The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

The first thing that I noticed while I was reading this text was that within the first couple of pages there were pictures and drawings that made the book look like a real diary. I feel like that concept is really cool and would draw students into reading the book. I also think that the pictures could help with comprehension because there are visible representations of the things that are happening in the text.

There is also an incredible amount of dialogue in the text and I feel like it would really lend itself to making the text come alive because of all of the talking. The dialogue is also very accessible for students because the dialogue is written in the way that students talk; therefore, they could easily access the topics and plot within the text.

I think that students would want to be friends with Junior as they read this text because of how relatable he is. I also think that all students have felt conflicted at some point in their life. It may not be based on culture or race like Junior, but everyone has felt torn in two inside their brain.

This would be a great text to pair with the current happenings on Indian Reservations and the news that is happening. I think that students could also research Alexies’ tribe in Spokane especially if this text is taught in Spokane schools because then the things that are happening are actually taking place in the students’ community.

After doing some research on Scholastic for teaching ideas. I think it would be interesting to have students keep a diary while reading this text, so they can try and replicate what Alexie is doing in his novel. The students could also create a comic strip or drawings like those in the books as a type of summative assessment. Overall, I think there are some very cool teaching ideas that you could include with this text.