ASSIGNMENT AND HOMEWORK

          In class, write one paragraph about eating disorders and why you think eating disorders are so prevalent, but no one talks about them. 

At home, write a journal entry about why you think it’s important to learn how to forgive yourself and an instance where you did or should.  These will not be read, but will be graded.

D. Balestreri added to PB 7/25/09

 

  Inside Out: Portrait of an Eating Disorder by Nadia Shivack.  New York:  Ginee Seo Books, 2007.

 

Shivack, N. (2007). Inside out: Portrait of an eating disorder. New York: Antheneum Books for Young Readers.

 

ISBN: 978-0-689=85216-9.                             Subjects/Genres: Eating Disorders, Self-Image/Autobiography, graphic novel                     Grades: 8-12

Nadia’s personal story, told through drawings on napkins, of battling an eating disorder over two decades.

Curricular connections:  could be used as part of  health class lesson on eating disorders.

Q/P:  4/3  The only shortfall of this work is the mildly repetitive nature of the story, but teens are likely to find it highly relatable.

BVG, 7/22/09

 

Shivack, N. (2007). Inside out: Portrait of an eating disorder, New York: Antheneum Books for Young Readers.

ISBN: 9780689852169

Nadia Shivack traces her history with bulimia through raw, heartfelt drawings. Nadia's cycle through binging and purging is painful to watch and also a striking portrait of obsession and self-destruction.

Rating: 4Q/4P

Subjects: Eating Disorders, Bulimia, Depression, Suicide, Family, Residential Treatment, Recovery

Media: Pen and ink, colored pencil.

Literary Device: Nadia's eating disorder is personified in several ways, one of the most predominant being a man called "ED."

Theme: Addiction is the primary theme in this story. While it is tempting to classify it solely as a book about bulimia--Shivack expresses an addictive cycle of not just bulimia but also depression and anxiety. Shivack's attempts to break free from self-destructive addictive behavior are heartbreaking and honest.

 

Lesson Plan:

 

Duration: 3 days     

Grade: 7

Subject: Language Arts

1. Topic-

Eating Disorders; Memoir vs. Fiction

 

2. Content-

Anorexia, Bulimia, Obsession/Addiction, Fiction vs. Memoir, Literary devices used in narrative.

 

3. Goals: Aims/Outcomes-

a. Students will have an understanding of common physical and emotional problems associated with eating disorders.

b. Students will be able to analyze various literary devices as they relate to the tone/reader's reaction to a narrative.

c. Students will be able to highlight how literary devices can be used to enhance factual elements of a story.

3d. ELA Content Standards for Grade 7:

     Articulate the expressed purposes and characteristics of different forms of prose (e.g., short story, novel, novella, essay).

 

4. Objectives-

1. Students should be able to note key differences in academic material, memoir and fiction.

2. Students should be able to recognize how potentially academic material is adapted into narrative.

3.  Students should be able to analyze and discuss the impact the above adaptation has on a story or narrative.

 

5. Materials and Aids-

1. Inside Out: Portrait of an Eating Disorder by Nadia Shivack. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2005.

2. Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson. New York: Viking, 2009.

3) Academic Health class material, previously studied in a unit on eating disorders.

 

6. Procedures/Methods-

A. Introduction-

1. The teacher facilitates a group discussion about the three texts. What do people remember? What was most compelling? Why were they more interested in one text over another?

2. The teacher reads material from each of the three texts: academic, memoir and fiction (e.g. common behaviors of eating disorders, Shivack's account of binging and purging and Lia's imaginary encounter with the deceased Cassie).

 

B. Development-

1. The teacher reads material from each of the three texts: academic, memoir and fiction (e.g. common behaviors of eating disorders, Shivack's account of binging and purging and Lia's imaginary encounter with the deceased Cassie).

2. The teacher notes how he/she compares and contrasts the texts. For example, each text describes obsessive cycles of self-destructive behavior, but how are those cycles expressed?

 

C. Practice-

1. The students select passages from the Shivack and Anderson texts. On their own (or in a group) they discuss how similar experiences are conveyed differently.

2. Individually or in a group, the students create a list of literary devices/elements that distinguish the texts from each other.

3. As a class: discuss elements of memoir and elements of fiction. What devices did other individuals/groups come up with? Do the students notice a pattern?

 

D. Independent Practice-

1. For homework the students choose an event in their own life. Using the Shivack and Anderson texts as examples they describe the account in two ways: one as a memoir and one as a fictionalized account of an eating disorder.

 

E. Accommodations (Differentiated Instruction)-

1. Material in this lesson plan is extremely sensitive and may be triggering for some students. A school counselor should be available and any student has the option to choose a different memoir/fiction pair of texts. Doing so will not result in the student being penalized and will not be mentioned in class.

2. Before beginning the lesson, the student should contact the Health teacher and find out if any students felt uncomfortable with the subject of eating disorders or if there is any additional information the teacher should know.

 

F. Checking for understanding/Assessment

1. Participation: How much did the student contribute to group work and class discussion? (25%)

2. Comparative Essay: How well did the student demonstrate an understanding of literary devices and memoir/fiction structure? (50%).

3. How comprehensively did the student incorporate these concepts into his/her writing assignments? (25%)

 

G. Closure-

General discussion questions:

1. How was the experience of writing a fictionalized account of a true event in the you life?

2. How did you use the literary devices you identified to create your own memoir/creative writing piece?

Content standards retrieved July 15, 2009 from www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/documents/elacontentstnds.pdf

 

 

 

km 6/21/09

 

 

Shivack, N. (2007). Inside out: portrait of an eating disorder. New York: Ginee Seo Books. ISBN 9780689852169 4Q/3P

Summary: In this autobiographical tale, Shivack recounts her life struggle with an eating disorder that began in her youth. Drawn images act as personal therapy while recounting the intense physical and psychological struggle she experienced.

Media: Mixed media, primarily drawing with ink pen and cray-pas.

Curricular connections: Grades 8-12. Health, memoir.

 

KEM 4/29/08

 

Inside Out: Portrait of an Eating Disorder by Nadia Shivack. New York: Antheneum Books for Young Readers. (2007) ISBN: 978-0-689-85216-9.

 

A painful biography of one woman’s struggles with an eating disorder. The bulimia is often depicted as a dragon or monster. Many of the illustrations done on napkins or scraps of paper while in treatment.

 

 

Multi-media color drawings from scraps of paper, napkins, to more formalized drawings when in narrative mode, with fact-based personal narrative in black boxed-text. Yellow-boxed text throughout the pages state facts and statistics about eating disorders.

 

 

Images are extremely powerful and evocative of a woman in pain…emotions are all over the images.

 

 

Curriculum Connections

English/Language Arts

Biographies/Autobiographies/Memoirs

 

 

Diane Mahan

 

Partington 267: Spring 2008

 

English

 

 

 

Content Standards and Instructional Practices Grades Nine Through Twelve

 

 

 

Ninth and Tenth Grade English-Language Arts Standards

 

 

 

http://www.cde.ca.gov/re/pn/fd/documents/rlafw.pdf

 

 

 

Students combine the rhetorical strategies of narration, exposition, persuasion, and description to produce texts of at least 1,500 words each. Student writing demonstrates a command of standard American English and the research, organizational, and drafting strategies outlined in Writing Standard 1.0.

 

 

 

Using the writing strategies of grades nine and ten outlined in Writing Standard 1.0, students:

 

 

 

2.1 Write biographical or autobiographical narratives or short stories:

 

 

 

a. Relate a sequence of events and communicate the significance of the events to audience.

 

b. Locate scenes and incidents in specific places.

 

c. Describe with concrete sensory details the sights, sounds, and smells of a scene and the specific actions, movements, gestures, and feelings of the characters; use interior monologue to depict the characters’ feelings.

 

d. Pace the presentation of actions to accommodate changes in time and mood.

 

e. Make effective use of descriptions of appearance, images, shifting perspectives, and sensory details.

 

 

 

 

 

Grade Level:

 

 

 

Students: 9^th/10^th grade English

 

High-engagement reading materials

 

High-engagement writing activities

 

Building a Foundation of Knowledge:

 

 

 

 

Graphic Autobiographical Narrative Reading List:

 

 

 

Inside Out: Portrait of an Eating Disorder by Nadia Shivack

 

Blankets by Craig Thompson

 

The Amazing True Story of a Teenage Single Mom

 

Epileptic by David B.

 

One! Hundred! Demons! by Lynda Barry

 

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

 

Persepolis II by Marjane Satrapi

 

 

 

Thesis and Synthesis: Reading

 

 

 

Reading Log for Narrative Elements:

 

 

 

1. Each book examines a powerful event (or a series of events in a turning point) in the author/illustrators’ lives. Identify the event in each book.

 

2. Create a simple timeline of the major events for each book. Which books illustrate a short period of time, and which books cover a larger span?

 

3. In each of the stories, major issues are symbolized by images. For example, in Epileptic, epilepsy is shown as a dragon-like monster. What are the dominant symbols, images, and motifs in each book and what do they represent?

 

4. How is interior monologue used in graphic novels? What are some common devices used when showing what a character is thinking inside? (Please give examples)

 

5. Mood in conveyed through color, lines, and sketching. Take two distinct panels from each story and analyze the ways in which the author/illustrator communicates the change and shift in mood.

 

 

 

Having examined several graphic autobiographical narratives with symbolic elements, analyze trends and common threads specific to graphic novels. Evaluate: what is more effectively communicated in graphic format? What is not? How to the graphic works compare to text-based autobiographies we have read in class?

 

Thesis and Synthesis: Writing

 

 

 

 

2.1 Write biographical or autobiographical narratives or short stories:

 

 

 

a. Relate a sequence of events and communicate the significance of the events to audience.

 

b. Locate scenes and incidents in specific places.

 

c. Describe with concrete sensory details the sights, sounds, and smells of a scene and the specific actions, movements, gestures, and feelings of the characters; use interior monologue to depict the characters’ feelings.

 

d. Pace the presentation of actions to accommodate changes in time and mood.

 

e. Make effective use of descriptions of appearance, images, shifting perspectives, and sensory details

 

 

 

Using the writing standards for biographical and narrative writing, create your own autobiographical graphic novel highlighting a specific event (or series of events) surrounding a powerful moment in your life.

 

 

 

Your work should include:

 

· Grade-level text of 1,500 or more words.

 

· Identifiable narrative plotting.

 

· Visual symbols and motifs that stand in for larger issues or themes.

 

· Characters engaging in both exterior dialogue with other characters and interior monologues with themselves. This can be done explicitly (with word bubbles), or implicitly (with images).

 

· Using color and sketching to illustrate a shift in mood or tone.

 

 

 

Once your graphic novel is complete, please present your work to the class and explain some of the literary elements and techniques you used (ie. themes, symbols, motifs, stylistic elements and decisions).

 

(DM 4.23.08)

 

Shivack, N. (2007). Inside out: Portrait of an eating disorder. New York: Antheneum Books for Young Readers.

 

 5.18.08 cjm

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