Bud, Not Buddy

Multicultural Historical Fiction 1999
2000 Newbery Medal
2000 Coretta Scott King Award

Grades 3-7

Bud, Not Buddy, is a children's novel written by Christopher Paul Curtis.  Bud, who has been an

orphan since he was six, runs away after being abused in a foster home. Bud sets out to find his father, a man named Herman E. Calloway, a band leader in Michigan during the Great Depression.  Bud has many adventures along the way and learns many lessons he can can take with him in his life.

Classroom Activity: Story Map

1. Begin lesson with a brief class discussion of the book Bud, Not Buddy.  This discussion should include details about the characters, setting, and important events that helped to shape the story.  Students should start to make connections to the book.  Part of the discussion should also revolve around historical fiction and how the story is part of that genre. 

2. After the discussion, have students work in small groups to analyze the characters, setting, conflict, and resolution in the story by creating a  story map.  Students can refer back to the class discussion for help while working on their maps.  Students will need to print their maps and save them for use later in the lesson.  It is also important to review the completed maps to make sure that the details align with the story and the class discussion.

Classroom Activity: Jazz and the 1930's

Jazz was popular in the 1930s when Bud, Not Buddy took place.  Cab Calloway was a famous jazz musician during this time.  Bud's father, Herman E. Calloway id based on Cab Calloway.

See if students can identify any of the instruments in the Cab Calloway video.

Cab Calloway

Classroom Activity: Character Analysis Acrostic Poem

Have students create an acrostic poem for Bud Caldwell.  Students should come up with a word for each letter of his name that describes his character.

References

Curtis, P. (1999). Bud, Not Buddy. New York, NY: Delacorte

http://www.proteacher.org/c/668_novel_unit_-_bud_not_buddy.html

First Light

Science Fiction
2008

Grade Level 5-8

First Light is a science fiction novel written by Rebecca Stead.  The story is about a boy named Peter that goes on an expedition to Greenland where his father studies global warming.  Thea, who lives under the arctic ice, lives in a society created generations ago by a group of people fleeing persecution in Europe.  The stories of these two characters are told in parallel story lines until the two narratives converge in a surprising twist to the story.

Science Discovery Questions

Written the author and Susan Buhr, Ph.D., Director of Education and Outreach Program, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences

1. Peter's father is a scientist who studies global warming.  Why is he so interested in Greenland?

2. What is causing the ice to melt?

3. How does the ice move in Greenland?  Isn't it all stuck together like a big ice cube?

4. The people of Gracehope live deep within the ice next to a lake.  Are there really lakes under the Greenland Ice?

5. What do scientists think cause climate change? 

To learn more about global warming click on:   http://www.koshland-science-museum.org/  

For more information about changes in Greenland follow the link:

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/adventure-travel/greenland/global-warming.html

Small Group Presentation:

Divide students into small groups.  have students design posters that answer the following questions. Have teams present their posters in front of the class.

• What is global warming?
• What is causing global warming?
• How does global warming affect you?
• What can engineers do to prevent or slow down global warming?    

Resources for Scientific Research:

     National Geographic Video About Global Warming

http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/

References

Steed, R. (2008). First Light. New York, NY: Random House

http://www.firstlightbook.com/

The Graveyard Book

Fantasy
2009 Newbery Medal
Hugo Award
Carnegie Medal

Grades 5-8

The Graveyard Book is a children's fantasy novel by Neil Gaiman with illustrations by Dave McKean. The Graveyard Book  is the story of Nobody "Bod" Owens, an orphan who's raised in a graveyard by dead people and supernatural beings.  The style of the images are old fashioned.  McKean chose a style that fell somewhere between 19th century book illustration, and early 20th century impressionism.  McKean creates a twilight world of ghosts and mist fading in and out between chapters.  The illustrations begin at the end of each chapter with a swirl of mist or a few faint branches, flow through the title page, and then drift away as the next chapter gets under way.  The ink drawings are scanned and placed on the page and cleaned up in Photoshop.  The illustrations are a mix of acrylic painting, photographic elements, combined in Photoshop, with a single filter applied to the whole image.

Class Activity: Graveyard Comics

Neil Gaiman doesn't just write novels, he is also well known for his graphic novels or comics.  Create a comic of The Graveyard Book.  If you want to work as a team one person can be the artist and one person can draw the dialogue.  Be sure to leave plenty of room for talk and thought bubbles.   Download a blank comic strip at the following link: 

 https://sites.google.com/site/theghoulgate/activities-based-on-the-graveyard-book 

Extension Activity: Class Mural

Create a classroom mural using open ended art supplies such as tissue paper, construction paper, markers, and paint.  This is a wonderful project approach activity that students can work on throughout the book study. 

Book Trailer

References

Gaiman, N. (2008). The Graveyard Book. New York, NY: Harper Collins

https://sites.google.com/site/theghoulgate/home

Meet Einstein

Non-Fiction
2011

Grade Level Pre-K-2nd 

This story is written by Mariela Kleiner and illustrated by Viviana Garofoli.  Mariela Kleiner was inspired to write this book when her daughter Hailey chose a grown-up book for her bedtime story, which happened to be Einstein's book, "Relativity."  This non-fiction picture book explains what a scientist does, then talks about Einstein's discoveries related to light and gravity.  The illustrations are a great introduction to science tools such as the microscope, flask, beaker, telescope, magnifying glass, Bunsen Burner, binoculars, and other great science vocabulary words.  the text is written for primary students to understand with just a line or two of text per page.  Garofoli's colorful illustrations are fun and engaging.  There is a cartoon like quality to them which invites children into the world of elementary science.       

          Make Einstein Art Activity

          Supplies Needed

• 4-5 cotton balls per student
• black and white construction paper
• white poster paint
• brown crayon
• scissors
• white glue
• newspaper to keep work area clean

Explore the Tools of a Scientist Activity

After reading the book, introduce students to science tools for a hands on experience.  This is a great activity to explain the concept of science and introduce science inquiry tools before opening the classroom science center.

Reader Response Questions

1. Are you a scientist too?  Do you ask a lot of questions?

2. Where do you see light everyday?  How many different colors of light can you find?

3. Is light hot or cold?

4. Did you see something fall down today because of gravity?

5. Can you jump really high before gravity makes you come back down?

6. What things don't fall down to the floor when you drop them? (ex. a balloon, a kite)

7. What science tools do you use?

  

The Mitten

Multicultural Folklore
A Ukrainian Folktale Picture Book
1996

Grades Pre-k-2nd

Author and illustrator Jan Brett's love of folk and fairy tales is apparent in this beautifully illustrated picture book for young readers.  This Ukrainian tale begins with a young boy Nicki, who loses one of the special mittens that his grandmother knitted.  The creatures of the forest slowly make the mitten their new home.  Bret creates her illustrations through drawing.  She watches live animals to capture and portray their unique characteristics.  The richness of Brett's illustrations and page borders are intricately detailed.  Brett uses watercolors and small brushes to create the illustrations.    

Reader Response Questions:

• What color was the mitten?
• How many animals went into the mitten?
• What was the boys name?
• Why did the animals go into the mitten?
• Why was Nicki's mitten so big at the end of the story?
• Can you think of any animals that might like to go into the mitten to get warm?
• What time of year does it get cold?
• Where would the animals in the story normally live?
• What might have happened if the bear had not sneezed?
• How would it feel to be in the mitten? 

Activity:

The Mitten can be used to teach sequencing, predicting, and story retell.  Follow this link to print The Mitten sequencing cards http://www.archjrc.com/childsplace/mittensequence.html

Laminate the cards for durability and cut them out.  Allow students to retell the story from a dialogue that shows a text-to-self relationship.

Activity:

Compare and contrast The Mitten and The Hat.  Compare as a whole group using a venn diagram. 

Jan Brett's Biography

http://janbrett.com/biography.htm 

References

Brett, J. (1996). The Mitten. NewYork, NY: Putnam Juvenile 

Poetry for Young People: Langston Hughes

Multicultural Poetry and Verse
2006

Grades 3-8

This book is filled with 26 of Langston Hughes best known and most-loved works.  The book is edited by David Roessel and Arnold Rampersad and illustrated by Benny Andrews.  Andrews' beautiful collage and watercolor illustrations with angular figures express a strong sense of African American music, dreams, and daily life.  The illustrator leaves lots of white space for the words.  The picture book format makes Hughes' work accessible to grade school children for sharing and read alouds.  

Classroom Activity Grades 6-8

Provide students with a copy of Hughes' poem "Dream."  Each stanza of the poem is one sentence, and each sentence contains a metaphor for a dream.  Explain that a metaphor compares two objects or ideas that are not generally associated with one another.  Have them identify the metaphor in each sentence, and then ask them to write about what Hughes was trying to convey about dreams by using these metaphors.  What kind of dream would a "broken-winged bird" represent?  How about a "field frozen in snow?"  Working in groups, students can compose poems using metaphors for dreams coming to fruition.

Classroom Activity Grades 3-5

This graphic organizer will help students brainstorm imagery about word pairs.  For example, the moon/boils noun/verb pair are divided into why, how, and where columns.  The graphic organizer and lesson can be found at http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/dancing-minds-shouting-smiles-860.html

St. Leo Core Value of Respect: Poetry For Young People Langston Hughes, teaches the St. Leo Core Value of Respect because of Hughes' message that we all need each other through the power struggles and burdens of human life.  Nature and freedom coexist and people eventually learn to find freedom from the confines of society, oneself, and finally freedom within one's soul.  Through our deep respect of faith and trust in the lord, freedom from fears and worries will come.  

References

Roessel, D. & Rampersad, A. (2006). Poetry for Young People: Langston Hughes. New York, NY:  

Sterling Publishing

The Man Who Walked Between the Towers

Picture Book Biography
2004 Caldecott Medal

Grades 3-5

The Man Who Walked Between the Towers is an enchanting account of Phillippe Petit's 1974 wire walking between the Twin Towers of New York City.  The story was written and illustrated by Mordicai Gerstein in 2004.  The technique of perspective is used in the illustrations to engage viewers. Perspective refers to the creation of depth in an image.  Gerstein represents three dimensional form in a two dimensional space.  The viewpoint perspective is unique to each viewer.  Gerstein's goal is to to create a viewpoint that will communicate the story to each reader.  The perspective creates a dizzying effect and the tiny dots of the cars below feel like they are a world away.  Perspective causes the viewer to watch helplessly as Petit crosses a thin wire.  The illustrations create suspense for the viewer.

                                                                         Reader Response Activity

After reading the book aloud discuss Phillipe's determination, goal setting, and how he worked toward his goal.  Give students the following writing prompt:

• Phillipe reached his challenging goal of walking high on the tight rope.  

          I will reach my goal of_____________________________.

The instructions and template for the handout can be found on: 

    

http://www.the-best-childrens-books.org/The-Man-Who-Walked-Between-the-Towers-activity.html

Tallest Building Challenge Activity

(small group activity)

1. Research the world's tallest buildings and skyscrapers on  http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?searchID=203

2. Explore and compare the heights of the different buildings.

3. Gather information such as the name of the building, its location, and any patterns or trends about where the tallest buildings are located.  Does any country have more on the list?  Less?

4. Present small group project to the class.

Author and Illustrator Mordicai Gerstein's Website

http://www.mordicaigerstein.com/

References:

Gerstein, Mordicai. (2004). New York, NY: Squarefish Publishing