A big thanks to our second presentation groups. We saw many creative, worthwhile and fun lessons. (Please scroll down below this posting and find the prompts where you can put your feedback for each of the groups.) It was a big treat to see all the lessons -- this class is awesome! All the lessons are now online at: Lesson Presentations It was also great to hear about your favourite books and share our enthusiasm for children's literature. Please post your title and author in the comments area of this prompt.
Reminder: A.1 is due next Wed., June 20, for the groups who presented this week. And a heads up on the due date (June 27) for the second assignment, which is your choice of some aspect of teaching reading that you would like to learn more about. Have a great weekend.
21 comments:
Heidi by Johanna Spyri
This classic tale of adventure, and growing pain angst is especially appropriate for the intermediate elementary student. The story, and character development is rich with themes and ideas with which young readers can establish their own unique connnections and understandings.
In addition to the insights and understandings gained from this tale, the vocabulary used throughout, is engaging and challenging.
The setting and the situation of Heidi, serve to expand the reader's knowledge of the world.
Many students have not had the opportunity to visit the Swiss Alps, nor have they been exposed to the social conventions of the late nineteenth century. Heidi offers the potential for students to reach a deeper understanding of the challenges, and risks that Heidi experiences in the novel.
Heidi is a very good example of a novel which can be used to develop all, or some of the thinking processes we use for reading.
A Fly Went By by Mike McClintock
Repetition,Rhyme,and Reason are utilized throughout this primary reader. The illustrations, plot, and elements of excitement and anticipation, are combined to create an engaging and charming story. Students will be enthralled with this adventurous tale of misunderstanding,surprise, and enlightening denoument.
Thoroughbred by Joanne Campbell
Geared towards ages 9-12, this series is of a young girl and her love of horses. She eventually grows up to race these horses. It takes young girls away to a place, that many kids long for at that age.
Mile-High Apple Pie by Laura Langston and Lindsay Gardiner
It about a young girl and a grandma and her grandma is not able to remember things anymore. The young girl does not understand and tries to do everyhitng she can to bring her memory back. In the end she tells her grandma not to worry because know she is her remembering.
Leo the Late Bloomer by Robert kraus
Good for kindergarten or grade one. This book shows children how everyone learns in differnt rates and in the end everyone will be bale to read and write
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein.
This story touches readers of all ages. It's a heartwarming story about a tree and the love she had for a little boy. The boy grows older and wants more from the tree, and the tree gave and gave. It is a moving parable about the gift of giving and the acceptance of another's capacity to love in return. It is a short read and children will enjoy the repetition.
The Treasure Tree, by J. & C. Trent and G. & N. Smalley. Four animals have to work together and use the strengths of their different personalities to find the keys which lead to the treasure tree. It’s a cute book that helps kids appreciate differences in others.
At a glance, The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint- Exupery is the tale of a man who crashes his airplane into the desert only to meet a traveling boy from a small planet. The boy inquires about trees and sheep, shares his journeys and various encounters, and then leaves. Yet, reading between the lines, the story offers a much more complex, enriching, satisfying and eye-opening moral: what matters in life is love - and caring about someone or something and maintaining that relationship.
My favorite children’s book is The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks. It’s the story of a boy that gets a small plastic Indian figurine and at night puts it in a small wooden cupboard only to find that it comes alive. I loved playing with my G.I. Joes and Transformers and dreamed about the day that they would come to life to actually start fighting or playing with each other. This story brings that dream to a reality for one very lucky boy. It was a great fantasy novel and can be used as a great bed time story for any child as it’s not that difficult to read.
Stellaluna by Janell Cannon. This a heart warming story about what makes us all differnt but also the same. The story is about a bat who gets lost from his mom and becomes part of a bird family.
Are you there god its me Margaret by Judy Blume. This novel was fascinating to me as it was the first reading experince in which I became fascinated by authors and how they can be thinking and feeling what you are. Judy Blume is an amazing author of pre-teen stories and this is around the time when children start reading novels and she has a way of sucking you in to the story. With this in mind, children will increase reading fluency as they won't want to put her books down. The book Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing used in our presentation is another expamle of Blume's way of connecting with childrens feeling about younger sibilings.
One of my favourite books from my childhood is “The Balloon Tree” by Phoebe Gilman. I requested the story as a read aloud regularly before bed. I’m not sure exactly what it is about the book that swept me away? It is truly a magical work though! With secret passages, a fairy tale feel and dialogue that made you feel as though you were inside of the story listening to the characters, I fell in love with this book after my first encounter with it. The illustrations are magnificent! There are so many hidden treasures in the detailed borders or backgrounds of the pages. I remember looking at the expressions on the character’s faces, and thinking about how they might be feeling.
I have read this book to every primary class I have worked with, as I think that it is special for children to experience literature that their teacher is passionate about. The book can also incorporate many helpful reading strategies. There is a chant “Moon balloon, Moon balloon, Tickle the tree.” that students can echo read. If enough children had not read the book before, then you could do a lot of predicting with the story as the illustrations are rich with detail. As there is a lot of dialogue in the story, reader’s theatre would also be an enjoyable activity that you could incorporate into the exploration of this book.
Lastly, even though this story’s main character is a princess, I really think that it is appealing to and can be enjoyed by both boys and girls. (A definite possibility for your primary TOC bag! ☺)
Ish by Peter H. Reynolds. A wonderful story for all ages that uses the subject of art to illustrate how we need to move away from the rigidity of conventionalism towards exploring a more open and free sense of expression, and becoming comfortable with it. It’s essentially a short and sweet story of inspiration that goes far beyond the world of art. The Dot by the same author speaks to a similar lesson which is also highlighted through the subject of art.
WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS - by Wilson Rawls.
"Where the Red Fern Grows tells the the exciting story of 10-year old Billy living in the Ozark Mountains during the Great Depression. After saving for two years Billy earns enough money to buy two hound pups, Ol'Dan and Li'l Ann. Together Billy and these two hounds go coon hunting almost daily. They even enter a coon hunting tournament. Read Where the Red Fern Grows to see if this young boy and his two coon hounds can bet the older contestants in the coon hunt."
While I read a lot as a child, no book really sticks out for me. I loved the Richard Scarry books though, and my son too, enjoys these. As an adult, I adore children's author David Bouchard. He has an excellent website, http://www.davidbouchard.com/. His book If You're Not From the Prairie, is particularly evocative for me. I grew up in the cold northern prairie and he captures what it's like to be frozen to the bone, and just how beautiful the wide open sky is. His poetic description of life on the prairie combined with beautiful art could be a great way to do an integrated unit with geography and language arts. Children could also do their own If you're not from... poems. I like to use books as inspiration for children, and his books are so well crafted, that children really respond to them.
He also has a beautiful book about BC, The Colours of British Columbia, that's definitely worth a look.
Trumpeter Swan by E.B. White
A young boy befriends a swan who was born without a ‘honk’. The swan goes to school with the boy and actually learns to read and write using a small chalkboard the swan wears around his neck. The swan’s parents are very concerned about their son. Although he seems to be learning a lot from this boy, he still is unable to communicate with other swans. The boy picks up on this and eventually teaches the swan to use a trumpet to make sounds which he then uses to communicate with. For any one who loved Charlotte’s Web or Stuart Little, I definitely recommend this book.
Charlotte's Web by E. B. White
I’m sure most of us have read Charlotte’s Web. But here is a quick summary: it tells the story of a barn spider named Charlotte and her friendship with a pig named Wilbur. Wilbur was a runt who was saved by the farmer’s daughter named Fern. Wilbur was hyperactive and always exploring new things. The friendship between Wilbur and Charlotte progress as Wilbur is entered into the county-fair. The make a plan so that Wilbur will become a prized pig that won’t be killed and eaten.
Charlotte’s Web was one of my favorite books because I enjoyed books that personified animals. It also evoked many emotions as it had friendship, love and care. It was funny, serious, and sad all in one book. It also produced a lot of imagery, such as Charlotte spinning a web reading “some pig”. There are also many extension activities that could be done with the book. For example, it could be cross curricular into a unit about spiders in Science, or a visit to a local farm to see the pigs. The plot can be written into a play or drawn out in an Art unit. This book should be a staple in any classroom library.
The Rabbits, John Marsden
Is the book that I am calling my favorite chidren's book from my youth, even though it wasnt written in my youth.
The book is simply written but tackles serious topics relating to environmentalism. colonialism, race politics and it is all done in a manner that is not to 'indimidating.' My 8 year old step daughter loves the book for the art, and the story that has no ending. When we read it togeter we sometimes make up endings ... and sometimes they are happy and sometimes they are not.
As a child... my favorite book was: Lord Foul's Bane, by Stephan R. Donaldson.
FARMER JOE GOES TO THE CITY by Nancy Wilcox Richards / Illustrated by Werner ZXimmermann
This book is a silly children's story of Farmer Joe's quest to find his wife a perfect birthday gift. He goes to the city and ends up buying her a computer. I've used this book with young kids to talk about gift-giving but, more recently, I've used this book with grade 6's, talking about social responsibility and the agriculture differences throughout Canada.
Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes and The Witches. I really enjoy reading the revolting rhymes because I have a dark sense of humour at times and Roald Dahl tapped right into that humour through a few classic fairytales. Cinderella, jack and the Beanstalk, Snow White, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf and the Three Little Pigs. In Little Red Riding Hood the girl “whips out a pistol from her knickers” and aims it at the wolfs head and the end of the story ends with her no longer wearing a red hood but a furry wolf skin coat. The best part in Cinderella is when the prince cuts off the head of the ugly stepsisters and then goes to do the same to Cinderella until she wishes to be married to a decent man. You will have to read the book for yourself just to see how twisted the other fairytales get. As for the witches I could not help but laugh at a back where the number on goal of the witches was to eliminate as many children as possible by poisoning chocolate and turning all of the children into mice. And I think the best thing about this book is the character description of the witches, bald scalps, long sharp claws, blue saliva…ewwww…. as a kid and even an adult the more disgusting the better.
Mister Seahorse by Eric Carle.
The repetition and strikingly colourful illustrations in this classic picture book by Eric Carle (the author and illustrator) make it a favourite of many young children and teachers. The reader is provided with some valuable insight into the reproduction activities of the seahorse. Who would have guessed that the male seahorse was responsible for carrying around the eggs of his offspring in his pouch before they hatch? Mr. Seahorse is a good father and a friendly creature and he interacts effectively with several other kinds of fish fathers caring for their eggs and babies. The reader is provided with a text containing both scientific and socially responsible issues.
The cleverly inserted acetate pages create a sense of intrigue for the reader since they camouflage several of the sea life creatures along Mr. Seahorse’s journey. Readers are once again able to interact with the text and draw closer connections to the story as they try to decipher what is lurking behind the given barrier. The sequential, rhythmical, and repetitious pattern makes predicting and reading the next lines in the text an easier task for a beginning reader.
Despite its more advanced level, I believe that it can continue to serve as a literacy development tool in any primary classroom, especially Kindergarten and Grade 1. It is an excellent story to use in the classroom and after exposure to the text a few times, students will begin to remember the patterns and recognize and decode the high frequency phrases including, “As Mr. Seahorse drifted gently through the sea, he passed right by …” and vocabulary words such as eggs, hatch, and hidden. Due to its repetitive nature and reasonable content, students are able to continue to develop their print and phonemic awareness as well as their phonics ability. This story provides the reader with a positive and enjoyable experience which should stimulate similar learning experiences in the future.
The Sky is Falling by Kit Pearson
This is an amazing Canadian author who captures the life and events of a young girl and her brother who have been evacuated from England during the 2nd World War. It is a deep and endearing novel that captures your attention and takes you back to a time that you never experiences and helps you visualize it. It is rich in descriptive language and situations that are relevant to the lives of even youths today, Friends, Bullying, Family, Fear, Overcoming adversity. I have loved this novel for years and it is accompanied by 2 more books in this amazing trilogy
Peter Cottontail by Thornton W Burgess
These were the books that first got me into books (If that makes sense) My grandfather used to read each one to me before I went to sleep (a few chapters at a time). My dad has the entire series at his house, and I just happened to find two in a used bookstore. I like the cute language used to tell how animals can react to each other – he has a definite writing style which permeates each book - and how repercussions usually ensue for the mischievous animal (usually peter rabbit). I would love to re-read the series again to bring back nostalgia.
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