Reading About Writing, by Sandy Meagher
Here are some great book picks to help you introduce all the various parts of writing
Helping students understand figures of speech takes more than a book – it takes a creative teacher and interested students. One book that our teachers and students have had a great time with is Monkey Business by Wallace Edwards, (Kids Can Press, 2004). Since most students can identify with humor, animals and great art work, this book works well. The animals visually act out the idiom when an alligator eats her words and sweeps books off a shelf right into her mouth.
More idioms
Loreen Leedy has a really terrific book about idioms called, There's a Frog in My Throat!: 440 Animal Sayings a Little Bird Told Me (Holiday House, 2003). The idiom is in bold type and next to it is the literal meaning in regular type. This book has a "Dear Reader" page which gives meanings and examples of simile, metaphor, idiom and proverb. There's even an index of animals, so you can get to the figures of speech quickly. Students had fun illustrating idioms and having their classmates guess. One class made their own book of idioms and shared it with other grades.
Tedd Arnold's book, Even More Parts: Idioms from Head to Toe, (Dial Books, 2004) is a great one for teaching kids idioms as well. The humor begins when a young boy is concerned about what will happen to his body when he hears the word "tongue-tied" and the rhyming story is really funny and chock-full of idioms.
Books about writing
Writing is receiving strong attention in curriculum and again teachers are turning to good children's literature for examples. When teaching descriptive writing, Jean Craighead George always captures nature and classes like to see and hear how published authors do this. Try using the wonderful novel Charlie's Raven by Jean Craighead George (Dutton, 2004). The nature descriptions in this book allow the reader to create the images in his or her mind; just what we're supposed to do with descriptive writing.
A helpful book to introduce various forms of writing is Show Don't Tell: Secrets of Writing by Josephine Nobisso (Gingerbread House, 2004). To incorporate the senses, the book has a "scratch and sniff" page and even a page to hear some sounds by pushing a button. When teaching writing, many times it's helpful to pique students' curiosity with a book like this.
During those times when the days need a real perk, try this wonderful game – Once Upon a Time: Creative Writing Fun for Kids by Annie Buckley and Kathleen Coyle (Chronicle Books, 2004). A set of well-illustrated cards introduces genres of literature, how to plot, setting, object, character, action, feeling, etc. Each card gives starters, books to read and activities. A game such as this can be so much fun and a wonderful learning tool.
Hard to believe we need to think about summertime all ready. Where does the time go? During these last months of school, the library is active. Everyone is trying to clean up, clean out and find those lost books. A substitute teacher had a great idea in the library last year and I plan to use it again this year. She had a huge container of wrapped candy; everyone who returned a book during their last library class got to pick out a treat. Simple, but it really worked.
SPECIAL SECTION
Getting Parents Involved
As we look toward a vacation soon, think about what teachers, parents and students can do to enrich their lives. Of course travel is always on the top of the list and my hope is that everyone has an opportunity to enjoy a different part of our world. However, for some children and adults, it may not happen.
Recommend parents go to the public library and see what summer programs they have available. We try to send home a flyer with every child with the area public library hours and programs.
Check your local historical society, game preserve, zoos, chamber of commerce. Get out the phone book and have the children help search for places to go and things to do. All of this requires reading, writing and speaking; the areas of curriculum we try to reinforce through our libraries all year long.
Each year we send home reading flyers. We never tell parents or students that they have to read everything on the list; suggestions for good reading are what we try to impart.
Encourage parents and kids to ask their local librarian for books about anything they like: arts and crafts, drawing, music, biographies of famous people, languages from other countries, coin collecting, sports card collecting. Remember, even if they don't have the exact book you want, many times they can borrow it from another library.
Remind parents not to forget to select books for themselves and also those that parents and their child can share. You might especially like The Bear Essentials: Everything Today's Hard-Pressed Parent Needs To Know About Bringing Up Happy, Healthy Kids by Stan and Jan Berenstain (Random House, 2005).
If we can make carrying a book, DVD or eBook, as natural as carrying a wallet or pocketbook, our children will follow suit. Put one in your backpack or suitcase and you will be ready for summertime or anytime. Make sure to have some fun doing this. I can always remember those long lines with our four children in tow – believe me, a joke book, riddles or trivia really came in handy!
Sandy Meagher is the Library Department Chairperson and School Librarian in the Wayne Highlands School District, Honesdale, PA.
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