Earthquakes is a nonfiction informational picture book. The book can be used with children of all ages. The book discusses the harmful effects of earthquakes, what causes them, where they occur, the destruction, the impact they have on a community, where faults are, how they are measured, and examples of catastrophic earthquakes. This book can be used in literacy and science classes. It is important for children to understand the different genres and their importance. Informational texts such as these are important to have in the classroom because according to Tompkins informational texts “broaden background knowledge”. It is greatly beneficial and enjoyable for students. I would use this book to teach children about the different genres in the classroom. I would have the students split into groups and each group would get a different genre. They would then compare their books with other groups after reading them and see the difference between the genres
Month: April 2014
Junie B., First Grader: Toothless Wonder — Gina DeBenedetto
Junie B., First Grader: Toothless Wonder by Barbara Park
Genre: Humor, Realistic Fiction
Grade level: 1-4
Junie B., First Grader: Toothless Wonder is an adorable and humorous story about the classic story character, a first grade girl named Junie B. Jones. In this particular book, Junie B. Jones’ front tooth is loose and she is not happy about it. She is the first person in her class to experience loose teeth and she is petrified that she will look like her toothless uncle. She also wants nothing to do with the tooth fairy because she is convinced she is not actually a fairy, but a witch who steals children’s teeth and eats them. When her teacher explains to Junie that she should be excited for the monumental moment in her life, Junie finally becomes excited to lose her tooth. The book concludes with Junie’s tooth falling out and Junie realizing her new smile is awesome and she cannot wait to show it off.
I think this book is perfect to introduce in the beginning of the school year. I would consider reading this book aloud to a first grade classroom, since that is the the grade level students usually begin to lose teeth. According to Tompkins’ textbook, “Children’s author Mem Fox (2001) and reading-aloud guru Jim Trelease (2006) both urge teachers to make time to read aloud every day because as students listen, they gain valuable experiences with books, enrich their background knowledge and vocabulary, and develop a love of literature” (p.122). If I read the book to my students and then have a class discussion about their thoughts and reactions it can spark the students to open up about their feelings on the topic.
Park, B., & Brunkus, D. (2002). Junie B., first grader: Toothless wonder. New York: Random House.
Tompkins, G. E. (2013). Language arts: Patterns of practice. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Wager. (n.d.) Assistive technology considerations for academic success (TAMFAN). Council for Exceptional Children
The Little Prince (Kelsey O’Brien)
The Little Prince
Written by
Age Range: 9 and up, 3rd grade to 5th grade
Genre: Novella, Children’s Literature, Fiction
The story THe Little Prince revolves around a boy/creature from asteroid B-612. One day a seed arrives on his planet and blooms into a beautiful flower but it begins to annoy him. The Prince leaves the planet to escape the flower and its vaniety. He goes to many many planets and meets many people on his journey. He asks them questions about life and about adults on Earth. Some characters he meets are, a snake, a fox and a narrator. The Prince ends up returning to his planet and realizing that the important things in life can’t always be seen. He knows now that he has helped the flower grow and he loves it.
I have read this book in French in the past so I read it in English to see if I could apply it in my classroom in the future. The story is a true classic! It teaches kids and even adults lessons about life that are applicable all these years after it was written. The story tells the message that there is a kid in all of us. The illustrations are adorable and appropriate for children to read. Kids will also love it because it is very entertaining!
How I could use this book in my classroom:
To teach my students are greed and about generosity. The students can make a list (before we read the book) of the top 5 things they value most in life and then we can read the book and talk about the similarities/differences.
We could also talk about feeling misunderstood and encourage the students to share a time they felt someone didn’t understand them. According to Tompkins (2012), “reading is a process in which readers negotiate meaning in order to comprehend, or create an interpretation”(p.148). After reading this novella they can take away different things depending on the person and their situation which is great for kids books!
For older students we could watch a performance of the book and then reenact our own version, and write a review of the performance we watched etc.
Citations:
Saint-Exupéry, A. D., & Howard, R. (2000). The little prince. San Diego, CA: Harcourt.
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The Ugly Vegetables by Grace Lin
The Ugly Vegetables, by Grace Lin is a short fiction book about a little girl helping her mother plant their garden. The little girl and her mother plant their garden at the same time the neighbors work on their garden. The little girl notices that they are planting her garden differently from her neighbors. Her mother is using a big shovel meanwhile the neighbors use a small one. The mother explains to the daughter they must use big shovels because they are planting Chinese vegetables. Soon after they’ve planted their garden the stems begin to grow little prickly stems. The little girl notices that her neighbor’s gardens are blooming, but their garden isn’t. The neighbor’s garden is filled with flowers and beautiful colors. The little girl thinks her garden is plain and ugly. The mother tries to explain that their vegetables are better than flowers but the little girl doesn’t think so. Then one day her mother uses the Chinese vegetables they planted to make soup. The little girl and the whole neighborhood fall in love with the magical aroma of soup. After the girl tries the soup she loves it and now sees how their garden was better after all.
This book is recommended for grades K-3 and it could be used in several ways in the classroom. I can use this book The Ugly Vegetables, and tie it into a science lesson. After we’ve read the book I can have my students plant their own seeds. This will be a fun lesson for them because they will be able to work on their own plants like the girl from the story did. I will tell them to keep in mind what they’ve learned about the story. I will tell students that like the little girl from the book and her neighbor’s garden their plants will also be different from each other. I would use the vocabulary terms we’ve learned from the book for instance: shovel, plant, seeds, stem, blooming and so on. The students will have to label what they use with the vocabulary terms taught previously.
The Ugly Vegetables is a short fiction book that has a lot of vocabulary words I can teach my class. According to Blachowicz & Obrochta (2005) “Reading aloud to students has been found to be a significant way to increase vocabulary” (p. 265). First, I will read aloud The Ugly Vegetables, and once I’m done reading I will give a student friendly definition of the new terms they’ve just heard. I will select four vocabulary words and then I will ask the students to give me a description, explanation, or example of the new term in his/her own words. We will go over the words prickly, aroma, trade, and blooming. I will provide pictures for them to connect them with the new terms. The students will then be able to learn these new vocabulary words and define them on their own using the pictures provided.
References
Lin, G. (1999). The ugly vegetables. Watertown, MA, MA: Charlesbridge.
Blachowicz, C. L. Z. and Obrochta, C. (2005), Vocabulary Visits: Virtual Field Trips for Content Vocabulary Development. The Reading Teacher, 59: 262–268.
-Mariela Soriano
Knock Knock: My Dad’s Dream for Me by Daniel Beaty; Post by Lindsay Roe
Author: Daniel Beaty
Illustrator: Bryan Collier
Age Recommendation: Five to eight years/ kindergarten through third grade
Genres: Multicultural, Realistic Fiction, Picture Book
Summary: The narrator, a young boy, describes a childhood game he plays with his father, in which the father knocks on his door and he pretends to be asleep until his father comes into the room and he can jump into his arms. Unfortunately, one day the knock never comes, and the boy starts to cope with having an absent father. He misses his father, and longs for clarity as to why he is without his father. Eventually, he realizes that the best thing he can do for his father and for himself is to knock down the obstacles standing in his way of obtaining a better life.
Generally speaking, there is an uneasiness surrounding picture books like Knock Knock. Its subject matter demands that it be carefully considered and thoughtfully presented to children. That being said, I would want to read this story aloud to my class and encourage thoughtful conversation because many students will be able to relate to the narrator’s experience growing up with a parent absent for whatever reason. In addition to bringing children together from different backgrounds who share this similar experience, this book will provide children with the opportunity to connect their lives and experiences to those of literature, an opportunity that they would not have if only picture books portraying the nuclear family were utilized in the classroom. To connect with the narrator’s experience, Tompkins (2013) describes that students can create “an open-mind portrait” of the character (p. 246). The students would draw a picture of the narrator, in this case a young boy, and then on the back would write as if they were the character, essentially writing what they think the character would be thinking. This activity would both help students to relate to the narrator and engage with the literature as well as reach the Common Core Standard, “describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges” (CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL2.3).
Additionally, Tompkins (2013) explains that another topic to discuss with students when responding to a picture book is the illustration: “Teachers ask students to focus on artistic styles, elements of art, or art media. Or, they talk about how the illustrations extend the text or emphasize the story’s message. Teachers plan author/illustrator studies and ask students to examine the illustrations in a collection of books” (p. 200). In this book, Bryan Collier uses collage to bring the story to life and repeatedly uses certain images throughout the story as symbols of the narrator’s progress. For example, the father’s hat in the beginning travels throughout the pictures, and then finally appears on the narrator’s head when he has become successful. After reflecting on how Bryan Collier used collage to enhance the story’s meaning, students could be asked to create collages of their own lives.
References
Beaty, D. (2013). Knock knock: My dad’s dream for me. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company.
National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers. (2010). Common Core State Standards for English language arts and literacy in history/social studies, science, and technical subjects. Washington, DC: Authors.
Tompkins, G. E. (2013). Language arts: Patterns of practice. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
The ABC Mystery By: Doug Cushman—Blog Post By: Meaghan Brenna Foley
Title: The ABC Mystery
Author: Doug Cushman
Illustrator: Doug Cushman
Genre: Picture Book/Mystery Fiction
Age Recommendation: Pre-K—2nd Grade (3-7 years old)
Blog Post By: Meaghan Brenna Foley
Book Summary:
This book is a rhyming mystery book that teaches children the alphabet. Each letter of the alphabet is specifically presented on its own page in the book, along with a picture to go along with the text. For example, the first letter of the alphabet begins with A. In the book, the first line reads, “A is the Art that was stolen in the night” (Cushman, 1993, p. 1). This book is also a rhyming story, which uses each letter of the alphabet. The second page states, “B is the Butler, who sneaks out of sight” (Cushman, 1993, p. 2). The plot of the story is that artwork goes missing and as a search for it ensues, everyone becomes a suspect. Detective Inspector McGroom is put onto the investigation and searches for clues everywhere he goes. In the end, Detective Inspector McGroom finds the thieves who stole the artwork and his long day finally comes to an end.
I would definitely use this book in my classroom for a number of different reasons. For starters, I believe that I could use this book to teach my students how to use rhyming words. Some of the rhyming words in this book include, but are not limited to, wore/shore, moor/door, and hall/all. For my younger students, this book is wonderful because it teaches them the letters of the alphabet. In my opinion, reading this book would also be a great tool to use during a poetry lesson. Students often find it difficult to write and understand poetry; therefore, it is important to make the lesson both educational and enjoyable. I would incorporate this book into my poetry lesson to catch my students’ interest and eagerness to learn the lesson plan. The mystery storyline offers a sense of anticipation into learning who stole the artwork. This book also offers many pictures, which serve as visual aids to go along with the story.
The teaching strategy that could be used with this book is found in Chapter 11 of Tompkins’ Language Arts Patterns of Practice. The teaching strategy is known as the strategy of reading poetry aloud. This is a great strategy to use with this book because while also learning how to rhyme, reading poetry aloud helps students “appreciate the cadence of words” (Tompkins, 2013, p. 336). This book is well written because each line is clear, concise, and flows into the other. For my lesson plan, I would modify the reading aloud strategy by turning it into a sing along. In my opinion, singing the lines of a poem, or story, helps one remember the key details of a text. Performing a poem, or story, is also more likely to get the students involved in the day’s activity. I believe that teachers should always find new, enjoyable ways to teach their students about important subjects that are often misunderstood. Once students enjoy learning about rhyming poetry, perhaps they would feel more comfortable with learning about poems that do not rhyme.
References
Cushman, D. (1993). The abc mystery. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.
Tompkins, G. E. (2013). Language arts: Patterns of practice. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Wager. (n.d.) Assistive technology considerations for academic success (TAMFAN). Council for Exceptional Children.
Hanukkah Haiku by Harriet Ziefert
Genre: Children’s cultural picture book
Age level: K-5
Summary:
Hanukkah Haiku by Harriet Ziefert is a short children’s story about a special Jewish holiday, Hanukkah. This story includes the eight days of Hannukkah and what the family will do. For example, the one day the mother will roll the dreidel while the father will light the candles. The family will also dance around the candles each night as they light them. This story shows a cultural tradition and how the family spends their holidays. Another significance about the story is that on each page it includes a new day. The first page is the first day of Hanukkah and the last page is the eighth day of Hanukkah. Also, each page includes a Haiku type poem. Each story is written in Haiku form.
I feel this book is essential for young learners for many reasons. Children can have a chance to see the different cultures and the different ways that people celebrate their holidays. Children can have a better understanding of what Jewish individuals do for Hanukkah. I would use this story in a lesson to show the cultural importance. I would share this story around Christmas and Hanukkah time. Also, this book is essential for poetry learning. During a lesson on poetry, I would share this story with young learners so they can have an understanding of different types of poems. They can see how a good Haiku is written and how to write a Haiku. According to Tompkins, “The most familiar syllable-count poem is haiku, a Japanese form consisting of 17 syllables arranged in three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables” (2012, p. 330). This book can really help children have an idea to see how poetry is written and how poetry can be written in not only a children’s book, but also about a culture.
Reference:
Tompkins, G.E. (2012) Language Arts. Patterns of Practice. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education
On the Night You Were Born
On the Night You Were Born
By: Nancy Tillman
Genre: Poetry (rhyming poetry)
Age Level: First grade, (5-6 years old)
On the Night You Were Born is a poem written by the author for her two children, Tucker and Tess. The entire poem includes rhyming endings that make it feel like you are reading a song. The poem emphasizes how everyone is unique and that no one ever has been and no one will ever be an exact replica of another person. The poem has a way of reminding the readers that they are beautiful and were created to love themselves in many different ways. Throughout the poem, the author describes the sense of a message being sent throughout the world after a birth that another new, beautiful, and original human being has entered our world.
I would use this book in teaching my students to appreciate differences among themselves and their peers. I think that it is incredibly important for students to recognize and appreciate that everyone is intelligent and beautiful in their own ways. After reading this poem, I would encourage my first grade students to begin brainstorming about what they love about themselves. Not only could this lesson be a good way to encourage students to appreciate the differences of their peers, but it could lead to the children recognizing their own strengths and gaining more self respect and self confidence. After brainstorming the unique qualities about themselves, I would have my students write short, rhyming poems about themselves. Having the ability to write about yourself will help students recognize what they truly love about themselves. Also, when a student reads poems written about their peers, he or she may see them in a new light and begin to understand others’ qualities and differences.
In using the book On the Night You Were Born, I would have my students write personal poems and then use gallery walks as a beneficial teaching strategy. I think it is a great idea when teachers take the time to display students’ work and let it be recognized. In writing poetry, students should feel extremely proud of the creativity and work that went into creating their masterpieces and it is a shame to just write something and then forget about it. I would have my students write poems about themselves- touching on the brainstormed topics that they love about themselves. Using a gallery walk, students in the class will all get the opportunity to read and learn from other students’ work as each piece is hung around the room. According to Tompkins (2012), “Teachers also display copies of student’s poems, often accompanied by an illustration, on a wall of the classroom and then have a gallery walk for students to read and respond to the poems… This activity is quick; it can be completed much faster than if students were to each share their poems in front of the class” (p. 341). I would allow my students to write comments and compliments on sticky notes for each poem on their gallery walks. I think it is important that when a student is proud of a piece of work that he completed, that he receives proper feedback and encouragement to continue writing well. Overall, I like the fact that in writing personal poems, my students will be able to better appreciate not only themselves, but also the unique differences that all of their peers bring to the table as well.
Tillman, N. (2006). On the night you were born. New York: Feiwel & Friends.
Tompkins, G. E. (2012). Language arts: Patterns of practice. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Anna Salvatore
My name is Celia by: Brenna Kennedy
My Name is Celia
Citation: Tompkins, G. E. (2012). Language arts: Patterns of practice. Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.Wager. (n.d.) Assistive technology
considerations for academic success (TAMFAN). Council for
Exceptional Children.
Brown, Monica, and Rafael López. My Name Is Celia: The Life of Celia Cruz =
Me Llamo Celia: La Vida De Celia Cruz. Flagstaff, AZ: Rising Moon, 2004.
Print.
Summary: This book is a great mirror book for many Latin American children, especially females. They are able to see themselves in this book and can relate their own life and experiences to this book. Celia was a young girl who absolutely loved to sing. She grew up with thirteen brothers, sisters, and cousins that all lived under a very small roof. She grew up always wanting to be a singer and so many people from all around the world believed in her and totally loved her. She was the happiest little girl when she was on stage and performing for everyone. After a while, Celia and her husband decided to leave Cuba and become United States citizens. This is a great book for young girls who have trouble understanding who they are. This book will show them that they are capable of doing anything they want to.
Genre: Picture Book Biography
Age: 5 to 8 years old
To start off the lesson I would ask students if they have ever read books where they see picture themselves. As students are answering I would give them feedback and ask them more questions about how they felt when reading the certain book. It is important that students are able to understand a book that they are reading and it is more important that they are able to view themselves in the book and relate their own lives to the book. After the students are finished answering the questions I would ask them to begin making predictions about this book either individually or with a couple of their classmates. It is interesting to hear about what other classmates may be predicating about a book or even how they may relate it to their own life. I would use this book in my own classroom to teach the students about different cultures around the world and how different they are from one another. I would teach them that it is important to be able to include one another in everything that they do. As I was growing up many students were not able to connect themselves with the characters in the book because of their race or beliefs. So as a future teacher I want to have a variety of books for students to be able to look act and connect their own lives to theirs. This will help students to want to read more and learn more about different cultures. My students will be able to make inferences about this book and the books that we will be reading throughout the year. The students will be able to connect themselves with the book and their own real life experiences.
The teaching strategy that I would use to teach a lesson using this book would be to first have students look up different places around the world and learn about the different cultures and ways of life that they live. Then I would students fill out a question sheet about their own family and where they are from and to give a little information about their own culture and how they do things each day. Next I would bring in a tape of Salsa music and have students listen to it to get an understanding of what it sounds like and to hear the different rhythms and beats it has. Lastly I would have student make a collage about their own life and what things are the most important to them and their family. They will use magazines and the Internet to find pictures and words to describe their own life. According to Tompkins (2012), “reading is a process in which readers negotiate meaning in order to comprehend, or create an interpretation”(p.148). It is important for me to teach my students explicitly each step of becoming better readers until they are able to be successful in doing it. I also find it important that students are able to connect their own life experiences with the book because it helps them to understand what they are reading much better and easier. This teaching strategy will be helpful to the students because they will get a understanding of different cultures and the different ways that people live their daily lives. It will be a hug culture change to many but it is essential that they understand how different it is in other countries.
Brenna Kennedy
Jessica Perrone: Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young
Jessica Perrone
Title: Seven Blind Mice
Genre: fable
Age recommendation: 4-8 years old
Grade level: preschool-3rd
A retelling of an Indian fable, Seven Blind Mice uses the experiences of seven mice to demonstrate the importance of “seeing the whole.” The story begins with the seven blind mice noticing something unusual by their pond. They do not know what this something is and return home. The mice argued about this strange something by their pond all week, beginning with the Red Mouse’s exploration on Monday and finally ending with the White Mouse’s exploration on Sunday. The red, green, yellow, purple, orange and blue mice attempt to discover what is by their pond by exploring individual parts of it. Since these mice are blind, each one had a different idea about what had appeared at their pond until the seventh day when it was White Mouse’s turn to explore. Rather than focusing on one part of the something, White Mouse ran up and down and side to side until she realizes that the something is an elephant. White Mouse describes the elephant using each of her friends’ ideas but ultimately puts the pieces together to see the whole picture. The discovery made by each of the mice culminates in the notion that “wisdom comes from seeing the whole.”
I would use this in my classroom in a variety of ways. Firstly, the book is a retelling of an Indian fable and can be used to introduce a social studies unit about India or a multicultural unit in general. Arts-based learning can be emphasized using this book not only because each mouse is a different color but also because what the mice “see” though they are blind is an interpretation made personally by each mouse. Students could listen to the story and finger paint, draw, color, etc. what they believe the piece each mouse is sensing looks like. The class could be split into seven small groups with each one focused on one of the mice. At the end of the story, the paintings could be placed together to see if each groups’ interpretation created the whole (an elephant). The story could be used to connect literature to science for a lesson about the five senses. The seven blind mice obviously lack the sense of sight but are able to utilize several other senses therefore demonstrating the significance of our senses. To focus on a social domain as opposed to academic domain, the book could be read to a student/class of a student (s) with impaired vision or blindness to show children that just because one cannot see does not mean they cannot succeed.
With the heavy emphasis on teaching the common core and focusing on the state testing, it is important educators find a way to incorporate expression and creativity into everyday learning. “Students visually represent ideas and communicate information for a variety of purposes using art, graphics, and drama” (Tompkins, 2013, p. 203) and this skill should not be overlooked. Using Seven Blind Mice as a model, students can envision their own similar stories of discovering pieces before ultimately uncovering the whole. They could write short stories and illustrate them or students could take a completely arts-based approach by representing the fable or their own story without any words. Implementing arts activities based on this fable allows students to “apply the elements of visual language as they create visual projects,” which provides an opportunity for self-expression and a chance to put on paper their mental interpretations of the text. Whole class and/or small group discussions can be held about each student’s visual representations to encourage positive social interaction and foster necessary social skills. “The most important benefit of talk is that it promotes higher level thinking” (Tompkins, 2013, p. 127) which can add to a child’s understanding of text by listening to other children’s interpretations of the story, agreeing or disagreeing with an interpretation and possibly honing persuasive skills as the child tries to convince his or her group why this particular representation of the story is accurate. If a teacher is immovably set on requiring a writing assignment about the text, an arts based approach can be used as an accommodation for a student with special needs. Perhaps a student with a learning disability in writing can demonstrate his or her comprehension more adequately through visual language as opposed to written language.
Tompkins, G. E. (2013). Language arts: Patterns of practice. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Young, E. (1992). Seven blind mice. New York, NY: Puffin.
Teaching with Children's Literature 