The Sweetest Fig by Laura McKenna

The Sweetest Fig

Author: Chris Van Allsburg

Grade level: K-3

This book about a greedy dentist who see’s a patient who cannot pay for her visit. SInce she cannot pay with money, she pays him with a fig. She told him that it was a magic fig and that if you eat it, “all your dreams come true.” the dentist was saving it for weeks, waiting for the perfect dream to occur so it could come true. He was waiting to dream about becoming the richest man in the world. One day, the dentist’s dog, who was occasionally mistreated, accidentally ate the fig. The next day, the dog woke up in the dentist’s body and the dentist woke up in the dog’s body. The dog always dreamt of switching roles with the dentist who the dentist could feel how he felt. This is a great book to read to students. It gives students an example of how you should treat people the way they want to be treated. If you treat people badly, you may get mistreated back.

Allsburg, C. V. (1993). The sweetest fig. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

“The Road Not Taken”

Title: “The Road Not Taken”

Author: Robert Frost

Genre: Poetry

Age Level: 2^nd-8^th grade

           

This is a very short poem suitable for all ages. It may be very difficult for younger children to understand the full meaning of the poem. This poem is about a man walking in the woods when he comes across to paths. He realizes he must make a choice and decide what path he is going to walk down. He knows that whatever path he chooses will be different than the other, but they both seem to be popular choices amongst walkers. He finally decides on a path and begins to travel down it, thinking about the one not chosen and what lays in that path.

This is a very short poem, but has many underlining meanings. Many people interpret this poem in many different ways. It is a good way to introduce poetry because its not just the typical rhyming poems that kids seem to affiliate poems with. Its important that you teach children the different forms of poetry and allow them to speak their mind when writing. According to Tompkins “ Of course, students should be allowed to write rhyming poetry, but rhyme should never impose as a criterion for acceptable poetry. They should use thyme when it fits naturally into their writing. When students write poetry, they’re searching for their voices, and they need freedom to do that (Tompkins, 2013, p. 321). This poem is simply a mans mind talking discussing his options and then making a choice. Its important that students know that they can write poems about anything they want, theirs no limits.

Its important after reading this poem to the kids you allow them to discuss what just read to them aloud, or even in small groups. You should give them copies of the poem so they can read it over themselves and look back at certain parts if they feel the need to. Reading aloud to kids is a great way to set the stage for a new lesson, however, according to Gibbons “ Consequently, listening task in the classroom, just like reading tasks, are far more demanding if children have no previous knowledge on which to draw. Lack of comprehension is likely to be due to this, just a much as to the fact that learners may find certain sounds difficult to discriminate” (Gibbons, 2002, p. 104). Kids can get confused when you are simply reading or telling them a story, so introducing an entire knew form of literature orally can be very overwhelming and it is important to keep that in mind as a future teacher.

 

 

Frost, R., & Untermeyer, L. (1951). The road not taken; an introduction to Robert Frost. New York: Holt.

 

Gibbons, P. (2002). Scaffolding language, scaffolding learning: Teaching second language learners in the mainstream classroom. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

 

Tompkins, G. E. (2005). Language arts: Patterns of practice. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Merrill

Horton Hears a Who! by Dr. Seuss

Horton Hears A Who! by Dr. Seuss

Fantasy-Fiction-Children’s Literature

Along with having the very important message of “A person’s a person, no matter how small”, Dr. Seuss’s Horton Hears a Who is a hysterical children’s book which tells the story of Horton the elephant. One day Horton is splashing in a pool, when he hears voices which seem to be coming off of a small speck of dust. He discovers that the “speck” is actually the tiny planet of Whoville. Horton vows to keep Whoville safe from all of the other animals, who don’t believe it truly exists. In a heroic act, Horton gets all of the Who’s to scream, yell, and stamp to prove to the other animals that they are really there.

 Horton Hears a Who happens to be one of my favorite books, but truthfully, one cannot go wrong with anything Dr. Seuss! Along with being a good introduction to rhyming words, almost all of Dr. Seuss’s books are great texts to use as choral-reading. Pretty much every book has a main sentence which is repeated in the novel, such as “a person’s a person no matter how small”. These lines are great for Choral reading, which Tompkins promotes in her text “Language Arts: Patterns of Practice”. So next time you need a catchy read-aloud book, pick up Horton Hears a Who!

 

Seuss, and Seuss. Horton Hears a Who! New York: Random House, 1954. Print.

Tompkins, G. E. (2012). Language arts: Patterns of practice. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

The Moon Book by Gail Gibbons

The Moon Book- Gail Gibbons

Non-Fiction

“The Moon Book” is a great book to use in 1^st-2rd grade classrooms. The Moon Book accurately describes many details about the moon and its’ role and location in the solar system. Gail Gibbons also addresses myths and ancient stories about the moon. Not to mention, this book also describes how and why the moon goes through phases, and the moons’ effects on our oceans.

This book would be an excellent introduction to non-fiction in a first grade classroom. The moon is a topic which many first graders will be interested in, and it’s not too “sciency”. This story is a great example of how non-fiction books can be engaging. I found this to be one of the best parts of this book. The Moon Book teaches children to enjoy non-fiction without feeling like they have to read out of a textbook. In “Language Arts: Patterns of Practice”, stresses the early introduction of non-fiction books to young students. I feel like The Moon Book would be a good “first introduction” to non-fiction because it’s not overwhelming to students (not too many graphs, charts, etc.) Overall a great read for 1^st/2^nd graders!

 

Gibbons, Gail. The Moon Book. New York: Holiday House, 1997. Print.

Tompkins, G. E. (2012). Language arts: Patterns of practice. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Cole- Catie McGuinness

This story is a beautifully illustrated story of how this little courageous six-year-old African American girl was forced to play a huge role in the desegregation of an elementary school. This story is extremely touching, powerful, and one that everyone should know. It is very inspirational that Ruby can persevere through these obstacles at such a young age.

The Story of Ruby Bridges is best for grades first through fourth grade. Its genre is biography and its themes include African American history, courage, bravery, heroism, determination and perseverance, and honor. I would definitely introduce this book to my classroom to show them the challenges young African Americans faced during the Civil Rights Era. I would incorporate this book in my classroom by having students come up with questions they would ask Ruby Bridges. Then I would have students form these questions into a letter that I will collect and actually send to Ruby Bridges. As Tompkins says in Chapter Four “Personal Writing,” letters are important because since they involve an authentic audience, “students usually take more care to think through what they want to say, to write legibly, and to use spelling, capitalization, and punctuation conventions correctly” (Tompkins, 2012, p. 104). I will actually send it to Ruby Bridges because as Tompkins adds on page 104, “writing authentic letters that will be delivered is much more valuable than writing practice letters to be graded by the teacher” (Tompkins, 2012).   The research conducted by Robinson, Crawford, and Hall in 1991, “concluded that authentic, purposeful, and sustained letter-writing experiences are extremely valuable for children” (Tompkins, 2013, p. 104). Letter writing is extremely important to teach students and this is the perfect opportunity to do so in the classroom.

I would also have students write a biography because this is the true biography of Ruby Bridges. In chapter ten, Tompkins discusses the importance of children reading biographies. “As students read about these people’s lives, they’re also learning about personal qualities such as courage and determination that they can apply to their own lives to help them fulfill their dreams” (Tompkins, 2012, p.282). This book perfectly portrays this because this is a true story about a 6-year old who had to pass through angry mobs to get to school, but she had courage and did it everyday! This will give students the hope and courage to pursue their biggest goals in life.

 

Coles, R., & Ford, G. (1995). The Story of Ruby Bridges. New York: Scholastic.

Tompkins, G. E. (2012). Language arts: Patterns of practice. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.