When You Reach Me

Book Club Pick!  #2

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Published by Wendy Lamb Books Copyright 2009
  

Ms. Beckman's Book Club: Some books are better taught in small groups due to student interest or specific goals for certain class groups. This book is a book club pick because it will not interest everyone, but can make all the difference in a group that is interested!  This book would be a great suggestion for a group of students who love mysteries and like reading. Students involved in book club will be doing similar assignments for different books.

 

Mystery, Time travel, Coming of age, Rich in symbolism, Strong female protagonist   

Awards: 

• Andre Norton Award 2009
• Listed as one of The New York Times Notable Book 2009
• Listed as one of  Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Books 2009
• Publisher's Weekly Best Book of the Year 2009
• School Library Journal Best Book of the Year 2009
• Booklist Editor's Choice 2009
• Horn Book Fanfare 2009
• Newbury Medal 2010
• Listed as one of  the ALA Notable Children's Book 2010
• Massachusetts Children's Book Award 2012

 

Summary:  

It is 1978, and twelve year old Miranda is struggling to keep up with all of the mysterious things happening in her life. First her best friend Sal gets punched in the gut by a guy named Marcus for no reason. Then the extra key to her aparmtne goes missing, and (just) one of her mom's boyfriend's shoes goes missing. Soon Sal is not hanging out with Miranda anymore, and mysterious letters start appearing, with the writer claiming to be "coming to save your friend's life and my own." Not to mention the crazy laughing man that Miranda has to walk by on the street everyday and her task of helping her mom practice for the $20,000 Dollar Pyramid show (starring Dick Clark)! As the year passes, Miranda gets more and more letters, and eventually finds out who- and what the letter writer is talking about once and for all. 

    

Reading Level: Lexile Framework 750L, Grade 4.6 

Suggested Delivery: small group read, group instruction

Description: Mystery, science and historical fiction   

Key Vocabulary (by page number):  scoured (9), Miranda Warnings (9), tenant (14), postscript (68), "put it on my charge" (133), awning (139)

Teaching Suggestions: As a book club book, students should have a list of things to do as they read so that they can present the book to the class.

A Wrinkle in Time

1. Each image on the cover represents an important scene in the novel. For example, the notes are depicted in the places they are found, the laughing man's shadow, the sandwich shop. Have students create a timeline of the story's events using the images on the cover of the novel in chronological order. 
2. An underlying theme of the novel has to do with socioeconomic status. Provide students with comprehension questions as they read so that they connect with the theme. For example, ask students why the fourth grader hid his sticker from the dentist before going back into his classroom (Answer: because he didn't want other students to know that he goes to the free school dentist.).
3.   Madeline L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time was one of the author's favorite books growing up, and is also a favorite of main character Miranda. Make this book available for students to read on their own. Encourage students to compare and contrast the stories.

Comprehension Strategies

Pre-Reading- Before students begin reading the novel, pose the question "Why do you think the author chose the Einstein quote at the beginning of the novel?" and use a form of a KWL chart to record. Have students record their predictions on a large piece of paper in the typical K section. As they read, students will add examples of why the think the author chose the quote in the typical W section. After reading, students will synthesize their examples into one explanation in the L section.

RIP Dick Clark!

During Reading- Throughout the novel, Miranda's mom is practicing to win The $25,000 Pyramid. Create a version of $25,000 Dollar Pyramid that students can play that requires students to describe/guess characters in the book. For example, if a student said "sleeps under a mailbox, time traveler" then another student would guess "The laughing man".

Post-Reading- Hold a book discussion with students about Marcus. Ask why students think he chose to go back in time to save Sal even though he knew that he would die if he did. Let students take sides by asking if they would choose to save Sal or not. Would they want to travel through time at all?

Writing Activity: Miranda doesn't share with readers the letter that she writes to Marcus (SPOILER - to tell him that he will one day be the laughing man). Have students write the letter themselves. This is a great way to assess how well students understand the story as they will have to recount major events as well as who the letter-writer is, and what happened with the laughing man/Marcus. It also provides a sense of closure for readers.

Electronic Resources:

The $25,000 Dollar Pyramid

Students may not understand how to play The $25,000 Dollar Pyramid without watching the show in action (I know I didn't!). Here is a link to a YouTube video of  a contestant and celebrity (Nathan Cook) who worked together to win the $25,000 dollars that students can watch.

Is Time Travel Possible?

One of my favorite memories of reading one of the A Wrinkle in Time books, A Wind in the Door was looking up the scientific terms that L'Engle used in her book with friends and discovering that they were real! New Zealand website Science Kids provides a video of well known physicist Michio Kaku explaining that time travel is real- and happens every time astronauts go into space! Kaku uses the movie Back to the Future to describe the science, but the video makes sense without seeing the movie.

Stead, R. (2009). When you reach me. New York: Wendy Lamb Books.

Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow

Part Two of Two : Ms. Beckman's "Negro Leagues" Series

"I gave Emmet Jr. that ball. I hope it reminds him of who he can be." - pp. 85

Satchel Paige: Striking out Jim Crow

 Written and illustrated by Jason Sturm and Rich Tomasso

 Published by Jump at the Sun Hyperion Copyright 2007  

 

  unique approach to the subject, sports, rich in morals, action, diversity  

 Awards: 

• 2008 Eisner Award Winner:
• Best Reality-Based Work

• 2008 Glyph Comics Award Winner:
• Best Character
• Best Writer
  

• 2008 Eisner Award Nominee:
• Best Publication for Teens
• Best Reality-Based Work
• Best Writer

• VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocate): Nonfiction Honor List

• 39th NAACP Award Nominee for Best Literary Work - Youth/Teens

• A 2007 CYBIL Awards Nominee for Best Graphic Novel

• A 2008 New York Book Show Award Recipient

• A Junior Library Guild selection

 

Summary:  

This graphic novel about Satchel Paige takes a unique approach to biography: the story is told from the perspective of another baseball player in the negro leagues, one who crosses paths with Satchel Paige at different points in his life. The story is told in a way that readers will understand the impact of Paige on other African-Americans, and even America as a whole. It also touches upon the discrimination and violence that sharecroppers faced from their landowners, but ends with an inspiring win for the Negro team, and a reminder of legacy within families for a better future. 

    

Reading Level: Lexile Framework not listed, but, between 600 and 1070, DRA level 60, Grade 4.6

Suggested Delivery: Independent read 

Description: Graphic novel, diversity, sports, historical-fiction   

Key Vocabulary (by page number):  sharecropper (2), negro (2), ricochets (17), trussed (40) "you know you licked..." (79). Words that must be addressed - lynching (37), the N-word (74)

**A good resource for historical terms is The Bedford Glossary for U.S. History, which contains brief descriptions of over 500 history terms, including "sharecropping" and "lynching."**

Teaching Suggestions: 

1. I suggest that this book be taught along with my previous entry, We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball, giving students the opportunity to independently study an aspect of the subject on their own. This is only one example of the many resources out there for students to look into, but this being one of the more unique choices. 
2. Students would benefit from a discussion about the difference between sharecropping and slavery...and how they really weren't all that different.
3. Like with We are the Ship, Striking out Jim Crow has a unique format that helps readers to understand history. Ask students why they think this story works (or does not work) as a graphic novel. Talk about how the story would be different if it was not in comic-book style, but written more traditionally.

Comprehension Strategies

Using this book as a companion piece to a read aloud gives students the opportunity to research the subject more deeply on their own, while still learning the basics of the subject as a group . Below are some activities that will help students get the most out of their research.

Pre-Reading-  This activity will work with any biography that a student chooses on a player. After students have an idea of what the Negro Leagues is, ask students why they think it is important to research individual players. Write these reasons on the board. If students do not address these issues themselves, make sure that students understand that the unit will be a theme of legacy, those who came before us, that people from history should be celebrated and remembered because they were just kids once too. This may help students identify with the players, which will increase comprehension. 

During Reading- Some events in the novel may be confusing to students because the narrator says things that happen without explaining why they happen, or without saying the whole truth. For example, on page 34, the narrator says that the school for African-American students runs out of money whenever its time for harvest, giving students time to pick cotton in the fields. Some questions to ask students as they read could include: Do you think that it is a coincidence that the landowners run out of money just when the cotton is ready for picking? Why do you think the landowners do this? These questions are important for understanding, but could be addressed as simply as during a one-on-one reading check.

Post-Reading- As mentioned in the previous entry, all students will be performing a brief presentation on the player of their choice. To help students organize their information, students can create their own baseball cards about the players! The cards could include a brief bio on the back (including birthday, hometown, baseball team, their position, etc.), a fun fact about the player, and three other facts about the player, or if there is no other information, about the Negro Leagues. Students can draw a picture of the player as well. The cards could be posted around the class, or even around the school!

Writing Activity: In a journal response format, students should respond to the most powerful scene in the novel, where the narrator's son, Emmet Jr., is targeted by the landowners for going to school instead of picking cotton in the fields. At first Emmet Jr. continues to attend school, but then he is captured by the landowners and injured. After that, Emmet Jr. picks cotton with his father in the fields. With so much helplessness and emotion in these pages (31-43), students should not breeze over them. Taking time to respond will help students to understand what is really going on here.

Satchel Paige

Electronic Resources:

Center for Cartoon Studies Resources
The Center for Cartoon Studies, the group that created and published this book along with an increasing number of other biographical graphic novels, has created a Teacher's Guide for Striking out Jim Crow. The guide includes discussion questions, an author interview, and even sample and draft pages (or as they call them, "Paiges"!) for teachers to review.

Trading Cards that Honor True Greatness
Teaching Tolerance, a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, provides many FREE resources on the teaching of diversity and overall tolerance for grades K-12. One of these resources is educator Helen Goren Shafton's lesson "Trading Cards that Honor True Greatness," which is similar to the baseball card activity I have devised above. Shafton provides teachers with talking points and student examples of the cards that they made in her class.  

Sturm, J., & Tommaso, R. (2007). Satchel Paige: striking out Jim Crow. New York, NY: Jump at the Sun: Hyperion.

We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball

Part One of Two : Ms. Beckman's "Negro Leagues" Series

"We are the ship; all else is the sea." - Rube Foster, founder of the Negro National League   

We Are the Ship: The Story of 

Negro League Baseball 

 Written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson

 Published by Jump at the Sun Hyperion Copyright 2008  

 

  Strong sense of community, inspirational, visual, rich in historical anecdotes, diversity  

 Awards: 

• Coretta Scott King award for author, honor for illustrations 2008
• 2008 CASEY Award for best baseball book
• New York Times Bestseller (One of the Best Illustrated Children's books of 2008)
• Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award, 2009

 

Summary:  

In his well-researched book, Kadir Nelson uses a typical ballplayer to tell the story of the Negro Leagues, the segregated league of talented athletes that played from the 1920's to the 1940's. The narrator goes through the ups and downs of the league, talking about the discrimination they faced and the culture that they brought to modern baseball, ending with the end of the leagues with Jackie Robinson's entry into the major leagues. The book includes a list of all the men who were in the league (and who were talked about throughout the book) as well as those who made it to the major leagues, providing readers with a feeling of connection towards this family of brave men from the past.    

    

Reading Level: Lexile Framework 900L, Grade 6.2 

Suggested Delivery: Read aloud (for 5th and 6th grade students)

Description: Historical-fiction, diversity, sports   

Key Vocabulary (by page number):  staves (2), conduct (9), ku klux klansmen (21), unsavory (23), barnstorm (26), racketeers (31), "free agents" (34), integration (70)

Teaching Suggestions: 

1. Being a nonfiction book as well as a picture book, there are plenty of reference tools that students can utilize in the book. Show students the "end notes" section in the book and explain what it is, and how it is used. Show students the citation numbers throughout the book the correlate with the end notes as well.
2. The book has a creative format, with each of the nine chapters being called "innings." Ask students to determine the format of the book to come to this conclusion themselves. Ask what the effect of this format is on readers. 
3. The book also has a creative point of view, what with a general baseball player being used to tell the history of the leagues in a narrative format. Talk with students about how different this is from other nonfiction books they have read. Ask what the effect of this is on them as readers. Do they still feel like this book is a reference material? Why or why not?

Comprehension Strategies

Using this book as a read aloud introduces students to the subject in a more engaging format, leaving the door open for students to research the subject more deeply on their own.  Below are some activities that will help students to take the subject one step further.

Pre-Reading-  Relate the book to students' prior knowledge by talking first about Jackie Robinson. Ask students if they know who Jackie Robinson, and write what students know about him on the board. If students did not include that he was the first African-American to be in the major leagues, add this to the list. Then ask students if they know what the Negro baseball league is (chances are they don't, or know very little). Explain that Jackie Robinson was originally in the Negro Leagues, and that many talented athletes were in the league.

During Reading- **I suggest the teacher read an inning a day, but the whole book may not be necessary to read. Chapters 1-3, 7, and the epilogue are the most relevant to students.**  At the back of the book is a list of all the Negro league players who made it to the major leagues, as well as those who made it into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Have each student pick a player to research (except Jackie Robinson, who the teacher will model the activity with). Each day that the teacher is reading the book aloud, students will be assigned to present their player to the class. This assignment will be done using another book that they read independently. Students will being in the book, a picture of the player, and describe their bio to the class. I will explain this activity more next week, when I will provide an example book for a student to read on their own about Satchel Paige.   

Post-Reading- Until June 10, the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Massachusetts will be holding an exhibition on We Are the Ship. Students would benefit from the upcoming event this Saturday, "Baseball Bonanza!" featuring Kadir Nelson and other writers. Students will have the opportunity to listen to presentations about the book among others. By getting out in the community learning about the subject, students will be more easily able to synthesize the information that they learned while reading the book into something more meaningful, something that they will remember long after the unit is over. Below is the advertisement information from the museum:   

2012 Children’s Book Festival:
Baseball Bonanza!
June 9, 2012
10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Free with Museum Admission
Join a host of authors and artists who have created some of your favorite baseball picture books for our 7th annual Children’s Book Festival in conjunction with the exhibition We Are The Ship: The History of Negro League Baseball, original paintings by award-winning artist Kadir Nelson.

The Museum will host members of the Negro League Baseball Players Association for a special program in the Auditorium. In addition, this event for art-, book-, and baseball-lovers of all ages will feature art activities, artist and author presentations and demonstrations, and book signings. Enjoy ballpark fare or bring your own picnic to enjoy in our apple orchard.

Writing Activity: After students complete their presentations on players in the league, students should use their compiled information to write a 1-2 page biography on the player. These biographies will be bound by teacher into one "reference" book that could be donated to the school library, presented to a younger or partner class, or even sent home with students.  

Kadir Nelson's work

Electronic Resources:

Baseball Hall of Fame

Students can search any member of the Baseball Hall of Fame to find the hitting average, a short bio, and even additional resources about the athlete. This site is helpful as students research players from the Negro League. Some bios even have video and audio clips of the players, such as Jackie Robinson's .  

More about Kadir Nelson
Students, teachers, and parents alike can benefit from learning more about Kadir Nelson, who focuses his art around African-American history. Reading Rockets, a website that is based out of a U.S. Department of Education grant, provides a web page dedicated to the man, giving viewers a video bio, a written bio, and even a list of his children's books.

Nelson, Kadir. We are the ship: the story of Negro League baseball. New York: Jump at the Sun/Hyperion Books for Children, 2008. Print.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Book Club Pick!  #1

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

Published by Amulet Books Copyright 2007   

Ms. Beckman's Book Club: Some books are better taught in small groups due to student interest or specific goals for certain class groups. This book is a book club pick because it will not interest everyone, but can make all the difference in a group that is interested!  This book would be a great suggestion for a group of boys who claim that they do not like to read. It is also a good transition book for students going from elementary to middle school. Students involved in book club will be doing similar assignments for different books.

 

Funny, sarcastic, visual, relatable, inferred morals  

 Awards: 

• #1 New York Times Bestseller
• W.A. Young Readers Book Award -2009
• Jeff Kinney was one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People - 2009

 

Summary:  

Greg Heffley's mom decides that he should start keeping a JOURNAL (not a "diary" like it says on the front cover) about his "feelings." In his journal, Greg transcribes his day to day life in middle school: the ups and downs of trying to become popular, running from teenagers, and spending time with his best friend Rowley. Everything is going fine until Rowley, who doesn't care about popularity, suddenly starts getting more attention than Greg! Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a humorous ride in a year of Greg's life. But at the heart of things, it is a story about the relationship between two friends, and how trying to be cool can actually mess up a real friendship. 

    

Reading Level: Lexile Framework 950L, Grade 5.3 

Suggested Delivery: small group read, group instruction

Description: Contemporary, humor    

Key Vocabulary (by page number):  fabrications (48), "legitimate operation" (59), regimen (88), degrading (104), ad-libbing (109), gimmick (142), sod (162), ironic (164), cretin (171)

Teaching Suggestions: As a book club book, students should have a list of things to do as they read so that they can present the book to the class.

1. Have students devise their own vocabulary list as they read the novel. Any words that they have trouble understanding (at least six) should be written down and defined.
2. Students should come up with comprehension questions they will ask their group members about the novel to present during book discussion. For example, for each day that the book is discussed, each group member will ask one question of their group, like: why doesn't Greg sing during the school play? (Answer: Because his brother showed up and is videotaping him as blackmail.)
3. Have students create a visual presentation that will summarize the book for the class. This can be done using PowerPoint, a poster, or even a comic strip!   

Comprehension Strategies

Pre-Reading- Before students begin reading the novel, pose the question "Why is Greg Heffley a wimpy kid?" and use a form of a KWL chart to record. Have students record their predictions on a large piece of paper in the typical K section. As they read, students will add examples of why Greg is wimpy in the typical W section. After reading, students will synthesize their examples into one explanation in the L section.

During Reading- Diary of a Wimpy Kid requires readers to infer what Greg is talking about by looking at the pictures:

 

 

Explain to students what an inference is, walking through an example from the book with students. If the above example was used, you could ask students to explain the scene to you. Once they do that, ask students what Greg learned last year, and how they know that. Students will know Greg learned by looking at the picture. Ask if the author ever stated what Greg learned. Once students understand that he did not, explain that students inferred the event by examining the picture. For further comprehension, have students create their own inferential comic.

Post-Reading- Talk about Greg's logic throughout the novel. Is he right all the time? Hold a discussion with students about certain scenes in the novel when Greg misses the point. For example, on pages 179-185, Greg talks with his mom about how he feels bad for getting Rowley in trouble (he "terrorized kindergarteners" in Rowley's coat, neighbors though Rowley did it, Rowley got sent to the principal). So Greg's mom tells him to tell the truth. Greg does, but he twists it, telling Rowley that he should be more careful about lending his coat to people. Greg then goes home, tells his mom that he did the right thing, and gets rewarded with ice cream. Walk through the scene with students, and ask them where Greg missed the point, and how he could do better. 

Writing Activity: Greg doesn't always treat his friend Rowley as well as he should. Ask students to write a persuasive essay explaining why or why Greg isn't a good friend to Rowley. 

Electronic Resources:

FunBrain 
Jeff Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid started out as a  popular web blog on FunBrain.com. This website provides great resources for teachers and students. Students can have fun playing math and reading games and  even reading comics on the site. Teachers can be sure that students are learning while they play, since FunBrain provides teachers with a curriculum guide to navigate the website in a way that will benefit his or her class the most. This site also shows students where Wimpy Kid began, and students can have fun comparing and contrasting the web version and print version of the novel.

Guys Read
Did you know that:

• The U.S. Department of Education reading tests for the last 30 years show boys scoring worse than girls in every age group, every year?
• Eighth grade boys are 50 percent more likely to be held back than girls?
• Two-thirds of Special Education Students in high school are boys?
• Overall college enrollment is higher for girls than boys? (from guysread.com)

Guys read is "a web-based literacy program for boys founded by author and First National Ambassador of Young People’s Literature Jon Scieszka." The site promotes reading as masculine (since the activity is usually feminized), and provides viewers with male role models who like to read and write. There is also an extensive reading list made by literacy professionals that teachers can use to find books that all readers, but especially reluctant males, can benefit from. After reading, students can look on this website to discover more books that they would like to read, play educational activities, and even read interviews with literacy-minded "guys."

Kinney, J. (2007). Diary of a wimpy kid. New York: Amulet Books.