Airborn - Kenneth Oppel
The above image is from the archived series website
Airborn - What is the Story About?
Readers find a fifteen-year-old sailor, Matt Cruse, atop a crow’s nest of an airship Aurora as she flies towards her home berth in Lionsgate City, on her way back from her trans-Pacificus voyage to Sydney. To my delight, a Canadian author Kenneth Oppel brings us a steampunk in an alternative universe, in which Vancouver (where I spent over 10 years of my life) is called Lionsgage City. Matt works aboard Aurora as a cabin boy and he dreams of one day becoming a captain of his own ship. He is a natural sailor and he considers his ship his true home. During his watch, Matt spots a hot air balloon, which seems to be in trouble. Captain Walken assigns Matt to undertake the difficult task of going outside of the ship to tether the gondola so that the crew could rescue the damaged ship. Matt finds an old man in ill health (he passes away) who deliriously speaks of unidentified flying creatures that he has spotted during his voyage. A year later, ambitious and determined Kate de Vries boards Aurora as one of the first-class passengers. Kate turns out to be the mysterious man’s granddaughter and is now in search of the mysterious creature that his grandfather spoke of. During the passage across the Pacificus, Aurora gets boarded by pirates led by infamous Vikram Szpirglas. The pirates leave Aurora with their loots, however, in an impending storm, Aurora is forced to make an emergency landing on a tropical island somewhere in the middle of the Pacificus. It soon becomes clear to Matt and Kate that the island is where Kate’s grandfather spotted the mysterious creatures. As the crew repairs the damage the ship sustained, off-duty Matt accompanies Kate to explore the island and they manage to discover the mysterious creatures. They decide to call them cloud cats. Kate delights at the prospect of making a mark in the field of zoology and presenting the evidence in front of the misogynistic Zoological Society back in Lionsgate City. As the Captain and the crew prepare to depart the island, Matt and Kate discover that Szpirglas’s base is located on the island. Matt and Kate are captured by the pirates but they manage to escape. They must then fight against time to warn the Captain and the crew, for the pirates plan to attack the ship to prevent Aurora from departing for fear that the base’s coordinates will be given to the authority – the Sky Guards. Matt’s knowledge of his ship and an inadvertent contribution from a lost cloud cat save Aurora and its crew and passengers from their doom.
Airborn - Why this Book for Junior Readers?
I am a sucker for a good steampunk. While I find the storyline and characters of the story a wee bit formulaic, the world that Kenneth Oppel creates is very endearing and thrilling. Also, Oppel excels at depicting a sense of exhilaration through Matt – he belongs in the air – and as a result, Matt’s character is quite buoyant (pun intended) and hard not to cheer on. In addition, there are many descriptive passages that evoke vivid imageries, which is likely to stimulate students’ imagination to run wild. This aspect will present an excellent opportunity to plan a cross-curricular lesson plan. Lastly, in the genre of young adults’ literature where many of the popular works are set in a dystopian world, Airborn trilogy might bring a breath of fresh air. Who would not love a steampunk and pirates, I ask you?
Airborn - What can be done in a Classroom with this Book?
Idea #1: Visually Represent a Text
-
Students will have an introductory lesson on making inferences using supporting evidence from the texts. Students will then independently choose a segment/passage/concept/apparatus from the story (the Cloud Cat, Aurora, a particular scene on the island or aboard Aurora etc.) that they would like to visually represent.
-
Some students may choose to paint, sketch, or draw two-dimensionally. Others may choose to make a collage using images collected from print or online sources (magazines, pictures, online sources etc.). Some might choose to build something three-dimensional using blocks, cubes, Lego blocks, or clays.
-
Students will note down the parts that they inferred from the texts in order to distinguish which part of their representation comes from their imagination and which part from the text.
-
They will have a gallery day at the end. Each work will be exhibited with a little envelope on the side so that students may leave their feedback in the envelope for each other.
Idea #2: Spot Social Injustices – Misogyny (Kate’s Battle) and Privileges (Matt’s Battle)
-
Students will have an introductory lesson on making inferences using supporting evidence from the texts as well as on making connections between what is in the text to issues that students themselves deal in their daily lives.
-
Students will then be divided into pairs and pairs will be either Team Matt or Team Kate. Each pair within Team Matt will be assigned 4 to 5 chapters (depending on the size of the class) from the text (there are 21 chapters in total) and the same goes for Team Kate pairs. Each pair will mark and summarize a passage where Matt or Kate (depending on the team) is struggling against barriers and injustices imposed on them by society. What are those barriers and injustices and why are they facing them? Each pair will present their finding to class.
-
As a second part of this lesson, one pair from Team Matt and one pair from Team Kate will get together to form a group. Within the group, students will create a Mind Map connecting prejudices and social barriers Matt and Kate face in their society with prejudices and social barriers students themselves face in our society. Students are also encouraged to discuss how they might fight against such prejudices and social injustices. Each group will share their findings and as a class discuss what needs to be changed in society to create a better society.
Prisoner of Azkaban - Curriculum Connections
There are a few specific expectations from The Ontario Ministry of Education Language Curriculum 1-8 (2006) the study of this book will meet:
-
Grade 7 Reading strand 1.1 and 1.4 state that students will be introduced to variety of literary texts from different cultures and students will learn to make inferences and to interpret texts using what is in the texts to support their inferences/interpretations (p. 127). --> Idea #1 & Idea #2
-
Grade 8 Reading strand 1.6 states that students will learn to be able to extend their interpretations of the texts and connect their understandings from the texts to their own experiences, thoughts, and the world around them (p. 142). --> Idea #2
-
Grade 7 Oral Communication strand 1.2 and 1.3 state that students will learn to identify and adapt respectful and effective listening strategies so that they can listen to their classmates without interrupting them and show interest and empathy while listening to others (p. 124). --> Idea #2
-
Grade 8 Oral Communication strand 1.2 states that students will continue to identify and adapt respectful and effective listening strategies so that they could follow their classmates’ arguments critically and ask clarifying questions to solidify their comprehensions (p. 138). --> Idea #2
The study of Airborn will also meet one of the specific expectations from from The Ontario Ministry of Education Arts Curriculum 1-8 (2009):
-
Grade 7 Visual Arts strand D1. 1 states that students will learn to create art works to express ideas (p. 144). --> Idea #1