Posts tagged ‘interpretation’
43. A Fine, Fine School by Sharon Creech
Retell: Mr. Keene is a principal who loves his school. He loves it so much that he gradually increases the amount of days students and teachers come to school. He learns that it’s impossible to have a ‘fine, fine school’ without balance between studying and play.
Topics: school, siblings, principals, problem-solving, authority
Units of Study: Social Issues, Talking and Writing About Texts, Test Prep
Tribes: mutual respect
Habits of Mind: taking responsible risks
Reading Skills: interpretation, inference
Writing Skills: using repetition
My Thoughts: This may be a nice book to read aloud during test time. It will remind everyone that school isn’t the only place where learning happens. I think I may read this book when I want to discuss respectful and powerful ways to solve problems. The main character, Tillie is patient when her school year keeps increasing. However, when she’s had enough she doesn’t melt down. She goes to the principal, calmly states her case, and ends up changing his mind. A Fine, Fine School illustrates the importance of (respectfully) challenging authority. I hope after reading this book, my students will have the courage to (respectfully) challenge me.
41. Shanghai Messenger by Andrea Cheng
Retell: Xiao Mei is invited by her uncle to visit China. At first she is reluctant to travel by herself and once she arrives she finds the new setting lonely and disorienting. She eventually adjusts and begins to appreciate her extended Chinese family.
Topics: Chinese, China, poetry, family, mixed-race, language barrier, traveling, homesickness
Units of Study: Character, Personal Narrative, Social Issues
Tribes: appreciations/no put-downs
Reading Skills: interpretation, inference, envisionment, making connections
Writing Skills: incoporating foreign languages, zooming in on small moments, including sensory details
My Thoughts: I love how this story is told as a series of free verse poems. I plan on reading this book aloud when I teach how writers zoom in on small moments. Each poem is a small moment from her trip. It can be a good mentor text for writers who want to write about a vacation and are tempted to write about the entire vacation. Cheng incorporates Chinese vocabulary throughout the story. She even includes a Chinese glossary with a pronunciation guide which will aid readers when they attempt to read it aloud. It’s also a good book to read when studying character change. In the beginning, Xiao Mei is afraid to go to China by herself and thinks she will never adjust to life in China. By the end she develops into a grown-up girl who is both completely American and completely Chinese.
40. Rent Party Jazz by William Miller
Retell: Sonny is worried. His mom just lost her job at the fish market and is worried that they may not make rent. Sonny meets the musician Smilin’ Jack who comes up with a solution that turns out to be both profitable and entertaining.
Topics: New Orleans, rent, money, jazz, parties, music, community
Units of Study: Social Issues, Historical Fiction
Tribes: personal best, attentive listening
Reading Skills: envisionment, interpretation
Writing Skills: using commas to tuck in details
My Thoughts: Great books teach us something new. Rent Party Jazz not only tells a story of Sonny and his family, but tells the story of the origin of rent parties throughout African-American communities in the South. The book will be great to read when your class needs to be reminded of the power a strong, supportive community. Even something as bleak as not being able to pay rent can be conquered when people work together.
39. Mama Loves Me From Away by Pat Brisson
Retell: Sugar and her mama share the same birthday. Sugar enjoys listening to her mother’s stories. She especially misses them now that her mother is in prison. Her mother finds a way to share her stories even from far away.
Topics: mothers, families, prison, stories, birthdays
Units of Study: Social Issues, Personal Narratives, Realistic Fiction
Tribes: attentive listening
Reading Skills: interpretation, questioning, empathy
Writing Skills: writing with a balance of description and reflection, keeping a writers notebook
My Thoughts: This is a moving story about a girl who is dealing with the fact that her mother is imprisoned. There aren’t many published stories like this in the world. It’s a great model to use when you teach your students to write about stories you wish belonged in the world–the ones that show aspects of your life or struggles you are going through. The author never reveals what the mother did to land her in prison which I think is a nice touch. The book isn’t about the mother, but about how much her daughter misses her.
38. Ling Cho and His Three Friends by V.J. Pacilio
Retell: Ling Cho is a successful farmer. He feels sorry for his three friends who do not share his success. He thinks of a way to help his friends without making them feel bad. Unfortunately things do not go as planned. His friends learn that it is more wise to ask for help than to take advantage of people.
Topics: harvest, farming, China, asking for help, honesty, friendship
Units of Study: Folk Tales, Talking and Writing About Texts, Social Issues, Poetry
Tribes: mutual respect, personal best
Reading Skills: inference, interpretation, envisionment
Writing Skills: using rhyme and rhythm, incorporating alliteration
My Thoughts: This beautiful book teaches an interesting lesson on asking for help. It also seems to caution against involving friends in business matters. Ling Cho does a favor for his friends by asking them to sell his bumper crop of wheat at market. They were supposed to split the profits. However, each friend ended up keeping the profits or keeping the wheat. The story is told in rhyming verse making it an engaging read.
35. One Green Apple by Eve Bunting
Retell: One Green Apple is the story of Farah, a Muslim immigrant, who struggles to fit in. Despite the language barrier she manages to make friends and participate during the field trip to the apple orchard.
Topics: immigration, language barrier, dupatta, field trips, friendship, Muslim characters
Units of Study: Social Issues, Talking and Writing About Texts, Realistic Fiction
Tribes: mutual respect, right to pass
Reading Skills: interpretation, inference, empathy
Writing Skills: including metaphors, using sensory details
My Thoughts: I wish I knew about this book last year. I had two students who recently came from China. Other students were having difficulty communicating with them. They got frustrated when the Chinese students didn’t understand their rapid speech. The Chinese students got frustrated when people spoke too loud to them and ‘dumbed material down’. I intend to use this book to address language issues. In the story Farah thinks to herself, “I understand. It’s not that I am stupid. It is just that I am lost in this new place.” I can see using this book as a mentor text for teaching about metaphors. You could discuss Eve Bunting’s decision to make Farah choose a green apple rather than a red apple like the others.
32. Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon by Catherine Thimmesh
Retell: Thimmesh tells the story of the Apollo 11 mission. It includes several quotes, interviews and amazing photographs from the moon landing.
Topics: moon landing, space, Apollo 11, teamwork, goals, problem-solving, perseverance
Units of Study: Nonfiction, Content Area, Personal Essay
Tribes: attentive listening, mutual respect, personal best
Reading Skills: envisionment, inference, interpretation, determining importance
Writing Skills: using descriptive language, inserting quotations, using dashes, using ellipses
My Thoughts: To commemorate its 40th anniversary I plan to read at least one book about the moon landing this year. What I love about this particular book is its emphasis on teamwork. As the title suggests, Apollo 11 was successful because of the dilligence of several hundred-thousand people working together in teams trying to accomplish one goal. It’s a dense book so I can see reading only a few sections at a time. This could be used as a rich mentor text for writing nonfiction. Thimmesh writes with excitement and enthusiasm making the text very engaging.
31. The Greatest Power by Demi
Retell: Emperor Ping, the boy emperor of China, appreciates honesty and harmony. He wants to appoint an honest and wise prime minister so he decides to hold a contest. The child who can think of the greatest power in the world will become the next prime minister. Children far and wide prepare presentations for the emperor. A young girl named Sing sits by a lotus pond and comes up with an answer that is quite different from the rest.
Topics: technology, beauty, military, power, money, life, life cycle, China
Units of Study: Talking and Writing About Texts, Content Area
Tribes: personal best, appreciations/no put downs
Reading Skills: interpretation, prediction
Writing Skills: repetition
My Thoughts: Fifth grade teachers at my school do this great unit on power. They examine power structures at home, in the neighborhood, in the classroom, at school, and so on. The Greatest Power could be a great companion to that unit. It will spark discussions about what makes a powerful group or a powerful nation. I could also see this book being used during a unit on the life cycle. Sing after sitting by apond and contemplating a lotus flower is fascinated by its life cycle. She determines that life is the greatest power on earth.
30. A Young People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn
Retell: Like the title suggests, this is a young people’s version of his famous book, A People’s History of the United States. Together with Rebecca Stefoff, Zinn manages to tell a version of history that attempts to include the perspectives of groups that are usually left out (women, people of color, Native people, children, etc.)
Topics: United States, history, exploration, racism, slavery, colonialism, rights, justice, revolution, war, emancipation, industrialization, immigration, empire, protests, terrorism, resistance, freedom of speech
Units of Study: Content Area, Nonfiction, Social Issues, Personal Essay, Historical Fiction
Tribes: mutual respect, personal best
Reading Skills: questioning, synthesis, prediction, determining importance, inference, interpretation
Writing Skills: using evidence to support a thesis or main idea, inserting anecdotes and quotations
My Thoughts: I was so thrilled to find this book on the shelves. I read A People’s History of the United States several years ago and often reread sections before embarking on Social Studies units. Though I thought this book was going to present a child’s perspective of historical events, Zinn does manage to tuck in a few stories of young people working to make a difference. For example, he includes the story about how children started the first milll strike in Paterson, New Jersey. I intend to read aloud exerpts from this book to support and/or challenge what they may be reading in their own nonfiction texts. This book is also available in two volumes. Volume I covers Columbus to the Spanish-American War. Volume II covers World War I to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
26. Emily’s Art by Peter Catalanotto
Retell: Emily loves to paint. She enters her painting of her dog Thor in the school art contest. After narrowly losing the contest, Emily vows never to paint again. With her help from her friend Emily realizes that she should continue doing what makes her happy.
Topics: art, contests, friendship, school, painting, self-esteem
Units of Study: Realistic Fiction, Talking and Writing About Texts, Social Issues
Tribes: attentive listening, appreciations, personal best
Reading Skills: inference, making connections, interpretation
My Thoughts: I feel like I’m coming across a lot of books about young artists lately (see post on Ish). I’m a big fan of books with illustrations that not only support the text but enhance it. At the beginning of the book the illustrations of Emily are vivid and opaque. However, as soon as she loses the contest, the illustrations of Emily are transparent, conveying the idea that she feels alone and invisible. Another cool feature about Emily’s Art is how the book begins. It reminds me of the Harry Potter films. The story begins with a scene that draws the reader into the story and then like the opening credits in a movie, the title page appears. I plan on using this book early in the year when we do a lot of community-building. It’s a great book for showing how far appreciations can go.
Teachable Texts 