Posts tagged ‘curiosity’
137. When Lightning Comes in a Jar by Patricia Polacco
Retell: Patricia Polacco describes a fun-filled family reunion where the adults challenge the kids to baseball games, the aunties make meatloaf and jello salads, and everyone catches fireflies.
Topics: reunions, family, baseball, curiosity, storytelling, fireflies, tradition, parties
Units of Study: Memoir, Personal Narrative
Reading Skills: envisionment, interpretation
Writing Skills: incorporating sensory details, storytelling
My Thoughts: When planning read alouds, I have been trying to create text sets, planning books not just by unit of study, but by themes. I’m thinking of creating a text set with the theme of ‘traditions’ which may include When Lightning Comes in a Jar, The Keeping Quilt, and When the Relatives Came. This book could also be great to read when you are teaching students to storytell to their partners. Storytelling is a Polacco family reunion tradition.
96. Jim and the Beanstalk by Raymond Briggs
Retell: Jim discovers a mysterious vine outside of his window one day. He follows it up and up and encounters a giant. This giant however is not very ferocious. He has lost his sight, his teeth and his hair. With Jim’s help the giant acquires glasses, dentures and a wig.
Topics: curiosity, measurement, fairy tales, act of kindness
Units of Study: Fantasy, Talking and Writing About Texts
Tribes: mutual respect, appreciations/no put-downs
Habits of Mind: striving for accuracy and precision
Reading Skills: monitoring for sense, prediction, interpretation
Writing Skills: incorporating the rule of three
My Thoughts: This can be filed under “stories with a twist”. (See The Paper Bag Princess post). This is a spoof/sequel to the story, “Jack and the Beanstalk”. In this story, the main character is nice to the giant, drastically changing the moral of the story. It would be interesting to plan a mini read aloud where you read twisted fairy tales. With older kids, it may be great to use twisted fairy tales to work on interpretation. Students could examine questions such as: How does the moral of the story change when the characters act differently? Why do you think the author chose to rewrite the famous fairy tale? What was he/she trying to teach?
56. What Joe Saw by Anna Grossnickle Hines
Retell: Joe is always lagging behind the class. His teacher and his classmates are always telling him to hurry up. It’s not until a classmate stops to tie his shoes that he realizes why Joe keeps falling behind.
Topics: school, field trips, discovery, curiosity
Units of Study: Realistic Fiction, Talking and Writing about Texts
Tribes: appreciations/no put-downs, mutual respect
Habits of Mind: responding with wonderment and awe
Reading Skills: interpretation, inference
Writing Skills: using repetition, dialogue
My Thoughts: The main character in this book reminds me of my sweetheart. When we’re on route somewhere he always stops to smell the flowers on butterfly bushes or picks fruit from trees. If I’m in a hurry it can be frustrating at first, but most of the time it’s worth it to be a few minutes late. I appreciate how he makes me slow down and notice the world around me. What Joe Saw is a good book to read when you want your class to discuss the importance of paying attention to small details. However, you may not want to read this book to your class just before going on a field trip. It may be good to read during an interpretation unit. I can imagine having interesting discussions about the individual vs. the group.
Teachable Texts 