Amelia Earhart: This Broad Ocean

Informative, Inviting, Simple, Unique, Engaging

Amelia Earhart: This Broad Ocean by Sarah Stewart Taylor and Ben Towle

Published by Disney/Hyperion Books Copyright 2010 

"Women must try to do things as men have tried.  When they fail their failure must be but a challenge to others." - Amelia Earhart

Written by Sarah Stewart Taylor and illustrated by Ben Towle, this exciting graphic novel demonstrates not only the drive historic figure, Amelia Earhart had, but also the struggles she encountered along the way.  The story begins in Trepassey, Newfoundland in 1928, where many pilots started their journey because it was the end of the continent and the best place to begin flight across the Atlantic Ocean.  Grace, a local aspiring reporter, writes for The Trepassey Herald.  When she discovers that a female is going to attempt to fly across the ocean, she begins to make an appearance every time Amelia Earhart gets in her plane.  However, Amelia Earhart feels the pressure of competition as other women like Mabel Boll and Thea Rasche race to be the first women in aviation to fly across the Atlantic.  Amelia also experiences uncontrollable challenges with the weather and cannot seem to make her plane leave the water, but she does not give up.  While reporters and the local community begin to lose faith in Amelia, Grace stands by her side and earns the opportunity to interview Amelia.  Grace learns how Amelia became involved with planes and how she feels about her role as a female pilot in a predominately male field.  The story concludes as Amelia finally takes off, proving that she was the first woman to cross the Atlantic.  While the end shows Grace several years later still struggling to achieve her own goals, the message illustrates that both Amelia and Grace refuse to let men hold them back from their dreams.

Reading Level: Lexile Framework GN, Grade 5/6

Suggested Delivery: Independent Read

Description: Graphic Novel, Blend of Non-fiction and Fiction

Electronic Resources:
Discussion Guide
This is a link to a site that provides a discussion guide.  Select Amelia Earhart: This Broad Ocean to open the PDF.  The guide offers discussion questions to aid in comprehension as well as project ideas across all content areas.  There is also additional information about the authors and illustrators. 

Story Structure
This is a link to a site that describes in detail the structure of Amelia Earhart: This Broad Ocean.  It breaks down the images and provides an explanation of their purpose in the text.  This site also addresses the format and argues that the text has three acts.  It is very useful especially if students are struggling to make all of the connections and interpret the images.

Key Vocabulary: Ambition, Aviation, Humble, Obstacle, Petrol, Plagued, Promoter, Telegram, 

Teaching Suggestions:

1. Use the text in social studies to discuss women's rights during the 20th century.
2. Use this text in math to calculate how much fuel was needed to fly across the Atlantic.  Discuss why Amelia had to reduce the amount of fuel she could take and how this was risky.
3. Using this text as inspiration and as a model, have students create comic strips.  In pairs, have each partner intrepret the story to demonstrate their ability to make meaning from the images using inferential comprehension.

Comprehension Strategies
Pre-Reading- Have students complete a KWL chart about what they already know and what they want to know about Amelia Earhart.  This will activate prior knowledge and set a purpose for reading.  

During Reading- Have students use a story map to outline the events in the book.  This will encourage students to interpret the images because there is very little text to aid in comprehension.

Post-Reading- Have students use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast the goals and dreams of Grace and Amelia Earhart.  Students will be able to identify the real aspirations of Amelia Earhart with the fictional character, Grace to demonstrate how Amelia Earhart impacted women.  At that time many people agreed with Grace's mother who stated, "Seeing that woman pilot's put ideas in your head" (Taylor 11).  However, Amelia inspired women, like Grace, to achieve their goals. 

Writing Activity: Have students pretend they are reporters like Grace.  They can write an article about Amelia Earhart before, during, or after she crossed the Atlantic.  Students should include a headline, image, and full descriptive article.  Students may need to conduct some research outside of the text to validate the historical facts they include.
 

Taylor, S. S., & Towle, B. (2010). Amelia Earhart: this broad ocean. New York: Disney/Hyperion Books.