Versions of the Pig Story

Author/illustrator Mark Teague joined us at school this afternoon for a reading of his latest book and a drawing demonstration. The Three Little Pigs and the Somewhat Bad Wolf offers a slightly different version of the traditional tale, and he says it evolved through numerous retellings as his daughters prepared for bed in their younger years. Mark and the second graders (and later the first graders) talked about things they knew for certain in various versions of the story (three houses), things that made them uncomfortable (like the wolf ending up in the stew pot), and things they noticed in his story. They also discussed improbabilities, like a wolf being able to blow down a house - straw, stick, or brick.

As he drew the third pig for the audience, our school nurse leaned over and said, "It is just a few lines. Why can't I do that?" Practice, of course. Mark encouraged the children to draw again and again, just like he did to create consistent characters for the story. Thanks to the Red Balloon for facilitating this visit!

Movie Premiere

On Thursday, the fourth graders (with whom Debra Frasier has been working since February) presented their premiere of "Dog Diaries." It was an incredible production featuring their cut-paper dog puppets acting in a makeshift theater frame, accompanied by several lines from the students' narratives and read in their expressive dog voices. Technical difficulties occurred multiple times during the filming as dogs streaked across the screen in pursuit of squirrels or as dogs congregated in a barking chorus on stage. The two classes in attendance loved the film, and the movie-makers beamed in pride.

The guest classes were especially interested in the process of creating these dog stories. The students began working with Debra several months ago. They first randomly selected a dog biography (retrieved for them from petfinder.com) and then used a mini-book called Spike's Friends (designed by Debra) to consider personality traits and determine the voices of their dogs. After numerous revisions and an experience with writer's craft groups to assist in those revisions, they began working with Debra again on the dog puppets (no writing utensils allowed!). The cut-paper dogs amazingly resemble their real dog photographs! All the puppets and stories are currently on display in the library and are a huge attraction to library visitors.

Each dog puppet, by the way, is mounted on a strong piece of electrical wire and attached with a small bungee cord to a can of dog food during its off-stage time. Debra's book, Spike: Ugliest Dog in the Universe, is scheduled for release on October 15, 2013.

Wonder Books

My parents sent the most incredible gift to my school earlier this year: money to purchase a class set of R. J. Palacio's book Wonder. After reading the book and discussing it with each other via online and in-person conversations, the fifth graders created small books about the ideas of Wonder.

They shared their wonder books with each other and parents today. Each book was supposed to contain three things in response to the story:

a precept that shapes life (composed by the student or borrowed from another source)
a wonder question that could not be answered with facts
a word that guides (illustrated in some way)

The book covers needed to convey an important scene from the story, and their varied responses foretell the  thoughtfulness of their responses. The precepts (like those shared by the teacher in Wonder) covered topics of great importance, and the choices showed the students' careful inclusion of ideas they believe are essential to living. They wondered about why people treat others unfairly because of personality traits or appearance, why life on earth is temporary, what can be done for the world to be at peace. Words like joy, others, family, love, wisdom, and peace filled the last pages of their books. All of these things were excellent examples of what the students learned from the book - and far more powerful than answers to comprehension questions!

Halving and Doubling

The buds and blossoms are on doubling each day on my neighbor's magnolia bush, slowly dominating the branches and tips.

In the library, we are reading Matthew McElligott's book THE LION'S SHARE. It subtitle is excellent: A TALE OF HALVING CAKE AND EATING IT, TOO. When Ant is invited to a dinner party hosted by Lion, she can hardly believe it. But when she observes the atrocious manner displayed by the other guest (like Beetle, Tortoise, Warthog, Hippo, and Elephant), she wonders about their behavior. Lion quietly watches, too. Then it is time for dessert. Elephant slices the cake in half and passes it on to others; each animal halves it, leaving only crumbs for Ant. Unable to share those with Lion, Ant offers to bake a strawberry sponge cake for the king. Not to be outdone, each of the others offers to double the offer, resulting in 256 cakes peanut butter pound cakes promised by Elephant.

I love how this book incorporates fractions and multiplication in a captivating story about getting along well with others. The children's reactions to the other animals' arrogant ways was strong. Like me, they loved the mr. McElligott's watercolor artwork.

Research Options

With some warmer weather has come buds and even a few blossoms. I marvel at how differently the buds manifest themselves, depending on the tree species and type. Most of the maples in our yard simply get reddish buds on the branch tips, but our neighbors' maple has the added fluffy hairdo, making the tree appear to be ablaze. Soon, all these maples will display similar leaves.

My former English teachers each seemed to teach a different way of conducting research, all hoping to guide students to an organized final product. Some methods were more cumbersome than others for me, but I dreaded the outlines most. I have taught students how to use outlines, notecards, t-charts, and various inquiry methods, but in the end, each will have a preferred method for conducting research.

I have been conducting research of my own lately, and I am refining what I prefer, what works best for how my brain works and how my questions flow. Though I have a general idea of what I want to know, I have loved how one topic leads to another and how a source can direct me to several others. I am reminded again to provide students with choices so they, too, can discover what fits best for their style.

Mixing

Whereas for some people, cooking or baking in the kitchen is unpleasant, for me it is a pleasure, a way to relieve stress, to create things that will fill others with satisfaction. There are tools for many of the things I need to do while preparing food, and like most people, I have favorites. I like that coated whisk for chocolate pudding, the dough hook for certain kinds of bread dough, the tiny whisk for just a few eggs.

When my mom recommended Erica Bauermeister's book THE LOST ART OF MIXING, I figured it would be a story about cooking. It is. But it is so much more than that. Each chapter focuses on one of the eight people whose lives come together in the book: Lillian, Chloe, Tom, Finnegan, Isabelle, Louise, Al, and Abby. One owns a restaurant. One longs to be a chef and works at that restaurant. One has experienced tremendous loss and learns to love again. One loves people's stories and making life gentler for others. One is losing her memory but can read people so well. One is angry and reads people so poorly. One wants so much to be loved and appreciated. One sees only a single way to live. Sometimes the mixing of their lives seems effortless. At other times, it is strained, reminding me that we all need to consider the experiences of those we encounter instead is making assumptions.

I loved how the author wove together their stories, how tidbits would appear once and reappear later in surprise, how sometimes one person would be the expert at mixing. I especially loved the importance placed upon rituals. As Al explains, "Rituals are like making time into family...Normally, time just flows along, and you might not pay any more attention to it than you would strangers on the street. A ritual makes you stop and notice. It says, look, you're growing up, or older, or into something. It turns that moment into something you carry with you forever, when otherwise it could have just drifted away." p. 36

Fish Stories

Despite more snow in Minnesota and Wisconsin, fishing enthusiasts hope to find open water for the fishing openers in the coming two weekends. At school, listeners have been eager to share their own fishing stories after hearing David Shannon's latest book JANGLES: A BIG FISH STORY. Hands separate by expanding inches as children tell about the crappie/bluegill/northern pike/walleye they caught.

Jangles is a supposedly uncatchable trout, nabbed by the narrator's father. The fish got its name from the many lures and hooks embedded in its mouth over the years, tingling and jangling to signal the fish's arrival. When finally caught, the famous fish transports the fisherboy to its underwater cave and tells amazing stories (which the boy incredulously understands). In the end, though the boy snags the fish, they strike a deal. The boys agrees to let the fish go, and the fish requests the removal of all those lures and hooks. The last page displays an open tackle box.

It is the perfect story to read aloud as the fishing season draws close.

Note: the snow missed us by about 12 miles today. This photo was taken last week.