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by Amy M. O’Quinn

Good readers get the big picture. They comprehend the meaning of the text and better understand what the author is trying to convey. In addition, learning to identify a character’s point of view in a simple picture book or story is a great way to introduce children to an important aspect of being a good reader.

It will also prepare them for heavier literature when they get older when identifying a character’s point of view is vital to understanding the plot and the underlying meaning or theme of the story. It is a skill to develop through the years, and having a basic working knowledge of this device will also help students learn about the first person, second person, third person, omniscient, and limited omniscient points of view as they mature as readers and writers.

Point of View (POV):

POV is simply the standpoint or position from which the reader gets to observe, consider, or ‘hear’ the story. For this particular article, I would like to concentrate on a first person narrative POV from a well-known children’s story.

A Simple Way To Teach POV:

Almost everyone knows the story of The Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf. The pigs are the victims and the wolf is the villain. We ‘hear’ the story from the viewpoint of the three little pigs, and we feel sorry for them—right down to the hairs on their chinny-chin-chins! The wolf is a mean, evil character, and we are happy to see justice served in the end. Obviously, he deserves what he gets!

So gather your students around and read the traditional story of The Three Little Pigs. Or have them act out the story with parts—using appropriate voices and simple costumes if possible. My children always use a high, squeaky voice for the pigs and a low, growly voice for the wolf. Discuss the elements of the story and the perspectives of the characters. Who is ‘good’ and who is ‘bad’? Who is right and who is wrong? How did the pigs feel and react when the wolf came to each of their doors?

A Twist:

But what if there is a chance that the traditional tale we all know and love might not be the ‘real’ story! What if the wolf has a different version of the story to tell? What about his POV?

The True Story of the Three Little Pigs:

Here is where the fun begins! Purchase or check out Jon Scieszka’s hilarious book, The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs from your local library and read it to the students. As Alexander T. Wolf, the narrator, tells his audience on the very first page:

“Everybody knows the story of the Three Little Pigs. Or at least they think they do. But I’ll let you in on a little secret. Nobody knows the real story, because nobody has ever heard my side of the story.”

Of course, in this version, we hear from Alexander T. Wolf. He claims that he had a cold and all that he wanted to do was borrow a cup of sugar from one of his neighbors when all the trouble began. According to him, he was framed!

Now discuss the differences in the two stories and the POVs. Compare and contrast. Make a comparison chart if possible.

The Verdict:

So who is telling the truth, the pigs or the wolf? Who is more believable? Why? Should Alexander T. Wolf have been

by Amy M. O’Quinn

The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.

~Dr. Seuss

Mark your calendar for March 2nd! Why, you may ask? Well, at our home we will celebrate my daughter’s tenth birthday on that day. But other children across America will also be celebrating the birthday of beloved author, Dr. Seuss, as well as participating in ‘Read Across America’, sponsored by the National Education Association.

What is Read Across America?

In 1997, a small task force at NEA came up with the big idea to set aside one day to really celebrate reading and motivate children across the country to pick up a book and read. They wanted the whole event to be exciting and inspiring—and to promote a love of reading. The task force also decided that March 2nd, the birthday of Theodor Seuss Geisel (better known as Dr. Seuss) would be the perfect date. Thus, ‘Read Across America’ was born, and the first annual celebration was held on March 2, 1998.

According the NEA website, “Motivating children to read is an important factor in student achievement and creating lifelong successful readers. Research has shown that children who are motivated and spend more time reading do better in school.”

How does it work?

Although the NEA created and sponsors ‘Read Across America,’ teachers, parents, librarians, bookstore personnel, and other community volunteers at the local level organize and implement all kinds of exciting events to celebrate reading and get children involved in special literacy activities. There are many great ideas on the NEA/RAA website, as well as state educational association websites. The possibilities are endless.

What child doesn’t love a Dr. Seuss book? The rhythm and rhyme are delightful, and everyone has a favorite. My children enjoyed all the Dr. Seuss books, but they especially liked Green Eggs and Ham, Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? and The Cat in the Hat. In fact, they can all recite most of Green Eggs and Ham from memory. Would you? Could you?

When we first began homeschooling, I quickly discovered that Dr. Seuss books were perfect for oral reading practice to enhance fluency. The children loved the nonsensical language, yet they were able to experience reading success because of the simple words, repetition and familiarity of ‘old friends’ they’d known for years. Beginning readers need to feel successful; it motivates them to keep learning. Plus, the stories written by Dr. Seuss are just plain fun, and everyone needs a good giggle or chuckle from time to time.

How Can You Be Involved in Read Across America?

There are events and activities scheduled all over the country—in large cities and small communities. Chances are, the local school system, your child’s teacher, or your neighborhood librarians have already planned some special things for March 2nd. Visit the NEA website or your state educational association to find some fabulous fun near you. Perhaps you may even decide to volunteer or help organize some events.

If you have preschool children or are a homeschooling parent, you can also plan some activities to do with your child at home. Although we advocate reading ALL year long, it is still fun to have a special day to do something just a little bit different.

A Few Simple Ideas:

-Read Green Eggs and Ham—then MAKE green eggs and ham. Add a

by Sharon Blumberg

Here’s a prewriting activity I’ve used in my language arts classroom when students get tired of traditional book reports. I have students write a book about themselves. First, they answer the following questions to create an autobiographical character sketch. Later, each student can use his character sketch to create his “book” – which is the story of his life.

Questions to Create Autobiographical Character Sketches

If someone were to read a book about you, what would be the title? ________________________

List three interesting facts about yourself. ____________________________________________

What is your most important accomplishment at this point in your life? ____________________

Create a timeline of the most important events in your life.
______________________________

Please write a paragraph explaining how the world would be different without your life accomplishments, at this point in time? ______________________________________________

What kinds of hobbies and interests make you unique? __________________________________

What are the strength and weaknesses that make you unique? ____________________________

In what kind of setting would a story of your life take place? _____________________________

Who would be the major characters in your life story? __________________________________

What would be the plot and major conflict in your life story? _____________________________

What would be the climax and resolution of your own life story? __________________________

What point of view would your life story be told from? _________________________________

by Kathy Stemke

Black History Month is a time to create greater awareness of a strong and powerful culture with a rich history. The following books and activity ideas will keep children engaged as they learn about inspiring black Americans and their culture.

Bestselling and award-winning author, HYPERLINK Nancy I. Sanders has published over 75 books including A Kid’s Guide to African American History and D is for Drinking Gourd: An African American Alphabet.

Her new book is America’s Black Founders, for ages 9 and up. Through the petitions they wrote, the sermons they preached, the literature they published, the churches they built, and the organizations they formed, African Americans influenced the birth of a new nation in powerful and far-reaching ways. Click here for several activity ideas from Nancy’s websiteClick here for several activity ideas for Black History month from Nancy’s website.

Ella Fitzgerald: The Tale of a Vocal Virtuosa is an excellent example of a quality book that conveys black history in kid-appealing way.  Ella’s story is told through the perspective of a cat, “Skat Cat Monroe,” who pulls in readers in with rhythm and rhyme. 

LANGUAGE ARTS ACTIVITIES
Use words from this story to practice finding the number of syllables in words. How many syllables are in Skat?  Fitzgerald?  determination?

Have students look up words from the story in the dictionary and share reports either written or verbal. Let students determine alphabetical order of the words. 

MATH ACTIVITIES
We learn in A Note From the Author that Ella was born in 1917.  The story tells us that in 1935 the Harlem Opera House signed Ella as a featured singer.  How old was Ella?

We learn in the story that Ella and Dizzy Gillespie headlined a sold-out performance at Carnegie Hall in 1947.  If she was born in 1917, how old was Ella in 1947?

We learn in A Note From the Author that Ella died in 1996.  If she was born in 1917, how old was Ella when she died?

MUSIC & MOVEMENT ACTIVITIES
“A-Tisket, A-Tasket” was a hit song sung by Ella Fitzgerald that began as a “jump rope jive.”  Jumping rope is an excellent work out and helps children develop timing and balance. Have your students jump rope along to Ella’s music and encourage them to create their own jump rope songs. 

Dizzy by Jonah Winter features the famous Dizzy Gilliespie.

VOCABULARY ACTIVITIES
There are many instruments featured in the illustrations of Dizzy.  Passing the book around, make a list of the instruments your group can identify.  There’s a trumpet, sax, French horn, bass, piano and drums.  Now brainstorm to create a list of instruments not featured in this book.

MATH ACTIVITIES
Review the music math words for solo, duet, trio, quartet and quintet.  Call students up with instruments in singles and small groups and let the group name the band with these math music words. 

ART & MUSIC ACTIVITIES
Painting to the Beat: Provide paper, watercolor paints and space for each child to paint.  Play one of Dizzy Gilliespie’s many CDs that are available at your local library. Encourage children to paint to the beat.  Ask them to consider what “color” a song feels like.  Be sure to have them write the title of the song, along with their name and date on their musical masterpiece. 

MOVEMENT ACTIVITIES
A Jazz Parade: Provide children with handmade instruments or objects with which they can create a beat.  Turn on the music and ha

by Amy M. O’Quinn

To continue with my series on introducing children to the fine arts, I am going to discuss music appreciation and composer study and give ideas for how easy it is to incorporate this type of learning into our everyday lives. First however, I’d like to recap while I feel this type of exposure is so important.

Why Study Fine Arts?

“Charlotte Mason, a 19th century British educator, believed that exposing children to great ideas and beauty in all areas inspired them to greatness as well. She theorized that by letting them become familiar with the best artists, composers, and writers, they would be less willing to settle for mediocrity in themselves. As Elizabeth Gutman said in her book, The Story of Art, part of The Bookshelf for Boys and Girls series: “The magic power of art can arouse all kinds of emotions in us, from simple joy to much deeper feelings. And artists are great people whose works can gladden our eyes, enrich our thoughts, and deepen our feelings.”

“I think these words can apply to ALL areas of the fine arts. And with today’s norm of following the crowd or being happy with the status quo, we should want our children to be inspired and motivated to strive for more—to reach for excellence instead of being content with the marginal.”

Why listen to classical music or study composers?

We’ve all heard about the ‘Mozart Effect’ in the last few years. There have been books and studies claiming that listening to the music of Mozart actually helps to develop the brain, improve short term memory, and increase IQ. Many parents have jumped on the bandwagon and are exposing their children, some even before birth, to Mozart.

There is great debate on whether or not there really is anything to this theory, but research does show that when a child listens to classical music the right hemisphere of the brain is activated, and when a child studies a musical instrument both the left and right hemispheres of the brain light up. Nevertheless, the interest generated by this phenomenon has catapulted classical music back into the spotlight, and that in itself has been a good thing.

In addition, classical music is simply beautiful and peaceful. It’s universal and no matter what language, music forges a common bond. Music also creates emotions and enriches lives with the fulfillment that comes from enjoyment. Many people believe that the soothing tones of classical music influences children’s behavior in a positive way and increases attention span and concentration. A working knowledge of classical music and the men who wrote it also makes for a well-rounded education and individual. But never underestimate the ability of a very young child to appreciate and recognize a piece of music or the work of a composer. When my son was about two years old, he would shout out, “Tchaikovsky!” whenever he heard Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy!

The composers who made these musical contributions to the world are important in their own right and have their places in history as well. Many of them had extraordinary lives and are quite interesting to read about. Children are usually fascinated to learn things such as the fact that Mozart was a child prodigy who composed music by the age of five or that Beethoven continued to write music even after he lost his hearing. And although it’s easy to introduce our children to the composers as we expose them to various pieces of music, we can do so by casually mentioning the na

by Sharon Blumberg

I enjoy enhancing literacy skills in Spanish and English for my seventh grade students in unusual ways. I recently use the picture book Where the Wild Things Are and emphasized certain pages that depicted key points in the story. This story was written by Maurice Sendak in1963 and, published by Harper & Row. The Spanish version was translated into Spanish in 1996, by Teresa Mlawer. Twenty-five years ago the book was awarded the Caldecott Medal, as the most distinguished American picture book for children. The book has sold over three million copies in the United States and has been reprinted into many foreign languages other than Spanish. This classic children’s tale has recently been made into a major motion picture at the Box Office in 2009, an opera, and a video game. It was also been featured in the recent motion picture, Blind Side. My bilingual presentation consists of a Spanish version, that I read and translate to English, as I point out the illustrations to my students. They insist on viewing the illustrations as I read the story in both languages.

This story is about a boy named Max who one night decides to make mischief in his home. He dresses up in a wolf costume and terrorizes his mother. As punishment, his mother sends him to his room without supper. Soon afterwards, a mysterious forest grows and overcomes his whole house. This naturally develops out of Max’s imagination. After Max becomes the “King of the Wild Things,” he becomes homesick and longs to return to his home and his own room. At the end of the story, he returns to his mother. She in turn demonstrates her unconditional love for him by bringing him his dinner. When Max finds his supper waiting for him, still warm, he knows that his mother will always be there for him.

The story marks a critical point in American literature for children. The reason for this is because it presents a child expressing his anger through his behavior and imaginations that run simply wild, to say the least. But in the end, these issues get resolved for the child, so all is well and secure with his world. Aside from the bilingual phrases and concepts of out of control mischief, anger and rage, there is something special about presenting this particular book to my students.

Some of them seem to have a far away look in their eyes as they hear the story and eye the mesmerizing, unforgettable illustrations. Who can’t relate to revisiting the world of one’s childhood imaginations and fantasies of other places? We are never too old for that. I was pleasantly pleased when one class actually applauded after I finished presenting this book in Spanish and English, along with the illustrations. Some appeared to wake up as if they had dreamed the story themselves. So it is nice to realize that “where the wild things are” is not as far away as we may think!

********
Sharon Blumberg is a junior high Spanish teacher and a freelance writer. She has been teaching for 17 years. She currently teaches seventh grade Spanish in Illinois. She has two grown children and resides in Indiana with her husband and dog. She is an active member of The Children’s Writers’ Coaching Club and The Story Circle Network.

by Kathy Stemke

Because math concepts tend to be abstract in nature and the traditional methods of teaching math facts are boring and ineffective, introducing interactive math activities will increase the learning and retention of math facts. Students will be eager to participate in these fun-filled games and projects.

COUNTING GAME: A counting lesson might begin with a circle game similar to Duck-Duck-Goose. The students sit in a circle on the floor then one students stands behind a sitting classmate and begins counting each of their classmates in turn until they reach ten. All the students can assist in the counting. When the standing student reaches their tenth classmate the tenth classmates stands and chases the counting student around the circle attempting to tag them before they return to the place of the chasing student.

JELLYBEAN STORY: Students learn through exciting fairy tales and stories. Fun characters come to life for the students, bringing the numbers and math facts to the real world. The following tale is an example of the kind of story that can be used.

“It’s my job, said the jellybean queen, to divide the jellybeans equally among the subjects of Numeria. This bag of jellybeans is for you two girls. Be sure to share them equally.”

“But how can we be sure to share them equally between us?” Chali asked.

“Oh,” the kindly queen said, “That is easily accomplished. Watch. . . . There are six jellybeans in the sack . . . .here is one for you, Chali, and one for you Stephanie, another one for you Chali, and another one for you Stephanie, one more for you Chali, and one more for you Stephanie . . . as you see we now have two piles of jellybeans with 3 in each. It’s as simple as that!”

The girls smiled at each other.

The queen was so busy she asked the girls to help her. For the rest of the day, Chali and Stephanie busily counted and divided jellybeans.”

This story could easily be modified to teach subtraction. The students could take turns eating one or two jellybeans.

After illustrating this story on the chalkboard, go outside and hide several piles of “jellybeans” around the room. Whenever a pile is found, the student must divide them equally.

GUESS WHICH NUMBER: You can follow up this activity with a 100 board. Look for number patterns of odd and even. The students will discover that evens end with 2,4,6,8,0 and odds end with 1,3,5,7,9. Call out random numbers and the students can jump up and down for even numbers and hop on one foot for odd numbers.

BIG BALL MATH: This game requires the teacher to section off a ball into spaces with a marker. Each space houses a math problem (add, subtract, multiply, divide, etc). The children toss the ball to each other, and when they catch it, they answer the problem under their right thumb. For young children the problem can be as simple as identifying numbers or shapes, and for older children a way of practicing multiplication or division facts.

NUMBER LINE GAME: Using a number line system of number placemats across the floor, the team may deduct the answer by acting out the problem. For example.  2 + 3 = 5

Team A organizes themselves by standing on number mats on the floor.  One stands on zero, while the rest stand in order from 1, 2, 3 4 and so on.  For the problem 2+3, the person standing at zero may first take two steps on the first two mats and then jump another 3 mats indicating an increase of 3 in the problem to land at mat 5.
 
SKIP JUMP MATH: Using lighter colored vinyl, cut out shapes, (circle, square, rectangle, triangle, pentagon) number them with a marker, and tape them to the floor. The students ju

by Amy M. O’Quinn

In my last Teaching Tips column, I talked about the importance of introducing fine arts to young children. To recap that subject, here is what I wrote:

Why Study Fine Arts?

Charlotte Mason, a 19th century British educator, believed that exposing children to great ideas and beauty in all areas inspired them to greatness as well. She theorized that by letting them become familiar with the best artists, composers, and writers, they would be less willing to settle for mediocrity in themselves. As Elizabeth Gutman said in her book, The Story of Art, part of The Bookshelf for Boys and Girls series: “The magic power of art can arouse all kinds of emotions in us, from simple joy to much deeper feelings. And artists are great people whose works can gladden our eyes, enrich our thoughts, and deepen our feelings.”

I think these words can apply to ALL areas of the fine arts. And with today’s norm of following the crowd or being happy with the status quo, we should want our children to be inspired and motivated to strive for more—to reach for excellence instead of being content with the marginal.

I also introduced the topic of picture study in the last column. Now I would like to discuss the most famous bard of all time, William Shakespeare, and how a ‘Shakespeare Study’ can benefit even young children.

Why Shakespeare?

William Shakespeare ultimately helped to shape the English language. Because of him, we now have such phrases as ‘in a pickle,’ ‘all’s well that ends well,’ ‘love is blind’, ‘wild goose chase’, and countless others. In fact, Shakespeare is credited with coining or creating close to 2000 words and phrases that are now part of our daily usage. In addition, his language is challenging, with tight and concise sentences. Vocabularies are sure to be increased when reading Shakespearean plays or poetry. And most of all, Shakespeare was a master of plot and a great storyteller of history. He knew the Bible and mythology, and drew from both, and it is evident that his writing was definitely influenced by Christianity. I’ve often heard that if a person is familiar with the Bible, mythology, and Shakespeare, he will always have a greater understanding of any literature as well as human nature. Ideas of greed, love, hatred, self-loathing, pity, generosity, courage, and even misunderstandings are ageless.

Why Start Young?

If a child is introduced to Shakespeare early, he will not be apprehensive about studying the plays when he is in high school. When he is young he will certainly not understand all the twists, turns, and nuances that Shakespeare employs, but he can most definitely read simplified versions and keep track of the basic plot and characters and learn the ‘stories’ behind the plays. When he is older, he will already have a basic understanding of Shakespeare’s work and be able to build upon that foundation with a deeper understanding of the plots and the moral and historical significances. He will recognize within the characters a mixture of sinfulness and goodness—just as we all are in real life. He will see weaknesses and strengths in the players within the layers of each story.

Beginning:

Children around the age of six might enjoy Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare for Children by E. Nesbit, author of the Railway Children. Ms. Nesbit retold twenty of Shakespeare’s dramas in story form to make them more accessible to a younger audience, which is the perfect introduction to the bard for children.

The next step up might be Tales From Shakespeare by the brother/sister team of Charles and Mary Lamb. Published in 1807, this book includes all of Shakespeare’s most famous comedies and tragedies. The tales are retold in a cl

by Renee Kirchner, Teaching Tips Contributing Editor

People all over the world celebrate Christmas, but not everyone celebrates the same way. Many of the traditions in the United States originated in other countries. Listed below are common customs and traditions of many different countries. See if you can find the traditions followed by your family and find out what country they came from. You might even find a new tradition or two that you and your family would like to add to your celebration this year.

Norway

In Norway, the children are sent outside or next door while the adults decorate the Christmas tree. When the children return and see the tree for the first time it is fully decorated with presents underneath. Imagine how happy they must feel when they see the tree. The family then joins hands and stands around the tree singing Christmas carols.

Australia

In Australia, Christmas is celebrated during the middle of summer. They do not have a white Christmas like many parts of the United States. Australians like to eat their Christmas dinner outside and then go to the beach for family fun.

Britain

In Britain, children write letters to Father Christmas asking for Christmas presents. Instead of mailing their letters to the North Pole, the children toss their letters into the fireplace and they float up the chimney to the North Pole. Sometimes the lists catch on fire. If that happens, the child has to write another list.

Mexico

In Mexico, children leave shoes out for Santa rather than hanging stockings by the fireplace. On Christmas Eve, singers parade throughout the towns carrying bells and candles on long poles. The parade ends at the local church where everyone attends a Christmas service.

Hopefully this gave you an idea of how children in other countries celebrate Christmas. Maybe you would like to follow one of these traditions this year.

Here is a holiday craft to get you in the spirit.

Puzzle Wreath Ornaments

Supplies:

Cardboard
Puzzle pieces from old puzzles
Glitter
Ribbon
Scissors
Glue

Give each child a small ring cut out of cardboard. Staple a small piece of the ribbon to the top of the ring in a loop. This will be for hanging the ornament later.

1. Have child glue puzzle pieces to the cardboard ring and ask them to cover every part of it.

2. Ask them to put a few dots of glue on top of the puzzle pieces.

3. Let them sprinkle glitter on the glue.

4. Shake off excess glitter from wreaths.

5. Hang wreaths on a Christmas tree.

I’ve been wondering how we authors can help teachers use our books. This, of course, requires that we learn more about what teachers actually do with our books in the classroom. So I created a questionnaire and Cheryl Harness gave it to Carol Hutchens, a teacher friend at Mountain View Elementary in Windsor, CO who went to the trouble of filling it out. The results are below. My questions are in boldface. Carol prefaces her responses as follows:

I'm a special education teacher for grades 3-5. I primarily work with 4th and 5th graders, teaching reading, writing and math in "core replacement" groups. Explanation: all of our 4th graders have reading at the same time, so the group I have is getting "core replacement" in my room at the same time their peers are being taught reading in the general education classroom. Same with math, writing and 5th grade reading. My school also has a literacy teacher (for students who are doing a bit better than mine academically) and a Title 1 reading teacher.

What kind of reading assignments do you give kids? In class, we all read the same story/book together. Sometimes, I'll let the kids read silently to themselves or in pairs, but this is usually not very effective because of their lack of reading skills.

How important do you feel it is for every kid in your class to read the same assignment on a topic? For my kiddos, this is very important. This way, I can be assured they are reading correctly, and we have wonderful discussions to ensure comprehension of the material. Most of my kids are way better verbally!

Do you feel you MUST teach from the textbook? Unfortunately, yes. If so, why? District requirement. But, I supplement a lot in my classroom by reading non-fiction books at the beginning of each reading class (the kids love books by Cheryl Harness!) and also by pulling in additional non-fiction books to support stories we're reading. (ie: 5th graders are reading a story about cowboys that mention Nat Love, an African American cowboy. He wrote a book about his experiences and I found it online. I copied it and shared selections of it with the kids - they loved it!)


Have you ever gone to the library and looked for books on the content you have to teach? Honestly - I usually hit half.com or ebay first. I like to purchase books with my own money, then I'll have them for the next years! I have quite a collection of books in my classroom and like to have them "at my fingertips" to pull for kids!

Have you ever used a trade (library) book on a subject covered by your textbook instead? Yes. If so, why? Usually because the story provided in the book I'm required to use doesn't go "in depth" enough about the subject. Also, I like to show my students that each and every book about a subject can offer different/additional information! For instance - my students are stunned to know that I personally own more than 50 books about Lewis and Clark.

How closely do you coordinate what you are teaching with your school librarian? H

by Sharon Blumberg

Although I’ve been a Spanish teacher for many years, this year I am also teaching language arts. I love watching my students discover connections to themselves in the reading and writing activities that we work on together. Within the required curriculum are some areas of free choice that tie in well within the course.

One activity that my students can respond to with a nice level of differentiation is responding to journal prompts. With this kind of writing activity, every student’s response is unique. However, I don’t have students do this activity too often or it loses its effectiveness. I have them respond to journal prompts either once a week or even less.

The journal prompts work in the following way: I give my students an idea which is referred to as a prompt. For this particular activity, I don’t emphasize spelling or grammar during the writing. Even though I make corrections when I read them, these don’t count against the students’ grades. For example, starting with Thanksgiving, which can carry over to the winter holidays of Christmas, Chanukah or Kwanza, I ask my students to “Write about something that you are grateful for. Write at least four complete sentences explaining this. How do you express gratitude for what you are grateful for?”

It is fascinating to read the varied ways my students express themselves. They do a nice job of demonstrating the many different things that they are indeed grateful for.

After about five to ten minutes of writing, I give them the option of reading their responses to these prompts out loud in order to get class participation enrichment points. After the students share their writings with the class, I have a student helper collect the writings as part of their classroom jobs, and turn them in. After I read through their journal prompt responses on my own time, I make comments based upon what they wrote. In this way, I am creating a safe way to dialogue with my students on a more personal level. Some students write more than others, depending on the prompt I give them.

Occasionally, some students may say they don’t really know what to write about. If this happens, I give them an alternative prompt, or ask them to pick out their own topics as writing prompts. For example, “What was the best part of your day today, or what was the least favorite part of your day today, and why?”

The above kind of prompt usually evokes some kind of writen response. Journal prompts bring out many kinds of memories as we connect with one another. It is also a great way to evoke holiday sentiments. This will be a year of great discoveries as my students and I embark upon new vistas.

******************
Sharon Blumberg is a junior high Spanish teacher and a freelance writer. She has been teaching for 17 years. She currently teaches seventh grade Spanish in Illinois. She has two grown children and resides in Indiana with her husband and dog. She is an active member of The Children’s Writers’ Coaching Club and The Story Circle Network.

by Amy M. O’Quinn

Classical music. Art Appreciation. Nature Study. Poetry and Shakespeare. These areas of study may sound like complicated courses that are best left alone until the high school or college years, but young children can certainly benefit from an acquaintance with the fine arts as well. As parents, we all want our children to be well rounded and educated to the best of our abilities. We expect teachers (or ourselves if we homeschool) to cover the basics such as reading, writing, and arithmetic, but there is also something so satisfying about recognizing a Monet or a Cezanne, or hearing and identifying music composed by Mozart or Tchaikovsky.

There is joy in taking a walk, finding a special leaf to sketch in a nature journal, and later discovering in a field guide that it belongs to an aspen tree. And who hasn’t heard or read a common phrase (such as green-eyed monster) that can be traced back to the pen of William Shakespeare?

Why Study Fine Arts?

Charlotte Mason, a 19th century British educator, believed that exposing children to great ideas and beauty in all areas inspired them to greatness as well. She theorized that by letting them become familiar with the best artists, composers, and writers, they would be less willing to settle for mediocrity in themselves. As Elizabeth Gutman said in her book, The Story of Art, part of The Bookshelf for Boys and Girls series:
“The magic power of art can arouse all kinds of emotions in us, from simple joy to much deeper feelings. And artists are great people whose works can gladden our eyes, enrich our thoughts, and deepen our feelings.”

I think these words can apply to ALL areas of the fine arts. And with today’s norm of following the crowd or being happy with the status quo, we should want our children to be inspired and motivated to strive for more—to reach for excellence instead of being content with the marginal.

In my monthly contribution to the “Parenting and Teaching Tip” column over the next few weeks, I’d like to explore some of these areas in more depth. But for this particular column, I will focus on “picture study”, which is one facet of art appreciation.

Picture Study

Introducing a new artist or a specific piece of art is very easy to do. Many websites have lists of suggested artist rotations, but it’s better to choose one artist’s work to study at a time so the child can become familiar with the style and at least four of his/her pieces of artwork. My twelve-year-old son recently studied the work of Mary Cassatt, and he can now easily recognize her paintings.

We began our study of Mary Cassatt by reading more about her life in a biography. Then I had him focus only on her painting, Children On the Beach (1884). I let him study the picture for several minutes, then I turned it over and asked him to describe what he remembered about the painting, even the little details. Afterwards, we turned the picture back over to see how well he’d seen it all in his ‘mind’s eye.’ We talked about the medium used, the colors, the subjects, etc. We did this for several days, and each time he remembered more and more about the painting. On another occasion, I had him try to re-create the painting himself from memory. Although not a natural artist, he did quite well! We went on to study three more of her paintings before moving on to a new artist.

On another note, I had a large framed poster of Children On the Beach hanging in my children’s bathroom. When my little ones (ages 2 and 4) took a bath, we would look at the painting and talk about it. It’s amazing how much they learned about Mary Cassatt’s work in just a few minutes each night! They remembered almost as much as their older brother, and it was just that simple.

Some people choose to make artists t

Somehow October’s chorus about using our books in the classroom didn’t come everyone's way on the guitar until November, so kindly bear with me for a minute while I wrap up my part of this song with one last verse.

I hated history when I was a kid. The way we were supposed to learn everything was by memorizing a bunch of boring names and dates and battle sites. To me, the people in history were a lot like George Washington on the dollar bill; old and green and wrinkled and dead.

What a waste! The real George Washington wasn’t anything like that portrait. Just between you and me, our boy George was a stud. He was so tall that most other men only came up to his shoulder. He was a great athlete and his hands and feet were enormous—what a basketball player he might have made! This terrific horseman, dancer, and card player was also so fearless in battle that even when his horses were shot out from under him and bullets ripped through his coat, he never left the front lines. You can’t make this stuff up; it’s all true, and if I had known things like that about the dead people in my history books, well of course I’d have wanted to hear more.

So how can teachers make history spring to life for kids? Here are three of the ways.

1) The Storyteller’s Voice- One of the main reasons that so many stories from history are still around is that they’re really the best stories of all time. I hated history because all those moons ago, my own teachers didn’t know how to tell a great tale. But if teachers can teach by using a storyteller’s voice, you can bet your boots that kids will beg to listen in. The best nonfiction books can show you the way and can add in fabulous pictures to boot. (And forgive me for mentioning that our INK THINK TANK has these books in spades.)

2) Tie-Ins- If you can get kids to relate directly to something in a book about history, you’ve got it made. Here are some examples from my book talks—no reason why with a little extra imagination teachers can’t do this kind of thing too. In one school, the students put on a wonderful play about Lewis and Clark based on my book How We Crossed the West and invited me to watch. When I visited their classrooms the next day, I surprised each actor and actress by telling them some incredibly happy and sad and funny things that happened to their own characters after the journey ended. This new information was a huge hit. When I presented the same book another time, we were able to bring a real Newfoundland dog (like Seaman, the one Meriwether Lewis brought on the journey) into the room. Bingo! I got to tell about all the funny and even life-saving adventures the dog had on the trip. Trust me—dogs are attention grabbers all the way. And during a previous Presidential election, an older group did a great job of comparing the gigantic role propaganda played in promoting George Washington vs. King George III back in Revolutionary times with the role propaganda played in that particular presidential election.

3) Lights, camera, action!- Younger audiences like nothing better than to sing, laugh, make funny noises, and wear costumes. As it turns out, these qualities are great tools for teaching history too. I love to use my book The Old Chisholm Trail; A Cowboy Song as a fun intro to those famously difficult cattle drives from the wild west. Very Short Version of how this works: I dress up as a cowboy and briefly explain how hard that trip must have been. Then I invite 3 volunteer cowboys onstage, where they don huge paper moustaches, and I give 3 more volunteers stuffed longhorn cattle to hold. As I (badly) sing funny verses from the real song, the cowboys and cows make appropriate cowboy and cow sound effects when I point to them after each verse, and the audience sings the chorus in their turn. It is hilarious, it’s the BEST teaching tool, and it all comes from a book. Try it!