Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Title:

Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Doreen Rappaport (Author)

Bryan Collier (Illustrator)

Comprehension Strategy:         

Determining Importance

Art Modality:

Poetry

Summary:

To tell the story of this great American hero’s life and times, Doreen Rappaport weaves her words and the “big words” of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. into a captivating, emotional narrative. Illustrated by acclaimed artist Bryan Collier with stunning, shimmering collage art, Martin’s Big Words is an unforgettable portrait of a man whose dream changed America, and the world, forever. (Summary from the book.)

Materials:

Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

chart paper

marker

class supply of class-created word list

construction paper

glue

scissors

Lesson:

Chances are you’ve spent the last few days thinking about the year gone by and determining what was most important. Focusing on significant events from the past, just might help you better understand the future. It turns out that “determining importance” is a skill useful in life and in reading.

Explain to your group that good readers are able to decide which words in a sentence or in a passage carry the most meaning. Direct the students to listen to the biography Martin’s Big Words to discover the most important words. After reading, ask students which words they thought were necessary to determine what was most important in the story. List the words on a chart. Then reread the book, stopping on each page to add to your list those words your students think are the most important. Explain that the author made her choice of Dr. King’s most important words to use in the book.

To prepare for a poetry extension, type the words from the chart so that the words are fairly large and on one or two sheets of paper. For younger students, you may wish to put the words in dashed-lined boxes to create cutting guides. Duplicate a class supply of the pages. Provide each child with a set of the words to cut apart. Have him arrange his choice of the words onto construction paper to create a work of “found poetry.” After he has glued the words to the paper, invite him to share his poem with classmates. Display the poems along with a copy of the cover of the book or a picture of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Yesterday I Had the Blues

Title: Yesterday I Had the Blues

Jeron Ashford Frame (Author), 
R. Gregory Christie (Illustrator)

Comprehension Strategy: Inferring                   
Art Modality: Poetry

Summary: Ever had the blues? Yesterday one boy had them bad—not just the ordinary blues, the "deep down in my shoes" blues, the "go away Mr. Sun quit smilin' at me" blues. But today he's traded in those blues for greens, the "runnin' my hands along the hedges" greens, the kind of greens that make him want to be SOMEBODY. With text that begs to be read aloud, and bold, colorful paintings, this book will have readers big and small pondering the spectrum of moods and how they can change from day to day. (Summary from Random House, Inc.)

Materials:

Yesterday I Had the Blues

chart paper

markers

Lesson:

Trying to teach your students to infer? Don’t let it give you the blues! First, read aloud this jazzy story. Follow up the reading with a discussion about each character’s emotions. Encourage students to use their background knowledge, the text clues, and the illustrations to explain the reasons for the feelings. Here’s the chart we made from our class discussion:

On another day, reread the story and review the chart. Use this poetry frame to encourage your students to think about their own feelings.

Yesterday I had the _________________.

The ________________________________________.

Today I got the ___________________.

The ________________________________________.

Tomorrow I hope I have the _____________.

The ________________________________________.

This poetry by my second graders gives me the pinks...the oh-so-happy, lips smilin’, tickled-pink pinks!

    

Do your kids have the blues? Let them watch this animated clip of the story. They’re sure to want to read along, and before you know it they’ll feel golden!

http://pbskids.org/lions/stories/feelings.html

Little Mama Forgets

Title:  Little Mama Forgets

Robin Cruise (author), Stacey Dressen-McQueen (Illustrator)

Comprehension Strategy: Synthesizing                                   

Art Modality:  Poetry

Summary:

Although her Mexican-American grandmother now forgets many things, Lucy finds that she still remembers the things that are important to the two of them. (Summary from the book.)

Materials:

Little Mama Forgets

chart paper, markers

Lesson:

Your students are sure to remember this poetry lessons that is a follow-up for Little Mama Forgets. After reading the story aloud, invite the students to think about the things that Mama forgets and the things that she remembers. On a chart, list the things that Lucy, the granddaughter who tells the story, says that Mama forgets. Then list the things that Lucy says that Mama remembers. What do the things have in common? What types of things are on the "forgets" list as compared to the types of things on the "remembers" list? You may wish to lead students in a discussion about the relationship between Lucy and her grandmother. In addition, you might also want to discuss the things that Mama remembers from her youth and about her culture.

To prepare your students for a poetry follow-up, ask them to think about what they might remember when they grow old. Who are the people that are most important to them? What things do they do with those special people? What celebrations are important to their families? What are their favorite things to do? Is it easier to remember things that you have strong feelings about? Provide the following poetry frame to assist your students in writing free-verse poetry.

I might forget…

I could forget…

but I'll always remember…


Here are some sweet poems that my second graders wrote!


Mom        (by James, age 8)
I might forget what she wore.
I could forget when she fell down the steps.
But I'll always remember how she makes me cinnamon rolls.


Great Grandpa    (by Madeline, age 8)
I might forget how he sounded.
I could forget how he used to play the piano.
But I'll always remember when he held me in the hospital.


My Sister, Stella    (by Marlie, age 8)
I might forget that she slaps me in the eye.
I could forget when she first punched me.
But I'll always remember her smile and when she was born.


Grandma      (by Jake, age 8)
I might forget what she wore.
I might forget what she sounded like.
But I'll always remember that it may have been the loveliest voice anyone heard.


Learn more about the author: http://robincruise.com

Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors

Title:  Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors

2010 Caldecott Honor Book

Joyce Sidman (author), Pamela Zagarenski (Illustrator)

Comprehension Strategy:  Visualizing                        

Art Modalities:  Visual Arts, Poetry

Summary: Color comes alive in this whimsical, innovative book: blue dances on summer lakes, green drips from spring leaves, black wafts mysteriously through autumn evenings. Together, an award-winning poet and a brilliant painter inspire us to look closer at the thrilling colors of the seasons. (Summary from the book.)

Materials:

white art paper

crayons, markers, oil pastels or other art supplies for creating illustrations

Lesson:

Read aloud one page of the book at a time. Encourage students to visualize the objects described in the text. After the students offer guesses to identify the objects, reveal the illustrations and reread the text for the page. Be sure to provide plenty of time for the students to observe and discuss the illustrations and poetic elements in the text. (My students had fun finding the windows and following the white dog through each scene. They also enjoyed finding the crowns on the animals. The more we studied the illustrations under the document camera, the more they noticed. In fact, I discovered many more details with them than I had seen on my own!)

As a poetry writing extension, invite students to create pages for a class seasons book. Lead the group in brainstorming lists of items and animals that are associated with each season. For example, your chart might look like this:

Winter	Spring	Summer	Fall
hot chocolate	Easter egg	suntan lotion	football
gloves	cherry blossoms	lemonade	apple

Model the poetry writing by choosing an item from the list. Have the class help you write a poem describing the item using a style similar to the text of the book. (I found that modeling the poetry writing was important to the success of the students when writing their own poetry.)

Next encourage each child to choose an item. Have each child write a short, free-verse poem describing the item. Type each child's poem so that it fills a page. Then have the child use the appropriate color of marker to write the color of the item on an index card. Tape the index card over the name of the item on the paper to create a flap. (See photos below.) After writing her poem, have each child create an illustration on a separate piece of paper. Mount the poems and illustrations onto construction paper; then bind the pages to create a book. 

For more poetry writing ideas for use with this book, just click this link to visit Joyce Sidman's web page: http://www.joycesidman.com/redsingsTG.html

If your kids enjoy this book, you might want to leave a note from the class in the author's guest book. Here's the link:
http://www.joycesidman.com/guestbook.html