Posts filed under ‘Child Authors’
100. Should There Be Zoos? A Persuasive Text by Tony Stead with Judy Ballester and her fourth grade class
Retell: A collection of persuasive, well-researched essays that explore whether or not we should have zoos. The anthology includes a glossary and a description of the process they went through to write the book.
Topics: zoos, persuasive text, arguments, endangered species, reintroduction
Units of Study: Content-Area, Personal Essay
Tribes: mutual respect
Habits of Mind: thinking and communicating with clarity and precision
Writing Skills: defining a word within a sentence, incorporating precise vocabulary, developing a persuasive voice
My Thoughts: Though the unit is a month away, my school’s literacy coach and I are beginning to collect mentor texts for the personal essay unit. Here is a text that you could use for either Personal Essay or Content-Area writing. The essays not only make good mentor texts but the description of the writing process is important to share with students as they embark on an essay unit. The authors included ten steps to writing a persuasive text. I’m particularly found of number eight: “After doing lots of reading, observing, and note-taking, we put our new information into our arguments to make them stronger. We constantly conferenced with our teachers.”
34. What Will You Do For Peace?: Impact of 9/11 on New York City Youth
Retell: Faith Ringgold introduces this collaboration of young artists and poets aged 11-19. Each page includes responses to the tragic events of 9/11.
Topics: 9/11, peace, children, World Trade Center
Units of Study: Personal Narrative, Poetry, Personal Essay
Tribes: personal best, mutual respect
Writing Skills: collecting notebook entries
My Thoughts: This is a very moving collection of stories, poems and drawings from young children who experienced the events of 9/11 firsthand. There are accounts of how it felt to be at school when people were going home every few minutes. There are stories of watching the news for hours and hours. I plan on reading this book on September 11th this year. I think it will not only prompt a good discussion about why they day is important but it will also be a good mentor text for generating notebook entries and writing about events that will never be forgotten.
24. Owen and Mzee: The Language of Friendship by Isabella Hatkoff, Craig Hatkoff, and Dr. Paula Kahumbu
Retell: This sequel continues the story of Owen and Mzee, the beloved baby hippo and the anti-social tortoise, who were brought together during the aftermath of the tsunami of 2004.
Topics: tsunami, hippos, tortoises, wildlife, preservation, Kenya, friendship, biology, animal habitats, narrative nonfiction, biography
Units of Study: Nonfiction, Personal Essay, Content-Area Reading and Writing
Tribes: mutual respect
Reading Skills: monitoring for sense, determining importance, inference
Writing Skills: using transitional phrases, using quotation marks that note unusual usage
My Thoughts: Be ready for a chorus of “ahhh”s if you choose to read this book aloud to your students. Every photograph is absolutely adorable. A lot can be learned from this pair. I plan to use this book during my Content Area Reading and Writing units. Owen and Mzee includes both narrative and expository text making it a good teaching text during the Nonfiction unit as well. One could even use this during a biography unit since it’s telling a life story.
Teachable Texts 