Posts tagged ‘New York’
138. Jose! Born to Dance by Susanna Reich
Retell: This is the story of Jose Limon, who left his family to move to New York. Frustrated by his poor artistic talent he fell in love with dance and worked to become a famous dancer and choreographer.
Topics: dance, war, family, Mexico, immigration, art, music, English, Spanish, death, New York, California
Units of Study: Nonfiction, Social Issues
Tribes: personal best, appreciations/no put-downs, mutual respect
Habits of Mind: persisting
Reading Skills: synthesis, monitoring for sense, envisionment
Writing Skills: using sound effects, zooming in on a small moment
My Thoughts: This text has multiple teaching purposes. It’s a great text for introducing or reinforcing the habit of mind–persistence. There are many moments in the story when Jose persists. He struggles to learn English but persists despite his cruel classmates. He is determined to become a dancer and shows persistence each day during rehearsal despite sore, aching muscles. During the read aloud we can hope that students understand that successful people, no matter what their focus, work hard and persist, even when they face adversity.
124. A Picnic in October by Eve Bunting
Retell: Each year Tony’s family boards the ferry to Liberty Island at grandma’s insistence. They brave the crowds and the cold to celebrate a special birthday.
Topics: New York, family, Statue of Liberty, grandparents, immigration
Units of Study: Social Issues, Talking and Writing About Texts
Tribes: mutual respect
Reading Skills: prediction, envisionment, inference, questioning
My Thoughts: This book is typically read during an Immigration unit. However I don’t think I can wait that long to read this book. A scene that stuck out for me was the part when Tony helps a young woman who pulls on his jacket, worried that the last boat has left. Apparently no one has been able to help her because she doesn’t speak English. Tony is patient with her and through gestures explains that another boat is on the way. When reading this aloud, I plan on emphasizing this moment and hope it will spark a meaningful discussion about how we can help students who have limited English skills.
This is a great text for modeling expression. Each character has a distinctive personality which may come out best if the reader creates voices for each character. For example, Rosa talks in “a reading kind of way” and should sound official (or as we say in conferences “like a teacher”). Mike seems a bit mischievous and should sound like it.
110. Peppe the Lamplighter by Elisa Bartone
Retell: Peppe and his family live in a tenement on Mulberry Street. Though he is just a boy, he must find work to help support his family. After several attempts, he finally finds a job as a lamplighter. His Papa imagines a better world for him in America. He becomes upset with Peppe for taking such a menial job. Though he loves his job, Peppe decides to take a break from it one evening in an effort to please his father. Later that evening both Peppe and his father discover that being the lamplighter isn’t such a bad deal after all
Topics: tenements, New York, child labor, lamplighters, family, perspectives, work
Units of Study: Historical Fiction, Social Issues, Talking and Writing about Texts
Tribes: appreciations/no put-downs
Reading Skills: inference, envisionment, interpretation
Writing Skills: using the ‘rule of three’, angling a story
My Thoughts: What I love about this text, is that it’s short, but inspires the reader to do a lot of good thinking. It’s a fabulous text for Reading and Writing Workshop as well as Social Studies. Using the illustrations, students can envision what New York tenement life was like during the 1800s. Though my students are currently writing Realistic Fiction, I’m planning on reading a section of this book tomorrow to a small group of students. I’m going to teach them how authors often incorporate the ‘rule of three’ when crafting stories (“The Three Little Pigs”, “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”). In the beginning of the story, Peppe attempts to find a job. The author could have chosen to describe the effort in a figurative way. Instead, she decided to give three examples of where he looked for work: the butcher, the bar, and the candy maker.
62. “Before New York” by Peter Miller, National Geographic September 2009
Retell: Peter Miller investigates the Mannahatta Project, a group who have analyzed several historical maps in order to create pictures of what Manhattan might have looked like when Henry Hudson spotted the island back in 1609.
Topics: New York, beavers, then & now, New Amsterdam, Hudson, conservation, geography, maps
Units of Study: Nonfiction, Content Area
Habits of Mind: thinking interdependently, responding with wonderment and awe, striving for accuracy
Reading Skills: envisionment, determining importance, questioning
My Thoughts: My eyes lit up when I received my monthly National Geographic magazine yesterday afternoon. The feature article, “Before New York,” is dedicated to presenting a picture of the landscape of New York City before it was the crowded, bustling town it is today. If you are a 4th grade teacher in New York I highly recommend going out to your local news stand and picking up a copy today. The article includes several pictures of ‘then and now’ maps and digital renderings. I plan on reading this article (or a portion of it) when we do our unit on New York geography. The article highlights how cartographers pose questions, strive for accuracy and work in groups. I may just reread the beginning of the article where the author tells the story of a beaver named Jose who appeared near the Bronx zoo. According to the article beaver haven’t been spotted in New York City in over 200 years. If you don’t have a subscription check out the National Geographic website. If you have a projector in your classroom you could share the interactive maps of New York after reading the article.
42. River of Dreams: The Story of the Hudson River by Hudson Talbott
Retell: A beautifully illustrated history of the Hudson River.
Topics: Hudson River, New York, Native Americans, Henry Hudson, dreamers, Dutch, explorers, British, American Revolution, Robert Fulton, Erie Canal, trade, Hudson River School Painters, Industrial Revolution, environment, Franny Reese, pollution, immigration
Units of Study: Nonfiction, Social Issues, Content Area
Tribes: mutual respect
Reading Skills: envisionment, determining importance, questioning, synthesis
Writing Skills: including expository text features
My Thoughts: My eyes grew wide when I spotted this book in Barnes and Noble this afternoon. This book is treasure for New York 4th grade teachers who will be embarking on a year-long study of New York history. A timeline painted in the shape of the Hudson River winds throughout the book noting historic events including: the American Revolution, the commercial success of Fulton’s steamboat, the opening of the Erie Canal, and the Scenic Hudson Decision. I think I may read this book in September when we discuss what we will be learning in Social Studies this year. When we get to a new unit, I think I’ll reread corresponding sections of River of Dreams. Talbott also highlights writers and artists who were inspired by the Hudson River such as Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper and the Hudson River School Painters. This is a great book to use when discussing trade and industry. There is a beautiful painting in the book that shows the Hudson River bursting with steamboats and schooners–“America’s first superhighway.” I like how the story includes the environmental impact of industrial pollution and the story ends with a strong message–it’s up to us to protect the beauty of this river.
3. Uptown by Bryan Collier
Retell: A young boy writes about his observations of Harlem.
Topics: neighborhoods, Harlem, community
Units of Study: Personal Narratives, Geography of New York
Reading Skills: envisionment
Writing Skills: writing small moments, including setting details, writing metaphors and similes
My Thoughts: This beautiful book shows that writers observe the world around them. Each observation is something that can turn into powerful writing. I plan on using this book as a mentor text for teaching about metaphors and similes. Collier writes, “Uptown is a caterpillar. Well, it’s really the Metro-North train as it eases over the Harlem River.” Though my students don’t live in Harlem, I’m hoping that reading this book together will show them that they need to share their world with others through writing. The world needs more books about Sunset Park, Brooklyn! For 4th grade teachers in New York, I can see using this book during a Geography unit. Perhaps after reading Uptown, students could locate the landmarks in the book on a subway map.
Teachable Texts 