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 

Owl Moon

Realistic Fiction
1988 Caldecott Medal

   

Pre-K-2nd

Owl Moon written by Jane Yolen and illustrated by John Schoenherr is a story about a young girl and her father that take a nighttime stroll on the farm to look for owls.  John Schoenherr's Caldecott award winning watercolor paintings represent Jane Yolen's words exceptionally well in the white sky and the white snow.  The characters, shadows, landscape, and owl are rich in coloring while the bright white of the snow leaves room for the text.

Reader Response Questions

Introduce the book, Owl Moon by having students look at the cover illustration and share their predictions.  Ask guiding questions to spark their responses:

• What sights and sounds would you see on a winter walk in the woods during the day?
• What would you see and hear at night?
• Why do you think the characters in this story decided to go walk in the woods at night?
• What clues do the title and cover illustration reveal? 

Activity: Learn About Owls

Jane Yolen lives in rural Massachusetts.  What kind of owl would she see on a walk in the woods? John Schoenherr lives on a farm in New Jersey.  What kind of owl would he see on a walk in the woods?  Research different kinds of owls to find the facts about owls and their habitats. 

The Author's Website

http://janeyolen.com/

References

Yolen, Jane. (1987). Owl Moon. New York, NY: Philomel Books 

The Name Jar

Multicultural Realistic Fiction
Pre-K-2nd

Multicultural Realistic Fiction                    

A perfect back to school book.....

The Name Jar is written and illustrated by Yangsook Choi.  The new kid in school needs a new name...or does she?  Being the new kid in school is hard enough, but what about when nobody can pronounce your name?  Having just moved from Korea, Unhei is anxious that American kids will not like her.  So instead of introducing herself on the first day of school, she tells the class that she will choose a name by the following week.  Her new classmates are fascinated by this no-name girl and decide to help out by filling a glass jar with names for her to pick from. But while Unhei practices being a Suzy, Laura, or Amanda, one of her classmates comes to her neighborhood and discovers her real name and its special meaning.  On the day of her name choosing, the name jar has mysteriously disappeared.  Encouraged by her new friends, Unhei chooses her own Korean name and help everyone pronounce it ---- "Yoon-Hey."  Choi's full color realistic illustrations are created with watercolor.  Choi's characters have expressive faces that are close-up to the viewer.     

Classroom Discussion

Talk about the importance of names in families.  Co-construct a list of questions the students have about their own names on chart paper.

What do you know about your name?

Sample questions:

• Who am I named after?
• What if we all had the same name?
• What does my name mean?
• Does everyone have a middle name?
• Do all our names put together  cover all the letters in the alphabet?
• Have you ever been teased about your name?
• Why would someone tease you about your name? 

Bring in a variety of baby name books and have children look up their names. Get parents involved, ask them to explain why they chose the name they did, what is the significance of the name.

Other Activity Resources

PBSkids The Name Jar

Preschool Learning Name Activity

Teaching Tolerance Name Jar activity

 Meet the author Yangsook Choi

Biography

St. Leo Core Value of Respect: This book aligns with the St. Leo core value of respect because it helps children develop a sense of self and friendship.  The Name Jar also teaches respect for cultural differences and to have compassion for all of God's children.                                                                       

References:

                           Choi, Yangsook. (2001). The Name Jar. New York, NY: Random House