Feelings

This book was written and illustrated by Aliki, who is a well known author and illustrator, and I think I chose to blog about this book because we find it as a necessity to teach about emotions with students who have any kind of P.D.D. ( Pervasive Development Disorder). For whatever reason, emotions are a hard concept to grasp, and identifying personal feelings are even more difficult. I like this book because it took a creative approach to showing kids how to feel, using effective dialogue, cartoon stories, specifically defined emotions, and ways to solve problems with our emotions when things go awry. Our population of students ave Autism, and sometimes get upset for reasons that either we're not sure of, or that they are unsure of ( and sometimes, they are just like everyone else and they get upset when things don't get their way!) , and a book like this that walks you through different emotions and why people behave the way that they do is kind of like a God-send.

I would use this book for students with special needs first, and then keep it in a classroom as a resource for when those social problems pop up amongst children every so often. As a pre-activity, I would make little bag books that could be labeled with the different emotions that we may feel in all kinds of situations. In each bag book, I would either create a scenario or develop dialogue, and have the kids work in teams of 2-4 with role play. Together they can solve the problem using the corrected behavior, and then journal about it afterwards. I think as a whole group activity, the book could be fit for K-1st grade students, however for the students to use the book personally as a resource, it would be appropriate for 2nd-5th grade readers. Aliki did a wonderful job with the creative, kid like illustrations that are friendly and welcoming.

Mockingbird

I love this book. This story is written in the viewpoint of a 10 year old girl with Asperger's syndrome, and the story takes place in her community, and in the death and loss of her older brother Devon. Her older brother was wonderful with her, and he helped her out so much that now Caitlin needs to really find her own way in her new life without him. Yes, it is absolutely sad, especially with any mention of the loss of a child in a family, however the story unfolds as sort of a problem solve as Caitlin overcomes her drastic difficulties.

Kathryn Erskine originally wrote the story to help portray the message of allowing students to be heard. She wrote this story after the Virginia Tech School Shooting, and Mockingbird similarly tells the story of a school shooting as a result of a student who didn't feel important. Erskine is a school counselor and understands the importance of counseling services for children and young adults, and how a little bit of help can go a long way.

 The story being written in Caitlin's voice really taps into the mindset of a child with Asperger's Syndrome. The dialogue is not only entertaining, but it shows how literal she takes things, but more importantly how she strives to keep learning everything she encounters, inside and out. I would recommend this story for readers 10 years old and up, though really it is enjoyable at any age, and for younger grade levels the book could be used as a read aloud. I would also recommend this book for Special Educators because of the understanding that you get from just this one student who has a disability. As a pre-activity, we could discuss ways that our peers are like us, and how they are different. After reading the story, we could discuss a variety of disabilities and also how we all learn in different ways. Later students could make a chain link with the things that they have in common with their peers until the chain links connect in a full circle.