A Favorite October Read

This time of the year kids love to hear spooky stories. The Ghost-Eye Tree by Bill Martin, Jr. is one of my favorites because it's not a Halloween book, but it has the feel of being scary. This story is told by a young boy who lives out in the country and is afraid of a spooky looking tree on the way to town. Most of the story is a conversation between his big sister and him, with all the usual bickering and picking on that older siblings dish out to younger siblings.

Usually, the first time I share this story I read it aloud without showing any pictures, not even the cover. I ask students to picture what this place looks like and what this "ghost-eye tree" may look like. As I read, I stop often for students to talk about what they are picturing. We list words that help them visualize the scenes. At the end of the story, I hand students a 5" x 7" piece of brown construction paper and a blank piece of drawing paper. They have to tear the brown piece into what they think this "ghost-eye tree" looks like, glue it on the page, and then add drawings to complete the picture of their favorite part, including the characters.

The next day I put up all their pictures and re-read the story showing them the pictures. We revisit the chart of words from the day before and talk about how authors use language to paint pictures. We sort the words by parts of speech to get students to realize that adjectives are not the only ones that help us paint pictures, vivid verbs can create images for us too.

This book is, also, good to compare and contrast the characters. We create a chart to record things each character says and actions that give us clues to what they are like and to how they feel about each other.

This is a mentor text we revisit for writing, as well. To remind students to paint pictures with their words, I'll re-read some of their favorite parts as a mini-lesson before writing and ask students to attempt a sentence or paragraph in their writing that day that paints a picture.

Another book I've used in a similar way for visualizing is Owl Moon by Jane Yolen.

The Junkyard Wonders

I confess I am somewhat of a stalker, but in my defense I'm not stalking a person just the books she writes. I'm talking about books by Patricia Polacco, as soon as one is out I HAVE to get it. Her last one, The Junkyard Wonders, is a book that inspires and celebrates differences.

In one of her previous books, Thank You, Mr. Falker, she tells the story of how she struggled with learning to read. It wasn't until she was a 5th grader that a teacher realized it and she finally learned to read. Now in her new book, she writes about one of her experiences being labeled as a special education student.

As the story begins, Trisha chooses to move to live with her dad and grandmother so she can go to a new school where students don't know that she just learned to read. As soon as kids find out who her teacher is she is told her classroom is the "junkyard." The "junkyard" has students with a variety of needs, but their common characteristic is that they are not "normal." It is in this place where she finds the acceptance and support from peers that she's seeking.

Luckily, her teacher is far from "normal." The teacher is one who truly sees studens as individuals and absolutely believes that every student has a gift. She nurtures their individuality. She builds a community of trust. She challenges them. In doing so, these students begin to value themselves and what they have to offer.

By the end of the story, you learn that they accomplished great things in their lives. I predict you will be either wiping tears, or standing up and cheering, or maybe both.

For me it reminded me of the responsibility I have as an educator. In our day-to-day madness of covering curriculum, preparing kids for state assessments, dealing with all students bring into a classroom, etc., etc., etc. it is so easy to lose sight of how we impact kids. Nothing we do is more important than helping students believe in themselves and know they are valued.

The Great Kapok Tree

This is a story that easily lends itself to teaching students about main idea, supporting ideas, and summarizing. I have the book as a big book, so it's easy to share with whole classes. By 3rd grade, this is a book that students may have already read, but that's fine. It is easy for students to identify the main idea. They look at me as if saying, "DUH...the kapok tree."

I, then, tell them that as I read the story we are going to pay attention to how the writer supports this main idea, by finding the main idea of each page. We create a 3-colummn chart labeled:
Who/What? ---Did What? ---Why? As I read, I stop and students help in filling out the chart:
two men /pointed to tree / want to chop the tree

Often, students have to be guided to look for clues in the pictures because the pictures help to tell the story as well, so if the author is not explicitly telling us something the pictures may. We continue this process together for a while and the last few pages they have to do it independently, and then we check answers together.

When we finish, we read the entries and show students how these entries help us to summarize the story. As a group we write a summary.

This lesson is adapted from Teacher Vision.

I Need My Monster

We just had our book fair, and, of course, I found books I just HAD to have. Never mind that I'm supposed to be retired. Regardless, I Need My Monster is a new favorite already!

I used it with 3rd graders to introduce how to write a strong response. Let me start out by saying that the 3rd grade teachers combine two classes at a time when I'm in their rooms to have more chances for me to work in their classrooms. Which means that I had 44 students and 2 teachers in the room (luckily we have one empty classroom), and I have to tell you all 44 kids, and 2 adults, were totally engaged in the story laughing, making comments, and trying to see the pictures. I'm telling you... IT'S A GREAT STORY!!!!

After reading the story, I created an anchor chart showing that the first paragraph had to be a summary of the story, not a retelling, a summary. I had volunteers offer to tell us what they would write and the teachers and I voted on whether it was a retelling or a summary, giving them feedback on what to exclude or include. The students then had a few minutes to write their summaries as we walked around giving feedback to individual students.

Next, I added to the chart that the second paragraph was for them to make a connection. We reviewed the types of connections readers make, and again had volunteers share what they were thinking. Students, next, wrote their connections paragraph while we walked around touching base with them.

Finally, we added how the third paragraph had to focus on their opinions of the story and how they had to give reasons why they felt that way. I modeled and volunteers modeled before the students wrote. Again, we conferenced with students to correct or affirm their work.

Later in the day one of the teachers sent me a note to let me know she assigned her students to respond to a book during their independent reading. She was pleased to see the thorough responses she was receiving.

I think it really helped to have that common text to focus our work on. Also, being able to give students immediate feedback was crucial in helping students understand what was expected. Since working with 3rd through 5th grade teachers, I strongly encourage them to use picture books in teaching skills because the shorter text allows them to be used as mini-lessons, and they can be excellent examples of writing, and writing that all can connect with.

So, be on the lookout at your book fair for this one. I'm already planning for other lessons I can do: adding details, describing, etc.....

Columbus: Friend or Foe?

Encounter written by Jane Yolen and illustrated by David Shannon is a book that gives a different way of thinking about Columbus. Most students grow up hearing about Christopher Columbus every year in school come October 12th, but Yolen takes the reader into the initial visit of the Spanish explorers with a Taino tribe as seen through the eyes of a young Taino boy. The language in this text, alone, is sufficient to use it to teach writing.

I used it to start students writing a persuasive piece and to incorporate what they had been learning about explorers in Social Studies. Before reading the story, students paired up to talk about what they thought about the explorers' arrival in the New World. After some whole group sharing, I asked them to listen to what this Taino young boy thought. As we read, we stopped often to make inferences about what the boy was describing.

After reading the story, students paired up again to discuss what they thought now. I posted the question on the board: Columbus: Friend or Foe?, and I let students talk to each other for a while. Again, we had some whole group sharing. Then I told students they would be writing a piece to state their opinion, including reasons why. We reviewed what it means to persuade and that it should clearly show an opinion supported by reasons.

I am curious to see what these students write. In the past, I have done this lesson with a class of ESOL students, with the majority being Hispanic. They had very strong feelings and saw connections to their own lives as they realized they may not have spoken Spanish if it weren't for those explorers. I wonder what this new group of diverse students will have to say. We'll see. I may have to post some samples.

Students, Speak Your MInds!

Our fifth grade students had been working on recognizing point of view in their reading,while they were studying about slavery in Social Studies. With only 45 minute segments every other week, I try to incorporate as many objectives as possible in a lesson. To review their understanding of point of view, I read excerpts from Julius Lester's book, To Be a Slave and on a sticky note they noted 1st, 2nd, or 3rd point of view and we discussed how they knew. Next, I read aloud a book by Nancy Patz, Who Was the Woman Who Wore the Hat? This is a poem, of how the author took a hat she saw at a Jewish museum to write. The illustrations mix pencil sketches, drawings, and photographs from that time in history, and we spent some time discussing what the illustrations showed that went beyond her words.

After reading and discussing the book, I showed students five pictures (I found them by googling images) that depicted slavery and asked students to turn and talk with partners about what they could say about the pictures, and what point of view they would take. Following this time of thinking about each picture, each student had to choose a picture and decide whose voice they would be. They were assigned to write a piece (poem, story, letter, journal entry) to show their knowledge of slavery and that showed a clear point of view.

This is the third year I have done this lesson with 5th graders and their classroom teachers and I are always surprised at the strong, insightful pieces produced. I think it is because we give them the permission to speak their minds, instead of just bubbling answers on a test. Students receive a writing grade and a Social Studies grade for this one piece of work.

This lesson could be easily done when teaching about the Holocaust, just by substituting the pictures.

Teachers Carry Big Bags of Tricks

Sometimes we find ourselves in situations that we have to tap dance, and tap dance fast. It is in those situations that I'm thankful I'm an old teacher because my bag of tricks is pretty large.

I had been using the book, A Quiet Place by Douglas Wood to work with 4th graders on adding rich details to their work. As I read, we charted specific nouns, active verbs, similes/metaphors, and personification. As a whole group, they helped me brainstorm examples of these on my favorite place, the beach. Later students were asked to meet with a partner to discuss their individual quiet places and brainstorm some possible words they could use before filling out their graphic organizers. The lesson had gone great with the 4th grade class and I left them independently writing with their classroom teacher, as I rushed to my next class.

I walked into a 3rd grade class prepared to pull a small group for remedial help, only to find out I was teaching two 3rd classes as a large group (We do that to maximize my contact time and the teachers are there to support and monitor as I teach.). Quickly I pulled out the book again and began to read it asking students to listen to the pattern of the story and the language being used. After several pages of reading and discussing, I asked students to take out their writer's notebooks, draw a t-chart, and we started to listen for specific nouns and active verbs used by the author. After reading the story, I asked students to label the right side of the t-chart with their personal quiet place and brainstorm some specific nouns and active verbs they could use. We ran out of time and two days later, I went in to model how I had written a poem about the front porch in the house where I was born after showing students my brainstorming that looked just like theirs. Students then worked independently to write poems or stories as the classroom teachers and I rotated around the room conferencing. The results were wonderful!

You know, so many times we spend hours planning every part of a lesson carefully, and then the unexpected happens. It is, often, in those unexpected times that the best lessons are born. It is when we go with our gut, our knowledge of what kids need to know, and we use our bags of tricks. That's why I love children's literature!!!! Every book has the potential for lessons that connect with kids in ways no textbook or basal can. So...old teachers, don't forget your bags of tricks and, young teachers, start filling yours. I assure you there will be ample time to use them.