Introduction
1. Title: Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz
2. Grade Level: 6th grade
3. Duration: 10 days
a. April 16th—April 30th (no class on the 27th)
4. Context:
a. Mrs. Waugaman’s first period English class
i. For a group of 4-5 students
b. This unit will occur in mid-April which is the second to last month of school. The students
will have had significant reading and comprehension instruction throughout the year and
should be ready to encounter some more advanced literature. Stormbreaker is classified as
a young adult book rather than a juvenile book. The students have already studied novels
such as Maniac McGee by Jerry Spinelli and Holes by Louis Sachar.
Content
1. Goals:
a. Students will gain a comprehensive knowledge of the text to teacher satisfaction.
b. Help students to learn effective summarization and inference skills.
2. Concepts:
a. Perseverance pays off
b. Actions, especially negative ones, have serious consequences
c. Authors give readers many clues within their text
3. Vocabulary:
a. Word Clues: guided activity using context clues
i. Claustrophobic
ii. Harpoon
iii. Ambush
iv. Neutralize
v. Blackmail
vi. Dissemination
vii. Rendezvous
viii. Coup
ix. Resourceful
x. Nematocysts
4. Skills:
a. Reading Fluency
i. Oral reading
ii. Role plays
b. Using context clues and guided discussion to learn vocabulary terms
i. Word Clues activity
ii. Brief discussion about less important words while reading text
c. Summarizing large chunks of text
i. Debriefing activity
1. Summarize large portions of text which section off the plot into manageable
chunks and which follow the line of action
ii. Storyboarding Activity
1. Draw pictures of significant events which the students will choose from
assigned range of chapters
d. Creating character profiles and drawing connections between characters
i. Character web
ii. Character profiles final activity
e. Identifying foreshadowing and other clues which the author gives the reader about the
plot.
i. Clue log activity
Objectives
Day One: The students will learn (TSWL) the key points of Ch. 1 and demonstrate their knowledge
through class discussion and teacher questions to teacher satisfaction.
Day Two; 1) TSWL the key points of Ch. 2-4 and demonstrate their knowledge through class discussion
and teacher questions to teacher satisfaction.
2) TSWL and begin to improve inference skills by participating in prediction activity for Ch. 1-4, writing
prediction to teacher satisfaction.
Day Three: TSWL to identify character information/details by participating in Character Profile activity
to teacher satisfaction. (Later, when the entire case packet is turned in, this activity will be evaluated
with a rubric, and students should achieve a score of 3 or 4,)
Day Four: TSWBAT identify the ten vocabulary words on the recognition or deeper meanings levels of
vocabulary comprehension to at least 80% accuracy.
Day Five: TSWBAT identify the ten vocabulary words on the specific use or wider use levels of vocabulary
comprehension to at least 80% accuracy.
Day Six: TSWL how to create a storyboard segment through storyboarding activity to teacher
satisfaction.
Day Seven: TWBAT summarize large portions of the text to teacher satisfaction.
Day Eight: 1) TSWL how to participate in a Readers Theater session to teacher satisfaction.
2) TSWBAT answer questions during review session to about 75% accuracy.
Day Nine: 1) TSWBAT present their character profiles to the group to a rubric score of at least 3.
2) TSWBAT complete the final quiz to at least 80% accuracy.
Day 10: TSWBAT collaborate to finish the final slideshow to teacher satisfaction.
Learning Experiences
1. Introductory Lesson: Monday, April 16th (present)
a. Chat with students about students; get to know a little bit about each other
i. Has there ever been a time in your life when you felt that something was not right,
but you couldn’t figure out what it was?
ii. Or maybe you did figure it out. How?
b. Set up the scene
i. Desks in rectangle become conference table
ii. Students become my agents, are given their spy case packets, and they write their
names and their chosen code names in the appropriate boxes on the front of the
packet.
1. The students will only take this packet home with them on the night they
need it for their homework.
2. The completed case packet is Due on Thursday, April 26th.
c. Introduce Character Profiling Final Project
d. Begin reading Chapter 1 out loud.
i. Read the title of the chapter first. Make predictions about the events of Ch. 1 based
on the title. Record predictions in prediction log of student case packet.
ii. Take turns reading out loud
e. Assign home reading: Chapters 2 and 3(make predictions using the title first)
f. Mention activities for Tuesday.
g. Evaluation: Informal Assessment: Have a brief wrap up discussion about everything
covered in class today. Ask each student a couple of questions to answer orally. Their
responses will be evaluated by the teacher and will be considered when planning review
for Tuesday.
2. Central Lessons
a. Tuesday, April 17th (present)
i. Guide the students through making predictions about the plot of Ch. 4 based on the
chapter’s title. Record predictions in the prediction log of the student case packet.
ii. Role playing activity.
1. Use the Ch. 4 Role Play section of the case packet.
2. Split up the lines between the students as evenly as possible. Teacher will
read the beginning and ending italicized text
iii. Informal Assessment: Lead guided review of Ch. 4.
1. Ask each student a question which must require an answer that shows
whether or not each student has comprehended the key points of Ch. 4.
2. Teacher will make note of any student who seems to be struggling or
particularly excelling with this book.
iv. If there is extra time, students may work on their character profiles, summaries, or
tonight’s homework.
v. Homework: Read Ch. 5. (do predictions procedure first)
b. Wednesday, April 18th (present)
i. Review: Determine whether or not student predictions for chapters 4 and 5 were
correct by leading a group discussion summarizing the plots of the two chapters. If
their predictions were incorrect, record what really happened in the appropriate
spot on the predictions worksheet in the Case Packet.
ii. Development: Summarize Ch. 6 plot for the students.
iii. Begin or continue work on character profiles and summaries.
iv. Homework: Read Ch. 7 and 8
c. Thursday, April 19th (present)
i. Students split into groups of two or three students and will have one to two minutes
to share with each other what struck them the most about the chapters they read for
homework. This could be a context clue about the plot they stumble upon, a
particularly vivid piece of imagery, an event which reminds them of something
they’ve experienced, etc.
ii. Review all vocabulary encounter up to this point (remind students about vocabulary
quiz on Friday).
1. Vocabulary Memory Training Game
a. Memory game which matches words with definitions. In order to
keep a match, students must answer a question asked by the teacher.
Their answer must prove that they are able to use the word for
specific or wider purposes. The answers must be more than the
definition turned into a sentence.
iii. Summarize Ch. 9 for the students.
iv. Homework: Read Ch. 10 and review for Vocabulary Quiz tomorrow.
d. Friday, April 20th (present)
i. Formal Assessment: Vocabulary quiz
1. Match each word with the scenario in which it would be used most
accurately.
a. This type of quiz shows the student understanding of the words’
specific and wider purposes.
2. While students are taking the quiz (allow about ten minutes), teacher should
check students’ progress with their case packets. Return the case packets
(and any comments) after the quiz has been collected.
ii. For the remainder of class, students may choose any or all of the case packet
assignments to work on.
1. Remind students that the entire student case packet must be completed and
ready to turn in by next Thursday.
e. Monday, April 23rd (present)
i. Return Vocabulary quiz, let students look at them and ask questions, then re-collect
them.
ii. Make a prediction based on the title of Ch, 11
iii. Read Ch. 11 out loud as a group (teacher may summarize some sections if necessary
for time purposes)
iv. Storyboarding activity
1. Students will create storyboard pictures of a scene from the book of the
student’s choice. From an assigned range of chapters. Draw, color, and label
the picture.
v. Homework: Read Ch. 12 and 13
f. Tuesday, April 24th (not present)
i. Depending on how much time students have been given so far to work on their case
packets, either read Ch. 14 out loud as a group, or students will receive a printed
summary of the chapter from the teacher and use extra time to finish packets.
ii. Work on Character Profiles or Debriefing Activity.
iii. Homework: Read Ch. 15 and 16
g. Wednesday, April 25th (present)
i. Readers Theater session for Ch. 17
ii. Review Activity
1. Series of questions: Teacher asks first question and draws name from cup to
see who will answer. The student who answers gets to create and ask the
next question and draw the name of the next answerer. Etc.
iii. Homework: Finish any incomplete case packet activities, and study for final quiz.
h. Thursday, April 26th (present)
i. Final Evaluation
1. Presentation of individual character profiles
2. Turn in students case packet
3. Short Final Quiz
ii. Homework: Finish storyboard pictures.
3. Final Lesson: Monday, April 30th (present)
a. Closure and Celebration
i. Students collaborate to create a slide show out of their story board pictures,
summaries, and character profiles.
1. Teacher will collect case packets on Thursday and scan all pages needed for
the slide show—now all material is available as a picture for easy slide show
construction.
2. Teacher will put each picture into PowerPoint in the correct order on the
night before. On Friday, students will help choose the theme, transitions, and
music.
3. Teacher will facilitate PowerPoint construction to keep this activity to half of
the class time.
ii. Second half of class is celebration.
1. Toast with ginger ale and cookies while watching slide show.
Adaptations: The activities in this unit are intentionally open-ended to ensure that students of all ability
levels will have work to do that meets their learning needs. Students who are excelling may be much
more elaborate and in depth with their Case Packet activities than students who are struggling or
comfortable. Students who are struggling may take an alternate vocabulary test (matching word with
definition rather than word with scenario).
Evaluation
1. Instrument and Methods
a. Informal discussion and questioning throughout the unit
b. Vocabulary quiz
c. Final quiz
d. Presentation of Character Profiles
e. Graded Student Case Packet
2. Objectives
a. For objectives with a set numerical success value, I will grade
student work by accuracy or with the corresponding rubric and
determine if each student met the specified score. If 3 ou of 5
students do not meet that score, I will need to re-evaluate the
objective and my teaching strategies.
b. For objectives that say “to teacher satisfaction,” I will keep notes on
each of the students throughout the unit to use as my basis for
grading “to teacher satisfaction.”
3. Daily Lessons
a. At the end of each day during this unit, I will reflect upon the day’s
lesson. In an inserted addition to the original unit plan, I will write
down which aspects of the lesson I thought were successful, which
parts of the lesson I should change, what teaching techniques I
execute well and which ones I need to improve upon.
Resources
1. Bibliography
a. The Stormbreaker By Anthony Horowitz
b. New Webster’s Dictionary
2. AV/Sensory Aids
a. My Table PC
b. PowerPoint
c. ITunes
3. Other Materials
a. Student Case Packet
b. Flashcards for Memory Training Game
c. Highlighters for Role Play
d. Notebook to keep student progress info.
e. Last Day Celebration
i. Ginger Ale
ii. Clear Plastic Cups
iii. Cookies
iv. Napkins
v. (Agent Badges?)
Appendix A:
Student “Case Packet” and Rubric
GC6 Spy Agency
Agent Photograph
Agent Name____________________________________
Agent Code Name_____________________________
Character Profiles
Character Name: _________________________________________
Interaction with Alex:________________________________
Significant Plot Actions
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________
Physical Characteristics
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
Personality Characteristics
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
Word Clues
word
Claustrophobic (pg. 25)
Disseminate (pg. 30)
Ambush (pg. 41)
Resourceful (pg. 43)
context Definition
Blackmail (pg. 45)
Rendezvous (pg. 47)
Neutralize (pg. 53)
Coup (pg. 61)
Harpoon (pg. 77)
Nematocysts (pg. 78)
Debriefing Document
Somebody (the main character in this section)
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
____________________________________________
Wanted (their goal or motivation)
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
___________________________________________
So (what they did to try to get it)
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
______________
But (the conflict)
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
____
So (the resolution to the problem)
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
_________________________
Clue Log
Prediction Log
Chapter 4 Role Play: “So What Do You Say?”
Alex wakes up in a comfortable room. He explores a bit, showers, and gets dressed. Then
there was a knock at the door and the door opened. A young Asian woman in a nurse’s
uniform came in.
Nurse: “Oh, you’re awake. And dressed. How are you feeling? Not too groggy, I hope.
Please come this way. Mr. Blunt is expecting you for lunch.”
She leads him to the room where Mr. Blunt and a woman with a dark complexion are
waiting.
Blunt: Alex. It’s good of you to join us.
Alex: You didn’t give me a lot of choice.
Blunt: Yes, I don’t quite know what Crawley was thinking of, having you shot like that, but
I suppose it was the easiest way. May I introduce my colleague, Mrs. Jones.
Alex: Who are you? What do you want with me?
Blunt: I’m sure you have a great many questions. But first let’s eat. I hope you like meat.
Today it’s carre di’agneu.
Alex: You mean roast lamb.
Blunt: The chef is French. (pause) As I’m sure you’ve gathered, the Royal and General is
not a bank. In fact, it doesn’t exist…its nothing more than a cover. And it follows, of
course, that your uncle had nothing to do with banking. He worked for me. My name, as I
told you at the funeral, is Blunt. I am the chief executive of the Special Operations Division
of MI6. And your uncle was, for want of a better word, a spy.
Alex: (smiling) You mean like James Bond?
Blunt: Similar. Your uncle was a field agent, highly trained and very courageous. He
successfully completed assignments in Iran, Washington, Hong Kong, and Havana, to name
a few. I imaging this must come as a bit of a shock for you.
Alex: I’m not shocked.
Blunt: Ian Rider’s luck ran out on his last mission. He had been working undercover here
in England, in Cornwall, and was driving back to London to make a report when he was
killed. You saw his car at the yard.
Alex: Stryker and Son. Who are they?
Blunt: Just people we use. We have budget restraints. We have to contract some of our
work out. We hired them to clean things up. Mrs. Jones here is our head of operations. It
was she who gave your uncle his last assignment.
Jones: We’re very sorry to have lost him, Alex.
Alex: Do you know who killed him?
Jones: Yes, but you don’t need to now right now, not at this stage.
Alex: Alright. My uncle was a spy. Thanks to you he’s dead. I found out too much so you
knocked me out and brought me here. Where am I, by the way?
Jones: This is one of our training centers.
Alex: you’ve brought me here because you don’t want me to tell anyone what I know. If
that’s what this is all about, I’ll sign the Official Secrecy Act or whatever it is you want me
to do, but then I’d like to go home. This is all crazy, anyway. And I’ve had enough. I’m out
of here.
Blunt: It’s not quite as easy as that.
Alex: Why not?
Blunt: It’s certainly tried that you did draw attention to yourself both at the junkyard and
then at our office on Liverpool street. And it’s also true that what you know and I’m about
to tell you must go no further. But the fact of the matter is, Alex, that we need your help.
Have you hear of a man called Herod Sayle?
Alex: I’ve seen his news in the newspapers. He’s something to do with computers. And he
owns racehorses. Doesn’t he come from somewhere in Egypt?
Blunt: Yes. Herod Sayle, was born in complete poverty in the backstreets of Cairo. He had
nine brothers and four sisters, all living together in the small rooms along with the family
goat. Young Herod never went to school and he should have ended up unemployed,
unable to read or write, like the rest of them. When he was seven, he happened to see an
upright piano fall out of a fourteenth story window. There were a couple of English
tourists who would have been crushed beneath it except at the last minute Herod threw
himself at them and pushed them out of the way. The tourists were enormously grateful
to Herod, and they were also very rich. They adopted him and put him in school over here.
One of his schoolmates is now the current English prime minister. Herod excelled in
school and in many technological enterprises. His current project is a quite revolutionary
computer that he calls the Stormbreaker. Later today, Sayle Enterprises will announce
that they are planning to give away tens of thousands of these computers. In fact, it is
their intention to ensure that every secondary school in England gets its own
Stormbreaker.
Alex: So the man’s a hero.
Blunt: So it would seem.
Jones: However, for some time now, our departments has been wondering if he isn’t too
good to be true. He has contacts in China and the former Soviet Union, countries that have
never been our friends. The government may think he’s a saint, but there’s a ruthless side
to him too. And the security arrangements down at Port Tallon worry us too. He’s acting
as if he’s got something to hide. But the government’s too keen to get their hands on these
computers to listen to us. That is why we decided to send your uncle down to the plant.
Supposedly to check on security. But, in fact, his job was to keep an eye on Herod Sayle.
He was there for three weeks when he sent us a message that he had discovered
something and that the Stormbreakers musn’t leave the plant. He left for London at four
o’clock, but he was ambushed in a quiet country lane. The local police found the car.
Alex: I don’t understand! What’s Herod Sayle got to hide?
Blunt: We don’t know, but we want to find out before they are shipped out on March 31st.
Jones: That’s only three weeks from now. We need someone to pick up at Port Tallon
where your uncle left off.
Alex: I hope you’re not looking at me.
Blunt: We have to send someone in who won’t be noticed, who can look around and report
back without being seen. A few months ago, one of these computer magazines ran a
competition “Be the first boy or girl to use the Stormbreaker. Travel to Port Tallon and meet
Herod Sayle himself.” The boy who one is a computer wiz named Felix Lester, fourteen
years old and looks a bit like you too.
Alex: Wait a minute—
Blunt: You’ve already shown yourself to extraordinarily brave and resourceful. First at the
junkyard… that was a karate kick, wasn’t it? And then there was that little test we
arranged for you at the bank. Any boy who would climb out of a fifteenth-floor window
just to satisfy his own curiosity has to be a rather special, and it seems to me that you are
very special indeed.
Jones: We’re suggesting that you come and work for us. We have enough time to give you
some basic training and we can equip you with a few items that may help you with what
we have in mind. Then we’ll arrange for you to take the pace of the other boy. We’ll pack
him off to Florida or somewhere…give him a holiday. You shouldn’t be in any danger.
After all, who would suspect a fourteen-year-old boy of being a spy?
Blunt: All right Alex, so what do you say?
Alex: No
Blunt: I’m sorry?
Alex: It’s a dumb idea. I don’t want to be a spy. I want to play soccer. Anyway, I have a
life of my own. Why don’t you ask Felix Lester to snoop around for you?
Blunt: We don’t believe he’d be as resourceful as you.
Alex: He’s probably better at computer games. I’m sorry. I’m just not interested. I don’t
want to get involved.
Blunt: That’s a pity. (pause) We better move on then to discuss your future. Like it or
not, Alex, the Royal and General is now your legal guardian.
Alex: I though you said the Royal and General didn’t exist.
Blunt: Ian Rider has, of course, left the house and all his money to you. However, he left it
in trust until you are twenty-one. And we control that trust. So there will, I’m afraid, have
to be some changes. The American girl who lives with you—
Alex: Jack?
Blunt: Miss Starbright. Her visa expires. She’ll be returning to America. Unfortunately,
you have no relatives who would be prepared to look after you, so I’m afraid that also
means you’ll have to leave Brookland. You’ll be sent to an institution. There’s one just
outside Birmingham. The Saint Elizabeth in Sourbridge. Not a very pleasant place, but I’m
afraid there’s no alternative.
Alex: You’re blackmailing me!
Blunt: Not at all.
Alex: But if I agreed to do what you asked…?
Jones: Help us and we’ll help you.
Alex: (pause) Yeah. All right. It doesn’t look like I’ve got very much choice.
Alex glanced at the slices of cold lamb on his plate. Dead meat. Suddenly he knew how it felt.
Case Packet Rubric
Score
4
3
2
Packet
Packet is complete and
shows significant effort
and creativity in its
completion. This student
went above and beyond
the given instructions.
Packet is complete or
very nearly so. This
student met all
expectations with the
minimum amount of
effort and creativity.
Little to nothing that
makes this packet
unique to the student
Packet is partially
incomplete. Those
sections that are done
may not be the result of
little effort and
creativity.
1
Large portions of Packet
are incomplete.
Completed sections
show little effort and
creativity.
0
Packet is blank.
Presentation
Student demonstrates an
excellent knowledge of
the material being
presented. Student
stands still and tall,
speaks clearly and loud
enough for everyone in
our group to hear.
Student demonstrates a
solid knowledge of the
material being
presented. Student may
exhibit a couple of public
speaking flaws
(mumbling, not making
eye contact, slouching)
There are some
significant holes in the
student’s knowledge of
the material being
presented. Student
exhibits multiple public
speaking flaws.
Student demonstrates a
deeply flawed
knowledge of the
material being
presented. Student
exhibits multiple public
speaking flaws.
Student does not
present.
Appendix B:
Vocabulary Quiz and Final Quiz
Name_____________________________
Date_________________________
Stormbreaker Vocabulary Quiz
1. Caroline gets nervous when she is in small spaces such as elevators or
closets. ________________________________________
2. Mike went to school when he had the chicken pox and spread the disease
to all of his classmates.
_________________________________________
3. The pirates took the single, helpless sailor by surprise and attacked him.
___________________________________
4. Alex Rider is intelligent and creative, and he uses anything he can find
around him to help through sticky situations. _____________________________
5. The magazine photographer threatened to release embarrassing
photographs of the famous actress unless she paid him a large amount of
money. __________________________________
6. The three friends agreed to meet each other at the Hilton hotel in
Pittsburgh to begin their vacation together.
______________________________
7. The bank worker must use his code to deactivate the burglar alarm before
he can enter the money safe. _________________________________
8. The angry servants joined together in a rebellion against their master.
____________________________
9. A jellyfish stung me with its stinging cells. ______________________________
10.
The whale fisherman killed a large whale with their jagged spears.
______________________________
Word Bank
Ambushed
Blackmail
Claustrophobic
Coup
Dissemination
Harpoon
Nematocysts
Neutralize
Rendezvous
Resourceful
Name_______________________________
Date_________________________
Stormbreaker Final Quiz
Circle the best answer for each question.
1. What fact about the car accident most makes Alex immediately suspicious
of how his uncle died?
a. Ian Rider was not wearing a seatbelt.
b. Alex has never seen some of the people at the funeral.
c. The police came at 3AM.
d. Ian was not suspicious.
2. Which skill helps Alex escape the junkyard?
a. boxing
b. karate
c. lying
d. camouflage
3. Why do Mr. Blunt and Mrs. Jones believe that Alex will be a successful
replacement for his uncle?
a. because he is related to Ian Rider
b. because he is resourceful
c. because Ian had been secretly training Alex his whole life
d. All of the above
4. How do Mr. Blunt and Mrs. Jones get Alex to spy on Herod Sayle for them?
a. they blackmail Alex
b. they beg Alex
c. they threaten to kill Alex
d. Alex volunteers
5. Alex finds a note from his uncle in his bed at Herod Sayle’s house. This
diagram in the note turns out to be __________
a. a code symbol
b. a map
c. an unfinished drawing
d. a meaningless doodle to draw attention away from the text of the
note
6. What does Alex do when Wolf will not jump out of the plane?
a. encourages Wolf is jump
b. laughs at Wolf
c. nothing
d. pushes Wolf out of the plane
7. Yassen Gregorovitch killed _____
a. Ian Rider
b. Herod Sayle
c. Ian Rider and Herod Sayle
d. No one
8. Down in Dozmary mine, Alex encounters many obstacles. Which one did
he not expect?
a. the dark
b. the many different pathways
c. the flooded tunnel
d. none of the above
9. Alex must prevent the English Prime Minister from activating the
Stormbreaker computers in order to prevent __________
a. a violent explosion
b. the dissemination of a mutated small pox virus
c. the brainwashing of England’s students
d. the release of fog which will obscure everyone’s vision
10.
a.
b.
c.
d.
In order to neutralize the Stormbreakers, Alex ____________________
steals all of them
turns off the master control computer
shoots the mouse and wires of the master control computer
sets the master control computer on fire