A Taste of Blackberries- Realistic Fiction

A Taste of Blackberries
By: Doris Buchanan Smith

Jamie is a care-free spirit who is not afraid of anything. He hitchhikes rides, steals blackberries, and snags apples from a man with a gun. He plays jokes, teasing and fooling his friends all the time. One day, Mrs. Houser, Jamie's neighbor, hires the children of the community to help her get rid of the Japanese Beetles that feast on her grape vines. Jamie slacks on the work, and begins to poke a stick at a bee hive. When the bees begin to swarm around the kids, they all go home to give the bees a chance to calm down, except Jamie. Jamie gets stung by the bees and falls down. Because he is known for his attention getting pranks, all of this friends ignore him. Unfortunately, this time it was not a joke. Unknowingly, Jamie was allergic to bee stings, and because he did not receive help, he passed away. Now, his best friend is left alone to deal with the confusion and emptiness that Jamie's death left for the community. The young boy, realizes that even though Jamie is gone, he would want him to continue with his life, and enjoy the taste of blackberries.

I would use this book for upper elementary literature circles, in my future classroom. I think that this book is a good book to utilize to help teach the different elements of literature. I would have my students learn about characterization by having them create a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast Jamie and the narrator. They would continue to revisit and add to this chart, throughout the reading. The book is also an excellent way to begin a study on theme. This book has many themes, including relationships, confronting and resolving fears, dealing with death and grief, and learning to understand yourself. I would have students then write a story connecting their life with a theme that they chose from the book.

The Great Kapok Tree- Modern Fantasy

The Great Kapok Tree
A Tale of the Amazon Rainforest
By: Lynne Cherry

One day a man went into the Amazon Rainforest and began to chop down a Kapok tree, a home for many animals that inhabit the forest. He became tired and sat at the trunk of the tree to rest. Soon, he feel into a deep sleep. A snake slithered up to his ear and hissed, saying the tree had been in his family for many generations. He asked for him not to cut down his home. Next, a bee came to him, buzzing in his ear that he needed this tree to live, for his hive was there. Monkeys, tropical birds, tree frogs, jaguars, porcupines, anteaters, sloths, and tribal children also came to speak of the necessity of the tree to them, as well as the consequences that would manifest if the tree were cut down. When the man opened his eyes, before him stood all the animals that depended on the Great Kapok Tree to live. He looked up and saw how beautiful the rainforest was from the Great Kapok Tree's view. He picked up his ax to begin chopping again, and suddenly dropped it, walking out of the rainforest. There the tree stood, and continued to provide life, shelter, and food for the animals of the Amazon Rainforest.

As a future teacher, I would use this book as a science read aloud. This book can supplement instruction in numerous places throughout 3-5 science curriculum in North Carolina. It narrates the effects that deforestation has on economies and communities in a way that is fun and interesting for the students. A project that I would implement in my class with this book would be a class play. I think that it would be neat for the students to each be assigned a different role, the tree, animals, tribal boy, and the man, and have them act it out. We could have a family night, in which the students put on the play for their families and then tell them some other effects that clearing land has on the environment.

Rosa- Non Fiction

Rosa

By: Nikki Giovanni

 

This story is about Rosa Parks and her courageous attempt to take a stand against the unequal treatment of African Americans in the United States, during the 1950’s in Montgomery, Alabama. One day, Rosa was allowed to leave work early to go home and surprise her husband. When she got on the bus, the black section was full, and she decided to sit in the “neutral” section. When the bus driver asked Rosa to get up because white people needed her seat, she quickly refused to move and continued to sit. The police came and arrested Rosa because she would not move. When her friends found out about her arrest, they all came together to support Rosa. Twenty-five women met at Alabama State University and make flyers and posters to encourage other African Americans to walk instead of ride the bus. With the assistance of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the NAACP, Rosa Parks helped initiate one of the biggest Civil Rights protests in history. The people walked in protest for almost a whole year. On November 13, 1956, the Supreme Court ruled that segregation was illegal. Rosa Parks stood up for what she believed in, and helped to make life better for all African Americans in the United States.

As a future teacher, I would use this book during February because it is Black History Month. I would talk with my students about different people who led civil rights movements and helped to improve the quality of life for African Americans, such as Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Booker T. Washington. I could read biographies such as Rosa to my class, and we could discuss how their actions has had an impact on life in the United States. I would have the class do a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast the historical figures that we studied. 

Henry's Freedom Box- Non Fiction

Henry's Freedom Box
A True Story from the Underground Railroad
By: Ellen Levine

Henry Brown is an African American Slave in the United States during mid- 1800's. When he was a little boy, he was separated from his mother, and sold to a new master. His new master is mean, and beats him whenever he makes a mistake. When Henry gets older and marries, he worries that his wife and children will be taken from him, just like he was from his own mother. When this nightmare becomes a reality, Henry decides that he must escape this life of torment and he ships himself, in a wooden box, to a world of freedom in Philadelphia. Once he arrives safe, he is given a middle name- Henry "Box" Brown.

There are many ways that I could incorporate this story in the classroom. One way that I could do this, is to tie it into Social Studies. Students study the history of North Carolina in fourth grade, which can lead to a discussion on slaves in North Carolina and in other Southern States. I could incorporate the book in this unit by tying in the Underground Railroad. I would discuss with the students that the Underground Railroad was not actually a road, but it was all of the ways that slaves escaped slavery and made their way to the North. We could discuss Harriet Jacobs, a slave from Edenton, North Carolina who escaped slavery and moved to Philadelphia. We could read her autobiography, or excerpts from it, called  Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. We could then read Henry's Freedom Box and compare and contrast their escapes and lives. This would allow the class to get a more comprehensive understanding of what the Underground Railroad actually was.

Julius, the Baby of the World- Modern Fantasy

Julius, the Baby of the World
By: Kevin Henkes

Have you ever had a new baby brother or sister? How did you feel: excited, protective, jealous? When Lilly's family brings home her new baby brother, Julius, she became jealous because she was not getting as much attention. Her parents loved Julius and said that he was "the baby of the world." But, Lilly disagreed and she even said that she hated him. But what happens to Lilly's selfish behavior when someone else talks bad about baby Julius?

One way that I could use this in my future classroom is by doing a read aloud with accountable talk. I can read the story to my students and ask them open-ended questions as I am reading. The focus of these questions, or this lesson, would be on point of view. Therefore, the questions can have the students responding to how they think that the different characters in the story are feeling based on what is happening. The accountable talk aspect of the read aloud is important because it creates a classroom discussion setting, where the students are responding to each other's ideas instead of only to the teacher's questioning. I believe that this book is a good way to begin a unit on point of view because the characters have clearly different thoughts on baby Julius. Therefore it will help students to begin to think why the characters are feeling a certain way, or the reasons that they react they way that they do.