Picture This! Teaching with Picture Books Has Moved

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©2009 by Dawn Little for Picture This! Teaching with Picture Books. All Amazon links are affiliate links and may result in my receiving a small commission. This is no additional cost to you.

Blog Remodel!

Ha!  So, I thought I could quickly remodel my blog with no problems at all!  I'm hoping to get things back up and running tonight!  Please bear with these changes until then. 

Thanks!!   

©2009 by Dawn Little for Picture This! Teaching with Picture Books. All Amazon links are affiliate links and may result in my receiving a small commission. This is no additional cost to you.

Night in the Country

November Theme:  Cynthia Rylant picture books Six Traits: Organization (Varied Endings)

Surprise Endings

What does night in the country sound like?  As people fall asleep inside, the animals wake up outside and begin their night. 

Another touchstone text in my classroom was Night in the Country by Cynthia Rylant.   I used this book to teach both sensory details and surprise endings.  Rylant lyrically describes how the animals wake up and what they do at night.  “And toward morning, one small bird will be the first to tell everyone that night in the country is nearly over.”  What happens when night becomes morning?  How will the book end?     

Lesson idea: Gather 5-10 books that are models of different endings and have students analyze the endings.  Have students analyze several books that have surprise endings.  Have them practice writing surprise endings in their own writing. 

Over the next month, I will review additional Cynthia Rylant books that have different types of endings.   What books do you use to teach writers’ craft?  Do you have any touchstone texts or touchstone authors? 

©2009 by Dawn Little for Picture This! Teaching with Picture Books.

When I Was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant

November Theme:  Cynthia Rylant picture books

Six Traits: Organization (Varied Endings)

What is a touchstone text?  A touchstone text is a text you can turn to again and again for various teaching points.  A touchstone text is a book you and your students know very well.  There are several authors who I turned to again and again when teaching.  One of these authors is Cynthia Rylant. 

Moving Endings

Inspired by Cynthia Rylant's childhood spent with her grandparents in the mountains of West Virginia, Rylant lyrically describes the simplicity of living in the country using the phrase, "When I was young in the mountains. . .".

This week When I Was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant is the focus of my review.  I actually reviewed this book this time last year.  My focus then was on brainstorming topics.  Since this was a touchstone text in my classroom, I also used it to teach moving endings.  I don’t want to give away the ending, but the author evokes emotion as she describes how the mountains were always enough for her. . . she never wanted anything more.

Lesson idea: Gather 5-10 books that are models of different endings and have students analyze the endings.

Over the next month, I will review additional Cynthia Rylant books that have different types of endings.   What books do you use to teach writers’ craft?  Do you have any touchstone texts or touchstone authors that you turn to again and again? 

Apologies and Updates

I apologize for being remiss in posting new picture book reviews! I had the opportunity to attend KidLitCon09, well about two hours of it -- and then my husband called to inform me that my three year old had a fever of 103.6. Needless to say, I had to leave to attend to my sick daughter! A total bummer for me, because I was learning a lot and was looking forward to learning so much more. In any event, I have decided to revamp my blog a bit. I'm still going to post picture book reviews and ways they can be used in the classroom or for home schoolers, but I'm going to create a bit more organization -- more on my end anyway! I'm hoping to post books based on monthly themes, either content related, strategy related, or traits related.

In addition, I've started another blog -- Literacy Tool Box -- that I'm planning to use as a place to post tips and tools for parents and educators related to literacy. Check it out -- it should be up and running soon.

I hope you will check back in for the kick off of the "new" Teaching with Picture Books on November 1st!

Special Edition: Books by Tara

In this special edition post, I bring you Books by Tara. Though intially created by Tara to aid in the education of her son, who is on the autism spectrum, these books can be used by children of all ages and ability levels. I had the opportunity to review two of her fall themed books, Autumn Leaves and Jack-O-Lantern.

Jack-O-Lantern

As with Autumn Leaves, the first thing you notice in this book are the amazing photographs. Bright, colorful, cheerful! I really like the fact that real photographs are used in these books. Jack-O-Lantern is not a wordless picture book. Instead, Tara, in photographs and short rhyming text, shows us the steps for making a jack-o-lantern, starting at the pumpkin patch and ending on the front porch.

Preschool to Primary Level

This book is a great resource to build background knowledge in a preschooler. If teachers take children on a field trip to the pumpkin patch, this book is a great lead-in to that trip. Or, it's a perfect read-aloud upon return from the pumpkin patch. What are we going to do with our pumpkin now? Let's read and find out! It's also a great resource to show how procedures work. After reading aloud this book, teachers of primary grade students may want to create a class book (a shared writing experience) showing procedures of particular activities in the classroom. Students can even use a digital camera to take photographs for the book! What a fantastic resource to have in the room when new students arrive.

Elementary Level

Jack-O-Lantern is a good resource to read aloud to students when discussing procedural writing in the upper elementary grades. While the text is not actually written in procedural form, the photographs demonstrate the order of a procedure. Students can use the photographs to write a procedure for creating a Jack-O-Lantern using procedural words, such as first, second, then, next, etc. Or students can use the photos as a model to write a different procedural piece. Have students take photographs of the steps of a process and create their own procedural book.

Special Edition: Books by Tara

In this special edition post, I bring you Books by Tara. Though initially created by Tara to aid in the education of her son, who is on the autism spectrum, these books can be used by children of all ages and ability levels. I had the opportunity to review two of her fall themed books, Autumn Leaves and Jack-o-Lantern.

Autumn Leaves The first thing you notice about Autumn Leaves are the amazing photographs. The photos are bright and inviting. There are twenty-one photos of different types of leaves in various stages of the color process. This particular book is a wordless picture book, which I absolutely love. Wordless picture books allow children to develop their own ideas and draw their own conclusions.

Preschool to Primary Level

I think this book is perfect for preschool level children when they discuss autumn. The book provides an opportunity for plenty of discussion about colors, shapes, and sizes. It could be a perfect lead in to a nature walk activity. Teachers and students can take a nature walk and collect fall leaves. Leaves can then be sorted by color, shape, or size. Teachers can even graph the results of the sorts.

Personal Note: I looked at the photos in this book with my three year old, but did not read aloud the title. I asked her a few questions. Here is our conversation:

Me: Do you know what season this book is showing us?

Her: Fall!

Me: How do you know?

Her: Because the leaves are changing colors.

A simple conversation, but it told me that she is aware of seasons and what happens in Fall.

Elementary Level

I love wordless picture books for the child that is writing. They provide a perfect opportunity for children to create their own text based on the pictures. Teachers can use this book to pique children's curiosity about autumn. A more sophisticated discussion can occur regarding the science of leaves changing colors and the life cycle of a tree. After building up background knowledge for students, teachers can provide students with the opportunity to create their own text for the photos in the book.

Coming tomorrow: Jack-O-Lantern

Punctuation Celebration by Elsa Knight Bruno

A clever picture book that features fourteen poems about punctuation.

Conventions

A great picture book to use as a model when teaching conventions. Read aloud this book with gusto and children are sure to find punctuation exciting!

Lesson Idea: After reading aloud this book, have children discuss the different forms of punctuation. Have each child choose one and write their own poem about it. Compile the poems into a class punctuation book to use as a resource when children are editing other students' work.

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett

The weather in the town of Chewandswallow is tasty. Food falls from the sky, which is great, until one day the weather takes a turn for the worse. . . Ideas Read aloud Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and discuss how the author developed the idea of using food in the place of weather. Brainstorm other ideas for a story in a chart titled, "Cloudy With a Chance of. . ." Some ideas may include: toys, candy, sports, or games. Lesson Idea: After students brainstorm a list of other ideas, have them choose one to develop into a writing piece. Text to World Connection: If students see the movie, ask them to compare the movie and the book. How did the movie stay true to the author's ideas? Or use the brief movie trailer below to make some comparisons:

Lincoln and Douglass: An American Friendship by Nikki Giovanni

Nikki Giovanni's lyrical text brings to life an unusual friendship between two great American leaders. Perhaps forbidden, it was a friendship that perservered nonetheless.

Synthesis

During a unit on the Civil War, or its aftermath, read aloud this book. This is a wonderful text to get students to think about the racial tensions that occurred during that time. Despite the end of the Civil War, there were still two distinct opposing "sides" when it came to race relations. Giovanni lyrically illustrates how two very different men were able to bond over shared ideals and work together for a common goal.

Lesson Idea After reading aloud this book, break students into groups of four. Present a question for discussion regarding the friendship between Lincoln and Douglass, the racial inequality of the time, or further research whether Mrs. Lincoln's sympathies really "did not lie with the men and women of color" (There has been some controversy as to whether this is true or not). Make sure the question has clear pros and cons. If necessary, have students further research the topic to give more background information. Have each group of students complete a discussion web to synthesize their thoughts on the matter. Students must come to a group consensus upon completion of the discussion. Have each group share their consensus with the whole class. After a class discussion, have individual students write a persuasive essay based on the topic.

Literacy Lava 2 Now Available at The Book Chook!

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In the second edition of Literacy Lava, you'll find ideas: for motivating reluctant readers, for literacy on the go, for developing the imagination muscle, for linking math and literacy, for having a pirate party and a book picnic, for rhymes, games, activities and more!

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Big Plans by Bob Shea and Lane Smith

A little boy sits in the corner of his classroom plotting his future and his plans are BIG! With the help of his bird and a lucky stinky hat, he may become Mayor, President, or fly to the moon!

Motivation

A great book to use to guide students to think about their own big plans. This book could be a great discussion starter at the beginning of the school year to elicit student plans for the year and to motivate them to create plans. This book can be used in a number of ways:

Lesson Plan Ideas:

Goal Setting: After reading aloud this book, discuss the ideas of making goals with your students. As a class make a list of goals to complete for the year. Post them prominently so students can see when goals are achieved. In addition, ask students to make individual goals. For younger students, this may only mean one or two goals - or conduct a shared writing with younger students to determine their goals. Older students should be able to make four or five. Don't get caught up in the number of goals though, each child will be different. Throughout the year, revisit the class goals and invidual goals and determine how to meet them and if they have been met. In addition, students may want to revise their goals or add new ones.

Writers Workshop: After reading aloud this book, discuss the idea of having dreams and goals (BIG plans!). Ask you students to create a list in their writers notebook of their dreams and goals (no matter how far fetched!). Later on in the year, when students need a writing piece, they can choose one of their dreams or goals to elaborate on. Perhaps they will want to write down the steps they may need to take to reach a goal. Or, if a goal has already been met, perhaps they would like to share what they did to meet their goal.

Pictures from Our Vacation by Lynne Rae Perkins

A young boy and girl are given a camera and a notebook to take pictures and write memories of their summer vacation. The pictures don't quite turn out and they realize that the best pictures are those they can see in their minds.

Writers Workshop

This book could be a great read aloud to get kids thinking about the memories of their own summer vacation. Prior to reading aloud, ask students to bring in photos from their summer vacation.

Lesson Idea: After reading aloud, have students paste their photos in their writer's notebook and write about the memory.

Visualization

After reading aloud, discuss with students how the best pictures are often the ones we can see in our minds. For a lesson in visualization, ask students to visualize some memories from their summer vacation. Students can list their summer memories in their writer's notebook and then choose one to elaborate on.

First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg

A great book about feeling nervous on the first day of school. . . with a twist.

Building Community A great read aloud for the first day of school, this book is laugh out loud funny, and should allay those nervous butterflies in children's and teacher's stomachs. Use this read aloud as a catalyst to discuss how everyone gets nervous. . . even adults! Validate for your students that it's ok to feel nervous, especially on the first day of school, because there is an element of the unexpected.

Lesson Idea: Create a "worry box." Use a shoe box with a lid or another similar sized box and lid. Cut a hole in the box top. Decorate the top and the box with contact paper or wrapping paper. Read aloud the book to students and then share with them a worry that you have about the new school year. Write it on a small piece of paper. Ask each student to annonymously write one worry they have about the school year on a small piece of paper as well. Place your worry in the box and ask students to follow suit. After all students have placed their worries in the box, take some time to read through the worries aloud and allay their fears by discussing them as a group.

How Full Is Your Bucket? For Kids by Tom Rath and Mary Reckmeyer

Based on the #1 New York Times bestseller How Full Is Your Bucket?, the children's version provides a concrete way for kids to understand how our words and actions affect other people.

Building Community

A young boy named Felix learns how to become a "bucket filler" instead of a "bucket dipper" when he realizes that all words and actions affect people in different ways. We can make an effort to help people feel good about themselves. Read aloud this book to your students during the first week of school and discuss the idea that we all have invisible buckets that need to be filled. When our bucket is full, we feel happy and good about ourselves, but when our bucket is empty, we don't feel so good about ourselves. Then introduce this:

Community Builder idea: Purchase small buckets or cups (even the large Solo cups would work). Purchase one for each child in your class. Place them inside a plastic shoe bag. Purchase a bag of 100 mini pom-poms and place them in a location near the buckets. Post a sign that says, "Have You Filled Your Bucket Today?" Encourage your students to fill their buckets when they feel happy and to remove pom-poms when something happens to make them feel bad. A variation includes having students fill their classmates buckets as well. Ask them to be on the lookout for ways their classmates help others fill their invisible buckets. When they spot something, ask them to fill that classmate's bucket with a pom-pom. Use any empty buckets as a discussion starter. What are some ways we can help _________ fill their bucket?

One more variation: Try this at home! I'm going to provide two buckets for my kids and a bag of pom-poms. I'm going to read aloud the book to them and have a discussion with them about filling buckets. Then I will introduce their new buckets and encourage them to fill each others buckets. I may even provide a bucket for my husband and me. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Special Edition: The Itty Bitty Bookworm: A Literature Based Preschool Curriculum

Ok, so I don't normally do this. . . review curriculum that is. However, I couldn't resist when given the opportunity to review this preschool curriculum. It sounded wonderful: "A Literature Based Preschool Curriculum" - what could be better? And really, I'm not sure there is anything better! This curriculum rocks! It's clear and comprehensive. It provides all the tools a preschool teacher, day care provider, or home school parent needs. The literature chosen is high quality and includes such authors as Eric Carle and Laura Numeroff.

The curriculum is standards based, following the recommendations of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). So important! The writers of this curriculum are early childhood educators and their knowledge of early childhood education is evident. Not only does the curriculm provide educators with lessons for every month of the year, but it also provides many extras such as a sample schedule, songs to start your day, learning centers, activities to enhance motor skills, parent newsletters, material lists for each month, observation sheets, and assessment options. I was particularly impressed with the fact that portfolios are included as a form of assessment. Equally impressive is the fact that journals are included as tools for emergent writers.

The curriculum is available in two parts. Bailey's Curriculum is developmentally appropriate for 18 month through two year olds. Bo's Curriculum is developmentally appropriate for three and four year olds. The lessons are scaffolded, so that each lesson builds upon the previous. Integrated into the lessons are creative arts activities, math, science, and social studies instruction as well.

This is the most comprehensive preschool curriculum I have seen. It's easy to follow, standards based, developmentally appropriate and fun to boot! If you are a preschool director/teacher, day care provider, or home school parent (or know one or all of the above!) looking for a curriculum that will challenge and engage your students, look no further! The Itty Bitty Bookworm is for you. Click on their logo and start ordering!

The Journey That Saved Curious George by Louise Borden

A fantastic primary source about the efforts the Reys took to escape Paris on bicycle just before the Nazis marched into the city. . . with their Curious George manuscript.

Determine Importance

While this isn't exactly a picture book, it is a great primary source about the series of picture books, Curious George. If the Reys had not escaped the city with their manuscript in hand, we would never have learned about that curious little monkey always looking for an adventure. Primary sources give readers a sense of history and through this book, readers learn the background of the authors, Margret and H.A. Rey. This book pops with original primary sources such as original manuscript pages, telegrams, diary entries, photographs and letters among others. Lesson Idea: Introduce primary sources to your students via this text. Read aloud pieces of the text. Discuss how the primary sources enhance the narrative. Then provide a topic of study for your students and see if they can locate primary sources in the classroom or library (you may want to do your own research ahead of time to determine if there are primary sources available) pertaining to that topic. Discuss and interpret the primary sources found. Determine the importance of a primary source and whether comprehension can be clarified through one.

For more lesson ideas, click here

What REALLY Happened to Humpty? by Joe Dumpty as told to Jeanie Franz Ransom

A great read aloud of a familiar nursery rhyme told by a different point of view.

Voice

Written from the point of view of Humpty's brother, Joe, the author creates a bit of a mystery surrounding Humpty's infamous fall. Joe is convinced that Humpty was pushed and as the resident detective in Mother Gooseland, he is determined to find the culprit. So did Humpty fall off the wall. . . or was he pushed? Lesson Idea: Reading aloud great model texts seems to be the best way to teach voice to students. Another model text is The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka. Both texts are written from a different view point of a traditional children's tale. Read aloud these texts as models for students and then have them choose a different popular tale (Three Billy Goats Gruff, Little Miss Muffet, Little Red Riding Hood, etc. )to write from a different view point.

Into the Sea by Brenda Z. Guiberson

An informational book, with beautiful pictures of sea life, describing the life cycle of the sea turtle.

Sensory Details

This book is a well written piece of nonfiction. The author eloquently explains the life cycle of the sea turtle with wonderful descriptions: "Tap,tap. Scritch." Can you hear the sea turtle as she breaks out of her egg? Lesson Idea: This book would work perfectly with a unit on ocean life or living things. Divide the class into five small groups: taste, touch, hear, see, smell. Provide each group with a sensory chart (five columns, one for each sense). As you read aloud, ask student groups, to mark the correct column with the sensory details from the text. For example, the hearing group would write "Tap, tap. Scritch." in the hearing column. After reading aloud, discuss the sensory details from the text. Create a class sensory chart, combining each group's contributions. As an extension, students can use this text as a mentor text when researching and writing about an animal's life cycle or other informative piece about an animal. Encourage the use of sensory details in the writing piece.

A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever by Marla Frazee

A very cute story based loosely on the author's son's adventures during a week at a friend's grandparent's house.

Ideas

James and Eamon spend a week at Jame's grandparent's house enjoying nature camp, and a few other adventures along the way. This time together allows them to enjoy the best week ever. Lesson Idea: Since this book is based loosely on true adventures of James and Eamon, it is a great book to use as an introduction to memoir writing. Read this book as part of a unit of study on memoirs. Have students determine characteristics of a memoir. Ask students to brainstorm a list of events that occurred in their lives and then pick one event to elaborate on in a memoir.