Strategies
Vocabulary
A great vocabulary strategy that could accompany this book would be having the student create a word map when they encounter a word they are unfamiliar with. This story has several words related to medicine and dental work that the students may not recognize. To create a word map, the student creates a graphic organizer for the word. They first write the word they do not know and then categorize it by classification (the group the word belongs to), qualities (what the word is like), and examples. With the help of a teacher or a dictionary, the child should be able to figure out the meaning of the word they do not know and they will be able to keep their word map for future reference if they come across the word again. One reason I like this strategy is because the students can do this strategy on their own or one-on-one with a teacher. This book is mainly targeted for young girls and would most likely not be read by the young boys in the class.
Comprehension
A fun strategy that would check the child's understanding of comprehension would be to have the student create a timeline of events that takes place in the story. Since this story is filled with many events, there would be lots of main points to include in the time line. The time line should follow chronological order with the events in the book and should accurately describe each main even that takes place. This would ensure that the student understands they events in order and is able to describe each event in detail. This is also a fun way to have the student make a creative time line that they could share with the class.
Motivation
Although students would not need much motivation to read this highly entertaining graphic novel, one strategy that could be used for motivating students would be to activate the students prior knowledge before having them read this book. Before the student reads this book, you could have them make a list of all the crazy experiences they have had in their own life so far. Since this book is a true story based on the life of the author, you could encourage students to write their own memoir once they are done reading the book as well. Another way to motivate students would be to show them the trailer of the book. This gets the students interested in what they will read and engages them in the story before they even pick up the book.