The Power of Settings When You’re Teaching Coraline

What will be on the other side of that locked door? This is the question asked early on in the Neil Gaiman novel Coraline. As Coraline reaches up to get the key and turns it in the door, we aren’t sure whether there’ll still be bricks there, or if there’ll be something else there.

Just like this moment, the other settings in Coraline are filled with a little bit of uncertainty - which is why they’re so exciting to explore in the classroom!

 
The Power of Settings When You’re Teaching Coraline. A teaching and learning blog post exploring settings and some ideas for teaching them in the classroom when teaching Neil Gaiman's Coraline. #novelstudy #settings
 

Coraline tells the story of a girl who has recently moved to a new home. As she is exploring the environment around her, she is compelled to explore behind the door - even though when her mother opened it, there was nothing but a brick wall behind it.

The settings tell us a lot about the themes and ideas of Coraline. From the woods which aren’t really woods and just take her back to the ‘other’ house, to the flat where her neighbours live in (both in the ‘real’ world and in the ‘other’ world) to the well in the yard of the real house. As students work their way through the novel, it’s worth taking the time to explore the settings in more detail, allowing students to better understand it.

Here’s some ways you can explore the settings in more detail:

Create a List of the Important Settings in Coraline

What are the most important settings in Coraline and why are they important? This is a question which students can ask themselves as they are reading the story - maybe reserving a part of their notebooks or contributing to a collaborative list of important settings. Once they’ve finished reading the book, students can review the list and identify which of the settings are most important and why. Students can then take this further by identifying which of the settings are most important to which character and why.

Describing a Setting from Coraline

If students have identified the important settings from Coraline, they can extend it further by describing the setting. Asking students to describe a setting in their own words - or to draw and describe it - requires them to really focus on what is - and isn’t included in that setting. As students are describing it, you can further prompt them to think about what people might see, hear or feel in that setting.

Want to engage in a draw and describe activity with your students? Find this activity as part of the Coraline Characters and Settings teaching resource

 
 

Creating a Map of Settings

Coraline is one of those books where the characters need to go on a journey to solve a problem. As she goes on the journey, she visits a range of settings. This can be explored in the classroom as students look at the journey to create a map of the settings. 

As students make a map, they can explore which places Coraline chose to visit and why she chose those places. They can look at how her emotions change in the different places she visits and whether the setting has any influence over those emotions. They can also explore who she encounters in each of those settings and how that impacts the plot of the story.

Have you explored the settings of Coraline - or another novel? Tell us about your experience in the comments.

 
 

Why You Should Teach Coraline as Your Next Novel Study

Are you looking for your next classroom novel study? Here’s why you should consider Neil Gaiman’s Coraline.

 
Why You Should Teach Coraline as Your Next Novel Study. A teaching and learning blog post exploring Coraline by Neil Gaiman with links to teaching resources. #novelstudy
 

Coraline tells the story of a young girl who’s recently moved into an apartment in an old house. In the process of ‘exploring’ she discovers a door that leads nowhere . . . until it does. She finds herself in the ‘other’ world, a world where the other mother wants to fulfill her every wish. Or does she . . . ?

This short novel is filled with interesting characters to explore, storylines to follow and themes to examine. But here’s some other reasons you should teach Coraline in your classroom.

Coraline is Filled With Wonderful Writing and Language

Neil Gaiman is a wonderful writer and his writing style shines in this book. It’s filled with beautiful descriptive language which makes it perfect for vocabulary lessons. Students can identify their favourite words within different chapters or sections. They can define these words, discuss why the author might have chosen to use them in the book and what feelings they evoke in the reader, then try to use the vocabulary in their own writing.

Coraline Explore the Notion that Everything Has Two Sides

The Other Mother and the other ‘other’ characters are fascinating to explore. They are probably one of the key ideas to discuss when engaging with a Coraline novel study. Students can compare and contrast the features of the ‘real’ characters and the ‘other’ characters. They can talk about why those characters might have certain characteristics and how that would impact their relationships with others in the story. Students can also explore those characters which don’t have ‘other’ counterparts and question why that might be the case - why the author made that decision.

Coraline Explore the Theme of Bravery

Bravery is one of those themes which we often find in children’s novels, even when it’s expressed in a range of different actions. Jamal in Boy Overboard, for example, needs to be brave when he finds himself and his sister in an awful situation without their parents. He often shows his bravery through quick thinking and being willing to make suggestions to those in positions of authority. Rowan in Rowan of Rin is another character who has to be brave to solve a problem. In his case, he has never thought of himself as brave in the village of people who appear to be brave - but it is his calm and caring nature which allows him to be brave. 

In Coraline, Coraline is required to say no at a time when it would be very easy to say yes. She has to use her brain to be a problem solver and at times, she simply has to run, and keep going.  Students could examine her different actions throughout the book and identify when she is being brave and when she isn’t and what bravery looks like in the world of Coraline.

 
 

Teacher Resources

There are three teacher resources for Coraline as well as a resource bundle available through Galarious Goods.

The Comprehension and Vocabulary teaching resource allows students to take an in-depth, chapter by chapter look at Coraline. Different printable resources allow students to examine the comprehension and vocabulary of Coraline including chapter questions and more in-depth looks at an aspect of each chapter.

The Character and Setting teaching resource takes a look at the characters of Coraline and some of the events which happen to them. It also includes classroom activities where students describe and discuss the settings in the book.

The Whole Novel teaching resource encompasses the entire novel of Coraline. It includes reader response, retell, themes, discussion questions and creative activities.