Read Aloud Plan #2

For my second read aloud, I plan to use a book by my current favorite children’s book authors, Don and Audrey Wood, called The Little Mouse, the Red, Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear. It is about a little mouse, who finds a red, ripe strawberry and must eat it before the big, hungry bear gets it. The solution? Cut it in two and share half with the narrator. The story and illustrations are really cute, but the story takes on a humorous quality when the reader infers that the narrator (who is “helping” the little mouse) is actually the bear himself.

Making inferences is an important skill for young readers to acquire to aid in comprehension, and this book is the best I’ve read to introduce the concept. My daughter’s teacher has agreed to let me use her kindergarten class for the read aloud. The skill is technically a 1st grade TEK, but Honey Elementary is an early literacy campus, and I think the students are sophisticated enough in their listening and thinking skills to get it. And even if they don’t understand the concept yet, I think the book will still be enjoyable for them.

So here’s how it went…

First I talked to my daughter’s teacher, Mrs. Scoggin, about the rumor I heard from Mikea that they have already read my book. Apparently, Mrs. Scoggin did read it to the class a few months ago, but none of them understood who the bear was. She was interested in seeing if any of the kids had matured enough in their comprehension to “get” it.

The kids were so funny. Most of them remembered the book, and several said they had it at home. I told them that I wanted them to look and listen very carefully because I had some questions to ask about the bear. They did a terrific job paying attention. When we were finished, I asked them questions like “Does anybody think the bear got to eat any of that strawberry?” and “Did anybody see the bear in the book?” This is where things got funny, because even though there are absolutely no pictures of the bear in the book, several of the boys were absolutely sure that they could see him on one of the pages, lurking in the background underbrush. Mrs. Scoggin and I worked hard to suppress giggles as they took turns showing me how this shadow and that tree branch had to be the bear hiding.

Now there was one little guy who was right on the verge of understanding. He said that there was just something about that bear; that he was there, but he wasn’t. And he would look at me and vaguely point his finger, like the answer was just on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn’t quite get it out. He was so close. A few other kids decided that the bear was a faker. I’m not sure what they meant by it, but they were emphatic.

I ended by asking them if any of them had any questions about the book for me. My foolish assumption was that they all had a grasp on what exactly a question is. One girl asked me how the bear was able to “smell a red, ripe strawberry from a mile away,” but the rest of the kids offered up an assortment of statements and observations, some pertaining to the book and some not.

All in all, it was a fun experience. The students were not able to infer who the bear was, but one was really close and a few more of them were on the right track. The illustrations did a great job activating their imaginations; I loved listening to their bear sightings. And I learned that most kindergarteners don’t understand the difference between asking a question and making a statement, at least not in the context of a read aloud.

Wood, Don and Audrey. The Little Mouse, the Red, Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear. Illus. Don Wood. Child’s Play Unlimited: Singapore, 1984.

Read Aloud Plan #1

My selection is My Many Colored Days By Dr. Seuss. I will read it to the 4 year olds in my PDO class primarily to teach colors, but also to teach feeling words. I think it is good choice for this age group because they are currently learning both their colors and also how to respond appropriately to their emotions in the context of cooperative play and learning. I will read it in groups of 2 or 3 and assess comprehension by following up with a coloring activity.

The kids liked the book. Since I used very small groups, it was easy for them to get close enough to see the pictures clearly. I scrapped the coloring activity because it didn't fit into my schedule. Instead I asked them to show me where the beginning, middle, and end of the book was. Every one of them got it right, which I think is awesome! Then I let each kiddo flip through the pages and show me what kind of day they were having. Their answers surprised me. They often answer with a "herd" mentality. One of the extroverts answers, then everyone else in the group picks the same thing. But this time they each did their own thing. One little girl showed me the black howling wolf picture. I asked her how that feels for her and she said "Good." And I said "Really? Because some kids might think that this picture looks scary or angry." And she said, "No, it looks happy." Alrighty, then. To each his or her own.

Children's Literature Autobiography

I love to read! Sometimes, when I can't choose what book to dig into next, I just read two or three at the same time. My recent favorites have been The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield, The Time Travelers's Wife by Audrey Niffeneger, and Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, and the entire Harry Potter series. Unfortunately, my life is so incredibly busy right now with school, work, and family commitments, that it is a struggle just to keep up with my book club's choice of the month. And my heart grieves just a little bit when I see the three unread books on my nightstand, and I know that it will probably be May before I can start them. How did I get this way?

I'm sure it was my parents' fault. They took me to the library on a regular basis and read to me every night before bed. The library was always one of my favorite places to be. We didn't just go to find books, but also for puppet shows and story hour. I loved sitting on the floor listening to the "library lady" tell stories. Then we would look for books. Many times I hauled so many books home from the library that I had a hard time carrying them into the house. But my mom didn't mind. She was also an avid reader, and I think it made her happy to see me get so excited about books. Bedtime stories were also a big deal in my family. Every night my sister and I would climb into bed with our dad and he would read us a story. I still remember some of the picture books, like There's a Monster at the End of this Book, The Little Rabbit, and Sylvester and the Magic Pebble. We did this well into elementary school. When I started bringing home reading homework, I would read the selection to my dad and my sister, Ashley, and then Dad would read us a chapter book. We read Judy Blume's Fudge books and Beverly Cleary's Ramona books and classics like Heidi. Reading for 30 minutes or so each night before bed was just what we did. It was a part of our family culture. By the 3^rd grade I preferred to read exclusively to myself. The habit had taken hold.

I knew from the beginning that I was a good reader. And it was important to me to be the best. We didn't have AR back then, but I'm confident that if we had, I would have out-read everyone in my grade and probably most of the rest of the school. By 2^nd grade, I had all but left picture books behind in the dust. I felt like they were for kids who couldn't read well enough to get into chapter books. What an elitist idiot I was! I realize now that I have a huge gap in my children's literature experience because I focused on reading what the older kids were reading instead of enjoying the literature that was intended for my age and experience. And I totally missed the illustration boat. Even when I did read picture books, I only paid attention to the words in the story. It never occurred to me that the pictures also tell a story.

By the 3^th grade, I'm pretty sure my mom thought she had created a little reading monster. That was the year I read my first adult fiction book, V adapted by A.C. Crispin. I had seen bits and pieces of the TV miniseries, but since it was on past my bedtime, I had missed big chunks of the story. One day I saw the book at the grocery store and begged my mom to let me buy it with my allowance money. She was reluctant, but eventually gave in. So at 9 years old, I read my first 400+ page grown up book complete with cussing, violence and, eh-hem, adult relationships. I was hooked. By 6^th grade I was plowing through VC Andrews and Dean R. Koontz. I grew up in the Bible belt going to church every Sunday like all the other good little girls did, but boy did I rebel in the books I chose to read. I sought out the occult and psychological thrillers, all the while being careful to conceal from my parents the nature of what I was reading.

I look back on that time now with the eyes of a parent, and it makes me cringe. No wonder I was such a bitter, depressed, self-loathing teenager. I put garbage in my mind and got garbage right back out again. Thankfully, the monumental required reading load placed on the honors and advanced placement students at my high school severely limited the spare time I had for reading books of my own choosing. I hated required reading. The only books I can remember actually enjoying were To Kill a Mockingbird and Of Mice and Men. In fact I rarely even finished the books we were assigned. I was a master at figuring out what the teacher was looking for and reading (skimming) just enough to be able to regurgitate A- material. So while works like The Grapes of Wrath, The Great Gatsby, and Tess of the D'Urbervilles made it into my backpack, I can't really claim to have read them thoroughly. It was a seriously dry time in my literary history. The college years weren't much better. Occasionally, I'd pick up reading outside of my class assignments, but almost never fiction. I read a lot of self-help and inspirational Christian literature. I had forgotten that reading could be just for fun…for about 15 years. During that time I graduated from high school and college, got married, and had a couple of kids.

The dry spell lifted when one of the mommies in my kids' playgroup suggested that we should all read Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik and get together one Saturday morning without the kids to discuss it. Three years later, we have read at least 30 books together. We keep a journal of all our meetings and a brief synopsis of each book. Some of my favorite selections have been ones that I probably wouldn't have picked up on my own, like The Time Traveler's Wife and The Five People you Meet in Heaven. I have been challenged by my friends' thoughts and feelings about what we have read and by my revelations of my own assumptions and prejudices. Book Club has been one of the most enriching experiences of my life and I hope that 20 years from now our kids (we have 14 collectively) will carry on the tradition. And I hope to plant little book loving seeds into the hearts and minds of the kids I teach, because if those kids grow to love books, they will be able to navigate the desert of standardized tests and required reading to find a paradise of literature waiting for them.

Yum! MmMm! Que Rico!

Mora, Pat. Yum! MmMm! Que Rico!: America's Sproutings. Illus. Rafael Lopez. New York: Lee & Low Books, Inc., 2007.

The first time I read this book it was to my kids. They are 5 and 3 years old, so I just read the haikus to them because I thought the informational part would be over their heads (especially for my 3 year old). We all LOVED IT!!! I hadn't read haikus in years. And they never did much for me when I was a kid. I think I tried to read them literally. It never occurred to me that maybe they are intended to paint a picture rather than make linear sense. And the pictures in this book are amazing! It's like an adult crib mobile in book form. I just love looking at them.

I enjoyed the informational part in each section too. I never knew that cacao seeds were originally used to make a spicy drink or that cranberries pop. Have any of y'all actually simmered cranberries before? I've only eaten them dried or jellied.

I think I will go back and read the whole book with my 5 year old, just to see what she thinks. She might ignore the information she doesn’t understand, choosing to focus on the pictures and poetry. Or I might end up spending an hour trying to explain things like why Central America is not the same as the America we live in, who the Aztecs were and why they aren't around anymore, and what "tax" and "imported" mean. On second thought, maybe I'll just stick with the haikus for now.

Historical Fiction

Tunnel. Michael O. James S. Jacobs. Children's Literature, Briefly. 4e. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2008.

What a slam on history textbooks! I must confess that I found reading them to be pure drudgery. I've never been a huge fan of historical fiction either. I've always just lumped them together. But I can definitely see how historical fiction can fill in the blanks (i.e. people, setting, and personal connection) and make history come alive for students. In fact, while reading the text, I remembered a few works of historical fiction that I actually liked (The Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder and These Is My Words by Nancy Turner).

We've talked in class about how young people need to be able to identify with the books they read either by cultural or situational relevance, and I think this is especially important in teaching history. As teachers, if we can build a bridge between the realities that our students face and those of the past, maybe they will really "own" their knowledge of history rather than just learn enough to regurgitate facts for a test. Using historical fiction seems like a great idea. But when I think about the extensive background knowledge a teacher would have to have (which specific books to teach specific subjects, making sure that they are age and level appropriate) to use historical fiction effectively, I can see why so many teachers continue to use textbooks. It's just easier. What a daunting task to balance what you have time and energy to implement in your classroom with what really connects in your students' minds!

Craft Lesson 4

Resource Materials:

Seuss, Dr. My Many Colored Days. Illus. Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher. New York: Random House, 1996.

Target Audience:

Pre-K

Discussion:

Children experience feelings just like adults, but they often lack the vocabulary to express themselves clearly. The illustrations in My Many Colored Days provide a concrete handle for children to use to explore their feelings. The point of this lesson is to label feeling words (i.e. mad, sad, and happy) with colors (i.e. black, purple, red) that make sense to the individual child.

How to Teach It:

First review the colors that will be presented in the book (Crayola 8-pack + grey and pink). Then read My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss aloud to the class. Initiate a brief grand discussion where students can reflect on times when they have felt red, blue, etc. Reread the story, this time encouraging the students to act out the text. For instance, on purple, they might hang their head down and drudge around the room in loneliness. It is important to allow the students the freedom to connect their feelings to the colors that make sense to them. For example, some kids might describe angry days as red instead of black or sad days as black instead of purple. For this lesson, it is more important that the students make a personal connection than it is for them to repeat what was stated in the text. Finally, roll out a long sheet of butcher paper on the floor (Be sure to protect the floor with a drop cloth). Provide finger paints in the colors presented in the book and give the students 10 minutes to finger paint a "how-I-feel-today" mural, which can be displayed on a wall in the classroom or in the hallway.

Craft Lesson 3

Resource Material:

Wong, Janet. Minn and Jake. New York: Farrar, 2003.

Target Audience:

4^th Grade

Discussion:

Minn and Jake by Janet Wong explores the complexities of a developing friendship between 5^th graders, Minn and Jake. This theme of friendship can be peeled away like an onion exposing several layers of depth. Students' background experiences with friendships and personal maturity will surely influence their reflections of this piece of literature. This craft lesson takes into account these differences and provides for a variety of personal writing preferences.

How to Teach It:

After reading Minn and Jake independently, form small groups for the students to briefly share their thoughts and feelings about the story. Bring the entire class together for a grand conversation for further reflection. Offer the following choices for a written reflection paper:

1. Chose a purpose*: to inform, to influence, to express, or to entertain
   
2. Chose a form*: narrative, poem, instructions, or review
   
3. Choose a topic: The topic choices would depend on the grand conversation, but might include peer pressure, Minn and Jake's summer, bullies, making friends, etc.
   

Allow students a day or two in writing workshop to develop a first draft. On Day 3, form small groups again for a peer revising session before beginning work on the final draft. Papers should be handed in on Day 4.

*This lesson would be one of several designed to prepare for TAKS testing. Students will be expected to choose each purpose and each form at least once over the course of the year. The manner in which students combine purpose and form provides a measure of creative license for the students.

True Confessions

To be completely honest, I was not excited to be sacrificing my only free day of the week to a literature festival dedicated to the arm of literary arts that I enjoy the very least. Imagine my surprise at Janet Wong's confession that she, too, hated poetry.

What?!? Did I hear that right?

Indeed she was not a lover of verse when she started writing. Maybe there is hope for me yet.

I want to be the best teacher I can be, and I want my students to fall in love with reading. But I know that I will be selling them short if I can't impart a wholistic enthusiasm for literature. So it is my goal over the next 6 months to fill that gaping hole in my literary interest. The 4th Annual COE Lit Festival turned out to be a great springboard in this endeavor.

I enjoyed getting to hear the inflection of Janet Wong and J. Patrick Lewis as they read, especially Lewis recitation of "One Child Left Behind." I think that was the title. Did anyone catch who wrote it? I'd like a hard copy of it, but I've had a hard time finding it. I also found hopeful, Lewis' declaration that poets are born, not made, but usually after their 30th birthday. I'm going to choose to believe that my ELA teachers were just 20 years too early to truly engage me in poetry.

Overall, I'm really glad that I went. I learned a lot, but more importantly, I had fun and I left with a sense of encouragement that as I choose to broaden my poetry schema, I might actually enjoy the journey.