It's Christmas By: Jack Prelutsky

No matter the age, poetry is always fantastic to read aloud in a classroom!  Jack Prelutsky's poetry engages students as well as sparks their imagination.  The creativity stemming from his various poems is endless!

It's Christmas

Author: Jack Prelutsky - Born in Brooklyn, NY, Jack Prelutsky attended Hunter College.  Using poetry as a means of communication, Jack Prelutsky always made poetry a priority in his life.  Jack Prelutsky was named the first Children's Poet Laureate by the National Poetry Foundation in 2006.  Jack Prelutsky

Genre: Poetry

Grade Level: All

Theme/Skill: Poetry

Brief Synopsis: This is collection of poetry that revolves around Christmas.  For example, one poem discusses a boy’s sadness when he has mumps for Christmas.  Another poem involves a young boy explaining his new pup he received for Christmas.

Pre-Reading Activity: What is your favorite holiday memory?  What do you want for Christmas?  What is mistletoe? Review or discuss rhyming.  Provide the class a sample word and they will list all of the words that rhyme with it. 

Post-Reading Activity: Why was the boy sad in the first poem?  What did the boy get during the second poem?  What holiday rituals does your family do every year?  In review of Christmas poems, students will get into partners and write their own holiday poem.  As a formative check, circulate the classroom and observe the students’ accomplishments.

Prelutsky, J. (1981) It’s Christmas. New York: William Morrow and Company Inc. Grades – All.

Stone Soup By: Marcia Brown

Stone Soup is a fantastic book to model cooperation with.  It can also be used an introduction to various historical lessons.  In the past, I have incorporated the use of this book during the month of November as we discuss the First Thanksgiving and the importance of cooperating and sharing during the traditional holiday.

Title: Stone Soup

Author: Marcia Brown - As a New York State native, Marcia Brown was a 1940 graduate of the New York College for Teachers.  After graduation, she taught in New York State and continued to work in New York Public Library's Central Children's Room.  During her work, she has produced over 30 children's books.  She is a three time winner of the Caldecott Medal and six of her books were Caldecott Honor Books.  Uniquely, many of Brown's books have been reprinted into various languages.  Albany Library - Marcia Brown

Genre: Fiction

Award: Caldecott Honor Book

Grade Level: PreK - 6

Theme/Skill: Folktales - Thanksgiving

Brief Synopsis: The story begins with three hungry and tired soldiers trying to find food and a place to sleep.  The villagers see them coming and hide all their food and refuse to let them stay.  The soldiers start a large fire in the middle of town and begin to make “Stone Soup”.  After adding three large stones to the soup, the soldiers ask for various edible ingredients causing the soup to transform into quite the feast.  After a night of delicious food/drinks and dancing/music, the soldiers ask again about a place to sleep and contrary to their first answer, each soldier is given a comfortable bed to sleep on.

Pre-Reading Activity: Looking at the cover of the book, what do you think the story is about? Have you heard of soldiers staying in random villages throughout history like these three did.  Would you let the soldiers stay with you?  Has everyone ever heard of the U.S. Constitution?  The Constitution contains a Bill of Rights.  The Bill of Rights lists all the freedoms U.S citizens have.  One lists that quartering of soldiers is outlawed.  In other words, the soldiers in this story would not be able to stay according to our government.  This law was passed after incidents like one in this story occurred. 

 Post-Reading Activity: How did the soldiers trick the villagers? Would you have helped the soldiers?  What would have added to the soup?  As we see in the story, everyone contributed something to the soup.  As a result of everyone’s cooperation, the soup turned into a masterpiece.  What would your contribution have been? What part would you have played?  Unfortunately, not everyone always helps.  If someone in the group didn’t help, how would you handle it? I plan to go around and ask each student how they would contribute and their opinions of letting someone enjoy the soup if they didn’t help.

Coles, R. (1995) The Story of Ruby Bridges. New York: Scholastic Inc. 

Don't Bump the Glump! And Other Fantasies By: Shel Silverstein

Shel Silverstein is a fantastic poet! During my student teaching experiences, I would read his poems before lunch or at the end of the day to help my students wind down.  His poems greatly fostered my students' imagination as well as fostering great class discussions.

Title: Don't Bump the Glump! And Other Fantasies

Author: Shel Silverstein - Shel Silverstein was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois.  He attended  the University of Illinois in pursuit of a degree in art.  Eventually, he transferred to Roosevelt University in pursuit of an English degree.  At Roosevelt University, Silverstein discovered his writing talent.  During his time in the military, Silverstein developed his art of cartoon illustrations.  Through the influence of friends, Silverstein published his first children's book in 1960  and has been a famous author since then.   Shel Silverstein Biography

Genre: Poetry

Grade Level: All

Theme/Skill: Poetry

Brief Synopsis: This is Shel Silverstein's first collection of poetry.

Pre-Reading Activity: How would you define a poem?  What types of poems have you heard of?  Do all poems rhyme? Students can look for patterns while the teacher reads various poems aloud.  After each poem stop to discuss it.  

Post-Reading Activity: What was a popular pattern in the poems?  What lines in his poems rhymed?  Was it first and second?  Was it first and third?  After discussing the format of different types of poems, explain the significance of rhyming.  For younger elementary students, Silverstein's poetry is a great model to foster their imagination during various projects.  For older elementary students, introduce a rhyming dictionary and have students brainstorm words to look up.  After the class has modeled various examples, students can work with partners and write their own rhyming poem using the rhyming dictionary.

Silverstein, S. (1964) Don’t Bump the Glump! And Other Fantasies. New York: Harper Collins Publishers. 

The Story of Ruby Bridges By: Robert Coles

The Story of Ruby Bridges is a fundamental book to teach early elementary students about segregation, integration, and the civil rights movement in a developmentally appropriate fashion.  I specifically remember reading this book as a child and the great discussion that this book fostered in our class.  

Title: The Story of Ruby Bridges

Author: Robert Coles - Dr. Coles is a Professor of Psychiatry and Medical Humanities at Harvard University.  Like through this book, Dr. Coles is known for his social anthropological work specifically with children.  Through writing his 38 books and numerous articles, he has won the Pulitzer Prize. DER Documentary: Robert Coles

Genre: Nonfiction

Grade Level: K through 2

Theme/Skill: Biography - Ruby Bridges

Brief Synopsis: Ruby Bridges was the first African American to attend a “white” elementary school.  She faced extreme prejudice of segregationists every morning for six months as she entered school.  As a result of her presence, white parents refused to send their children to school with her which allowed her to get an individualized education.  The story ends with Ruby praying for God’s forgiveness for the segregationists outside of school while they are all protesting.

Pre-Reading Activity: What is a biography?  Who writes a biography?  Have you ever heard of the civil rights movement? Students will be given a KWL chart.  As a class, brainstorm ideas to what the students already know about the civil rights movement for the first column.  Fill in the second column that asks what the students would like to know.

 

Post-Reading Activity: What from our pre-reading list was included in the story?  Have you ever heard of other activists like Rosa Parks?  What about Martin Luther King Jr. and his famous speech?  What characteristics do all of these activists possess? After reading, compare the “already know” and “want to know” lists to Ruby’s life presented in the story.  To check the students’ comprehension, discuss the plot of the story.  We will briefly discuss the impacts of Martin Luther King Jr. (highlighting his speech) and Rosa Parks.  To summarize the lesson, complete all three columns of what we know, what we want to know, and what we learned about the civil rights movement through our work on Ruby Bridges and other activists.

Coles, R. (1995) The Story of Ruby Bridges. New York: Scholastic Inc.