Elsewhere



     "In many ways, she felt that she had been waiting for all the good things to happen: living alone, going to college, driving a car. Now Liz finally sees the truth."

I found this Nutmeg Award winning book particularly interesting because it did a great job to discuss a difficult subject for elementary age students.  In her story, author, Gabrielle Zevin, has crafted this alternate world where the main character Liz learns to cope with death at an early age. Through her visits to the Observation Decks, Liz is able to reflect on particularly salient moments that she will miss. She finds it really difficult to watch those moments pass unable to partake and form unforgettable memories. But as she spends more time with her grandmother Betty and discovers a passion for animals as she fulfills her avocation at the Division of Domestic Animals she learns that life in Elsewhere isn't so bad. 

Websites

• A Great Teacher Resource, this pdf file is published by Macmillan to assist teachers with teaching about Elsewhere. It contains a biography of the author, an introduction to the book, and links to other websites.
• Quiz Questions similar to the ones provided here are helpful in checking for comprehension. Although these are not perfect they may help to scaffold the creation of other questions with more depth.

Vocabulary

Although the vocabulary in this book is not particularly difficult there are a series of terms that may be discussed in the classroom. Teachers may address the meanings of words such as:

• acute head trauma
• addiction
• psychologist
• acclimation
• avocation

because they are all addressed in regards to Liz's time on Elsewhere and her ability to cope with her death. There are also other terms that students may struggle with, such as:

• shrouded
• concoct
• implement
• prestige
• rationalize

Reading Activities

Before Reading

Teacher should introduce the book and that it deals with the concept of death. This is something that at a young age many students are not familiar with or have not yet experienced. As you scaffold a whole group discussion mention that Liz's biggest frustration in her death is that she was unable to accomplish so many things that we take for granted in life. She never was able to have a real job, get her license or a car or attend college among many other things. Then continue to discuss with students some of the things that they may miss or have wished to accomplish if they were in Liz's situation. Give examples from your own personal thoughts. Then encourage students to write individually about five of their most important goals. Why may these goals be important to them as they continue through life? How do they forsee themselves fulfilling these goals? Are they important to them only or are they influenced by others around them? Once this is completed return to a whole group discussion and ask volunteers to share goals with their classmates. Discuss how some of there goals may be linked to those that Liz thinks about in the story.

During Reading

After her acclimation appointment, Liz is encouraged by Aldous Ghent to truly think about what she may be interested in doing to fulfill her avocation. Although Liz is preoccupied with her visits to the Observation Decks she feels that eventually she would want to work with animals. As you reach this point in the novel have students make an advertisement for their ideal avocation. They should include what the job would entail and why it may be rewarding to those who partake. You may then make a bulletin board with each of their advertisements on display so that they can be shared with the rest of the classroom.

After Reading

Have the students break up into small groups. Provide each group with a copy of the novel but make sure that each book has a different cover. There are many variations available. In their groups they should discuss why their cover art portrays the story appropriately or why it doesn't if that is the case. Do they feel that their cover art is functional because it is more marketable? Or are the images portrayed directly related to the article? Are their quotes that may entice new readers? Taking all of these factors into consideration students will then present to their classmates on their findings.