Teachable Texts

102. How Have I Grown? by Mary Reid

October 10, 2009 at 12:05 pm Leave a comment

Retell: A kindergartner reflects on how much she has grown.

Topics: kindergarten, growing up, babies, sharing

Units of Study: Authoring an Independent Reading Life, (This could be used during the editing process of any unit of study.)

Tribes: mutual respect, attentive listening

Writing Skills: using past tense

My Thoughts: I almost dismissed this book as being too young to be used in a fourth grade classroom.  Though I probably wouldn’t read it aloud to the entire class, I would read it to a small group of writers who struggle with past tense.  When the main character is looking back to her life as a baby and as a “little kid”, she uses only past tense verbs:  “I wore diapers.  I took two naps…Sometimes I had a hard time.”  When she reflects on her current behavior she uses present tense verbs:  “I can make up stories!  I can listen to my friends tell stories, too.”  This book has inspired me to dig deep into the libraries of my lower-grade colleagues to search for more grammar read alouds.

Entry filed under: Uncategorized. Tags: attentive listening, authoring an independent reading life, babies, editing, growing up, kindergarten, mutual respect, past tense, sharing.