Posts tagged ‘responsibility’
70. Agatha’s Feather Bed: Not Just Another Wild Goose Story by Carmen Agra
Retell: Agatha is famous for saying, “Everything comes from something.” One night, as she dreams on her new feather bed she is visited by naked geese who want their feathers back. Agatha comes up with an interesting compromise.
Topics: origins, fabric, responsibility
Units of Study: Social Issues
Tribes: mutual respect
Habits of Mind: responding with wonderment and awe, thinking flexibly
Reading Skills: monitoring for sense (understanding idioms and puns), inference
Writing Skills: using first-person narration, including puns
My Thoughts: In her author’s note Deedy writes, “What we choose to discuss with our children concerning ivory, whalebone, or the Brazilian rain forest is a matter of both individual conscience and collective responsibility. But the first step is to ask.” This book is all about inspiring people to ask, “Where does it come from?” Reading these words I’m reminded of a 4th grader who seemed so shocked when she discovered that leather is made from the hides of cows. The text contains a lot of interesting features. When describing her old mattress as ‘lumpy’ and ‘bumpy’ the letters actually look lumpy and bumpy. There are lots of cute idioms, puns and play-on-words. I know I’ll have to explain to my students why the name of the catalog (B.B. Lean) is so funny.
47. The House That Crack Built by Clark Taylor
Retell: A serious poem, told in cumulative verse, detailing the many lives affected by crack.
Topics: crack, drug abuse, responsibility
Units of Study: Social Issues
Tribes: right to pass
Reading Skills: interpretation, inference, questioning, making connections
Writing Skills: using rhythm and rhyme
My Thoughts: This is an intense book. I’m trying to decide if I will read it aloud to my students this year or not. On one hand I think it’s important to have realistic discussions about drugs with elementary school students, but on the other hand I have to be aware that this book may be too heavy for some students. If I do decide to read it aloud this year I think it could be a great for the Social Issues unit. Chronicle Books has a great reading guide for the book which provides questions appropriate for both elementary and middle school aged children.
Teachable Texts 