Posts tagged ‘repetition’
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.
9. Dogteam by Gary Paulsen
Retell: A moonlit night inspires the narrator to take his dogs on an exciting night ride.
Topics: dogs, dog sledding
Units of Study: personal narrative, content-area writing
Reading Skills: envisionment
Writing Skills: using active verbs, zooming in on a small moment, incorporating sensory details, adding suspense, inserting commas and semicolons, repetition
My Thoughts: Dogteam reads more like prose. In addition to including beautiful imagery, Paulsen’s book has many examples of how writers use all senses to describe a moment in time. Though I would categorize this as a personal narrative, one could also use this as a mentor text for writing nonfiction poetry.
Teachable Texts 