I love Steve Sheinkin's books. Bomb gets passed around my classroom like contraband. One year a fifth grade teacher had to borrow Lincoln's Grave Robber, because my former student who was in her class, insisted that Lincoln's Grave Robber was the book she had to have in her reader's workshop bag. I'm so excited about this new series because the text is tons of fun and accessible for more readers. Activity Name: It's Your Turn Activity Description: Steve Sheinkin takes a well-known historical figure and puts them in a situation that he knows definitely did not happen at a time when the person wasn't alive. Here's his suggestion for students: "Come up with their own Time Twister ideas. Take any historical person and put them in the wrong time/place, and send them on some adventure that definitely didn't happen. Who would you choose? Where would they go and why? What would they do?" This is a great way to integrate creative writing into whatever social studies unit your class is covering. Website: stevesheinkin.com/
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One of my students wrote a five-paragraph essay arguing Jon Klassen should win the Caldecott for his illustrations in The Wolf, the Duck and the Mouse because the pictures demonstrate bravery and courage. In the above trailer, the illustrator and the author say they're the mouse and the duck, but what about the Wolf? That's up to the students to decide.
Activity Name: What About the Wolf? Activity Description: Rewrite the story from the wolf's point of view. Be sure to include an exposition, two rising action points, a climax and a resolution. Have fun! Jon Klassen Interview: goo.gl/72pzCz The perceptive student who wrote a five-paragraph essay arguing that Her Right Foot should win the Caldecott, noticed that the end papers showed the process of oxidation. This was particularly exciting for me because we had just finished our weathering unit. It was an unexpected bonus to see physical weathering illustrated in this Caldecott contender.
Activity Name: Oxidation on the Move Activity Description: Just like many people missed that The Statue of Liberty was on the move before coming across Dave Eggars and Shawn Harris's book, many people don't realize physical weathering is on the move all around us. Divide a white piece of paper in half. Have students cut out a chair or a fence, anything that's copper, out of brown construction paper, and glue it down on one half of the paper. Then, ask students to cut the same object out of green paper, and glue it down on the other half of the paper. Finally, have students write a paragraph about oxidation and the physical weathering process. Website: https://www.shawnharris.info/ Interview with Matthew Winner: www.allthewonders.com/podcasts/shawn-harris-all-the-wonders-episode-408/ Two of my students wrote five-paragraph essays arguing that Lauren Eldridge should win the Caldecott for her illustrations in Claymates. As they wrote in their introductory paragraph, "Thanks to Lauren Eldridge, we know true friends stick together." This book is a ton of fun. So, I'm suggesting a fun activity to go along with it.
Activity Name: Animals and Their Habitats Activity Description: Ask students to fold their paper in fourths and label each space with one of the following habitats: coniferous forest, desert, mountains, grasslands, polar regions, ocean, or tropical forest. Have them draw one animal that lives in each of these habitats. Then, give them two balls of clay and let them sculpt away. Can't wait to try this out in our animals and their environments unit at the end of the year! Website: laureneldridge.com/ This book trailer will help your students settle down after lunch and get them into an introspective place before heading off to reader's workshop. In addition to the specific activity for Wolf in the Snow, I've also included a Caldecott Persuasive Essay Packet as well as student samples in case you'd like to write five-paragraph Caldecott persuasive essays with your students next year. Photos of the two students who chose Wolf in the Snow to win the Caldecott are below, and their essay is one of the two essays included in the student sample packet. Activity Name: Faces and Emotions Activity Description: Divide a blank piece of paper into fourths. Have students label the first square happy, the second square sad, the third square surprised, and the fourth square determined. Then, ask them to draw their faces showing each emotion. Students should have access to small mirrors so that they can look at their own faces modeling each emotion while they draw. Website: www.matthewcordell.com/
Four more of my students chose Windows to win the Caldecott. Their pictures are below. E.B. Goodale suggested a fantastic activity. Activity Name: My Window Activity Description: Have students draw a picture of themselves inside one of their windows. For younger students, there's a coloring sheet below that can be used. Older students could use colored contstruction paper to cut out their own window frame and paste it onto a white piece of construction paper which will give them more space for their portraits.
Website: www.ebgoodale.com/
Four students also picked Red & Lulu to win the Caldecott. Their pictures are below. One of their favorite illustrations is in the beginning of the book, when we see Red & Lulu's tree throughout the seasons.
Activity name: A Tree Throughout the Seasons Activity description: This activity works for lower as well as upper elementary students. Divide a paper into fourths and label it with each season. Lower elementary students draw their favorite tree in each season. Upper elementary students research a tree that grows in their area, as well as a bird native to their area. Then, they draw the tree with the bird in each season, making sure to only include the bird if it lives in that area during that season. Author Website: www.tavaresbooks.com Here's the link to Matthew Winner's podcast with Matt Tavares: www.allthewonders.com/podcasts/matt-tavares-all-the-wonders-episode-410/ It's hard to believe, but my students are even more excited about this book than me. Four of them chose this book to win the Caldecott. You can see photos of them below. One image all four of them are writing about is the genius page where Humpty is about to climb the ladder. But instead of placing Humpty at the bottom of the page looking up at the ladder, Dan Santat placed Humpty on top of the page, staring down the ladder, and more importantly staring down his fear. Wouldn't we all like to stare down our fears?
Activity name: Stare Down Your Fears Activity description: Draw a picture of yourself at the top of the page. Underneath draw whatever it is you're afraid of: spiders, snakes, heights, fire. It doesn't matter what the fear is. What matters, is that you put yourself on top of the fear to show, that you're no longer weaker than that fear. You're not only ready to face it, you're ready to overcome it. Here's a link to Matthew Winner's podcast with Dan Santat: www.allthewonders.com/?s=Dan+Santat Here's a link to Nick Patton's podcast with Dan Santat: www.allthewonders.com/podcasts/dan-santat-picturebooking-episode-83/ Here's a link to PW KidsCast. conducted by John Sellers, with Dan Santat: www.publishersweekly.com/pw/podcasts/index.html?channel=5&podcast=725 Website: afterthefallbook.com/ |
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October 2023
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