Teacher Tips

Movies Inspire Reading!

By Robyn Gioia on November 4, 2019 / Articles, Common Core & NGSS, Curriculum Tie-in, Diversity, For Teachers, Teacher Tips

Bringing Books and Movies Together

Robyn Gioia

Teaching today’s students is a different ballgame than twenty years ago.

Even ten years ago. This is a generation of visual learners. Students in middle school down through elementary have grown up on cell phones and tablets. Visuals accompany almost everything they read. There isn’t a day go by that my students don’t say, “Can we see a picture of that?”

In the forefront are movies, moving visuals that provide setting, plot, memorable characters, action, and a storyline that comes to life in a different era.

This provides a great opportunity to take advantage of the stage movies produce.

Heroes stand out. It is from their hardships and the trials that follow that make history. One such hero is Harriet Tubman, a slave and political activist, who escaped captivity, and returned as a “conductor” to lead slaves through the “underground railroad” to freedom during the 1800s. She did this repeatedly, even though it put her in grave peril and she carried a bounty on her head.

Enter the Harriet Tubman Movie:

A tremendous opportunity for children to understand what these women worked so hard to accomplish—one succeeding and one coming close. —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Give students rich opportunities to learn more. Set the background. Provide students with information that provides historical depth and broadens the movie’s perspective.

Go beyond the internet. Teach your students the value of book research. Provide the class with a broad collection of books, both informational and historically based. Encourage them to be detectives. Encourage them to find the clues that tell us more. (Adjust as needed for your level of students.)

Brainstorm with the class. Discuss the different aspects of the movie. What questions do they have? Was the movie historically accurate? What was correct and what was fiction? Were the characters true to life? Did the plot follow the facts?

Examine the bigger picture. What drove the economy? What kind of society was it? What was happening politically? What were the customs? How did these things contribute to Harriet’s plight?

Divide the class into topics that were generated from their discussion. Let your students discover the answers through research. Teach them how to use the book index and chapter headings to speed up fact finding. Groups love to share what they’ve learned with others. Provide time each day to let them tell their favorite fun facts. Help them become experts.

Make an Experts’ Bulletin Board: At the end of each session, have students post fast facts and visuals from their book research. Provide a parking lot for questions. Let the specialized experts research the answers and post them on the board.

Have a Socratic Seminar: Pose thought provoking questions and let students discuss the answers citing evidence from their research.

Stage a Debate: Students choose an historical issue and debate the pros and cons.

Read historical novels.

Below are some of my favorite activities for Book Reports or/and Research Projects:

Write a Readers’ Theater.
Produce a historical newspaper with student journalists.
Write a picture book for first grade.
Create a Jeopardy game.
Design a board game of the Underground railroad. Create a schoolwide simulation.
Make a Slideshow to teach others.
Write and perform a skit.
Design posters.
Produce a new book jacket cover.
Design an informational brochure.
Produce a video clip.
Create trading cards.
Write a story using historical evidence based on a different perspective.
Write and perform a song.
Create a dance.
Write a poem.

Why Read?

By Robyn Gioia on May 24, 2019 / Articles, children's bookstores, For Librarians, For Teachers, independent bookstores, Teacher Tips

For Those Who Grew up Reading, This May Surprise You

by Robyn Gioia

For many in the older generations, reading was a main source of knowledge and entertainment. We read in school, we got in trouble for reading under our desks, we read on vacation, during summer breaks, in the car, and whenever the time was right. We discussed stories, acted out scenes when we played, and let our imaginations go wild. Authors were revered, new release dates drew faithful readers, and the written word was part of life.

Fast forward to a society with never ending videos and video games.

Many of today’s students don’t read outside of school. The challenge for many educators is to teach their students the value of reading and to hone these skills into lifelong skills.

Over the years I have found a successful model for turning students into readers. At the beginning of the year, I tell them they must have a book to read at all times. If they are early finishers, they are to read. They are to read during independent reading, in the library, after lunch, in the morning before class begins, or anytime an opportunity arises. Their chosen book will travel back and forth between school and home.

Sometimes I assign a monthly genre so they are introduced to the different categories. October is great for mysteries. Genres can also be coordinated with other subjects. Biographies are great for social studies. Fantasy is great for creative writing. Some months I let them choose their own genre. When they are really excited about a book, I let them share snippets with the class, but they aren’t allowed to spoil it for the next reader. Books that are shared are generally snatched up by others.

I used to assign monthly projects, but in the last few years, I have replaced it with writing a daily summary in their journals. The focus may change depending on what we are studying. If we are discussing character development, I might assign identifying character traits. If we are studying imagery, they may search for a passage with rich description. If we are studying emotion, they might identify a scene where emotion was a driving factor.

This really hones their ability to pull out main ideas. Some grumble at first, but once they master the skill, they become pros. The skill to pull out main ideas and prove it with evidence strengthens their understanding in every academic area.

For fun, I decided to take an anonymous poll of my class to see what they really thought of reading. At the beginning of the year, I had kids who bragged about not reading. During our beginning of the year parent conferences, I had parents complain they never saw their kids hold a book.

Since then, reading lexiles have soared along with their abilities. And it’s no wonder. When a person reads everyday, the brain is constantly exposed to plot, proper writing, literary elements, sentence structure, problem solving, and vocabulary to name just a few.

When a guest speaker asked the class the other day who likes to read, every hand shot up. This teacher had to smile.

End of the Year Class Poll

How many minutes do you read each day?

10-20 min. 24% 20-40 min. 30%

40-60 min. 12% 60 min. or more 16%

60 min. to 2 hours or more 15%

What kind of books do you like for pleasure? (25 responses)

Fantasy 68%

Graphic Novels 56%

Realistic Fiction 48%

True Stories 44%

Fiction 40%

Biographies 20%

What do you like to see in a character? (25 responses)

Brave, adventurous, funny, a leader, kind, hero, helpful, hardworking, loyalty.

I like when he or she is very bold or a lead taker. I like when they are talking about themselves and stating their opinion. It’s like they are talking to you.

Smart, loyal, show leadership, curious, naive, athletic, sly, nerdy.

Does not accept bullying, cool, loving, determined, extroverted.

List some of your favorite reads: (25 responses)

Eragon, Wings of Fire, Zita the Spacegirl (graphic novels)

Moone Boy, Whatever After, Dr. Seuss

Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, The Tiles of Apollo

Infinity War Comics, Big Nate, Dog man

Geronimo Stilton and Pokémon

Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, and Rangers Apprentice

Who Was Books, American Girl, Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Harry Potter, Rangers Apprentice, Percy Jackson

Wings of Fire, Percy Jackson, and Last Kids on Earth

big Nate, Percy Jackson, Roman Legends

George’s Cosmic Adventure, The War that Saved My Life, War Horse

Last Kids on Earth, Amulet and Dog man

Percy Jackson, Chronicles of Narnia, The Ghost the Rat and Me

The Hero Two Doors Down, Amulet, and Captain Under Pants

BONE (yes it’s in all caps), Amulet, and the Unwanteds

Doll Bones, Blood on the River, Chains, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Who Was, The Star Fisher, Finding Someplace.

Liesl and Po, Echo, Be Forever,

Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, and Spaced out

Goddess Girls, Big Nate, Seven Wonders

Diary of a Wimpy Kid and the books by Mike Lupica.

Roller Girl, Swing it Sunny, and Strega Nona

Warriors, Wings of Fire, 5 Worlds

Roller Girl, Swing it Sunny, Strega Nona.

I survived, The Boy who Painted the World

How Language is Your Most Powerful Writing Tool

By Samantha M Clark on April 8, 2019 / For Teachers, For Writers, Teacher Tips, Writing

I’ve been delving deep into one of my favorite writing topics lately—language. I’m putting together the materials for an online class on voice that I’m teaching at The Writing Barn in June, and language is so much part of voice. But what I really love about language with writing is how it also affects just about everything in a story, making it so fun to play with as well as a powerful writing tool.

You’re probably thinking, yeah, yeah, of course writing is about language. It’s words! Well, yes, but too often we think that only poets or picture book writers have to worry about finding the exact right word. But for novels, including middle-grade, language can make the difference between a good book and a great book.

And knowing how to use language, can help us writers up our game.

Let’s face it, when we talk about stories, the focus is often on plot or character development, because we studied words and grammar in school. What’s left to learn?

But what we were told in school were the rules, the science, not how to break those rules, to use them to pull in readers, the art.

So how does paying closer attention to language help us?

Here are a few of the multiple ways:

Voice

Voice always seems like this elusive part of writing. How often have you heard an agent or editor say they want a “fresh, distinct voice”? And how many times have you rolled your eyes because they followed it up with the explanation, “I know it when I see it.” Right.

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Well, yes, on the one hand, how “fresh” or “distinctive” a voice is is subjective, but when words are chosen carefully so they pop off the page, beg to be read aloud and sing to the reader, you can bet agents and editors will shut off their phone so they can read.

One of my favorite recent middle-grade reads for voice is Henry Lien’s PEASPROUT CHEN: FUTURE LEGEND OF SKATE AND SWORD. Look at this section from chapter one: “Even though the whole city is ribboned with waterfalls and fed with canals, the pearl itself is dry and never melts. As I skate, my blades bite into it, but the pearl smooths itself behind me. The sensation is delicious. We have nothing like this back home. In Shin, we have to skate on rinks made of ice preserved in caves until it’s ridged and yellowed like bad toenails.”

Henry Lien uses phrases like “ribboned with waterfalls” and “fed with canals.” The blades don’t cut or slice, they “bite” into the ice. And with “The sensation is delicious,” we get a visceral sense of it that we almost taste, even though we haven’t been talking about food. The words draw us into the world. Then that last simile of “bad toenails” quickly changes the taste in our mouth.

Unique. Intriguing. Brilliant!

Character

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When you’re writing in first person, the book’s voice is also the voice of your character (or chapter in dual or multiple POV), and the language must be what they’d use. We often hear that first person is more immediate and pulls readers in more easily. This is exactly the reason. We’re hearing directly from the character at all times.

This also means that we can get to know the character more intimately by the types of words they use. Look at this example from Leslie C. Youngblood’s LOVE LIKE SKY: “We got out of the car, and he reached for my hand as we crossed the lot. I grabbed it like I would catch a grasshopper, knowing I’d let it go but wanting to see how it felt. Frank’s hand was like a polished stone, hard but still smooth.”

The character G-Baby grabs Frank’s hand, and there’s an urgency there. Then the “like I would catch a grasshopper” tells us so much. Like being able to hold Frank’s hand is a moment she’s curious about but could be fleeting and she has to take the chance right now because it could jump away in a second. That tells us a lot about the relationship between G-Baby and Frank. Then G-Baby uses the simile of “a polished stone”, not just a stone, but a “polished” stone, like in G-Baby’s mind, this hand is something that should be taken care of.

Tone

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The language of a book sets the tone. If you use upbeat words, readers immediately get ready for an upbeat story. But take a look at the first two sentences of Kim Ventrella’s SKELETON TREE: “The day the rain stopped, Stanly Stanwright found a bone in the garden, poking up out of the dirt. It could have been a bean sprout, only it was white and hard and shaped like the tip of a little finger.”

How brilliant is this? Simple, to the point, and yet hidden within these words is so much about the story. Not only do we immediately get drawn into the book’s inciting incident (the finding of the bone), we also get the tone of the story. Kim Ventrella didn’t choose to start on a sunny, happy day, but “The day the rain stopped,” implying that maybe it’s been raining for a while…and perhaps that the rain is symbolic of other things in Stanly’s life.

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In Roshani Chokshi’s ARU SHAH AND THE END OF TIME, the language of the opening immediately lets us know we’re going on an adventure. But it also has a tone of storytelling, beckoning the reader in, encouraging us to pull up a seat and get ready for a good, action-packed story: “The problem with growing up around highly dangerous things is that after a while you just get used to them. … Some folks may not like the idea of working on a weekend, but it never felt like work to Aru.

“It felt like a ceremony.

“Like a secret.”

And notice the line breaks. They tell us that this is important information, but also build on each other to draw us in. Fantastic!

Pacing

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Talking of line breaks, language and how we break it up with grammar can speed up action or slow it down. Here’s a paragraph from an action scene in K.A. Reynolds’ THE LAND OF YESTERDAY: “A flash of memory seized her brain. Of her father, trapped in Widdendream’s attic, screaming her name.

“Her lantern pulsed, and then , it blazed.

“Cecelia backed away slowly.”

The words and sentences are short and clipped, letting us read it quickly and giving us that feeling of speed and anxiety. Those first two sentences could be one, but K.A. Reynolds separated them at “Of her father,” telling us this is important and keeping the action tight.

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But now, read these few lines from the first chapter of Patti Kim’s I’M OK, when the protagonist, Ok, is at his father’s funeral: “She tells me to eat, eat up, even if I’m not hungry, even if I don’t feel like it, because I’m going to need all the strength and energy to grow through this very hard thing that’s happened to me. It’s not normal, she says. It’s all wrong. What a senseless mess.”

That first sentence is long for a reason. It slows us down so we focus on every single part. Each section builds on the next, just like in the ARU SHAH example above. In that case, however, each phrase is given strength from their separation, but Patti Kim joined them with commas so each phrase strengthens the next and makes the maximum impact with the entire sentence. Then Patti Kim changes it up. Whereas the “She tells me…” sentence is long and supportive, the shorter sentences that follow are staccato and harsh, bringing us back to the difficult scene young Ok is going through.

There’s so much more that I love about playing with language. In my own book, THE BOY, THE BOAT, AND THE BEAST, I used so many different types of figurative language that I developed creative writing exercises from it for educators.

What’s your favorite way to use language in your middle-grade books? What kind of language tricks do you love to read?

Quick Plug!

If you’re a language nerd like me and love how language affects voice, join me in my online class at The Writing Barn on June 22.

Teacher Tips

Movies Inspire Reading!