NL Classroom Pilot

Grade 6 pilot: Newfoundland classroom

When the ides of March 2020 first hit leaving teachers and students at loose ends, the Youth Ambassadors at Digitally Lit were quick to step up and create meaningful engagement opportunities for themselves and their peers. One such Ambassador, Oliver Hallett of Newfoundland & Labrador, decided to create a fun online quiz focused on the books of Digitally Lit’s partnering publishers. The result was the character quiz, Which Atlantic Canadian Protagonist Are You?

Designed in May 2020 by NL Youth Ambassador Oliver Hallett with illustrations by former NS Youth Ambassador Jessica Parsons, please find the original Character Quiz here.

Always watchful for online resources designed to improve the reading proficiencies of her students, Which Atlantic Canadian Protagonist Are You? caught the attention of a Newfoundland & Labrador Reading Specialist Colleen Powers. With youth-driven, online solutions in mind, Colleen approached Oliver and Digitally lit to see if they could combine forces and create another quiz, this one for her students. Specifically, Colleen asked that the quiz:

Focus on the diverse place-based identities of Middle-Grade students
Encourage overall social emotional learning and development
Cater to the unique learning needs of any Grade 6 classroom

Quiz creator Oliver Hallett and Digitally Lit were quick to seize this rare opportunity. With New Brunswick Youth Ambassador Ellie Wilson’s commitment secured as this quiz illustrator, Digitally Lit went on to provide Colleen Powers and Oliver Hallett with a selection of books to consider. The following four books were chosen based on the diversity of social emotional interests, authentic representation and engaging content each covers. In addition, each book creatively represents and connects Newfoundland and Labrador youth to literacy in a way that those set outside of Atlantic Canada could not. They shine a light on artists that exist in our own backyards.

You most resemble Kate from the Wereduck.

Katie

You're most like Kate from Wereduck by Dave Atkinson. Knowing who you are and being yourself are very important to you.

Grab your copy of Wereduck

Laney

You're most like Laney from A Beginner's Guide to Goodbye by Melanie Mosher. You're a very kind, friendly, and curious person.

Grab your copy of A Beginners Guide to Goodbye

Ginny

You're most like Ginny from Amelia & Me by Heather Stemp. You put everything you have into achieving your goals and living your dreams.

Grab your copy of Amelia & Me

Dylan

You're most like Dylan from The Mystery of Ireland's Eye by Shane Peacock. You enjoy solving mysteries and experiencing new things.

Grab your copy of Mystery of Ireland's Eye

All illustrations created by NB Youth Ambassador Ellie Wilson, Project Lead, Youth Draw the Word, Digitally Lit. To learn more about Youth Draw the Word, please click here

To ensure a multimodal approach, each book has been made available in both hard copy and audiobook formats. In addition, given three of the pilot's four books are part of reading series (that is, Amelia & Me is book 1 of 3 in The Ginny Ross Series; The Mystery of Ireland’s Eye, 1 of 5, A Dylan Maple Adventure Series, and Wereduck, 1 of 3, The Wereduck Series) those students identifying strongly with “Kate” (Wereduck), “Dylan”(The Mystery of Ireland’s Eye) or “Ginny" (Amelia & Me) are encouraged to nurture their love of reading while exploring each character's social-emotional development further in subsequent books.

This pilot is being trialed for the Fall of 2020 in various elementary schools in the Avalon Region of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Take the quiz designed especially for the Grade 6 Pilot in NL classrooms here and learn which character to you most resemble.