Tag: Primary Teaching

Aaron Becker’s Journey: A True Picture Book

I was first introduced to Aaron Becker’s Journey while doing a teaching placement not too long ago. What I did not realize at first was how versatile this book would become, on not only an age level, but a conceptual and skill-teaching level as well. I have since read it to students at the primary and junior levels, and each time, this book has not failed to create a splash. Becker relinquishes the use of words to tell a story completely in the hands of a child’s imagination. He trusts our young readers, as we must, to make their own meaning out of this heartfelt tale.

I will intentionally not discuss the plot of this book, as I do want to create any skew toward a certain interpretation when the book provides for many. Suffice to say, this book is about a young girl who begins a journey and along the way, discovers much about herself and life.

Juxtaposing grayscale pictures with bold singular colour in the beginning, and then opening wide a world blossoming with colour as the book progresses, Becker unfolds a world that students can envelope themselves in. With magical crayons and castles, boats and hot air balloons, rescue missions and the king’s guards, this book will allow your students to draw the important messages of friendship, selflessness, generosity, imagination and compassion. The sensitively-coloured and poignantly-drawn illustrations provide your students with the opportunity to lose themselves in another world where they can tell you a story as it plays out in the turning  pages. For once, you will not be the one narrating, they will, and they will take much pleasure in making their own tale. The thing I love most about this book is that it allows for a variety of different levels of interpretation that your students can attach themselves to. It prods their critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, it allows them to use language to describe pictures, it helps them with recall and attention to fine detail, and at its best, it provides them with the opportunity to acknowledge the value of a variety of perspectives. It is especially great for those of your students who just do not like reading; a great place to start to show them that books can be fun and instructive, without the burden of a multitude of words.

Teachers, this book is well worth the investment, and a true gem that will prove timeless for your students each year.

 

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Back to School: First Day Jitters!

For a lot of us Canadians, school begins next week. And yes, teachers everywhere are hunkering down for 10 months of a lot of work. And it is no far-fetched notion that the first day gives a lot of us returning to school (staff and students alike) the jitters, which is why First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg is a fantastic book to read to your students K-3.

The author and illustrator, Judy Love, are very clever with the big reveal at the end of the book where we find out that the person with the jitters about her first day at a new school is a grown woman, a full-fledged teacher. This book provides a platform for discussion about your students’ feelings around their first day of school. Questions such as “How do you feel about going to a new school?” “What are some ways that you could help someone who is new?” are a great place to start. These questions can seek to calm down students who are nervous about their first day of school, and help other students who are not, become more empathetic to their experiences. It further raises a lot of other themes such as facing your fears, being confident in yourself, welcoming new people. And it has the added advantage of being funny! Your students will love the illustrations, dear teachers, and they will find it hilarious that their teachers’ feelings are not so different from their own.

Parents, this would also be a great way for you to prepare your little one for his/her first day (back) at school. To know that his/her teachers experience a similar struggle will allow your child to be a bit less worried about what to expect on his/her first day.

I know I tout a lot of books as must-have when I review them, but I usually review books that I think are particularly helpful or poignant. It is no surprise then, that I declare this book an absolute MUST-HAVE!

Happy preparing for the first day of school, dear teachers, students and parents!

 

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Hold onto Your Hat! Olympic Wreaths Just in!

To wrap up our theme of Olympic Games this week (and with the Olympics ending on Sunday), I had my students make Olympic Wreaths in class. I came upon a picture of this online, and found it to be an easy and fun activity that even my staff had fun doing!

Making Olympic Wreaths:

1. You will need sheets of green construction paper, paper plates (white or green) and a pair of scissors. All of these materials can be bought from the Dollar Store.

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2. Take a sheet of the green construction paper and fold it twice so you end up with a small square.

3. Draw leaves on the green surface of the folded construction paper, filling it up as much as possible.

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4. Cut out the leaves and store them in a (plastic) container.

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5. Take your paper plates and cut out the insides. Hold onto these insides for later.

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6. Put liquid glue onto the insides of the cut-out paper plates and leave one on each table for students to use.

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7. If available, use flat-nibbed utensils for spreading (other alternatives: Popsicle sticks or dip leaves directly) the glue onto the plate and gluing the leaves one by one.

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8. Glue leaves in one direction, or both, alternating every few leaves to achieve desired pattern.

9. When wreaths are ready, make sure to write each student’s name in marker. And, enjoy!

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Picture Book Spotlight: Educating Our Children about Homelessness

Homelessness is a growing concern in our society in North America. As Canadians we sign off on millions of dollars in relief aid to the needy in other countries, and as we should – because we are a generous lot and generosity helps make everyone a little richer, but what of the homeless in our own country? The poverty-stricken men and women, or worse still, children? No, to this problem we turn a blind eye, a deaf ear, we walk quicker. And I think that stems from a culture that is lacking in education around this concept of homelessness. What is homelessness? What does it look like? Whom does it affect? These are questions we need to ask ourselves before we as adults make quick judgments about homeless people we see, and then pass these judgments off to our children. Children feed off the exemplars in their lives. They practice what they see, not what is preached.

So, when I came across Fly Away Home by Eve Bunting, two things happened. For one, it broke my heart, and then, it provided me with an Aha! moment. I could use this book to teach my young students a little about what homelessness looks like! And so, I did a Read-Aloud using this book with students in Grades 1-3.

Told from the perspective of a 5 year-old boy who is homeless and lives in an airport with his father, this story is delivered with compassion and sensitivity. The facts are laid out for us to see. The day-to-day lives of the father and son, as they struggle to outwit airport security by blending into the travelling consortiums that hustle and bustle through the airport, are shown to us. The little boy learns a lot of wisdom at a young age, and this book nudges in a couple of really good metaphors to help understand the mindset of a homeless child better. Teachers, you can pause at various moments in the story and ask your students why the father and son are doing the things they are, or what certain things mean. Their answers will surprise you, and in turn you will be able to surprise them with yours. Among other themes that Bunting weaves into this delicate tale, are those of family and survival. The things you do to stay together and stay alive and well. There are sad moments to this story too, but there are moments of hope and positivity, where students can learn that people can still shine bright their candles of hope in the bleakest of situations. When you have finished reading this with your students, you will find they adorn a new-found appreciation for the homeless and their difficult lives. And in doing so, you will help to make them more sensitive to the aches of society around them.

 

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