Review Of Blog Post Part I of How to Use Picture Books With Upper Elementary Students During Back To School
If you have read Part I of this blog post series “How To Use Picture Books With Upper Elementary Students During Back to School” you know the reasons why I use picture books in upper elementary. If you haven’t read it yet you can read it here!
In that blog post, you read about some of the picture books that I will be using during the back-to-school season in my classroom. And you have also read about the different ways I use read-alouds with my students. This post is a continuation of that blog post, it’s Part II in the series.
In this blog post, I will talk about more picture books and discussion questions that I am planning to use with my students. I will use these during the first weeks of school and probably beyond those weeks. All the books I’ve chosen are great for leading discussions about how to treat others, how to appreciate who you are, to talk through your concerns!
When starting off the new school year, we know we want to get to know our students. We also want to help them to make friends and create a caring classroom community. Using read-alouds can help us achieve this, especially by leading our students in discussions. If you want to read more about creating a caring classroom community, read my blog post 5 Tips For Creating A Caring Community.
Here are some key points from Part I of the blog post series about the benefits of using picture books with upper elementary students.
- You can model fluent reading while reading the books aloud to your students.
- Show students how to read a book from cover to cover, from the beginning to the end.
- Do mini-lessons on skills by using picture books.
- Ask rigorous questions to go along with the simple text.
In Part I of the blog post series, I elaborated on how I use the following as read-alouds in my classroom.
- Picture Books
- Chapter Books
- Poetry
- Excerpts From Text
Below are some more picture books that explore how to treat others, how to be yourself, and the last one I’ve chosen is primarily fun. However, it teaches a great lesson on how to talk through your problems and concerns. It can also lead to great discussions with your students about why they go to school and their feelings about it.
To create discussion questions to go with these books you can use Depth of Knowledge or Bloom’s Taxonomy question starters. I am using a mix of both in the questions I created below.
Please also be mindful that many students do not want to talk out to the whole group. Some ways for students to answer these questions can be on an index card, in table groups, or with a partner. You can also put up large pieces of paper around the classroom with the questions on them. Students walk around the classroom and write their answers on the paper. They can also write their answer on a sticky note at their seat, get up and stick their answer on the paper. Students can choose to write their names or not. Once this is finished you can give students an opportunity to share out what they wrote if they would like.
My Mouth Is A Volcano by Julia Cook
This book is about Louis who interrupts everyone constantly. He doesn’t realize he is interrupting others he just feels he is sharing his connections or his point of view while they are talking. It isn’t until his very special moment of sharing in front of the class that he experiences others interrupting him. Louis is furious that others are stealing his moment! When he gets home he discusses this with his mom. She gently points out that he has been doing this to others. Louis now has a new perspective on what he thought was sharing his ideas but actually was interrupting others. This helps change his actions.
In the classroom when using this picture book I will focus my discussions on…
why you shouldn’t interrupt others when they are talking, the importance of listening, and why taking turns is necessary in the classroom. Some of the discussion questions I plan to ask are…
-Can you elaborate on the reasons why Louis interrupts others when they are talking?
-What alternatives would you suggest Louis does to help him not interrupt others?
-Discuss the pros and cons of his classmates interrupting him during his share time in class.
-How did Louis respond to the conversation his mom had with him about his classmates interrupting him?
-How can you contribute to conversations without interrupting others? Why is it important to listen?
Enemy Pie by Derek Munson
Enemy Pie is a story about a boy (the narrator) who was expecting to have a perfect summer until Jeremy moved into the neighborhood. Jeremy does things like laugh at him, doesn’t invite him over, and plays with his best friend. That is how Jeremy made it to his enemy list, the only name on his list.
The boy in the story tells his dad about his troubles with Jeremy. His dad shares that he knows how to make enemy pie. The recipe is a secret! It takes all morning for his dad to make the pie. While the pie is cooling the dad tells the son in order for the pie to work he must spend the day being nice to his enemy.
So he goes to Jeremy’s house and asks him to play. The boys play at both of their houses. It gets to the point where the narrator feels Jeremy is no longer his enemy. He tries to get Jeremy to not eat the pie. In the end, he realizes that it’s safe for them to eat the pie. He also realizes he doesn’t know what enemy pie tastes like and that he has just lost his best enemy.
In the classroom when using this picture book I will focus my discussions on…
not excluding others, feeling slighted by others, and being inviting to others who may be standoffish to us. Some of the discussion questions I plan to ask are…
-What were some reasons given that made the narrator feel that Jeremy did not like him?
-Why do you think Jeremy excluded the narrator from playing with him when he first moved to the neighborhood?
-Have you ever felt slighted by others? How did you know it was their intention to make you feel this way?
-List some ways you can be inviting to others who may seem standoffish to you.
-What do you think would be the result if you were nice to your enemies?
Recess Queen by Alexis O’Neil
The Recess Queen is about Mean Jean the bully! Mean Jean bullied and controlled recess. The other students were afraid and paralyzed to play without Mean Jean telling them to do so! Mean Jean always got her way. Then a new kid came to school, Katie Sue. She did not know the “playground rules” about Mean Jean being in charge. She played everything first before Mean Jean. In response, Mean Jean comes after Katie Sue and tells her nobody plays until Queen Jean plays. Katie Sue challenges Mean Jean and asks her how did she get so bossy and continues to play. At this point, Mean Jean is furious with Katie Sue. But Katie Sue does something that is unexpected! She asks Mean Jean to play with her. Mean Jean accepts and from then on Mean Jean is no longer the recess queen bullying others on the playground. She now joins in and plays with her friends.
In the classroom when using this picture book I will focus my discussions on…
not getting your way all the time, bullying, and being yourself. Some of the discussion questions I plan to ask are…
-What is your opinion of the kids allowing Mean Jean to get her way all the time?
-Why do you think Katie Sue was not afraid of Mean Jean?
-How did Katie Sue choose to challenge Mean Jean? Why was it unexpected?
-Can you explain how Katie Sue asking Mean Jean to play with her affected Mean Jean?
The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes by Mark Pett and Gary Rubinstein
This story is about Beatrice a girl who did everything perfectly. She even had fans who greeted her in the morning and asked her questions about being perfect. Everyone in her town called her the girl who never made mistakes, they didn’t even know her name. In contrast, her little brother Carl made lots of mistakes.
Then one day when cooking with her friends, Beatrice almost made a mistake! And as a result of this, she couldn’t stop thinking about how she almost made a mistake. It was on her mind all day and she was worried she would make a mistake.
It wasn’t until she was performing during the talent show that she made a major mistake in front of everyone that set her free from being perfect. The crowd didn’t know how she would react, Beatrice didn’t even know herself. But Beatrice let out a laugh and the crowd joined in with her. From then on Beatrice was more at ease and wasn’t afraid to be herself and explore and try new things. She was no longer known as the girl who never made mistakes and everyone just called her Beatrice.
In the classroom when using this picture book I will focus my discussions on…
not being perfect, making mistakes, and having a growth mindset. Some of the discussion questions I plan to ask are…
-What is the problem with Beatrice never making mistakes? What limits does she put on herself?
-Can you explain how everyone calling her the girl who never makes mistakes affected her?
– What makes Beatrice different from her brother Carl?
-What did you notice about Beatrice after she thought she almost made a mistake?
-How did Beatrice have a growth mindset after she made her first mistake?
-How can you have a growth mindset during this school year?
The Pigeon Has To Go To School by Mo Willems
The Pigeon Has To Go To School is a hilarious story about the pigeon not wanting to go to school. Pigeon feels he already knows everything. He is disagreeable about many things about school like it starting in the morning. Pigeon longs to be a baby pigeon where he doesn’t have to go to school. He then thinks about what if he doesn’t like school or what if the teacher doesn’t like pigeons. Not to mention there is so much stuff to learn. He has other concerns but then gets to the bottom line of being scared.
Pigeon doesn’t know what will happen at school! He goes on to talk about how the unknown stresses him out. And starts to talk about how there should be a place to go to learn about school. He realizes school is that place! And discovers that a school bus will get him there, finally realizing he the pigeon has to go to school!
In the classroom when using this picture book I will focus my discussions on…
talking out your concerns, reasons to go to school, and asking questions. Some of the discussion questions I plan to ask are…
-List the pigeon’s concerns about going to school.
-Can you explain how being scared affected the pigeon’s decision about going to school?
-Explain how talking out his concerns helped lead Pigeon to a solution about school.
-How would you describe the sequence of events that made the pigeon realize school is the place for him?
-How can you use questioning to help you work through your problems?
Conclusion
I hope this post part II of this blog post series as well as post I of this series was helpful to you. Using picture books with upper elementary students during back-to-school time can seamlessly fit into your back-to-school plans. Your students will enjoy hearing many of these stories and benefit from them. Don’t forget using picture books with upper elementary students can help you model fluent reading, show students how to read a book from beginning to end, help you do mini-lessons, and assist you in asking rigorous questions for class discussions.
