Animals Black and White

Phyllis Limbacher Tildes wrote and illustrated this non-fiction piece titled Animals Black and White. The book is sort of in a riddle-like, question and answer format which makes you want to continue to turn the pages. You get a small clue from the illustrations, but more importantly the text gives lots of great factual details about the animal; so as you read the book like a game, it makes learning about the traits of the animal much more fun. As you can imagine, all of the animals that are mentioned in the book are black and white, including penguins, panda bears, zebras, orca whales, skunks and butterflies. I enjoyed the art work, and the question and answer theme of the book, and I could see it being used to introduce a Science lesson, or as a fun read at the end of the day or after lunch or a special area class.

The book is suitable for Kindergarten to 3rd grade readers, and I could see kids reading this book with a buddy in a way that one student is teaching another about the animals as the questions are all answered. For a pre-activity, you could have the students think about as many animals that are black and white to see if they can predict what animals will be in the book. Make a list at the front of the board and check them of as you read the book. Later, have students break off in groups and do a little more research on each of the animals from the book, and any others that they come up with that are black and white. The kids could make posters with all of the facts, and create a classroom quilt filled with animals and their traits. This is a book that gives lots of teaching opportunities.

My Japan

Estuko Watanabe paints an interesting picture about Japan, and shows the readers directly what is different in the every day culture in her book My Japan. Earlier in the semester, we were asked to pick out a series of books that centered around a cultural aspect, and though my group had chosen the Hispanic culture, I wound up completely forgetting that we had picked a topic, and went on to a topic of my own. Originally I became more interested in learning about Japan after the Tsunami and then the Earthquake had hit, and all I was hearing about on the news was of the tragedy as the Japanese people come from a warm culture full of customs, and as absolutely thriving community. This book was originally intended for K-2nd grade learners, but I think it is a great Fiction-based on Non-Fiction kind of book, and kids learning about geography and cultures could enjoy this book at any age. Little details are what struck me the most, like how they start school in April instead of September and how they kept the same school bag throughout their entire school careers. The food, the drink, vacations, and traditional dress...the transportation with NO street signs ( I'd be lost!), and lids for bathtubs to keep the water warm...I mean this is a cool book. At the end of the book, Watanebe gives us symbols and the Hirigana language, which represents syllables.

I would use this book to teach about the Japanese culture, but also during geographical and cultural studies. As I said before, I would totally use this book for older students as well, but I would probably stick with the primary grade levels, maybe 2nd or 3rd grade. This would be a perfect opportunity to use compare and contrast charts, like a Venn diagram. We could have the students work in small groups, collecting what they do in this country for food, celebrations, transportation, school, etc. After reading the story, the students could contrast what they do with how the Japanese culture works. Another book that I will definitely add to my library someday! :)

A Girl Named Helen Keller

The story of Helen Keller is not only inspiring beyond belief, it's a story of relentlessness and efforts towards important goals, and the obstacles we face. Unfortunately for Keller, she suffered from being born blind and deaf, and in her younger years her frustrations were displayed through her erratic behavior. She begin working with a teacher who really wanted to reach out to her, and thought she had the potential to learn using braille. Later we learn that Helen attended a prestigious college and worked to educate students who have the disabilities of deafness and blindness. Clearly she was successful and someone giving her the chance of education probably saved her life. I really liked this non-fiction piece as it gently described Helen's life, and carried out an important message of having disabilities.

This book specifically is a Level 3 reader, fit for grade levels 1 and 2. The story was written by Margo Lundell, and the illustrations by Irene Trivas depict expression with warm tones and simple watercolor weaved into the pages of the story. In the classroom I would create a post-activity with students in pairs, allowing them to first examine our 5 senses and how each are useful. After reading the story, we could ask the students to take away just one of those senses to see how difficult it may become to perform daily school activities, like reading, writing and listening. I would have students attempt to read a few words in braille, and have them reflect in a journal with their feelings of being without a particular sense, and then commenting on how Keller may have felt during her younger years of learning.

A Lucky Dog: Owney Rail Mail Mascot April 10th 2011

So I ventured up to Old Forge this weekend, and had a near perfectly relaxing weekend. We went into the town general store, which ended up having almost everything including two back rooms full of books. Of course I wandered over to the children's section as it is usually where I feel most fit ( :) ), and I found this book about Owney the mail dog. I sat down right in my place and began reading as it combined two of my passions: dogs and geography!

Dirk Wales wrote and retold the famous story, set in the late 1800's, is about this mutt that loves to sniff mail bags, and feels a connection for the local postal office in Albany. At night he would wander in and sleep on the mail bags, and by day he was traveling all over the county in the mail trains. People eventually got to know this dog and became very fond of him. A postal carrier in the office one day asked who the dog was, and since a postal man named Owen often played with the dog and fed him every once in a while, they decided to name the dog Owney after his friend. The story goes on to some of the adventures that Owney goes on and as well as the bumps on the track, and eventually we learn that Owney had traveled more than mostly anyone had in the given time period, and he becomes an international traveler nonetheless. The best part of the story is that it is based on a real life story, and I believe in one of the books they show an old photograph of Owney with a few of the Postal Service men!

I would use this as a perfect rainy day story, as it is heart-warming and endearing, and you definitely can obtain a sense of joy from Owney. Also it doest incorporate national and world geography with map tracking points so the readers can view the paths which he traveled upon. The art work is absolutely beautiful, and you can't help but feel the antiquity of the time period when flipping through the pages ( props to Dianne Kenna!). I would definitely recommend this book as a classroom library must. The comprehension could be clear enough for a 4 year old to understand, and I think the older students could place a greater value of the time period and the special character traits of Owney. For that, I would gear a lesson on this story based on comprehension and story components with plot, setting, characters, conflict and solution. As a pre-activity we could have students predict what the story of a mail dog may entail, and then after reading the story they could see how accurate their predictions were in creating a story map.

Have a great week everyone.
Andie

An Apple for Harriet Tubman

In class last Wednesday, we were asked to chose a story, read it with a partner and find elements within the story that were teachable and engaging. The cool part was that I discovered things I never knew about Harriet Tubman; like how she has an apple orchard in Auburn New York, which is a small city not far way from Syracuse. We also  had the opportunity to share our thoughts and create more ways that the story could be used for different teaching purposes.

This story gently describes the story of Harriet Tubman's life, without sugar coating some of the hardship she had to face. Growing up in a family of slaves, Harriet had a never ending chore list and a few big dreams. She believed in treating people fairly and working hard towards your goals. Harriet was out in the orchard picking apples one day, and though she was told never to eat the apples and to pick the best for her slave owners, she decided to take a bite anyways. When she was caught she was treated the same way most other slaves were treated when they "misbehaved", and from that point on Harriet was determined to find freedom and fairness. The rest of the story talks about her work in the Underground Railroad and her travels from the South and the North, and how she eventually achieved her dreams by helping to free family and friends from the hardships of slavery. She also went on to make her own apple orchard, and she shared her apples with whomever desired them. The book was written wonderfully by Glenette Tilly Turner, and she has also written several other stories involving the Underground Railroad. Turner beyond a great author is a well-known and well-honored Historian and Educator.

This book was beautifully illustrated by Susan Keeter, who is actually a Syracuse University graduate (woo hoo!), and though maybe one or two illustrations could be considered somewhat graphic, I think that it allows the reader to really understand the cruelty and truth in the hardships of slavery.  For a pre-activity, students could simply do a picture walk and make predictions about the elements involved in the story. After reading the story, they could pair off with another student and share their thoughts after writing about the feelings that the book evoked upon them in a journal or a notebook. Barnes and Noble thought that this book was fit for 7-9 year olds, but I think the book could be used at any Elementary grade level from 1st grade to 6th. Some of the main themes that could be discussed from reading this picture book include bravery, heroism, freedom, equality, hard work ethic and responsibility.



(The HistoryMakers website, Amazon.com)