Krysta and I chose our eight books during the second and third week of the semester. We each read the choices on our own and met again to revise the selections. Some of the revisions were based on new information learned in class.
The two categories Krysta and I have chosen to focus on in this session are biography and poetry.
Biography Title: The United States Presidents: Barack Obama Author: Jill C. Wheeler Copyright: 2009 Includes information about Barack Obama that can be considered mulitcultural
Poetry Title: Incredible Inventions Author: Poems Selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins Copyright: 2009
I think the biography on Barack Obama is an appropriate book for the classroom. One reason, is that it is a biography that is very current. Students will be able to relate to the person being described because he is the current president. Barack Obama is presented as a multi-faceted person. The book walks students through his life from birth until the presidency and includes very interesting facts about how he overcame a difficult childhood and discrimination as an adult. The facts that the author includes are not cited; however, on the copyright page, the author's name is paired with Barack Obama, so it appears he was consulted for the information. Another nice feature that helps to validate the facts are the authentic photographs. Each page of information is paired with one or two pictures that look like they came from Obama's personal collection. I looked up the author, Jill Wheeler, to see if I could find some information on how she acquired the facts, but I could not find any. She is, however, an established author, and the biography is part of a series of presidential biographies published by one company. The biography is written in a very straightforward manner and reads like a narrative. The author does not include any personal responses or veer off from the facts; however, the only facts presented are very favorable of Obama. The biography definitely paints a picture that he can do no wrong. Still, Obama is portrayed as a real person. He grew up in a multicultural home and had little money. He lived in Hawaii and Indonesia. He eventually went to a prep school where African Americans were few. The biography describes how Obama worked his way up through college and that education was always valued. There is an overall feeling that is cultivated through the words and pictures that Obama has been breaking barriers his whole life. I think this book would be very inspirational to students who may feel the odds are against them. It provides hope and outlines the "American Dream." An added feature to the biography is a section that illustrates the branches of government and how the president is elected. The branches of government is part of the fifth grade curriculum, so the book becomes an excellent teaching tool for our social studies program. The book also provides a timeline of the presidents and websites for further investigation of the topics in the book. The layout of the book is user friendly. It uses non-fiction text features such as headings at the beginning of each section, allowing students to follow the structure of the biography easily as it is presented in chronological order. The readability is appropriate for younger and older students. The sentences are shorter and succint. Important words are in boldface and a glossary is included in the back of the book. It can be used to teach or revisit non-fiction text features. Overall, I think this book is a quality biography. Any flaws in Obama may want to be explored through another text; however, it may not be appropriate for elementary students considering he is the current president and such a present inspiration.
Hi Krysta, I just wanted to add some of my thoughts about the multicultural value in this book. I think the book definitely promotes self-asteem for African American children. It shows how an African American broke the boundaries with an historical change in our government, but also that the change did not happen as one isolated event; it was something Obama worked for and was challenged by over his lifetime. Since his parents are from two different cultures and Obama respects his parents, it builds a sense of respect for other cultures within the reader. The way Obama helped others instead of choosing to become a lawyer (he's pictured working in the poor areas of Chicago) encourages students to become helpful to others who may be different than them. The photographs really help the reader to see the Obama figure and the different settings of his world. He is often shown as the only black man in a sea of white politicians. The pictures are very powerful.
I think the poetry selection entitled, Incredible Inventions, is a fabulous collection of poems appropriate for elementary students. Each poem is about a real life object or item that someone created. The first feature I really like about the poems is that they are written by all different authors. They have been selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins to go into the book. The poems, therefore, are very different from each other because they were written by different people. It demonstrates a variety of poetry styles. Many of the poems include rhyme, but not necessarily in every stanza. Some include couplets while others are more random about the rhyming. There are also some poems that do not rhyme. Again, there is a nice variety. Each poem has a definite rhythm that students can follow. The poems are not so free form that a student would have a hard time understanding how to read them. The subject of each poem is an object that students can relate to and often use on a daily basis. For example, there is a poem about a puzzle, jeans, a roller coaster, a straw, and even kitty litter. The shapes of the poems often fit the topic. For example, in the straw poem, the words are written vertically with each letter of a word underneath the last to give the look of a straw in a glass. The roller coaster poem describes the motion of the ride and the feelings the rider has during the sudden movement changes. The layout of the words follow the meaning they relay. "Fast drop" is written to look like it has dropped. "Dips" curves down into a dip. "Catch your breath..." shows a pause. The poem about an escalator is written on the steps of the aparatus. The layout of the words is very effective for the mood and the rhythm of each piece. Many literary techniques are used in the poems. My favorite poem is entitled, Inside the Box. It uses sensory detail and personification to make a crayon box come alive. I think this is a very inspiring poem for students to be themsleves and take risks. It encourages creativity. There is beautiful descriptive language in all of the poems. New vocabulary is spun into elegant phrases. Still each poem is understandable for most elementary students.
Poetry continued: The pictures in this book are phenomenal. They are whimsical and vibrant. They appear to be done with watercolors or pastels. Most lines are very soft. The perspectives of the pictures are interesting. The puzzle picture is viewed from above looking down on the puzzle. The ferris wheel picture is viewed from below looking up at the enormously large figure. The traffic signal picture is viewed as looking down through a city street packed with traffic. The pictures create emotions that tie into a fast or slow pace. All of the poems promote positive feelings of joy and happiness. There is the feeling of movement and action in most of the pictures. But those in which the poem is calm, the pictures create stillness. The poem is well placed within the picture and neither is overpowered by the other. The pictures are very prominent, but the words are easily seen. The pictures do a good job of reinforcing the text. This book would be a great resource for teaching students to write poetry. The topics are so simplistic yet very real and relatable. Students could choose inventions to write about such as a pencil, sneaker, mailbox; the possibilities for ideas are endless. The descriptive language encourages students to become more descriptive in their own writing. Since the pictures are so prominent in the book, students could start by drawing a picture of their inventions, then use the pictures to spark their descriptive phrases. I really think they would have a lot of fun using this book as a model or jumping off point. The book can also be extended because it includes non-fiction information about each invention in the back of the book. A synopsis of the inventor and how he/she actually came up with the idea for the invention is outlined in several paragraphs each. Students can do more research on these people or inventions. Further, the book encourages students to create their own inventions. It is very inspiring, especially when they see how some of the inventions were thought up out of a need.
Hi Lisa, Wow you were up early this morning! Sorry I didn't get a chance to post sooner...here are my thoughts and reactions to Obama's biography:
When I was evaluating this book for its literary criteria, I first noticed how the author presented Obama in a way that students of almost all ages can relate to him. Through discussing his family, his childhood, and especially his schooling, I feel there were many aspects of his life explained to which children can connect. Many children may think of him as President of the United States and may not think of his youth, and this text gives a good amount of that sometimes unknown information.
I also noticed the author used specific vocabulary that was very appropriate for the text. While some of this vocabulary may be difficult for younger students, it does present many teaching opportunities with these newer words.
I also believe Wheeler did a good job showing how Obama was a multifaceted person who had many positive and negative experiences in his life. Lisa, as you mentioned, most of Obama's "good deeds" are presented, so another text may need to be introduced to get a more neutral stance. The author, however, does show that Obama was a true-to-life, multifaceted person. Also, as you mentioned Lisa, the photographs that accompany the topic of each page help bring credibility to the facts, and I, too, liked how many of the pictures appeared to be from Obama's own collection. I also believe there is a good mix of insignificant and important facts within the text to give a clear picture of Obama's life. Insignificant details like Obama being 5 when his father was killed in a car accident in Kenya to more significant details such as Obama leading Project VOTE in Chicago help give the reader a clear picture of the events in his life.
I think this multicultural book is a definite read for students for several reasons. First, it enables them to gain a clearer picture of who their country's leader is and some of the hardships and struggles he endured to become a successful politician. Lisa, I also like how you commented on how his parents being from different cultures was reported, as it does help to build an appreciation not only for different cultures but for bi-cultural families. I feel the story and details in this book build inspiration for all students to go for their goals, but it is especially inspirational for students of particular cultures who may feel that their cultural barriers could hold them back from reaching their goals.
I believe this book has many uses for the classroom. First, because it is a multicultural book, I think it serves a wonderful purpose in bringing light to other cultures and, more specifically, showing how people of any culture can be successful in America with hard work and determination. It definitely is an inspirational tale. Second, as you commented Lisa, we cover the United States government in our 5th grade curriculum, and the informational pages at the end of the story serve a great purpose for that unit. The information at the back of the book such as the branches of government, the qualifications to become President, the Electoral College, and the Presidents in history and their terms serve as great resources to supplement that unit. Those pages are well-organized, colorful, and present themselves in a way that students would find easy to understand. Lastly, similar to what you mentioned Lisa, I think this book is a great resource in the classroom for teaching students to read nonfiction, a skill emphasized in the upper grades. The headings on each page, the captions that accompany the photography, and the glossery and index in the back are just some of the tools taught to students to help them better read nonfiction texts. I definitely plan to read this book to my students for all of these purposes.
I agree with you Krysta. I plan on using this book in my classroom as well. I think it offers a lot while connecting very well to our curriculum. I work in a very non-diverse school. I think it would do the students well to see how Obama started out and the struggles he needed to face and overcome in order to break that barrier and become our first African-American president. I still think that because my students are so underexposed, they don't really get the significance. The fact that the book ties in the branches of government which correlates with what we have to teach is really helpful. I think it will make more sense to the children if we talk about how it relates to the present day government instead of just talking about how the branches began. It will hold more meaning if we connect it to the present day president.
I also agree that the use precise vocabulary is great for the students. Even though the sentences are succint, the vocabulary adds a lot of depth to the text. It does have the glossary for many of the words which is helpful. I thinks it is very appropriate for out fifth graders.
Lisa, I, too, work in a school that is not at all diverse. In fact, last year (my 4th year teaching) I had my first non-white student. The fact that there are only 2 African American students (a brother and sister from the same family) in the entire school gives more reason to teach this book to my students. As you mentioned, the students are underexposed to the cultures represented in our country, and this text is a great opportunity for our students to learn more about other cultures and how people of any culture can be successful. Also, because the African American culture is one which our students are not familiar with, this text allows us to teach our students more about the struggles Obama had to undertake to reach his goal.
Here are my thoughts of the poetry book, "Incredible Inventions":
First first literary quality I noticed this book supports is the way in which the poems speak to children. As you mentioned, Lisa, each poem focuses on an invention that students are familiar with. The authors of the poems then cleverly write about that invention in a creative and motivating technique for students. I agree that all of the poems are written in ways that students could understand them - they would not be stuck sitting there forever trying to interpret the poem. Instead, the can easily comprehend it and then spend time analyzing it and using it as a springboard for their own writing. In addition, the fact that most of the pages were consumed with the fantastic pictures and the poems were melded into the pictures is definitely fitting and motivating for students.
I also liked how many of them were physical poems. This provides a great sensory image for the students. It is also a great way for the poem to support the meaning of its words. For example, "Roller Coaster" was a fanstastic poem that took the whirly shape of a roller coaster while describing a trip on one using language such as, "curves," "dips", or "heart-in-throat." Such words help students enjoy the sounds of the language used. They can discuss the adjectives used and then work on including such language in their writing. Another poem that is great for fostering creative langugae use was, "The Signal's Lament." In this poem, Alice Schertle questions the colors on a stop light and wonders why colors such as cadmium orange, cerulean blue, chartreuse, or vermilion aren't used. I thought this was a great poem I could use with my students not only for strong word use but also for synonyms!
I definitely plan to use this book in my classroom, especially to help increase the students' interests and abilities with poetry. As you commented, Lisa, there are a variety of poetry styles, which lends itself to a lesson on the freedom an author can have with poetry. I also really like the idea of having students write a poem about a specfic object, as these poems all did. The students could read the paragraphs in the back of the book about all of the inventions described in the poems, research an invention they are interested in, and then create their own poem about it. Finally, the comments you made about the pictures, Lisa, sparked an idea in my head about having the students use art as springboards for their writing. For instance, you commented on the interesting perspectives of the pictures in this book as well as the use of movement within the pictures, and I think this could be a great book to teach such artistic components to students. Then, we could give each student a picture (or they could pick one for themselvs), and they could then make a poem using the art to inspire their writing. While this could take a lot of practice and modeling, I think it could be a great opportunity for students to "read" art and notice all of those components that often go overlooked. It could be a great way to blend artistic style with poetry.
Krysta, I really like your idea of using pictures for writing poetry as well. I discussed having them draw pictures, but I see that we could also provide pictures or have them find pictures in magazines, on the Internet, etc. The idea of "reading" the art is very interesting. What a way to bring out vocabulary.
I never really saw a poetry book like this before. The level of the book usually means the poems will be humorous. Some are humorous, but some are very serious. I think it provides a very good balance of feeling. It allows the teacher to focus on how poetry can express different feelings. And overall it really gets into the creativity of the child. I guess we have a number of books to buy.
I agree that this poetry book is a great way to bring out the creativity of the students. I find much too often with my fifth graders that they don't know "how" to be creative. They want to know exactly what they should write and how they should write it. It seems they often struggle the most when I give them free reign. Introducing more books like this poetry book could hopefully help them see how to be creative even with simply describing objects and how writing does not have to be so regimented.
The first book Lisa and I chose for this session is "The Man Who Walked Between the Towers." This book is one of our choice books. The information for this book is:
Title: "The Man Who Walked Between the Towers" Author: Mordicai Gerstein Copyright: 2003 (We were given permission for this book, however.) Published by: Roaring Brook Press This book won the Caldecott Medal and is a biography. Since we already used "Barack Obama" for our biography, this book will be one of our picture-based choice books.
Before beginning the blog, I want to add from the table of contents above that we were given permission to use this book despite its 2003 copyright because it won the Caldecott medal in 2004.
Hi Lisa, I think "The Man Who Walked Between the Towers" is a great picture book. Upon looking at the literary evaluation criteria, I first thought of the artifacts Gerstein included to enhance the credibility of the text. Specific details such as the cable being seven eights of an inch thick or him using aa twenty eight foot balancing pole adds specific details from the actual event that also help the reader visualize the story. I also think that these statistics could be integrated into one's math lessons. Students could measure out those distances to get a better visual or practice their estimating by estimating those different lengths with string and then checking them, etc.
I also think Gerstein did a nice job of balancing important and less significant details in the story to give the reader a better taste of the situation. Important details such as the length of time it took the men to connect the cable or how Philippe was arrested for his feat are important details to help the reader understand the risks and dangers of this challenge. On the other hand, less significant details such as how Philippe dressed as a construction worker or how a woman from the subway was the first to see him on the wire help add visuals and credibility to the text. Such information helps the reader create a clear visual for Philippe's feat, and they can also serve as good springboards for discussion (i.e. Why would Philippe dress himself as a construction worker?).
There were two literary criteria that caused me to feel that this book was a little less credible than it could have been, though. First, I do not feel that Philippe was a multifaceted character. The entire story revolves around his mission to walk on a cable connecting the two towers, and there is no other part of his life or thoughts ever addressed. Therefore, the reader is left with little information about Philippe's personality or character traits beyond his yearning to walk in the cable. More details about his personality could possibly help the readers connect with this character who, based on this text, is unlike most other humans.
The second area that I thought was a bit weak according to the criteria was how the facts of this story were documented. On the inside flap of the cover there is a small, 1-sentence, explanation for Philippe Petit's actual adventure. I feel that a more detailed explanation with more statistics and facts about that incredible feat would help not only build background knowledge for the reader, but it would also help the reader understand this biographical story since it is quite an usual one.
In terms of multicultural considerations, this biography is about an French aerialist, which does bring in another culture for discussion. Perhaps students could research if France is known for their aerialists or even just general information about the French culture.
Beyond the research about aerialists (both French and other) or using the statistics in math class as previously mentioned, this book also lends itself to extension activities in which students research people who have accomplished amazing feats. Then the students could write their own stories for those individuals as Gerstein did about Philippe.
"The Man Who Walked Between the Towers" continued:
Finally, in terms of its illustrations, I feel this book had some great illustrations that truly reinforced the text. Most of the details in the text were seen in the illustrations which helps bring credibility. Also, the two foldout spreads help to really enhance the height at which Philippe walked. I also really liked how the illustrations use lines in such a way that they great a great point of view. For example, I really like the pictures towards the end of the story when Philippe is on the cable. These illustrations have great use of curved and straight lines that produce a great visual of Philippe's point of view from the top of the towers. It really helps the reader visualize that moment. Also the dark and cool colors when Philippe is preparing for his feat in the middle of the night really draw out that sense of worry and anticipation if he would ever get the cable correctly attached and if he would be successful in his mission. Perhaps even students could then work with such design elements when illustrating their stories about a person who accomplished an incredible feat.
When beginning to read this book, one may not know what to expect. However, I think the very first line of the book is quite powerful when it states, "Once there were two towers side by side." This book is not about the collapse of the twin towers and does not pertain to 911 at all. Still, the opening statement already places a question in the readers mind - "Do the towers still exist?" When we get to the end of the book, the second to last page has a one line statement that is also quite powerful when it says, "Now the towers are gone." I think this would leave many questions in a younger child's mind and would make them want to find out more about the towers. I think the author is doing something very creative here. Instead of presenting a book about 911 that would scare children and upset them, he presents an interesting and beautiful event that would capture the imaginative side of a child while still opening a door to curiosity and further research. It also focuses on the positive when today there is much emphasis on the negative. So I think this book can be used in the classroom as a way to open up research into 911 and talk about it in a way that is not scary. I also think it can be used to find other interesting facts about the towers without focusing on the collapse; honor the life while remembering the death. This is a powerful life lesson.
I also agree with you, Krysta, when you say it can be used to discuss measurement and math. For example, on the first page, the conversion of 1/4 mile into 1,340 feet is mentioned. Other measurements are used such as the amount of stairs in ten floors. Some of these measurements are most likely to bring credibility to the story. These precise measurements bring the details to life. Some research would need to be done to find out if the author made up the measurement details (width of the rope, distance, etc.)for affect, or whether they are truly accurate. There is also a balance of insignificant details and important ones that transfix the reader on this one event.
After reading this book again, Krysta, I think it is a combination of biography and historical fiction. As a biography, it only includes one event in the character's life. Although the character is a real person, the tale is not very encompassing to be called a true biography. Based on truth, it is an event in history. The author gives credit for the information he used to a book about the character, Petit, the New York Times and Daily News as they tracked the story first hand, and a book Petit wrote about himself. Since the author is a secondary source, he probably took some liberties in writing the story. In other words, he used facts, but probably embellished a bit. Therefore, it seems like historical fiction. Either way, it is a nice story.
I think the setting is key in this story. The setting, especially as shown through the illustrations, is authentic and allows the reader to feel as if he/she is in the city or on top of the towers.
There is not a lot of dialogue in the story. The only way that we get to know the character is through his actions and what the author (narrator) states about him. Krysta, I agree that the character is not multifacted. He shows perseverance and bravery, but we really don't get to know him very well.
The plot to this story is almost unbelievable if it didn't really happen. That's what makes it interesting. We love watching other people do things we think of doing, but would never actually do. The reader is kept wondering throughout the story if the character will actually succeed in walking on the rope between the towers. We care about the character as we read; he is a curious person with a zest for life and adventure. He does not, however, have a lot of dimension to him and he does not change. (Of course, this is not always a necessary component to a good book.) There may be a lesson that you can do whatever you want to accomplish if you believe in yourself.
The readability of this book is manageable for most elementary students. The author does include some good description and imagery such as "thin, strong line," "the sky surrounded him" and "the sparkling city." He uses personification when he says "he could feel the towers breathing." I think there is value in the writing style of the author.
Krysa, I agree that the illustrations really add depth to the story. There were many straight lines to help the reader picture vast distances (the height of the towers, the distance of the rope between them). I really liked the two page picture in which the characters are trying to get the wire across the towers at night and it says, "the wire plummeted." Your eyes follow the wire down the page and over to the next. Then at the top of that next page where the friends catch the rope the text reads, "pulling the friends on the other tower to the very edge." It made your heart sink with the rope and then lifted you back up as they caught the rope.
There are a lot of visual perspectives in the illustrations. Sometimes we are looking up at the towers and other times looking down from the top. That feeling of being in the air is really captured. The daytime blues created feelings of calmness and joy. I agree, Krysta, that the night colors created tension. I also felt that the clouds did resemble smoke and there were scenes that looked like the towers were on fire. It seemed to be a foreshadowing done with pictures. The picture where the people in the street are looking up at the towers and pointing in horror as they see Philippe walking the rope resembles the onlookers when the planes hit the towers years later. It would be interesting to ask the author if he purposely meant for the reader to make parallel connections.
In responding to the multicultural aspect of the book, yes, the main character is French, but I think after really looking at the areas of generic, specific, or neutral, I feel this book's multicultural value is neutral to none. The character just happens to be French, but I don't think that aspect really does anything for us as a reader.
Chris Van Allsburg is known for writing fantasy stories. I always think that a book is considered if fantasy if one of the three main elements is unrealistic: characters, setting, and plot. This story is mostly believable because the characters and setting are realistic; however, the basis for the plot seems far-fetched; possible, but not probable.
The setting in the story is a middle class household in the city. The time period looks to be somewhere within the 1950's and 1960's due to the clothing and cars. It has a definite historic yet modern feel. The main characters are an African American family: a brother, his younger sister, and their mom. No dad is seen in the home and this may be viewed as a stereotype of that culture. However, the house is extremely clean and well put together. The family appears to have no financial problems (opposite of the normal stereotype.)
As far as being considered a multicultural book, I think it lacks real emphasis on the multicultural part. It seems to be a more generic book; specific cultural aspects are absent; characters may look diverse but no true cultural difference is shown. There are a mixture of white and black characters in the background of the story. The boy's best friend is white. The race of the characters is not meant to have an impact on the story. The story could happen to anyone and is meant to be whimsical and entertaining. On the plus side, it is showing two cultures melding together and treating each other as equals. It encourages us to not look at the outside of a person, but to focus on the story.
Fantasy Continued: The plot that seems unbelievable is that the boys go to see a hypnotist and then come home to build their own machine that will hypnotize the main character's younger sister into thinking she is a dog. Many children have had this fantasy and may have even tried to hypnotize others. But it usually doesn't work. In this story, the girl actually thinks she is a dog. The boys panic and try to change her back. Througout the story, the reader is wondering if the boys will be able to turn the girl back before the mom finds out. Also, we wonder if the girl is truly hypnotized or not. At the end we are still unsure. The sense of panic and tension is felt within the reader as the boys try to figure out how to fix the problem in time.
Children would be able to relate to this story easily as sibling rivalry is common. The main character does not want to take his sister with him to the show he is going to; he'd rather take his friend. When his mom goes out, she's asks him to watch his sister which he would rather not do. He's always teasing her to get her upset. These actions make the character relatable and believable. The author takes the reader through the emotions of the character. First he is the teasing older brother, too cool to be around his little sister. He seems to have all the answers. Then when the sister thinks she's a dog, panic sets in. We can identify with the character's fear. Then when the situation seems to rectify itself, he's laughing like the bigshot because he's relieved that it all worked out. Even though the main character is somewhat mean to his sister, he is not so mean that he becomes unlikeable. He's just a normal kid that gets himself in over his head. His emotions change in the story, but I wouldn't necessarily say that he changed as a character. There is no indication that he will stop picking on his sister. I see that there could be a lesson about getting in over your head, or about how you treat others and how it can blow up in your face; however, I'm not sure about a theme. Krysta, let me know what you think.
The dialogue among the characters sounded quite real. The banter between the brother and sister was authentic. The mother's reaction to her son's behavior was also realistic. As the reader, I could feel her frustration with her son. She talked in a reprimanding tone. In the illustrations, the mom even stands at the table with her hands on her hips as if saying, "What am I gonna do with that boy." There is truly a lot of dialogue in this story. It takes up at least half of the text. However, there are nice descriptions that use vivid verbs and some similes. The text was easy to follow and used some precise vocabulary.
The illustrations in the story are captivating. Chris Van Allsburg illustrates his own books. He has a very unique style of artistry. In this story, the coloring is sepia tone, using only shades of brown and white. There is a grainy texture to the pictures which make them look older and soften the lines. Each picture is two pages in size and draws your attention to the character Allsburg wants you to look at. He may do that by creating a diagonal type of perspective or use lines that cause your eye to travel in a particular direction. The characters are larger than life and stand out in the illustrations. The faces and clothing are very detailed with indentations and folds that almost make them jump off the page and appear touchable. Shapes are very precise and symmetrical. There is a perfection to the drawings that bring about a sense that everything is right in the world. Everything except the mischief the children purposely get into. It's the ideal world. If the text was not included, the reader would still be able to understand the story because the illustrations clearly lay out the plot.
As for the use in the classroom, I don't think this book would be well suited for an introduction to fantasy because it's not as evident as in other possible choices. It would be a good book for teaching vivid verbs because there are so many descriptive verbs used. It would also be a good book for teaching connections and writing connection responses. The children can most likely make many connections with the different characters and the feelings that unfold throughout the book.
Lisa, There are two really good points you made about “The Man Who Walked Between The Towers”.
The first point I liked was the point that this book serves as a good source of background information for 911. You are right that the author does a great job of staying away from the negative and even gory details of 911. Instead, he leaves it up to the readers’ interpretation when they notice the towers no longer exist at the end of the story. Further discussion and/or research can then be completed. This is a great way to introduce a tragic time in America’s history without throwing all of the terrible details at the students. Also, I think this book is a great resource for another view of 911 and the twin towers for older students who are already aware of 911.
The other point that I appreciate you making was your explanation of how this text is a historical fiction. I must admit that when I began my previous blog I began to panic when I read the inside cover of the text and saw it was considered a biographical story. Then I looked it up on amazon.com and saw they considered it a biographical text as well. That is why I felt we may need to change it. Upon reading your explanation, however, I now see how because the author added his own interpretation and details to make it more of a fictional story. He used his liberties as an author to move it from a biographical text to a more fictional tale. I think this in itself can be a great lesson for students. I plan to read this to my students and have them discuss what its genre is. When the students hopefully notice it can fall in more than one category, we can discuss how texts can be considered more than one genre. Thanks for clearing that up!
Lisa, Many of your thoughts about “Probuditi” are similar to mine. According to the literary evaluation criteria, credibility is key with modern fantasies. As you mentioned, the realistic characters and setting do make the story credible. While the plot is not all that credible, that is the element that allows this book to be considered a modern fantasy. I agree with your comment though that while the plot is not probable, it is not impossible, which adds to the credibility of the text. The characters are very similar to typical children in present time, both in the interactions between friends and the family relationships. As you mentioned, Lisa, the constant sibling rivalry between Calvin and Trudy are believable and are a relationship that most children can probably connect with. The plot is very consistent throughout the text; a “typical” suburban neighborhood and town are presented with middle-class homes having “average” looking rooms, decorations, etc. This consistent and realistic setting helps the reader to not only understand the text but to also connect with it.
Lisa, I, too, struggled a bit when trying to determine the theme of the story. I guess I would have to say it would be dealing with the consequences of one’s actions, in this case missing his birthday dinner due to the fact he didn’t follow his mom’s order to not trick his sister. It seems the majority of the text centers around the boy ignoring those orders and tricking his sister for fun. By the end of the story, however, the boy realizes that this “fun” caused him to miss his favorite meal for his birthday. In addition, just the fact that Calvin and Rodney were stuck taking care of Trudy all day when she was a dog is a consequence for them trying to have fun with her. I think this could be a valuable theme for most children and adolescents to read about. Does that sound like a reasonable theme to you, Lisa?
I completely agree with you Lisa about the multiculturalism in this text. While I think it’s wonderful that it is centered around an African American family and other than an absent father, it does not appear any other stereotypes are shown. On the other hand, it seems as if this multiculturalism is overlooked, as no emphasis is placed on it as you mentioned, Lisa. Do you think this is because Allsburg is trying to portray that African Americans are a norm in America? Perhaps he felt that by drawing attention to them that he’s acting as if this is not a “typical” American family? Let me know your thoughts.
I am a huge fan of Chris Van Allsburg, especially his artwork. I think he is a phenomenal artist who has an amazing ability to make artwork look like a true-to-life photograph. This text is no exception. There are many evident characteristics that make these visuals more realistic. For example, the symmetrical shapes shown throughout the text add to the chaos and panic sensed throughout the story as Calvin is trying to turn his sister back into a human. In addition, as you mentioned, Lisa, the extra large 2-spread pictures with their incredible details help us to focus on the character being discussed, and they also help to bring credibility to the text. The pictures clearly extend the meaning of the text, and I think this could be proven if one was to does a picture walk with his/her students with this book. I believe that the overall plot is quite evident just by examining the pictures.
I agree with you Lisa that this book would not serve as a good introduction to fantasy in the classroom. The fantastical elements are not that strong, and I believe they would be difficult for students to distinguish from other genres. Perhaps this could be a good book to use towards the end of a fantasy unit, as it can show the various forms fantasy can take (even somewhat realistic as in this book). Another idea I had for classroom use is when teaching inferences. Upon finishing the text, I immediately thought to myself that the ending is a fantastic way for students to use clues in the text to infer meaning beyond the text. Was the girl really hypnotized or not? The clues on the last page make us wonder, and it it’s never answered. I love using picture books during my inference unit, and I will now add this book to my list.
The first book for this session is our selection for the informational texts.
Title: “Hurricanes, Tsunamis, and Other Natural Disasters” Author: Andrew Langley Copyright: 2006 Publisher: Scholastic
The very first quality I noticed about this book when evaluating it is the way in which it encourages analytical thinking. The topic of natural disasters is one that is motivating for students in itself, but the way in which this text gives statistics about the disasters (i.e. magma makes its way to the earth’s surface from as deep as 99 miles below the crust) and shows detailed photographs with captions about actual natural disasters, the reader cannot help but think more about these types of disasters and the damage they cause. The readers is left to think not only about the magnitude and severity of different storms but also what they would do if such a storm was to hit their hometown.
I also feel that the organization helps the reader to better comprehend the text. The text begins with a clearly written table of contents in large, easy-to-read font. Each two-page spread also begins with a large title in the upper left-hand corner to let the reader know what information will be found on that page. On each page, the information is categorized, and each paragraph has its own heading in bold font. There are also fantastic detailed and up-to-date photographs on each page with captions nearby explaining the image. These captions even come complete with an arrow pointing to the specific picture it relates to so there can be no confusion. I also liked how some of the pages had maps on them such as the volcano page that has a map of the world illustrating the tectonic plates. This is a nice way to integrate geography with the content. The end of the text also includes as glossary of terms found in the text along with an index of ideas presented in the book. These are helpful tools and are great for teaching students about the elements of non-fiction books.
Considering the text was copy written three years ago, the information is up-to-date, and it is accurate. We study natural disasters in one of our reading themes each year, and the information presented in this text completely matches the information in the texts we read.
There isn’t any artwork to examine in this text exactly, since the vast majority of the visuals are photographs. Most of these photographs are 2-page spreads with vivid colors and exciting details such as lava spewing from a volcano or a building in shambles from an earthquake. Such photographs are eye-catching and motivate students as they begin to question and analyze the elements of the various storms.
While it is an informational book about natural disasters, this text does have some multicultural aspects. Many of the photographs and stories about places that have experienced natural disasters are from other countries such as Africa, Peru, and Japan. The reader is able to learn a bit about these cultures as they read about the disasters that occur in their areas as well as how they cope with such tragedies (i.e. people from Sri Lanka spent over 6 months working as an entire community to clean the destruction from a major tsunami).
I think this book has many implications for the classroom. It first ties in nicely with science and geography, as the teacher can use this book to teach about various storm systems and where in the world they occur. Also, as previously mentioned, we study natural disasters in one of our reading themes, and I can definitely use this book to supplement our readings and extend their knowledge beyond the text we already use. I also think this book can be used to teach the kids researching skills. Following their reading of it, students can pick a country or natural disaster they want to learn more about. Lessons about how to conduct proper research can then be done, and the students can complete research about their topic. They can then create expository essays and/or projects to display and present that information. I feel this is a great informational text that is motivational and lends itself to various types of learning and activities.
First I just wanted to respond to what you said about the theme in Probuditi.I think the ideas you came up with sound logical. The main character does see that there are consequences for his actions. Nice job.
I also think that you are correct in saying Allsburg is presenting characters without stressing their race/culture because he is presenting them as typical. He doesn't expect the reader to view them as black or white, but as typical kids having fun (and a little trouble) one afternoon. The multicultural nature of a book depends on the author's purpose for including it. He most likely wants his readers to feel he is an author for all children, not just white children.
I really like what you said about using the book at the end of a fantasy unit and focusing on inference. I think that is a great idea. Did the girl really get hypnotized? Is this really a fantasy story? Do you think the main character will stop teasing his sister? There is a lot of suttle clues that can be used to create discussion in this area.
The second book for this session is our selection for the historical fiction text.
Title: “Maggie’s Amerikay” Author: Barbara Timberlake Russell Copyright: 2006 Publisher: Melanie Kroupa Books
I felt the setting of this book was quite authentic. This story took place in New Orleans, and all of the major ideas in the book were typical of New Orleans in the early 1800’s. As explained in the author’s note, New Orleans was a very musical place during this time, and it was also a place were many immigrants entered America. Also, Russell also explains that New Orleans was a big part of the slave trade. All of these concepts are apparent in the story: Maggie’s Irish family immigrating to America, meeting an African American family, and having the two cultures come together through music. Throughout the story, there are details about the setting, yet it is not the primary focus of the story, nor is it stressed. I think this enables the reader to feel he/she is in New Orleans experiencing Maggie’s life, which creates are more credible story.
In addition to the setting being authentic, the characters’ experiences and beliefs are very consistent with the time period. Throughout the text, Maggie is trying to find ways to help her family buy land in America. She even avoids going to school and works for an African American man without her parents knowing to help her family financially. Being able to financially survive in the New World was very realistic for the early 1800’s as thousands of immigrants came to this new home with little to no resources to survive.
I also felt the racism seen in the book was quite authentic. Maggie was leery of Nathan’s family because she had been told to “stay away from such Negroes.” Similarly, Nathan’s family is leery of the Irish, as his mom tells him, “Don’t let me catch you fooling with Irish, boy. They’re trouble, you hear?” This fear of the unknown, especially the unknown who do not belong to you culture, was very typical in the early 1800’s. I think this is a great example of such racism, and it provides a great teaching tool to instruct students about the feelings and emotions of that time.
I would say the theme of this text is to not judge a book by its cover, or to look past one’s appearance and judge him for his character. This is a very worthwhile theme, especially for children. In a society that is very diverse, it is critical that children understand that a person’s outer appearance is not a criteria for judging him as a person. In addition, because I teach in a town that is not at all diverse (as I know you do too, Lisa), it is absolutely critical that my students hear that lesson. Many of my students do not come in contact with students from other cultures, particular non-white cultures. This is a great text to help students such as mine understand the danger of such stereotypes in society.
I feel this text is a great teaching tool for one’s classroom. As previously mentioned, it’s a great tool for teaching about racism and stereotypes and the danger of judging others without knowing their character. It is also a great resource to use in a unit about immigration. I don’t think there are many texts that show such a relationship between African Americans and Irish immigrants. I think it’s a great tool for showing two specific cultures coming together and learning to rid themselves of their stereotypes. An extension activity for this text could be to have students research two specific ethnic groups and their background, specifically why they came to America and what struggles they faced when they were here. Then students can write their own stories about the cultures coming together.
I also think this text does a nice job with its multicultural piece. As previously mentioned, there are not many books about two such specific cultures coming together. In fact, I cannot think of any books off-hand that include Irish immigrants and their struggles coming to America. Therefore, this text is a great resource for two cultures not always addressed in the same story. In addition, while the basis of the story is about the two cultures who originally are scared of one another coming together in the end and finding their differences are few, this idea is not “shoved” in the reader’s face. It is a cute story of an young Irish girl who is trying to help her family survive and is willing to do so at any costs and in the meantime is able to rid some stereotypes she was taught. The book portrays a realistic and overall positive image of both cultures and is able to teach the reader a valuable lesson in the process.
Finally, I really enjoyed the art work presented in the text. Jim Burke, the illustrator, created very realistic images portraying the ideas presented in the text. I feel the pictures do a nice job of reinforcing the text. I also noticed that a lot of darker colors and shading are used in the illustrations. I believe this adds to the melancholy feel of the text as Maggie attempts to help her family financially survive while meeting some of her greatest stereotypes in a new world. Finally, I find the facial expressions shown in each illustration tell a story in themselves. Not only do they accurately accompany the feelings associated with that portion of the text, but they also go beyond the text as the reader get a greater sense for the emotions associated with the story just through analyzing the characters’ faces in the illustrations. We are presently discussing body language as a part of our school’s social/emotional development program, and I think this book could be a great tool to illustrate body language. The reader gets a great sense of the emotions associated with the text without reading one word of it. I think this is a great classroom tool, but I’m trying to think of other uses for it in the classroom (especially for teaching specific reading skills). Do you have any ideas, Lisa?
I just read your response to my "Probuditi" blog, and I really liked the comment you made about Chris Van Allsburg seeing himself an author for all children, and not just white children. I think this in itself is a great lesson for students. Especially since we teach in such non-diverse areas, this text can be a great lesson in how authors "of all children" include various cultures without emphasizining their differences. Perhaps this can even be a great activity for students: create a piece of writing including various cultures. Make it clear there are different cultures represented, but do not focus on their cultures or their differences. This could be quite challenging, especially for students in non-diverse communities, but I think it's a valuable and worht-while challenge!
Informational Text: Hurricanes, Tsunamis, and Other Natural Disasters
Hi Krysta,
When looking at your first comment about how the book encourages analytical thinking, I agree that it motivates the reader to think deeply and analyze the information presented. It makes the reader want to learn more about these disasters and how they may affect him/her. The author even encourages the reader to find out more and each section provides names of other books and websites for further research. It would have been nice to see some questions embedded in the text to encourage thinking while reading; however, the book is naturally engaging and students will most likely have endless questions of their own to persue.
As you mentioned, Krysta, the book is up to date as it includes the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004 and it is explained in great detail. I like how the disasters are shown throughout history, including back to A.D. 79. This helps students see that disasters often happen in cycles. I think we hear that disasters are more common now and that can scare students. If they see that in reality, disasters are common throughout history, they will feel more comfortable with the information. The facts are not only up to date, but they appear accurate. The information is very precise and manny current disasters are included. The pictures are real photographs giving proof to the written text; however, I did not find sources cited for the facts, only the photos. I don't think the book mentioned Hurricane Katrina, did it Krysta? If not, this topic could be used as an extension of the learning so students could research a recent major natural disaster in the home country.
The book is definitely reader friendly. The concepts are easy to understand and well-explained. There is depth to the reading, but it is manageable. New vocabulary can be found in the glossary in the back of the book so resourceful students can help themselves in comprehending the text. I agree that the organization is helpful to readers. The book is broken into four sections, each on a different kind of natural disaster. Headings and subheadings clearly outline the text and separate it into short focused topics. Each chapter reinforces the concepts presented by including a summary at the end. The style is engaging as well. The way the information is separated into readable sections that are only a paragraph each allows the reader to move easily through each chapter and find information easily when revisiting concepts after an initial reading.
Informational Text Continued Each page has numerous captivating pictures(photos) well-placed to grab the readers attention. Specific captions with names, dates, and important imformation explain each picture. There are no charts or graphs and these could have been included to show how many of these natural disasters happen in particular ares on the globe. However, there is a diagram displaying how a twister is created and another showing how a tsunami builds. As you stated, Krysta, there are a number of maps to demonstrate how these disasters affect the earth. Overall, the text and pictures are so clear and descriptive, they provide more than enough information for the reader. It is a very engaging text.
As for the multicultural considerations, this text is not focused on characters and the implications of culture because it is presenting non-fiction information. Still, it does bring a global awareness to the reader as natural disasters are shown throughout the world. Readers will see different cultures dealing with differenet kinds of disasters based on where they live in the world.
Krysta, I think your ideas for how to use the book in the classroom are meaningful. I think it is an excellent book for introducing or reviewing non-fiction text features. It can also be used to model writing clear and detailed paragraphs that focus on one topic as each subheading section in the book is one paragraph in lenght. This book fits well into the curriculum when teaching weather, geology, or the 5 themes of geography. I don't happen to teach those topics in my fifth grade class, but I have taught them in third and fourth grade and would use the book if teaching those grades again.
In response to your comments about "Hurricanes, Tsunamis, and Other Natural Disasters:"
Lisa, I really liked your comment of how the broad date-range of disasters shown helps students see that disasters are in cycles. You are right that many students hear about all of the recent disasters occuring (and I must admit I usually focus on the ones presently on the news when doing this unit as to show students the current real-world connections to our learning), but this book proves to them that natural disasters are a part of life and always have been. Great point!
I also like the point you made about it not including Hurricane Katrina. That is because the book was copy written in 2006, and Katrina occured in the fall of 2005. That could be a great extension activity, however. Maybe have the students research Katrina and create the page (photographs and all) that could have been included in the text for that disaster.
Quick comment about the informational text extension activity. I love the idea of adding pages to the book that the students make after researching disasters that have happened after 2006. It would be a great research and writing experience for non-fiction. In addition, it somewhat connects to that CMT question about what would the author add if he was going to write something else in this book. I know it's no exactly the same, but it shows that the text can be extended. Very cool.
This multicultural book shows the difficulty of starting out in America as an immigrant. The dad is an Irish peddler and sells odds and ends on the street trying to save up money to buy land in America. The daughter, Maggie, is suspicious and cautious of “Negroes” while the African American mother warns her son to not mix with the Irish. The Negroes are central to the story as there were many ex-slaves in New Orleans. As you mentioned from the author's notes, Krysta, the city was a center for the slave trade. There is a misunderstanding of each others’ culture as they are thrown into a situation where so many different cultures that did not have prior contact are now forced to live near each other. We also see other cultures living in New Orleans such as the French candy shop owner. This aspect of the story is very authentic.
The common bonds of humanity are shown through this story as the Irish immigrants and the African slaves, now living as free citizens, both struggle to find their place in this new world. The misjudgment that both Daddy Clements and Maggie had about each other and how they changed their view of each other is a great lesson for students to not judge others based on their appearance. I think this story would be considered more specific multicultural than generic or neutral. Would you agree Krysta?
The characters are definitely multifaceted. Maggie, the main character, starts out bitter about coming to America and dislikes the prospect of school and work. She also is quick to judge African Americans and acts as if they are not as good as she is. She learns by writing for Daddy Clements that each person or culture has their own story of hardship especially when trying to start a new life in America. She learns to appreciate the struggle of others and starts viewing “Negroes” and America in a different way. She decides to change her attitude and work hard to help her family earn money to own land. She also sees that the little boy, Nathan, has a song in his heart to become what he wants; this opens her eyes to her own potential.
The time period is well described as we see the jobs available such as working in factories, rolling cigars, sewing, and peddling to make money. Maggie is only paid 50 cents a week and works in dim light. Laundry can be seen hanging between allies. The clothes and streets create an authentic picture of the time period. Aspects of the setting are authentic to time period are seamlessly woven throughout the text with reference to yellow fever and even the picture of the ship they traveled on to come to America.
I think there are several themes in this story. The music of different cultures come together in New Orleans and eventually blend together to make jazz. This is a great metaphor on how people come from different cultures to create a new blended American culture. Music is also freedom of expression and many of the immigrants came to America to find freedom and a new life. The music makes everyone happy. Another theme centers on not judging people until you truly get to know them. We often misjudge people based on false information. Krysta, this is a great lesson about stereotyping which you pointed out.
This story is written in language that gives the feel of an Irish accent (da for dad, Amerikay for America). Some vocabulary is also synonymous with the time period of the late 1800s early 1900s. The author uses the following simile, “his face stiffens like the carving on a ship’s bow” to describe Daddy Clements stern face. The language makes the text sound authentic to the people and time period; however, a younger student may need the story read to him/her to get the proper phrasing within the sentences or he/she might misunderstand what is being read.
I agree, Krysta, that the are very realistic. They clearly show the setting of unique buildings in the city of New Orleans with their balconies and iron rails. The colors are soft but dark and shadowy creating a mood of sadness due to the tough times the family is facing. When we meet Daddy Clements he is pictured with a bull dog that has the same rough and tough expression on its face as he does. It demonstrates the untrusting nature people had toward each other as many cultures were foreign to each other and misunderstood. The pictures really help to extend the plot and set the mood. All of the faces on the characters are serious in the first half of the book. Then when Maggie gets to know Daddy Clements better, the faces are smiling which displays the change in attitudes the characters have.
Krysta, I agree this story would be great to use in the classroom when working on a unit on immigration. I like how it doesn’t just show one culture’s point of view. Because of that, it also lends itself nicely to a discussion on point of view. Students could extend this idea to write essays from differing points of view on selected topics. The book further allows for the development of good character and treating others fairly without prejudging them. It could also be used by a music teacher to introduce the beginning of jazz in America.
Lisa, I agree that "Maggie's Amerikay" is much more focused on its multicultural components than being a neutral book. It is clear one of the author's points is to portray the importance of coming together as separate cultures within the same community and ridding oneself of stereotypes and/or judgements of other cultures. I definitely feel the author wanted this book to be a strong example of a multicultural text.
I also like your comment about Maggie being a multifaceted character. As you said, she begins feeling leery and almost scared of unknown cultures, and she then learns every culture has had their struggles and people should not be judged for their backgrounds. I am presently teaching my students about how characters change over the course of a story, and now I plan to read this text to the class to accompany this unit. Maggie's transformation should make for a good discussion. Lisa, do you think any other characters in the book develop over the course of the text? Maybe Daddy Clements?
Finally, I love the comment you made Lisa about the music coming together to develop jazz being a metaphor for the cultures coming together to create a new community. What a great lesson for metaphors.
I agree this book would be very useful in teaching character change. I do think Daddy Clements changes as well. He was passing judgement on this young white girl until he got to know her better. Again, the expressions in the pictures really help to demonstrate the attitudes of the characters and the change is noticable on each one's face as they learn more about each other and realize they initial responses toward each other was unfounded.
Thanks for the comment on the metaphor. It sort of jumped out at the end. I think it would be useful to use this book for teaching metaphor because it provides more of a visual of metaphor instead of just language. Students might be able to understand what a metaphor is more easily by using the visual.
Choice Chapter Book – Nutmeg Award Winner Title: Thunder from the Sea Author: Joan Hiatt Harlow Copyright: 2004 Historical Fiction Multicultural
Hi Krysta,
When I first started reading the story, I became somewhat apprehensive. I thought the events were told quickly and the story left me wondering why details were left out. But I kept reading and after a few chapters I thought the author’s writing became a lot stronger and more sophisticated. By the end of the story, I really liked the book.
The plot focuses on a thirteen year old boy named Tom who lived in an orphanage for most of his life, but finally gets adopted by a couple who live in Newfoundland. The reader follows the emotional ups and downs that Tom experiences as he gets used to his new life with his new family. Two questions keep resurfacing and make the reader want to continue reading to learn the answers. First, the story keeps the reader wondering if Tom will become a permanent member of the home or if he will be sent away after Fiona, the mom, has a baby. Second, Tom finds a black Newfoundland, Thunder, while on a fishing trip and saves its life. Tom is allowed to keep the dog, but must deal with the possibility that the true owner may one day call to claim him. The reader often wonders if Tom will have to give up his new friend. There are many dramatic events that take place during the story allowing for the family relationships and the affection and respect for the dog to grow. For example, there is an earthquake that sets off a tsunami which devastates the town the family lives in. The dog saves the family two times from danger. During a snowstorm, Tom must get Thunder to pull Fiona across a vast frozen lake in order to get her to the doctor before she gives birth. Each one of the events is filled with tension and makes the reader not want to put the book down.
I do have to say that I was wondering if the events would every really happen. I know there are earthquakes and tsunamis, but did this happen in Newfoundland? And would a woman such as Fiona really be in a situation where she needed to be pulled across the ice in a storm? I had my doubts; however, the author included very precise information in her author’s notes to give credibility to her story. Since the story is historical fiction, she used real life events in her story. The earthquake and tsunami really did happen in 1929, the year the story takes place. In 1950, the author’s cousin needed to make a trek across ice to save her baby just like Fiona. She also read about a Newfoundland rescued at sea in the newspaper. All of the main events in the story were based on reality. Not all of the events happened to the same person, but the events were all related to the area where the story takes place. If I had read the author’s notes first, I would have been less skeptical, but then it would have ruined the story for me. I was very pleased that she included all of the information about the historical nature of the book.
The characters in this story do seem like real people. The author does a good job describing their outward appearance so the reader can picture the characters easily. The characters have distinct personalities that are developed through both descriptions and dialogue. Even though the story focuses on Tom and his feelings, we see and understand the feelings of all of the characters, each with his/her own unique circumstances. The characters are multifaceted as we see them experience anger, hope, jealousy, fear, relief, confusion, remorse, guilt, peace, and happiness. The author is able to make the reader see many sides of each character. Characters that initially seem unlikable, change or show another side of themselves that causes the reader to rethink the first judgment. Tom is a very nice boy and easily likable. The reader wants to see him become a real part of the family and see him keep Thunder. In the beginning of the story, Tom is very nervous that the Murrays may not want to keep him permanently. He is constantly worried that he will mess up and they will send him away. Tom is also inexperienced and young. He grows up during the story as he needs to face many challenges. He matures. By the end of the story, he realizes he is loved, which is something he hasn’t felt for a long time.
Students may not have experienced the kinds of challenges that Tom had to face; however, they have most likely had some challenges in their lives. This is a great book for learning about how to overcome those challenges. It is also helpful for focusing on belonging or family. Students could make many connections with the feelings in this book. In addition, it is a great book for a character study because there are so many characters that are developed throughout the story. Students could discuss or write about point of view as each characters point of view is explored. Krysta, I was thinking that this might be a nice bridge to your natural disaster unit. If you are reading and learning about natural disasters through non-fiction, this fictional story includes and focuses on a real natural disaster in Newfoundland. Since the story takes place in the early 1900’s, it could also be used to enhance a study of what like was like for people in that time period. I think this book has many uses and is an easy motivational read.
The setting of the story is Newfoundland in 1929. The description of the fishing towns with little modernization was very believable. Everything was well described from the clothes, to the houses, to the boats, to the landscape. It seemed very authentic and when reviewing the author’s notes, it is evident that she knew what she was writing about.
I think the themes in this story are about family, acceptance, friendship, treating others with kindness, facing challenges head on and not running away, hope, and forgiveness. The themes are universal to all cultures and people. The students would be able to relate to these themes and see them in their own lives.
The language in the book was very effective. The dialogue of the characters was quite authentic to their personalities and the author also included Irish accents that made the characters more dimensional. Although the “jannie talk” was difficult to decipher, it was colorful. If a reader couldn’t read it, there was no loss of meaning from the story. In the writing the author included many beautiful similes such as “Broken trees reached up like bony fingers to the sky, their limbs gone” and “hate is like a heavy chain to carry with you.” There is precise vocabulary, sensory detail, and lots of imagery. As I said before, I think the writing became stronger throughout the book.
As a multicultural book, I think it is quite specific. Even though the people of Newfoundland appear to have lived there for awhile and have assimilated well, they have held onto many of their Irish traditions. There are superstitions and folklore incorporated into the story. The jannie talk and the mummers that come to the house during Christmas are from Celtic Ireland. The food the characters eat and the strong belief in God is representative of Irish culture. The culture is woven in seamlessly so that is seems natural and authentic.
Since this book is a chapter book, there are no illustrations to enhance the story; however, the text is quite descriptive creating wonderful visuals in the reader’s mind.
Title: Owen and Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship Authors: Isabella Hatkoff, Craig Hatkoff, and Dr Paula Kahumbu Copyright: 2006 Choice Book – Informational Multicultural Aspects
This story is interesting because it is an information book, but reads much like a narrative. It does not have the non-fiction text features that we often expect to see in an informational text. It is not meant to teach the reader new information to be learned, but rather to share information that is interesting. So when judging this book, it would make sense to look at the literary criteria that fit for informational text and the criteria that fit for fiction.
The story is the true account of a baby hippopotamus and how it builds a close relationship with an old sea turtle. It was written by a father and daughter who heard about the incredible story and decided to contact Dr Paula, who was a first hand witness to the events. The three of them decided to write the book together to share the tale with the world. Since the events are retold by Dr. Paula, we can assume the story is credible. In addition, the book includes photographs that document the events throughout the story giving it more credibility. The pictures do include captions to help the reader understand exactly what was happening at the time of the picture. In the back of the book, there are some maps to help the reader understand where this story took place and some other information is included to help the reader extend what they have just learned through the reading.
The readability of the book is very manageable for older elementary students. Because the events took place in Kenya, there are a number of African names students are introduced to. There is a lot of precise vocabulary and description in the writing; however, because the story is written to give information, the presentation of that information is more “matter of fact” than artistic. The story is “told” as in a summarizing fashion, but does include some nice description.
The main theme in this story is friendship. It shows that two unlikely creatures can surprise everyone in becoming friends. Students can relate this idea to themselves. We shouldn’t choose our friends based on their outside appearance, but based on who they are on the inside. Another theme is perseverance. The story talks about how Owen, the hippopotamus, wanted to be with Mzee, the turtle, but Mzee was not very receptive. Owen would not give up and eventually won Mzee over. Since Owen was stranded after the 2004 tsunami, his real life rescue and friendship filled people with hope. The authors said, “It reminded us all that even though terrible, unexpected things happen, the power of courage, love, and the preciousness of life will prevail.” Students may see that if animals of different species can learn to be friends, people of different races or cultures should be able to do the same
The beautiful photographs in this book clearly reinforce the text and allow the reader to understand the context in which the events took place. The natural African surroundings are shown as well as the people of that culture working to take care of the animals. Africa is seen as modern and people of different cultures are shown working together as equals. The text discusses the language of Swahili. Although there are obvious differences in the land and people of Kenya from our own, this book allows the reader to see more connections than differences.
This book can be used in the classroom as a model for writing about events in a sequential manner. At the beginning of many of the paragraphs, sequence words are used to show the progression of the story. The authors use a nice variety of sequence words. Krysta, it is interesting how this natural disaster topic has come up again in our books. If you were working on that unit, this informational book would fit in really well. It would be a heartwarming story about something good that can come out of a tragedy. It would provide text to text connections with the Natural Disasters book we read because the 2004 tsunami facts are in it. The theme of friendship is often one that comes up in elementary classrooms. This book can be used to introduce that topic for discussion or writing. It can be used for character building. And of course it lends itself to writing CMT type responses on connections or finding information in text.
Overall, I think “Thunder from the Sea” was a cute historical fiction whose plot centering on a boy’s love would capture the interests of many students. Lisa, I agree with your points about the author’s note. While reading the text, I was not sure if it was a historical fiction or not. After reading the author’s note, however, I wished I had known that information prior to reading the text. That would have given me a different reaction and connection to the story. As you said, Lisa, it also was neat to learn of the realism after finishing the text. It allowed me to reflect back on what I had read with a new appreciation.
Knowing that it is a historical fiction based on many true events in history, Harlow did a great job making the setting authentic. I liked how in the beginning of the text, she included a map of the setting. This definitely added credibility to the text. It’s also a great way to integrate map skills into reading. Throughout the story, Harlow gave many specific details about their house, its location, and the struggles traveling back and forth to Chance-Along. It was easy for the reader to visualize where the events took place and how the setting added a dramatic element to many of the situations Tom and his family faced.
Considering it is a historical fiction with events based on true situations, the characters’ experiences and problems were very consistent for the time period. Everything from traveling across a lake to another town for food and supplies to having a tsunami as a result of an earthquake (which I, too, questioned for this location, Lisa), to having to travel a great distance to get Fiona to a doctor to deliver the baby were all elements that are consistent with life in the 1920’s. Again, the author’s note explaining where she got these events from and why they’re included brings credibility to the story.
Lisa, I completely agree that some of the major themes of the text are love for one’s family, forgiveness, and facing challenges in one’s life. Tom is searching for a family being an orphan, and he loves living with Enoch and Fiona. All he wants is to be included and loved, and at the end of this story this wish comes true. The love these characters have for one another and the way in which they support one another is a great theme to discuss with one’s class. Tom also learns about forgiveness when he must forgive the Bosworths for telling Thunder’s owner that he was safe and living with the Murrays. The Bosworths end up fighting (through trickery) to help Tom keep Thunder, and Tom is able to forgive them for their previous actions. Fiona is a central character in teaching Tom the importance of forgiving, and that act helps Tom throughout the text. Finally, this text centers on the challenges Tom and his family must face for survival, staying together as a family, and keeping Thunder in their life. All of these challenges were taken head-on, and all ended with successful outcomes.
One literary element dealing with the plot of the story did not seem very credible to me. I did not find the climax to be natural. In fact, I did not find many of the outcomes for their challenges to be natural. Tom and his family experienced many hardships throughout the story, and it seemed like not only was the outcome always a positive and happy one, but the climax for each situation seemed to be so quick. I just felt while I was reading that as soon as Tom and/or his family faced a challenge, it was over in a couple pages. This did no seem realistic to me, especially for events based on history. Also, it made the book a little too predictable for me.
Another comment you made, Lisa, that I thought was good was how the characters were multifaceted. As you mentioned, the characters experienced a plethora of emotions throughout the text, and that change in emotions adds credibility to the story, as that emotional change is part of human nature. It is also a great way to teach students about character development.
I, too, agree that the multicultural element of “Thunder of the Sea” was “woven seamlessly” into the story, as you said Lisa. Not only are the situations that happened in Newfoundland give information for a different culture, but the Irish traditions and features in the story were worked into the text so effortlessly, that the reader almost doesn’t realize they are learning about another culture. It is clear that the characters value their Irish heritage and carry out many of its traditions, and this is a great lesson about the Irish culture to non-Irish readers as well as a great connection for readers who are Irish.
Lisa, you read my mind about one of the implications this story has for the classroom! When I began reading about the earthquake and tsunami that Thunder saved the residents from, I was thinking about how well that ties into our natural disaster unit. We study how many tsunamis happen as a direct result of earthquakes, and this is a great example of that happening. Also, I really like how this is a fictional book based on true events. We do not read any books of that genre during that unit, so this is definitely a book I plan to integrate to that unit next year. Even though I have already finished that unit this year, I am going to book-talk this text to my class so that students can read it if they choose. Plus, as previously mentioned, the central idea in the plot of a boy’s love for his dog, a dog he found at sea, is high-interest for many fifth graders.
My last comment for this book is about its Nutmeg Award. I was expecting this to be a powerful book that left the reader thinking and gave some great elements to analyze and connect with since it did win a rather noteworthy award. I felt this text was weak in those areas, however. While it is a cute story with a happy ending that many student-readers would enjoy, I do not know if I would consider it worthy of the Nutmeg Award. I guess I just expected more depth to the plot and more elements that lead to critical analyses on the part of the reader. I found this book to be a quick and easy read that did not leave me thinking much about the characters, the situations, or their connections to my life. What do you think about it winning the Nutmeg Award, Lisa?
I know what you mean about the various climactic parts of this story ending quickly. That's what I had said about the beginning of the story. I felt like everything was resolved so quickly. It did not seem like real life. I can also see why you would feel that way as the book progressed. I mean how many challenges did this family really have to face in such a short time. It's a little over the top. But at the same time, I must have been drawn into the characters because I was much more forgiving the more I read on. I think the author did a very nice job making the characters seem real and she developed them very well. I guess I was willing to let the rest go after awhile. I would say I'm on the fence about the book in general. I was surprised it won an award. It is a good book, but not necessarily award worthy. I do agree with you that many students would like it and it is an easy read. It's very straight forward.
Lisa, I agree that this book does not present itself as a “typical” informational text. Unlike our “Tsunamis, Hurricanes, and Other Natural Disasters” text we analyzed, there are not heading, “chapter” titles, or other features found in many informational texts. It does read more like a fictional story. One feature I did like in this non-fiction text is that it does have a small pronunciation guide in the beginning of the text. Because this book has many unusual names, especially for younger readers, I think it is helpful that the authors included pronunciations for many of the names in the story. Not only is this helping while reading the story, but it is also a great lesson for students in using pronunciation keys.
One literary element that is credible in this text is that the information is up-to-date and the facts are accurate. It is based on a relatively recent natural disaster, which makes it up-to-date, and if one is to look up the story of Owen and Mzee on the Internet (they have their own website), you would see the facts to match up.
This text is reader friendly. It encompasses a topic of high-interest to many students: animals. Also, it is easy to read due to its story-like style. This makes the information seem a little less dense than it would be if it were listed in more of an informational manner. Also, the unlikely friendship that evolves between the hippo and the tortoise does evoke critical thinking on the part of the reader. It is not a typical story that one hears about, and therefore the reader is left thinking about this curious relationship and how it has evolved over time. I also believe it enables the reader to take this story and relate it to their own lives. When children read about this unlikely friendship, it could possibly help them realize how they should not judge others and be open to friendship with others, even if they do appear different from them.
Lisa, I agree that there are two major themes to this story. The first one is clearly the importance of not judging others and welcoming others as friends, even if they do not appear to be someone you would relate to. As previously mentioned, this could carry over to a great discussion with students about the importance of not judging a book by its cover and not excluding others. Lisa, I love the comment you made about if students can see how these two animals of different species learned to love each other that children of different backgrounds and cultures should be able to do the same. It’s a great multicultural lesson. Students enjoy reading about animals, so this could be a great resource for teaching that lesson. I also agree that the other theme could be perseverance. Owen had to overcome quite a hardship in surviving the tsunami and living without his family, and perseverance was definitely needed on his part to do that. This could be another resource for teaching students the importance of not giving up and facing challenges with a positive attitude for a favorable outcome.
The photographs are a great resource to this book. They definitely reinforce the text, as they demonstrate elements in the text such as the hippos living in pods, the river overflowing, Mzee’s living space, and how the two animals bonded together. Also, because it is an informational text, the photographs are a great visual of the information. The pictures are bright and colorful and definitely evoke questions in the readers mind about these animals, their habitat (before and after they met), and their relationship. They would be a great resource for teaching questioning prior to reading. Without knowing about the two animals coming together and bonding, the reader could easily create many analytical questions about what is portrayed in the photographs.
Beyond teaching students about perseverance and treating everyone with respect and welcoming everyone as friends, this text also teaches about two animal species as well as some geography information. Students could extend this information by researching more about Kenya or the animals and learning more about some of the information presented in the text. Also, as you said Lisa, this story has a great connection to my natural disaster unit, and I do integrate this story every year in that unit. Much of the unit teaches about the impact these disasters have on humans, and this text teaches about how disasters also impact animals and their habitat. Also, I usually have the students research more about the tsunami that killed Owen’s family and the students are therefore able to extend their knowledge of what they read. I am now thinking that maybe another extension activity students could do in future years is to research one of the other natural disasters we learn about. After learning about a specific storms and its impact, they could write their own stories about animals that experienced the storm and the affect it had on their lives. While the animal aspect of their stories would be fictional, it would help them extend the importance of this story through writing. Also, it’s a fantastic way to have students blend fictional and non-fictional writing.
Lisa, I agree that while I thought the conflicts were resolved too quickly that I still managed to stay engaged in the story and wanting to know how it would end. It was more after I finished reading the story and was reflecting on that reading that I thought about the lack of realism in the conflicts being resolved.
I, too, am on the fence with this story. It was a cute story that maintained my attention and was an easy read. I do not, however, consider it a text of high literary quality, primarily because it does not promote critical thinking overall. I do not think I would recommend it to my higher readers who enjoy reflecting on issues presented in a text and their real-world connections. This would be a good text to recommend to struggling readers, though. While it is lengthy, its pages have large font size and a lot of unused space, making it an easy read. The topic of a boy and his pet dog is also motivating to many of these readers. Plus, I believe struggling readers would feel quite proud of themselves having finished the book.
I really liked your idea about using the pictures in Owen and Mzee to generate thoughts and questions. The book could be introduced using that activity that Dr. Kurkjian had us do with I Dream of Trains. Students would try to figure out what is going on in the story, just by using the pictures.
As for Thunder, I agree this book would be good for average to low students. It would have enough for them to think about, but it is not a deep book that would be appropriate for the high level readers (as far as teaching.)
As for printing, we could split it. How do you get it to look nice on a Word document without having the background? I have done it for small sections of our blog, but do you have a way to make it easy for a large section? I'm exhausted from this process.
I agree this would be a good book to do a picture walk with. Perhaps students could do some pre-research on hippos and tortoises and learn about them and their habitats. That could possibly help foster stronger questions during the picture walk.
I just feel that book lends itself to so many ideas in the classroom from questioning, to learning geographical information, to learning about the meaning of friendship, as well as natural disasters. For a picture book, it really does lend itself to so many worthwhile lessons and activities.
Okay, I'll print the first half, and then you can print the second half.
If you go through and copy and paste each individual entry to a word document to avoid copying the background. It's a bit more tedious, but it saves on ink.
I will print through your response to "Probuditi." Then you can pick up with my initial response to "Maggie's Amerikay". That seems to be just about the middle. Sound okay?
test reply
ReplyDeleteKrysta and I chose our eight books during the second and third week of the semester. We each read the choices on our own and met again to revise the selections. Some of the revisions were based on new information learned in class.
ReplyDeleteThe two categories Krysta and I have chosen to focus on in this session are biography and poetry.
Biography
Title: The United States Presidents: Barack Obama
Author: Jill C. Wheeler
Copyright: 2009
Includes information about Barack Obama that can be considered mulitcultural
Poetry
Title: Incredible Inventions
Author: Poems Selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins
Copyright: 2009
I think the biography on Barack Obama is an appropriate book for the classroom. One reason, is that it is a biography that is very current. Students will be able to relate to the person being described because he is the current president.
ReplyDeleteBarack Obama is presented as a multi-faceted person. The book walks students through his life from birth until the presidency and includes very interesting facts about how he overcame a difficult childhood and discrimination as an adult. The facts that the author includes are not cited; however, on the copyright page, the author's name is paired with Barack Obama, so it appears he was consulted for the information.
Another nice feature that helps to validate the facts are the authentic photographs. Each page of information is paired with one or two pictures that look like they came from Obama's personal collection.
I looked up the author, Jill Wheeler, to see if I could find some information on how she acquired the facts, but I could not find any. She is, however, an established author, and the biography is part of a series of presidential biographies published by one company.
The biography is written in a very straightforward manner and reads like a narrative. The author does not include any personal responses or veer off from the facts; however, the only facts presented are very favorable of Obama. The biography definitely paints a picture that he can do no wrong.
Still, Obama is portrayed as a real person. He grew up in a multicultural home and had little money. He lived in Hawaii and Indonesia. He eventually went to a prep school where African Americans were few. The biography describes how Obama worked his way up through college and that education was always valued. There is an overall feeling that is cultivated through the words and pictures that Obama has been breaking barriers his whole life. I think this book would be very inspirational to students who may feel the odds are against them. It provides hope and outlines the "American Dream."
An added feature to the biography is a section that illustrates the branches of government and how the president is elected. The branches of government is part of the fifth grade curriculum, so the book becomes an excellent teaching tool for our social studies program. The book also provides a timeline of the presidents and websites for further investigation of the topics in the book.
The layout of the book is user friendly. It uses non-fiction text features such as headings at the beginning of each section, allowing students to follow the structure of the biography easily as it is presented in chronological order. The readability is appropriate for younger and older students. The sentences are shorter and succint. Important words are in boldface and a glossary is included in the back of the book. It can be used to teach or revisit non-fiction text features.
Overall, I think this book is a quality biography. Any flaws in Obama may want to be explored through another text; however, it may not be appropriate for elementary students considering he is the current president and such a present inspiration.
Hi Krysta,
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to add some of my thoughts about the multicultural value in this book. I think the book definitely promotes self-asteem for African American children. It shows how an African American broke the boundaries with an historical change in our government, but also that the change did not happen as one isolated event; it was something Obama worked for and was challenged by over his lifetime. Since his parents are from two different cultures and Obama respects his parents, it builds a sense of respect for other cultures within the reader. The way Obama helped others instead of choosing to become a lawyer (he's pictured working in the poor areas of Chicago) encourages students to become helpful to others who may be different than them. The photographs really help the reader to see the Obama figure and the different settings of his world. He is often shown as the only black man in a sea of white politicians. The pictures are very powerful.
I think the poetry selection entitled, Incredible Inventions, is a fabulous collection of poems appropriate for elementary students. Each poem is about a real life object or item that someone created.
ReplyDeleteThe first feature I really like about the poems is that they are written by all different authors. They have been selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins to go into the book. The poems, therefore, are very different from each other because they were written by different people. It demonstrates a variety of poetry styles.
Many of the poems include rhyme, but not necessarily in every stanza. Some include couplets while others are more random about the rhyming. There are also some poems that do not rhyme. Again, there is a nice variety. Each poem has a definite rhythm that students can follow. The poems are not so free form that a student would have a hard time understanding how to read them.
The subject of each poem is an object that students can relate to and often use on a daily basis. For example, there is a poem about a puzzle, jeans, a roller coaster, a straw, and even kitty litter.
The shapes of the poems often fit the topic. For example, in the straw poem, the words are written vertically with each letter of a word underneath the last to give the look of a straw in a glass. The roller coaster poem describes the motion of the ride and the feelings the rider has during the sudden movement changes. The layout of the words follow the meaning they relay. "Fast drop" is written to look like it has dropped. "Dips" curves down into a dip. "Catch your breath..." shows a pause. The poem about an escalator is written on the steps of the aparatus. The layout of the words is very effective for the mood and the rhythm of each piece.
Many literary techniques are used in the poems. My favorite poem is entitled, Inside the Box. It uses sensory detail and personification to make a crayon box come alive. I think this is a very inspiring poem for students to be themsleves and take risks. It encourages creativity.
There is beautiful descriptive language in all of the poems. New vocabulary is spun into elegant phrases. Still each poem is understandable for most elementary students.
Poetry continued: The pictures in this book are phenomenal. They are whimsical and vibrant. They appear to be done with watercolors or pastels. Most lines are very soft. The perspectives of the pictures are interesting. The puzzle picture is viewed from above looking down on the puzzle. The ferris wheel picture is viewed from below looking up at the enormously large figure. The traffic signal picture is viewed as looking down through a city street packed with traffic. The pictures create emotions that tie into a fast or slow pace. All of the poems promote positive feelings of joy and happiness. There is the feeling of movement and action in most of the pictures. But those in which the poem is calm, the pictures create stillness. The poem is well placed within the picture and neither is overpowered by the other. The pictures are very prominent, but the words are easily seen. The pictures do a good job of reinforcing the text.
ReplyDeleteThis book would be a great resource for teaching students to write poetry. The topics are so simplistic yet very real and relatable. Students could choose inventions to write about such as a pencil, sneaker, mailbox; the possibilities for ideas are endless. The descriptive language encourages students to become more descriptive in their own writing. Since the pictures are so prominent in the book, students could start by drawing a picture of their inventions, then use the pictures to spark their descriptive phrases. I really think they would have a lot of fun using this book as a model or jumping off point.
The book can also be extended because it includes non-fiction information about each invention in the back of the book. A synopsis of the inventor and how he/she actually came up with the idea for the invention is outlined in several paragraphs each. Students can do more research on these people or inventions. Further, the book encourages students to create their own inventions. It is very inspiring, especially when they see how some of the inventions were thought up out of a need.
Hi Lisa,
ReplyDeleteWow you were up early this morning! Sorry I didn't get a chance to post sooner...here are my thoughts and reactions to Obama's biography:
When I was evaluating this book for its literary criteria, I first noticed how the author presented Obama in a way that students of almost all ages can relate to him. Through discussing his family, his childhood, and especially his schooling, I feel there were many aspects of his life explained to which children can connect. Many children may think of him as President of the United States and may not think of his youth, and this text gives a good amount of that sometimes unknown information.
I also noticed the author used specific vocabulary that was very appropriate for the text. While some of this vocabulary may be difficult for younger students, it does present many teaching opportunities with these newer words.
I also believe Wheeler did a good job showing how Obama was a multifaceted person who had many positive and negative experiences in his life. Lisa, as you mentioned, most of Obama's "good deeds" are presented, so another text may need to be introduced to get a more neutral stance. The author, however, does show that Obama was a true-to-life, multifaceted person. Also, as you mentioned Lisa, the photographs that accompany the topic of each page help bring credibility to the facts, and I, too, liked how many of the pictures appeared to be from Obama's own collection. I also believe there is a good mix of insignificant and important facts within the text to give a clear picture of Obama's life. Insignificant details like Obama being 5 when his father was killed in a car accident in Kenya to more significant details such as Obama leading Project VOTE in Chicago help give the reader a clear picture of the events in his life.
I think this multicultural book is a definite read for students for several reasons. First, it enables them to gain a clearer picture of who their country's leader is and some of the hardships and struggles he endured to become a successful politician. Lisa, I also like how you commented on how his parents being from different cultures was reported, as it does help to build an appreciation not only for different cultures but for bi-cultural families. I feel the story and details in this book build inspiration for all students to go for their goals, but it is especially inspirational for students of particular cultures who may feel that their cultural barriers could hold them back from reaching their goals.
I believe this book has many uses for the classroom. First, because it is a multicultural book, I think it serves a wonderful purpose in bringing light to other cultures and, more specifically, showing how people of any culture can be successful in America with hard work and determination. It definitely is an inspirational tale. Second, as you commented Lisa, we cover the United States government in our 5th grade curriculum, and the informational pages at the end of the story serve a great purpose for that unit. The information at the back of the book such as the branches of government, the qualifications to become President, the Electoral College, and the Presidents in history and their terms serve as great resources to supplement that unit. Those pages are well-organized, colorful, and present themselves in a way that students would find easy to understand. Lastly, similar to what you mentioned Lisa, I think this book is a great resource in the classroom for teaching students to read nonfiction, a skill emphasized in the upper grades. The headings on each page, the captions that accompany the photography, and the glossery and index in the back are just some of the tools taught to students to help them better read nonfiction texts. I definitely plan to read this book to my students for all of these purposes.
I agree with you Krysta. I plan on using this book in my classroom as well. I think it offers a lot while connecting very well to our curriculum. I work in a very non-diverse school. I think it would do the students well to see how Obama started out and the struggles he needed to face and overcome in order to break that barrier and become our first African-American president.
ReplyDeleteI still think that because my students are so underexposed, they don't really get the significance. The fact that the book ties in the branches of government which correlates with what we have to teach is really helpful. I think it will make more sense to the children if we talk about how it relates to the present day government instead of just talking about how the branches began. It will hold more meaning if we connect it to the present day president.
I also agree that the use precise vocabulary is great for the students. Even though the sentences are succint, the vocabulary adds a lot of depth to the text. It does have the glossary for many of the words which is helpful. I thinks it is very appropriate for out fifth graders.
Lisa,
ReplyDeleteI, too, work in a school that is not at all diverse. In fact, last year (my 4th year teaching) I had my first non-white student. The fact that there are only 2 African American students (a brother and sister from the same family) in the entire school gives more reason to teach this book to my students. As you mentioned, the students are underexposed to the cultures represented in our country, and this text is a great opportunity for our students to learn more about other cultures and how people of any culture can be successful. Also, because the African American culture is one which our students are not familiar with, this text allows us to teach our students more about the struggles Obama had to undertake to reach his goal.
Here are my thoughts of the poetry book,
ReplyDelete"Incredible Inventions":
First first literary quality I noticed this book supports is the way in which the poems speak to children. As you mentioned, Lisa, each poem focuses on an invention that students are familiar with. The authors of the poems then cleverly write about that invention in a creative and motivating technique for students. I agree that all of the poems are written in ways that students could understand them - they would not be stuck sitting there forever trying to interpret the poem. Instead, the can easily comprehend it and then spend time analyzing it and using it as a springboard for their own writing. In addition, the fact that most of the pages were consumed with the fantastic pictures and the poems were melded into the pictures is definitely fitting and motivating for students.
I also liked how many of them were physical poems. This provides a great sensory image for the students. It is also a great way for the poem to support the meaning of its words. For example, "Roller Coaster" was a fanstastic poem that took the whirly shape of a roller coaster while describing a trip on one using language such as, "curves," "dips", or "heart-in-throat." Such words help students enjoy the sounds of the language used. They can discuss the adjectives used and then work on including such language in their writing. Another poem that is great for fostering creative langugae use was, "The Signal's Lament." In this poem, Alice Schertle questions the colors on a stop light and wonders why colors such as cadmium orange, cerulean blue, chartreuse, or vermilion aren't used. I thought this was a great poem I could use with my students not only for strong word use but also for synonyms!
I definitely plan to use this book in my classroom, especially to help increase the students' interests and abilities with poetry. As you commented, Lisa, there are a variety of poetry styles, which lends itself to a lesson on the freedom an author can have with poetry. I also really like the idea of having students write a poem about a specfic object, as these poems all did. The students could read the paragraphs in the back of the book about all of the inventions described in the poems, research an invention they are interested in, and then create their own poem about it. Finally, the comments you made about the pictures, Lisa, sparked an idea in my head about having the students use art as springboards for their writing. For instance, you commented on the interesting perspectives of the pictures in this book as well as the use of movement within the pictures, and I think this could be a great book to teach such artistic components to students. Then, we could give each student a picture (or they could pick one for themselvs), and they could then make a poem using the art to inspire their writing. While this could take a lot of practice and modeling, I think it could be a great opportunity for students to "read" art and notice all of those components that often go overlooked. It could be a great way to blend artistic style with poetry.
Krysta,
ReplyDeleteI really like your idea of using pictures for writing poetry as well. I discussed having them draw pictures, but I see that we could also provide pictures or have them find pictures in magazines, on the Internet, etc. The idea of "reading" the art is very interesting. What a way to bring out vocabulary.
I never really saw a poetry book like this before. The level of the book usually means the poems will be humorous. Some are humorous, but some are very serious. I think it provides a very good balance of feeling. It allows the teacher to focus on how poetry can express different feelings. And overall it really gets into the creativity of the child. I guess we have a number of books to buy.
Lisa,
ReplyDeleteI agree that this poetry book is a great way to bring out the creativity of the students. I find much too often with my fifth graders that they don't know "how" to be creative. They want to know exactly what they should write and how they should write it. It seems they often struggle the most when I give them free reign. Introducing more books like this poetry book could hopefully help them see how to be creative even with simply describing objects and how writing does not have to be so regimented.
The first book Lisa and I chose for this session is "The Man Who Walked Between the Towers." This book is one of our choice books. The information for this book is:
ReplyDeleteTitle: "The Man Who Walked Between the Towers"
Author: Mordicai Gerstein
Copyright: 2003 (We were given permission for this book, however.)
Published by: Roaring Brook Press
This book won the Caldecott Medal and is a biography. Since we already used "Barack Obama" for our biography, this book will be one of our picture-based choice books.
Before beginning the blog, I want to add from the table of contents above that we were given permission to use this book despite its 2003 copyright because it won the Caldecott medal in 2004.
ReplyDeleteHi Lisa,
I think "The Man Who Walked Between the Towers" is a great picture book. Upon looking at the literary evaluation criteria, I first thought of the artifacts Gerstein included to enhance the credibility of the text. Specific details such as the cable being seven eights of an inch thick or him using aa twenty eight foot balancing pole adds specific details from the actual event that also help the reader visualize the story. I also think that these statistics could be integrated into one's math lessons. Students could measure out those distances to get a better visual or practice their estimating by estimating those different lengths with string and then checking them, etc.
I also think Gerstein did a nice job of balancing important and less significant details in the story to give the reader a better taste of the situation. Important details such as the length of time it took the men to connect the cable or how Philippe was arrested for his feat are important details to help the reader understand the risks and dangers of this challenge. On the other hand, less significant details such as how Philippe dressed as a construction worker or how a woman from the subway was the first to see him on the wire help add visuals and credibility to the text. Such information helps the reader create a clear visual for Philippe's feat, and they can also serve as good springboards for discussion (i.e. Why would Philippe dress himself as a construction worker?).
There were two literary criteria that caused me to feel that this book was a little less credible than it could have been, though. First, I do not feel that Philippe was a multifaceted character. The entire story revolves around his mission to walk on a cable connecting the two towers, and there is no other part of his life or thoughts ever addressed. Therefore, the reader is left with little information about Philippe's personality or character traits beyond his yearning to walk in the cable. More details about his personality could possibly help the readers connect with this character who, based on this text, is unlike most other humans.
The second area that I thought was a bit weak according to the criteria was how the facts of this story were documented. On the inside flap of the cover there is a small, 1-sentence, explanation for Philippe Petit's actual adventure. I feel that a more detailed explanation with more statistics and facts about that incredible feat would help not only build background knowledge for the reader, but it would also help the reader understand this biographical story since it is quite an usual one.
In terms of multicultural considerations, this biography is about an French aerialist, which does bring in another culture for discussion. Perhaps students could research if France is known for their aerialists or even just general information about the French culture.
Beyond the research about aerialists (both French and other) or using the statistics in math class as previously mentioned, this book also lends itself to extension activities in which students research people who have accomplished amazing feats. Then the students could write their own stories for those individuals as Gerstein did about Philippe.
"The Man Who Walked Between the Towers" continued:
ReplyDeleteFinally, in terms of its illustrations, I feel this book had some great illustrations that truly reinforced the text. Most of the details in the text were seen in the illustrations which helps bring credibility. Also, the two foldout spreads help to really enhance the height at which Philippe walked. I also really liked how the illustrations use lines in such a way that they great a great point of view. For example, I really like the pictures towards the end of the story when Philippe is on the cable. These illustrations have great use of curved and straight lines that produce a great visual of Philippe's point of view from the top of the towers. It really helps the reader visualize that moment. Also the dark and cool colors when Philippe is preparing for his feat in the middle of the night really draw out that sense of worry and anticipation if he would ever get the cable correctly attached and if he would be successful in his mission. Perhaps even students could then work with such design elements when illustrating their stories about a person who accomplished an incredible feat.
Hi Krysta,
ReplyDeleteWhen beginning to read this book, one may not know what to expect. However, I think the very first line of the book is quite powerful when it states, "Once there were two towers side by side." This book is not about the collapse of the twin towers and does not pertain to 911 at all. Still, the opening statement already places a question in the readers mind - "Do the towers still exist?" When we get to the end of the book, the second to last page has a one line statement that is also quite powerful when it says, "Now the towers are gone." I think this would leave many questions in a younger child's mind and would make them want to find out more about the towers. I think the author is doing something very creative here. Instead of presenting a book about 911 that would scare children and upset them, he presents an interesting and beautiful event that would capture the imaginative side of a child while still opening a door to curiosity and further research. It also focuses on the positive when today there is much emphasis on the negative.
So I think this book can be used in the classroom as a way to open up research into 911 and talk about it in a way that is not scary. I also think it can be used to find other interesting facts about the towers without focusing on the collapse; honor the life while remembering the death. This is a powerful life lesson.
I also agree with you, Krysta, when you say it can be used to discuss measurement and math. For example, on the first page, the conversion of 1/4 mile into 1,340 feet is mentioned. Other measurements are used such as the amount of stairs in ten floors. Some of these measurements are most likely to bring credibility to the story. These precise measurements bring the details to life. Some research would need to be done to find out if the author made up the measurement details (width of the rope, distance, etc.)for affect, or whether they are truly accurate. There is also a balance of insignificant details and important ones that transfix the reader on this one event.
After reading this book again, Krysta, I think it is a combination of biography and historical fiction. As a biography, it only includes one event in the character's life. Although the character is a real person, the tale is not very encompassing to be called a true biography. Based on truth, it is an event in history. The author gives credit for the information he used to a book about the character, Petit, the New York Times and Daily News as they tracked the story first hand, and a book Petit wrote about himself. Since the author is a secondary source, he probably took some liberties in writing the story. In other words, he used facts, but probably embellished a bit. Therefore, it seems like historical fiction. Either way, it is a nice story.
I think the setting is key in this story. The setting, especially as shown through the illustrations, is authentic and allows the reader to feel as if he/she is in the city or on top of the towers.
ReplyDeleteThere is not a lot of dialogue in the story. The only way that we get to know the character is through his actions and what the author (narrator) states about him. Krysta, I agree that the character is not multifacted. He shows perseverance and bravery, but we really don't get to know him very well.
The plot to this story is almost unbelievable if it didn't really happen. That's what makes it interesting. We love watching other people do things we think of doing, but would never actually do. The reader is kept wondering throughout the story if the character will actually succeed in walking on the rope between the towers. We care about the character as we read; he is a curious person with a zest for life and adventure. He does not, however, have a lot of dimension to him and he does not change. (Of course, this is not always a necessary component to a good book.) There may be a lesson that you can do whatever you want to accomplish if you believe in yourself.
The readability of this book is manageable for most elementary students. The author does include some good description and imagery such as "thin, strong line," "the sky surrounded him" and "the sparkling city." He uses personification when he says "he could feel the towers breathing." I think there is value in the writing style of the author.
Krysa, I agree that the illustrations really add depth to the story. There were many straight lines to help the reader picture vast distances (the height of the towers, the distance of the rope between them). I really liked the two page picture in which the characters are trying to get the wire across the towers at night and it says, "the wire plummeted." Your eyes follow the wire down the page and over to the next. Then at the top of that next page where the friends catch the rope the text reads, "pulling the friends on the other tower to the very edge." It made your heart sink with the rope and then lifted you back up as they caught the rope.
There are a lot of visual perspectives in the illustrations. Sometimes we are looking up at the towers and other times looking down from the top. That feeling of being in the air is really captured. The daytime blues created feelings of calmness and joy. I agree, Krysta, that the night colors created tension. I also felt that the clouds did resemble smoke and there were scenes that looked like the towers were on fire. It seemed to be a foreshadowing done with pictures. The picture where the people in the street are looking up at the towers and pointing in horror as they see Philippe walking the rope resembles the onlookers when the planes hit the towers years later. It would be interesting to ask the author if he purposely meant for the reader to make parallel connections.
In responding to the multicultural aspect of the book, yes, the main character is French, but I think after really looking at the areas of generic, specific, or neutral, I feel this book's multicultural value is neutral to none. The character just happens to be French, but I don't think that aspect really does anything for us as a reader.
ReplyDeleteThe second book we will discuss in this session is from the category of modern fantasy.
ReplyDeleteModern Fantasy
Title: Probuditi!
Author: Chris Van Allsburg
Copyright: 2006
Chris Van Allsburg is known for writing fantasy stories. I always think that a book is considered if fantasy if one of the three main elements is unrealistic: characters, setting, and plot. This story is mostly believable because the characters and setting are realistic; however, the basis for the plot seems far-fetched; possible, but not probable.
ReplyDeleteThe setting in the story is a middle class household in the city. The time period looks to be somewhere within the 1950's and 1960's due to the clothing and cars. It has a definite historic yet modern feel. The main characters are an African American family: a brother, his younger sister, and their mom. No dad is seen in the home and this may be viewed as a stereotype of that culture. However, the house is extremely clean and well put together. The family appears to have no financial problems (opposite of the normal stereotype.)
As far as being considered a multicultural book, I think it lacks real emphasis on the multicultural part. It seems to be a more generic book; specific cultural aspects are absent; characters may look diverse but no true cultural difference is shown. There are a mixture of white and black characters in the background of the story. The boy's best friend is white. The race of the characters is not meant to have an impact on the story. The story could happen to anyone and is meant to be whimsical and entertaining. On the plus side, it is showing two cultures melding together and treating each other as equals. It encourages us to not look at the outside of a person, but to focus on the story.
Fantasy Continued:
ReplyDeleteThe plot that seems unbelievable is that the boys go to see a hypnotist and then come home to build their own machine that will hypnotize the main character's younger sister into thinking she is a dog. Many children have had this fantasy and may have even tried to hypnotize others. But it usually doesn't work. In this story, the girl actually thinks she is a dog. The boys panic and try to change her back. Througout the story, the reader is wondering if the boys will be able to turn the girl back before the mom finds out. Also, we wonder if the girl is truly hypnotized or not. At the end we are still unsure. The sense of panic and tension is felt within the reader as the boys try to figure out how to fix the problem in time.
Children would be able to relate to this story easily as sibling rivalry is common. The main character does not want to take his sister with him to the show he is going to; he'd rather take his friend. When his mom goes out, she's asks him to watch his sister which he would rather not do. He's always teasing her to get her upset. These actions make the character relatable and believable. The author takes the reader through the emotions of the character. First he is the teasing older brother, too cool to be around his little sister. He seems to have all the answers. Then when the sister thinks she's a dog, panic sets in. We can identify with the character's fear. Then when the situation seems to rectify itself, he's laughing like the bigshot because he's relieved that it all worked out. Even though the main character is somewhat mean to his sister, he is not so mean that he becomes unlikeable. He's just a normal kid that gets himself in over his head. His emotions change in the story, but I wouldn't necessarily say that he changed as a character. There is no indication that he will stop picking on his sister. I see that there could be a lesson about getting in over your head, or about how you treat others and how it can blow up in your face; however, I'm not sure about a theme. Krysta, let me know what you think.
The dialogue among the characters sounded quite real. The banter between the brother and sister was authentic. The mother's reaction to her son's behavior was also realistic. As the reader, I could feel her frustration with her son. She talked in a reprimanding tone. In the illustrations, the mom even stands at the table with her hands on her hips as if saying, "What am I gonna do with that boy." There is truly a lot of dialogue in this story. It takes up at least half of the text. However, there are nice descriptions that use vivid verbs and some similes. The text was easy to follow and used some precise vocabulary.
The illustrations in the story are captivating. Chris Van Allsburg illustrates his own books. He has a very unique style of artistry. In this story, the coloring is sepia tone, using only shades of brown and white. There is a grainy texture to the pictures which make them look older and soften the lines. Each picture is two pages in size and draws your attention to the character Allsburg wants you to look at. He may do that by creating a diagonal type of perspective or use lines that cause your eye to travel in a particular direction. The characters are larger than life and stand out in the illustrations. The faces and clothing are very detailed with indentations and folds that almost make them jump off the page and appear touchable. Shapes are very precise and symmetrical. There is a perfection to the drawings that bring about a sense that everything is right in the world. Everything except the mischief the children purposely get into. It's the ideal world. If the text was not included, the reader would still be able to understand the story because the illustrations clearly lay out the plot.
As for the use in the classroom, I don't think this book would be well suited for an introduction to fantasy because it's not as evident as in other possible choices. It would be a good book for teaching vivid verbs because there are so many descriptive verbs used. It would also be a good book for teaching connections and writing connection responses. The children can most likely make many connections with the different characters and the feelings that unfold throughout the book.
ReplyDeleteLisa,
ReplyDeleteThere are two really good points you made about “The Man Who Walked Between The Towers”.
The first point I liked was the point that this book serves as a good source of background information for 911. You are right that the author does a great job of staying away from the negative and even gory details of 911. Instead, he leaves it up to the readers’ interpretation when they notice the towers no longer exist at the end of the story. Further discussion and/or research can then be completed. This is a great way to introduce a tragic time in America’s history without throwing all of the terrible details at the students. Also, I think this book is a great resource for another view of 911 and the twin towers for older students who are already aware of 911.
The other point that I appreciate you making was your explanation of how this text is a historical fiction. I must admit that when I began my previous blog I began to panic when I read the inside cover of the text and saw it was considered a biographical story. Then I looked it up on amazon.com and saw they considered it a biographical text as well. That is why I felt we may need to change it. Upon reading your explanation, however, I now see how because the author added his own interpretation and details to make it more of a fictional story. He used his liberties as an author to move it from a biographical text to a more fictional tale. I think this in itself can be a great lesson for students. I plan to read this to my students and have them discuss what its genre is. When the students hopefully notice it can fall in more than one category, we can discuss how texts can be considered more than one genre. Thanks for clearing that up!
Lisa,
ReplyDeleteMany of your thoughts about “Probuditi” are similar to mine. According to the literary evaluation criteria, credibility is key with modern fantasies. As you mentioned, the realistic characters and setting do make the story credible. While the plot is not all that credible, that is the element that allows this book to be considered a modern fantasy. I agree with your comment though that while the plot is not probable, it is not impossible, which adds to the credibility of the text. The characters are very similar to typical children in present time, both in the interactions between friends and the family relationships. As you mentioned, Lisa, the constant sibling rivalry between Calvin and Trudy are believable and are a relationship that most children can probably connect with. The plot is very consistent throughout the text; a “typical” suburban neighborhood and town are presented with middle-class homes having “average” looking rooms, decorations, etc. This consistent and realistic setting helps the reader to not only understand the text but to also connect with it.
Lisa, I, too, struggled a bit when trying to determine the theme of the story. I guess I would have to say it would be dealing with the consequences of one’s actions, in this case missing his birthday dinner due to the fact he didn’t follow his mom’s order to not trick his sister. It seems the majority of the text centers around the boy ignoring those orders and tricking his sister for fun. By the end of the story, however, the boy realizes that this “fun” caused him to miss his favorite meal for his birthday. In addition, just the fact that Calvin and Rodney were stuck taking care of Trudy all day when she was a dog is a consequence for them trying to have fun with her. I think this could be a valuable theme for most children and adolescents to read about. Does that sound like a reasonable theme to you, Lisa?
I completely agree with you Lisa about the multiculturalism in this text. While I think it’s wonderful that it is centered around an African American family and other than an absent father, it does not appear any other stereotypes are shown. On the other hand, it seems as if this multiculturalism is overlooked, as no emphasis is placed on it as you mentioned, Lisa. Do you think this is because Allsburg is trying to portray that African Americans are a norm in America? Perhaps he felt that by drawing attention to them that he’s acting as if this is not a “typical” American family? Let me know your thoughts.
I am a huge fan of Chris Van Allsburg, especially his artwork. I think he is a phenomenal artist who has an amazing ability to make artwork look like a true-to-life photograph. This text is no exception. There are many evident characteristics that make these visuals more realistic. For example, the symmetrical shapes shown throughout the text add to the chaos and panic sensed throughout the story as Calvin is trying to turn his sister back into a human. In addition, as you mentioned, Lisa, the extra large 2-spread pictures with their incredible details help us to focus on the character being discussed, and they also help to bring credibility to the text. The pictures clearly extend the meaning of the text, and I think this could be proven if one was to does a picture walk with his/her students with this book. I believe that the overall plot is quite evident just by examining the pictures.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Lisa that this book would not serve as a good introduction to fantasy in the classroom. The fantastical elements are not that strong, and I believe they would be difficult for students to distinguish from other genres. Perhaps this could be a good book to use towards the end of a fantasy unit, as it can show the various forms fantasy can take (even somewhat realistic as in this book). Another idea I had for classroom use is when teaching inferences. Upon finishing the text, I immediately thought to myself that the ending is a fantastic way for students to use clues in the text to infer meaning beyond the text. Was the girl really hypnotized or not? The clues on the last page make us wonder, and it it’s never answered. I love using picture books during my inference unit, and I will now add this book to my list.
The first book for this session is our selection for the informational texts.
ReplyDeleteTitle: “Hurricanes, Tsunamis, and Other Natural Disasters”
Author: Andrew Langley
Copyright: 2006
Publisher: Scholastic
The very first quality I noticed about this book when evaluating it is the way in which it encourages analytical thinking. The topic of natural disasters is one that is motivating for students in itself, but the way in which this text gives statistics about the disasters (i.e. magma makes its way to the earth’s surface from as deep as 99 miles below the crust) and shows detailed photographs with captions about actual natural disasters, the reader cannot help but think more about these types of disasters and the damage they cause. The readers is left to think not only about the magnitude and severity of different storms but also what they would do if such a storm was to hit their hometown.
I also feel that the organization helps the reader to better comprehend the text. The text begins with a clearly written table of contents in large, easy-to-read font. Each two-page spread also begins with a large title in the upper left-hand corner to let the reader know what information will be found on that page. On each page, the information is categorized, and each paragraph has its own heading in bold font. There are also fantastic detailed and up-to-date photographs on each page with captions nearby explaining the image. These captions even come complete with an arrow pointing to the specific picture it relates to so there can be no confusion. I also liked how some of the pages had maps on them such as the volcano page that has a map of the world illustrating the tectonic plates. This is a nice way to integrate geography with the content. The end of the text also includes as glossary of terms found in the text along with an index of ideas presented in the book. These are helpful tools and are great for teaching students about the elements of non-fiction books.
Considering the text was copy written three years ago, the information is up-to-date, and it is accurate. We study natural disasters in one of our reading themes each year, and the information presented in this text completely matches the information in the texts we read.
Informational text, continued...
ReplyDeleteThere isn’t any artwork to examine in this text exactly, since the vast majority of the visuals are photographs. Most of these photographs are 2-page spreads with vivid colors and exciting details such as lava spewing from a volcano or a building in shambles from an earthquake. Such photographs are eye-catching and motivate students as they begin to question and analyze the elements of the various storms.
While it is an informational book about natural disasters, this text does have some multicultural aspects. Many of the photographs and stories about places that have experienced natural disasters are from other countries such as Africa, Peru, and Japan. The reader is able to learn a bit about these cultures as they read about the disasters that occur in their areas as well as how they cope with such tragedies (i.e. people from Sri Lanka spent over 6 months working as an entire community to clean the destruction from a major tsunami).
I think this book has many implications for the classroom. It first ties in nicely with science and geography, as the teacher can use this book to teach about various storm systems and where in the world they occur. Also, as previously mentioned, we study natural disasters in one of our reading themes, and I can definitely use this book to supplement our readings and extend their knowledge beyond the text we already use. I also think this book can be used to teach the kids researching skills. Following their reading of it, students can pick a country or natural disaster they want to learn more about. Lessons about how to conduct proper research can then be done, and the students can complete research about their topic. They can then create expository essays and/or projects to display and present that information. I feel this is a great informational text that is motivational and lends itself to various types of learning and activities.
Hi Krysta,
ReplyDeleteFirst I just wanted to respond to what you said about the theme in Probuditi.I think the ideas you came up with sound logical. The main character does see that there are consequences for his actions. Nice job.
I also think that you are correct in saying Allsburg is presenting characters without stressing their race/culture because he is presenting them as typical. He doesn't expect the reader to view them as black or white, but as typical kids having fun (and a little trouble) one afternoon. The multicultural nature of a book depends on the author's purpose for including it. He most likely wants his readers to feel he is an author for all children, not just white children.
I really like what you said about using the book at the end of a fantasy unit and focusing on inference. I think that is a great idea. Did the girl really get hypnotized? Is this really a fantasy story? Do you think the main character will stop teasing his sister? There is a lot of suttle clues that can be used to create discussion in this area.
The second book for this session is our selection for the historical fiction text.
ReplyDeleteTitle: “Maggie’s Amerikay”
Author: Barbara Timberlake Russell
Copyright: 2006
Publisher: Melanie Kroupa Books
I felt the setting of this book was quite authentic. This story took place in New Orleans, and all of the major ideas in the book were typical of New Orleans in the early 1800’s. As explained in the author’s note, New Orleans was a very musical place during this time, and it was also a place were many immigrants entered America. Also, Russell also explains that New Orleans was a big part of the slave trade. All of these concepts are apparent in the story: Maggie’s Irish family immigrating to America, meeting an African American family, and having the two cultures come together through music. Throughout the story, there are details about the setting, yet it is not the primary focus of the story, nor is it stressed. I think this enables the reader to feel he/she is in New Orleans experiencing Maggie’s life, which creates are more credible story.
In addition to the setting being authentic, the characters’ experiences and beliefs are very consistent with the time period. Throughout the text, Maggie is trying to find ways to help her family buy land in America. She even avoids going to school and works for an African American man without her parents knowing to help her family financially. Being able to financially survive in the New World was very realistic for the early 1800’s as thousands of immigrants came to this new home with little to no resources to survive.
I also felt the racism seen in the book was quite authentic. Maggie was leery of Nathan’s family because she had been told to “stay away from such Negroes.” Similarly, Nathan’s family is leery of the Irish, as his mom tells him, “Don’t let me catch you fooling with Irish, boy. They’re trouble, you hear?” This fear of the unknown, especially the unknown who do not belong to you culture, was very typical in the early 1800’s. I think this is a great example of such racism, and it provides a great teaching tool to instruct students about the feelings and emotions of that time.
I would say the theme of this text is to not judge a book by its cover, or to look past one’s appearance and judge him for his character. This is a very worthwhile theme, especially for children. In a society that is very diverse, it is critical that children understand that a person’s outer appearance is not a criteria for judging him as a person. In addition, because I teach in a town that is not at all diverse (as I know you do too, Lisa), it is absolutely critical that my students hear that lesson. Many of my students do not come in contact with students from other cultures, particular non-white cultures. This is a great text to help students such as mine understand the danger of such stereotypes in society.
Historical fiction, continued...
ReplyDeleteI feel this text is a great teaching tool for one’s classroom. As previously mentioned, it’s a great tool for teaching about racism and stereotypes and the danger of judging others without knowing their character. It is also a great resource to use in a unit about immigration. I don’t think there are many texts that show such a relationship between African Americans and Irish immigrants. I think it’s a great tool for showing two specific cultures coming together and learning to rid themselves of their stereotypes. An extension activity for this text could be to have students research two specific ethnic groups and their background, specifically why they came to America and what struggles they faced when they were here. Then students can write their own stories about the cultures coming together.
I also think this text does a nice job with its multicultural piece. As previously mentioned, there are not many books about two such specific cultures coming together. In fact, I cannot think of any books off-hand that include Irish immigrants and their struggles coming to America. Therefore, this text is a great resource for two cultures not always addressed in the same story. In addition, while the basis of the story is about the two cultures who originally are scared of one another coming together in the end and finding their differences are few, this idea is not “shoved” in the reader’s face. It is a cute story of an young Irish girl who is trying to help her family survive and is willing to do so at any costs and in the meantime is able to rid some stereotypes she was taught. The book portrays a realistic and overall positive image of both cultures and is able to teach the reader a valuable lesson in the process.
Historical fiction, continued...
ReplyDeleteFinally, I really enjoyed the art work presented in the text. Jim Burke, the illustrator, created very realistic images portraying the ideas presented in the text. I feel the pictures do a nice job of reinforcing the text. I also noticed that a lot of darker colors and shading are used in the illustrations. I believe this adds to the melancholy feel of the text as Maggie attempts to help her family financially survive while meeting some of her greatest stereotypes in a new world. Finally, I find the facial expressions shown in each illustration tell a story in themselves. Not only do they accurately accompany the feelings associated with that portion of the text, but they also go beyond the text as the reader get a greater sense for the emotions associated with the story just through analyzing the characters’ faces in the illustrations. We are presently discussing body language as a part of our school’s social/emotional development program, and I think this book could be a great tool to illustrate body language. The reader gets a great sense of the emotions associated with the text without reading one word of it. I think this is a great classroom tool, but I’m trying to think of other uses for it in the classroom (especially for teaching specific reading skills). Do you have any ideas, Lisa?
Hi Lisa,
ReplyDeleteI just read your response to my "Probuditi" blog, and I really liked the comment you made about Chris Van Allsburg seeing himself an author for all children, and not just white children. I think this in itself is a great lesson for students. Especially since we teach in such non-diverse areas, this text can be a great lesson in how authors "of all children" include various cultures without emphasizining their differences. Perhaps this can even be a great activity for students: create a piece of writing including various cultures. Make it clear there are different cultures represented, but do not focus on their cultures or their differences. This could be quite challenging, especially for students in non-diverse communities, but I think it's a valuable and worht-while challenge!
Informational Text: Hurricanes, Tsunamis, and Other Natural Disasters
ReplyDeleteHi Krysta,
When looking at your first comment about how the book encourages analytical thinking, I agree that it motivates the reader to think deeply and analyze the information presented. It makes the reader want to learn more about these disasters and how they may affect him/her. The author even encourages the reader to find out more and each section provides names of other books and websites for further research. It would have been nice to see some questions embedded in the text to encourage thinking while reading; however, the book is naturally engaging and students will most likely have endless questions of their own to persue.
As you mentioned, Krysta, the book is up to date as it includes the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004 and it is explained in great detail. I like how the disasters are shown throughout history, including back to A.D. 79. This helps students see that disasters often happen in cycles. I think we hear that disasters are more common now and that can scare students. If they see that in reality, disasters are common throughout history, they will feel more comfortable with the information. The facts are not only up to date, but they appear accurate. The information is very precise and manny current disasters are included. The pictures are real photographs giving proof to the written text; however, I did not find sources cited for the facts, only the photos. I don't think the book mentioned Hurricane Katrina, did it Krysta? If not, this topic could be used as an extension of the learning so students could research a recent major natural disaster in the home country.
The book is definitely reader friendly. The concepts are easy to understand and well-explained. There is depth to the reading, but it is manageable. New vocabulary can be found in the glossary in the back of the book so resourceful students can help themselves in comprehending the text. I agree that the organization is helpful to readers. The book is broken into four sections, each on a different kind of natural disaster. Headings and subheadings clearly outline the text and separate it into short focused topics. Each chapter reinforces the concepts presented by including a summary at the end. The style is engaging as well. The way the information is separated into readable sections that are only a paragraph each allows the reader to move easily through each chapter and find information easily when revisiting concepts after an initial reading.
Informational Text Continued
ReplyDeleteEach page has numerous captivating pictures(photos) well-placed to grab the readers attention. Specific captions with names, dates, and important imformation explain each picture. There are no charts or graphs and these could have been included to show how many of these natural disasters happen in particular ares on the globe. However, there is a diagram displaying how a twister is created and another showing how a tsunami builds. As you stated, Krysta, there are a number of maps to demonstrate how these disasters affect the earth. Overall, the text and pictures are so clear and descriptive, they provide more than enough information for the reader. It is a very engaging text.
As for the multicultural considerations, this text is not focused on characters and the implications of culture because it is presenting non-fiction information. Still, it does bring a global awareness to the reader as natural disasters are shown throughout the world. Readers will see different cultures dealing with differenet kinds of disasters based on where they live in the world.
Krysta, I think your ideas for how to use the book in the classroom are meaningful. I think it is an excellent book for introducing or reviewing non-fiction text features. It can also be used to model writing clear and detailed paragraphs that focus on one topic as each subheading section in the book is one paragraph in lenght. This book fits well into the curriculum when teaching weather, geology, or the 5 themes of geography. I don't happen to teach those topics in my fifth grade class, but I have taught them in third and fourth grade and would use the book if teaching those grades again.
In response to your comments about "Hurricanes, Tsunamis, and Other Natural Disasters:"
ReplyDeleteLisa, I really liked your comment of how the broad date-range of disasters shown helps students see that disasters are in cycles. You are right that many students hear about all of the recent disasters occuring (and I must admit I usually focus on the ones presently on the news when doing this unit as to show students the current real-world connections to our learning), but this book proves to them that natural disasters are a part of life and always have been. Great point!
I also like the point you made about it not including Hurricane Katrina. That is because the book was copy written in 2006, and Katrina occured in the fall of 2005. That could be a great extension activity, however. Maybe have the students research Katrina and create the page (photographs and all) that could have been included in the text for that disaster.
Krysta,
ReplyDeleteQuick comment about the informational text extension activity. I love the idea of adding pages to the book that the students make after researching disasters that have happened after 2006. It would be a great research and writing experience for non-fiction. In addition, it somewhat connects to that CMT question about what would the author add if he was going to write something else in this book. I know it's no exactly the same, but it shows that the text can be extended. Very cool.
Historical Fiction: Maggies Amerikay
ReplyDeleteThis multicultural book shows the difficulty of starting out in America as an immigrant. The dad is an Irish peddler and sells odds and ends on the street trying to save up money to buy land in America. The daughter, Maggie, is suspicious and cautious of “Negroes” while the African American mother warns her son to not mix with the Irish. The Negroes are central to the story as there were many ex-slaves in New Orleans. As you mentioned from the author's notes, Krysta, the city was a center for the slave trade. There is a misunderstanding of each others’ culture as they are thrown into a situation where so many different cultures that did not have prior contact are now forced to live near each other. We also see other cultures living in New Orleans such as the French candy shop owner. This aspect of the story is very authentic.
The common bonds of humanity are shown through this story as the Irish immigrants and the African slaves, now living as free citizens, both struggle to find their place in this new world. The misjudgment that both Daddy Clements and Maggie had about each other and how they changed their view of each other is a great lesson for students to not judge others based on their appearance. I think this story would be considered more specific multicultural than generic or neutral. Would you agree Krysta?
The characters are definitely multifaceted. Maggie, the main character, starts out bitter about coming to America and dislikes the prospect of school and work. She also is quick to judge African Americans and acts as if they are not as good as she is. She learns by writing for Daddy Clements that each person or culture has their own story of hardship especially when trying to start a new life in America. She learns to appreciate the struggle of others and starts viewing “Negroes” and America in a different way. She decides to change her attitude and work hard to help her family earn money to own land. She also sees that the little boy, Nathan, has a song in his heart to become what he wants; this opens her eyes to her own potential.
The time period is well described as we see the jobs available such as working in factories, rolling cigars, sewing, and peddling to make money. Maggie is only paid 50 cents a week and works in dim light. Laundry can be seen hanging between allies. The clothes and streets create an authentic picture of the time period. Aspects of the setting are authentic to time period are seamlessly woven throughout the text with reference to yellow fever and even the picture of the ship they traveled on to come to America.
I think there are several themes in this story. The music of different cultures come together in New Orleans and eventually blend together to make jazz. This is a great metaphor on how people come from different cultures to create a new blended American culture. Music is also freedom of expression and many of the immigrants came to America to find freedom and a new life. The music makes everyone happy. Another theme centers on not judging people until you truly get to know them. We often misjudge people based on false information. Krysta, this is a great lesson about stereotyping which you pointed out.
Historical Fiction Continued
ReplyDeleteThis story is written in language that gives the feel of an Irish accent (da for dad, Amerikay for America). Some vocabulary is also synonymous with the time period of the late 1800s early 1900s. The author uses the following simile, “his face stiffens like the carving on a ship’s bow” to describe Daddy Clements stern face. The language makes the text sound authentic to the people and time period; however, a younger student may need the story read to him/her to get the proper phrasing within the sentences or he/she might misunderstand what is being read.
I agree, Krysta, that the are very realistic. They clearly show the setting of unique buildings in the city of New Orleans with their balconies and iron rails. The colors are soft but dark and shadowy creating a mood of sadness due to the tough times the family is facing. When we meet Daddy Clements he is pictured with a bull dog that has the same rough and tough expression on its face as he does. It demonstrates the untrusting nature people had toward each other as many cultures were foreign to each other and misunderstood. The pictures really help to extend the plot and set the mood. All of the faces on the characters are serious in the first half of the book. Then when Maggie gets to know Daddy Clements better, the faces are smiling which displays the change in attitudes the characters have.
Krysta, I agree this story would be great to use in the classroom when working on a unit on immigration. I like how it doesn’t just show one culture’s point of view. Because of that, it also lends itself nicely to a discussion on point of view. Students could extend this idea to write essays from differing points of view on selected topics. The book further allows for the development of good character and treating others fairly without prejudging them. It could also be used by a music teacher to introduce the beginning of jazz in America.
Response to the historical fiction text:
ReplyDeleteLisa,
I agree that "Maggie's Amerikay" is much more focused on its multicultural components than being a neutral book. It is clear one of the author's points is to portray the importance of coming together as separate cultures within the same community and ridding oneself of stereotypes and/or judgements of other cultures. I definitely feel the author wanted this book to be a strong example of a multicultural text.
I also like your comment about Maggie being a multifaceted character. As you said, she begins feeling leery and almost scared of unknown cultures, and she then learns every culture has had their struggles and people should not be judged for their backgrounds. I am presently teaching my students about how characters change over the course of a story, and now I plan to read this text to the class to accompany this unit. Maggie's transformation should make for a good discussion. Lisa, do you think any other characters in the book develop over the course of the text? Maybe Daddy Clements?
Finally, I love the comment you made Lisa about the music coming together to develop jazz being a metaphor for the cultures coming together to create a new community. What a great lesson for metaphors.
Response:
ReplyDeleteKrysta,
I agree this book would be very useful in teaching character change. I do think Daddy Clements changes as well. He was passing judgement on this young white girl until he got to know her better. Again, the expressions in the pictures really help to demonstrate the attitudes of the characters and the change is noticable on each one's face as they learn more about each other and realize they initial responses toward each other was unfounded.
Thanks for the comment on the metaphor. It sort of jumped out at the end. I think it would be useful to use this book for teaching metaphor because it provides more of a visual of metaphor instead of just language. Students might be able to understand what a metaphor is more easily by using the visual.
Choice Chapter Book – Nutmeg Award Winner
ReplyDeleteTitle: Thunder from the Sea
Author: Joan Hiatt Harlow
Copyright: 2004
Historical Fiction
Multicultural
Hi Krysta,
When I first started reading the story, I became somewhat apprehensive. I thought the events were told quickly and the story left me wondering why details were left out. But I kept reading and after a few chapters I thought the author’s writing became a lot stronger and more sophisticated. By the end of the story, I really liked the book.
The plot focuses on a thirteen year old boy named Tom who lived in an orphanage for most of his life, but finally gets adopted by a couple who live in Newfoundland. The reader follows the emotional ups and downs that Tom experiences as he gets used to his new life with his new family. Two questions keep resurfacing and make the reader want to continue reading to learn the answers. First, the story keeps the reader wondering if Tom will become a permanent member of the home or if he will be sent away after Fiona, the mom, has a baby. Second, Tom finds a black Newfoundland, Thunder, while on a fishing trip and saves its life. Tom is allowed to keep the dog, but must deal with the possibility that the true owner may one day call to claim him. The reader often wonders if Tom will have to give up his new friend. There are many dramatic events that take place during the story allowing for the family relationships and the affection and respect for the dog to grow. For example, there is an earthquake that sets off a tsunami which devastates the town the family lives in. The dog saves the family two times from danger. During a snowstorm, Tom must get Thunder to pull Fiona across a vast frozen lake in order to get her to the doctor before she gives birth. Each one of the events is filled with tension and makes the reader not want to put the book down.
I do have to say that I was wondering if the events would every really happen. I know there are earthquakes and tsunamis, but did this happen in Newfoundland? And would a woman such as Fiona really be in a situation where she needed to be pulled across the ice in a storm? I had my doubts; however, the author included very precise information in her author’s notes to give credibility to her story. Since the story is historical fiction, she used real life events in her story. The earthquake and tsunami really did happen in 1929, the year the story takes place. In 1950, the author’s cousin needed to make a trek across ice to save her baby just like Fiona. She also read about a Newfoundland rescued at sea in the newspaper. All of the main events in the story were based on reality. Not all of the events happened to the same person, but the events were all related to the area where the story takes place. If I had read the author’s notes first, I would have been less skeptical, but then it would have ruined the story for me. I was very pleased that she included all of the information about the historical nature of the book.
Thunder from the Sea Continued
ReplyDeleteThe characters in this story do seem like real people. The author does a good job describing their outward appearance so the reader can picture the characters easily. The characters have distinct personalities that are developed through both descriptions and dialogue. Even though the story focuses on Tom and his feelings, we see and understand the feelings of all of the characters, each with his/her own unique circumstances. The characters are multifaceted as we see them experience anger, hope, jealousy, fear, relief, confusion, remorse, guilt, peace, and happiness. The author is able to make the reader see many sides of each character. Characters that initially seem unlikable, change or show another side of themselves that causes the reader to rethink the first judgment. Tom is a very nice boy and easily likable. The reader wants to see him become a real part of the family and see him keep Thunder. In the beginning of the story, Tom is very nervous that the Murrays may not want to keep him permanently. He is constantly worried that he will mess up and they will send him away. Tom is also inexperienced and young. He grows up during the story as he needs to face many challenges. He matures. By the end of the story, he realizes he is loved, which is something he hasn’t felt for a long time.
Students may not have experienced the kinds of challenges that Tom had to face; however, they have most likely had some challenges in their lives. This is a great book for learning about how to overcome those challenges. It is also helpful for focusing on belonging or family. Students could make many connections with the feelings in this book. In addition, it is a great book for a character study because there are so many characters that are developed throughout the story. Students could discuss or write about point of view as each characters point of view is explored. Krysta, I was thinking that this might be a nice bridge to your natural disaster unit. If you are reading and learning about natural disasters through non-fiction, this fictional story includes and focuses on a real natural disaster in Newfoundland. Since the story takes place in the early 1900’s, it could also be used to enhance a study of what like was like for people in that time period. I think this book has many uses and is an easy motivational read.
The setting of the story is Newfoundland in 1929. The description of the fishing towns with little modernization was very believable. Everything was well described from the clothes, to the houses, to the boats, to the landscape. It seemed very authentic and when reviewing the author’s notes, it is evident that she knew what she was writing about.
I think the themes in this story are about family, acceptance, friendship, treating others with kindness, facing challenges head on and not running away, hope, and forgiveness. The themes are universal to all cultures and people. The students would be able to relate to these themes and see them in their own lives.
Thunder from the Sea continued
ReplyDeleteThe language in the book was very effective. The dialogue of the characters was quite authentic to their personalities and the author also included Irish accents that made the characters more dimensional. Although the “jannie talk” was difficult to decipher, it was colorful. If a reader couldn’t read it, there was no loss of meaning from the story.
In the writing the author included many beautiful similes such as “Broken trees reached up like bony fingers to the sky, their limbs gone” and “hate is like a heavy chain to carry with you.” There is precise vocabulary, sensory detail, and lots of imagery. As I said before, I think the writing became stronger throughout the book.
As a multicultural book, I think it is quite specific. Even though the people of Newfoundland appear to have lived there for awhile and have assimilated well, they have held onto many of their Irish traditions. There are superstitions and folklore incorporated into the story. The jannie talk and the mummers that come to the house during Christmas are from Celtic Ireland. The food the characters eat and the strong belief in God is representative of Irish culture. The culture is woven in seamlessly so that is seems natural and authentic.
Since this book is a chapter book, there are no illustrations to enhance the story; however, the text is quite descriptive creating wonderful visuals in the reader’s mind.
Title: Owen and Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship
ReplyDeleteAuthors: Isabella Hatkoff, Craig Hatkoff, and Dr Paula Kahumbu
Copyright: 2006
Choice Book – Informational
Multicultural Aspects
This story is interesting because it is an information book, but reads much like a narrative. It does not have the non-fiction text features that we often expect to see in an informational text. It is not meant to teach the reader new information to be learned, but rather to share information that is interesting. So when judging this book, it would make sense to look at the literary criteria that fit for informational text and the criteria that fit for fiction.
The story is the true account of a baby hippopotamus and how it builds a close relationship with an old sea turtle. It was written by a father and daughter who heard about the incredible story and decided to contact Dr Paula, who was a first hand witness to the events. The three of them decided to write the book together to share the tale with the world. Since the events are retold by Dr. Paula, we can assume the story is credible. In addition, the book includes photographs that document the events throughout the story giving it more credibility. The pictures do include captions to help the reader understand exactly what was happening at the time of the picture. In the back of the book, there are some maps to help the reader understand where this story took place and some other information is included to help the reader extend what they have just learned through the reading.
The readability of the book is very manageable for older elementary students. Because the events took place in Kenya, there are a number of African names students are introduced to. There is a lot of precise vocabulary and description in the writing; however, because the story is written to give information, the presentation of that information is more “matter of fact” than artistic. The story is “told” as in a summarizing fashion, but does include some nice description.
The main theme in this story is friendship. It shows that two unlikely creatures can surprise everyone in becoming friends. Students can relate this idea to themselves. We shouldn’t choose our friends based on their outside appearance, but based on who they are on the inside. Another theme is perseverance. The story talks about how Owen, the hippopotamus, wanted to be with Mzee, the turtle, but Mzee was not very receptive. Owen would not give up and eventually won Mzee over. Since Owen was stranded after the 2004 tsunami, his real life rescue and friendship filled people with hope. The authors said, “It reminded us all that even though terrible, unexpected things happen, the power of courage, love, and the preciousness of life will prevail.” Students may see that if animals of different species can learn to be friends, people of different races or cultures should be able to do the same
Owen and Mzee Continued
ReplyDeleteThe beautiful photographs in this book clearly reinforce the text and allow the reader to understand the context in which the events took place. The natural African surroundings are shown as well as the people of that culture working to take care of the animals. Africa is seen as modern and people of different cultures are shown working together as equals. The text discusses the language of Swahili. Although there are obvious differences in the land and people of Kenya from our own, this book allows the reader to see more connections than differences.
This book can be used in the classroom as a model for writing about events in a sequential manner. At the beginning of many of the paragraphs, sequence words are used to show the progression of the story. The authors use a nice variety of sequence words. Krysta, it is interesting how this natural disaster topic has come up again in our books. If you were working on that unit, this informational book would fit in really well. It would be a heartwarming story about something good that can come out of a tragedy. It would provide text to text connections with the Natural Disasters book we read because the 2004 tsunami facts are in it. The theme of friendship is often one that comes up in elementary classrooms. This book can be used to introduce that topic for discussion or writing. It can be used for character building. And of course it lends itself to writing CMT type responses on connections or finding information in text.
Response to “Thunder from the Sea”:
ReplyDeleteOverall, I think “Thunder from the Sea” was a cute historical fiction whose plot centering on a boy’s love would capture the interests of many students. Lisa, I agree with your points about the author’s note. While reading the text, I was not sure if it was a historical fiction or not. After reading the author’s note, however, I wished I had known that information prior to reading the text. That would have given me a different reaction and connection to the story. As you said, Lisa, it also was neat to learn of the realism after finishing the text. It allowed me to reflect back on what I had read with a new appreciation.
Knowing that it is a historical fiction based on many true events in history, Harlow did a great job making the setting authentic. I liked how in the beginning of the text, she included a map of the setting. This definitely added credibility to the text. It’s also a great way to integrate map skills into reading. Throughout the story, Harlow gave many specific details about their house, its location, and the struggles traveling back and forth to Chance-Along. It was easy for the reader to visualize where the events took place and how the setting added a dramatic element to many of the situations Tom and his family faced.
Considering it is a historical fiction with events based on true situations, the characters’ experiences and problems were very consistent for the time period. Everything from traveling across a lake to another town for food and supplies to having a tsunami as a result of an earthquake (which I, too, questioned for this location, Lisa), to having to travel a great distance to get Fiona to a doctor to deliver the baby were all elements that are consistent with life in the 1920’s. Again, the author’s note explaining where she got these events from and why they’re included brings credibility to the story.
Lisa, I completely agree that some of the major themes of the text are love for one’s family, forgiveness, and facing challenges in one’s life. Tom is searching for a family being an orphan, and he loves living with Enoch and Fiona. All he wants is to be included and loved, and at the end of this story this wish comes true. The love these characters have for one another and the way in which they support one another is a great theme to discuss with one’s class. Tom also learns about forgiveness when he must forgive the Bosworths for telling Thunder’s owner that he was safe and living with the Murrays. The Bosworths end up fighting (through trickery) to help Tom keep Thunder, and Tom is able to forgive them for their previous actions. Fiona is a central character in teaching Tom the importance of forgiving, and that act helps Tom throughout the text. Finally, this text centers on the challenges Tom and his family must face for survival, staying together as a family, and keeping Thunder in their life. All of these challenges were taken head-on, and all ended with successful outcomes.
"Thunder of the Sea" continued...
ReplyDeleteOne literary element dealing with the plot of the story did not seem very credible to me. I did not find the climax to be natural. In fact, I did not find many of the outcomes for their challenges to be natural. Tom and his family experienced many hardships throughout the story, and it seemed like not only was the outcome always a positive and happy one, but the climax for each situation seemed to be so quick. I just felt while I was reading that as soon as Tom and/or his family faced a challenge, it was over in a couple pages. This did no seem realistic to me, especially for events based on history. Also, it made the book a little too predictable for me.
Another comment you made, Lisa, that I thought was good was how the characters were multifaceted. As you mentioned, the characters experienced a plethora of emotions throughout the text, and that change in emotions adds credibility to the story, as that emotional change is part of human nature. It is also a great way to teach students about character development.
I, too, agree that the multicultural element of “Thunder of the Sea” was “woven seamlessly” into the story, as you said Lisa. Not only are the situations that happened in Newfoundland give information for a different culture, but the Irish traditions and features in the story were worked into the text so effortlessly, that the reader almost doesn’t realize they are learning about another culture. It is clear that the characters value their Irish heritage and carry out many of its traditions, and this is a great lesson about the Irish culture to non-Irish readers as well as a great connection for readers who are Irish.
Lisa, you read my mind about one of the implications this story has for the classroom! When I began reading about the earthquake and tsunami that Thunder saved the residents from, I was thinking about how well that ties into our natural disaster unit. We study how many tsunamis happen as a direct result of earthquakes, and this is a great example of that happening. Also, I really like how this is a fictional book based on true events. We do not read any books of that genre during that unit, so this is definitely a book I plan to integrate to that unit next year. Even though I have already finished that unit this year, I am going to book-talk this text to my class so that students can read it if they choose. Plus, as previously mentioned, the central idea in the plot of a boy’s love for his dog, a dog he found at sea, is high-interest for many fifth graders.
My last comment for this book is about its Nutmeg Award. I was expecting this to be a powerful book that left the reader thinking and gave some great elements to analyze and connect with since it did win a rather noteworthy award. I felt this text was weak in those areas, however. While it is a cute story with a happy ending that many student-readers would enjoy, I do not know if I would consider it worthy of the Nutmeg Award. I guess I just expected more depth to the plot and more elements that lead to critical analyses on the part of the reader. I found this book to be a quick and easy read that did not leave me thinking much about the characters, the situations, or their connections to my life. What do you think about it winning the Nutmeg Award, Lisa?
Hi Krysta,
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about the various climactic parts of this story ending quickly. That's what I had said about the beginning of the story. I felt like everything was resolved so quickly. It did not seem like real life. I can also see why you would feel that way as the book progressed. I mean how many challenges did this family really have to face in such a short time. It's a little over the top. But at the same time, I must have been drawn into the characters because I was much more forgiving the more I read on. I think the author did a very nice job making the characters seem real and she developed them very well. I guess I was willing to let the rest go after awhile. I would say I'm on the fence about the book in general. I was surprised it won an award. It is a good book, but not necessarily award worthy. I do agree with you that many students would like it and it is an easy read. It's very straight forward.
Response to “Owen and Mzee”:
ReplyDeleteLisa, I agree that this book does not present itself as a “typical” informational text. Unlike our “Tsunamis, Hurricanes, and Other Natural Disasters” text we analyzed, there are not heading, “chapter” titles, or other features found in many informational texts. It does read more like a fictional story. One feature I did like in this non-fiction text is that it does have a small pronunciation guide in the beginning of the text. Because this book has many unusual names, especially for younger readers, I think it is helpful that the authors included pronunciations for many of the names in the story. Not only is this helping while reading the story, but it is also a great lesson for students in using pronunciation keys.
One literary element that is credible in this text is that the information is up-to-date and the facts are accurate. It is based on a relatively recent natural disaster, which makes it up-to-date, and if one is to look up the story of Owen and Mzee on the Internet (they have their own website), you would see the facts to match up.
This text is reader friendly. It encompasses a topic of high-interest to many students: animals. Also, it is easy to read due to its story-like style. This makes the information seem a little less dense than it would be if it were listed in more of an informational manner. Also, the unlikely friendship that evolves between the hippo and the tortoise does evoke critical thinking on the part of the reader. It is not a typical story that one hears about, and therefore the reader is left thinking about this curious relationship and how it has evolved over time. I also believe it enables the reader to take this story and relate it to their own lives. When children read about this unlikely friendship, it could possibly help them realize how they should not judge others and be open to friendship with others, even if they do appear different from them.
Lisa, I agree that there are two major themes to this story. The first one is clearly the importance of not judging others and welcoming others as friends, even if they do not appear to be someone you would relate to. As previously mentioned, this could carry over to a great discussion with students about the importance of not judging a book by its cover and not excluding others. Lisa, I love the comment you made about if students can see how these two animals of different species learned to love each other that children of different backgrounds and cultures should be able to do the same. It’s a great multicultural lesson. Students enjoy reading about animals, so this could be a great resource for teaching that lesson. I also agree that the other theme could be perseverance. Owen had to overcome quite a hardship in surviving the tsunami and living without his family, and perseverance was definitely needed on his part to do that. This could be another resource for teaching students the importance of not giving up and facing challenges with a positive attitude for a favorable outcome.
"Owen and Mzee" continued...
ReplyDeleteThe photographs are a great resource to this book. They definitely reinforce the text, as they demonstrate elements in the text such as the hippos living in pods, the river overflowing, Mzee’s living space, and how the two animals bonded together. Also, because it is an informational text, the photographs are a great visual of the information. The pictures are bright and colorful and definitely evoke questions in the readers mind about these animals, their habitat (before and after they met), and their relationship. They would be a great resource for teaching questioning prior to reading. Without knowing about the two animals coming together and bonding, the reader could easily create many analytical questions about what is portrayed in the photographs.
Beyond teaching students about perseverance and treating everyone with respect and welcoming everyone as friends, this text also teaches about two animal species as well as some geography information. Students could extend this information by researching more about Kenya or the animals and learning more about some of the information presented in the text. Also, as you said Lisa, this story has a great connection to my natural disaster unit, and I do integrate this story every year in that unit. Much of the unit teaches about the impact these disasters have on humans, and this text teaches about how disasters also impact animals and their habitat. Also, I usually have the students research more about the tsunami that killed Owen’s family and the students are therefore able to extend their knowledge of what they read. I am now thinking that maybe another extension activity students could do in future years is to research one of the other natural disasters we learn about. After learning about a specific storms and its impact, they could write their own stories about animals that experienced the storm and the affect it had on their lives. While the animal aspect of their stories would be fictional, it would help them extend the importance of this story through writing. Also, it’s a fantastic way to have students blend fictional and non-fictional writing.
Response to “Thunder of the Sea”:
ReplyDeleteLisa, I agree that while I thought the conflicts were resolved too quickly that I still managed to stay engaged in the story and wanting to know how it would end. It was more after I finished reading the story and was reflecting on that reading that I thought about the lack of realism in the conflicts being resolved.
I, too, am on the fence with this story. It was a cute story that maintained my attention and was an easy read. I do not, however, consider it a text of high literary quality, primarily because it does not promote critical thinking overall. I do not think I would recommend it to my higher readers who enjoy reflecting on issues presented in a text and their real-world connections. This would be a good text to recommend to struggling readers, though. While it is lengthy, its pages have large font size and a lot of unused space, making it an easy read. The topic of a boy and his pet dog is also motivating to many of these readers. Plus, I believe struggling readers would feel quite proud of themselves having finished the book.
Question about printing:
ReplyDeleteLisa, what do you want to do about printing this? Right now it looks like we will have about 44 pages to print!
Do you want to do half and half? I'll print the first 22, and you can print the second 22? Let me know what would work best for you!
Hi Krysta,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your idea about using the pictures in Owen and Mzee to generate thoughts and questions. The book could be introduced using that activity that Dr. Kurkjian had us do with I Dream of Trains. Students would try to figure out what is going on in the story, just by using the pictures.
As for Thunder, I agree this book would be good for average to low students. It would have enough for them to think about, but it is not a deep book that would be appropriate for the high level readers (as far as teaching.)
As for printing, we could split it. How do you get it to look nice on a Word document without having the background? I have done it for small sections of our blog, but do you have a way to make it easy for a large section? I'm exhausted from this process.
"Owen and Mzee" response:
ReplyDeleteI agree this would be a good book to do a picture walk with. Perhaps students could do some pre-research on hippos and tortoises and learn about them and their habitats. That could possibly help foster stronger questions during the picture walk.
I just feel that book lends itself to so many ideas in the classroom from questioning, to learning geographical information, to learning about the meaning of friendship, as well as natural disasters. For a picture book, it really does lend itself to so many worthwhile lessons and activities.
Printing:
ReplyDeleteOkay, I'll print the first half, and then you can print the second half.
If you go through and copy and paste each individual entry to a word document to avoid copying the background. It's a bit more tedious, but it saves on ink.
I will print through your response to "Probuditi." Then you can pick up with my initial response to "Maggie's Amerikay". That seems to be just about the middle. Sound okay?