Review the powerpoint Children’s Literature and Storytelling.
It is important to explore a wide range of children’s literature and to learn about children’s book awards and booklists. Suggestions for expanding your knowledge of high-quality children’s books:
- Browse through the children’s books at your local library.
- Explore the collection of children’s books at the BMCC Library.
- Review the foundational and supporting texts in the NYCDOE Pre-K Curriculum Units.
- Explore themed children’s booklists on various topics, such as this list of anti-racist books for young children or this list of books about where we live: cities.
- Look for lists of well-known and highly-respected children’s authors, such as this list of the 100 Best Children’s Books of All Time or this list of Authors/Illustrators Everyone Should Know.
- Learn about the various children’s book awards, including:
- Caldecott Medal
- Coretta Scott King Award
- Ezra Jack Keats Award
- Theodor Suess Geisel Award
- Pura Belpre Medal
For this assignment research children’s books to support each sub-topic in your curriculum theme. Begin with the resources listed above, and find one high-quality children’s book for each sub-topic. That’s a total of five books.
Research each book to make sure it is high-quality and supports the big ideas and essential questions of the sub-topic. Learn about the author/illustrator of each book. See if you can find a read-aloud of each book on Vimeo or YouTube. (You may not be able to find a read-aloud; that’s okay.)
Complete five copies of the Building Curriculum Through Books worksheet, one for each of the five books you choose.
Building Curriculum Through Books
Please complete all sections of the book report.
Curriculum Theme: __Myself___________________________
Book title: ____” Chrysanthemum” ___________________________
Author: ______Kevin Henkes__________________________
Summarize your book. What is the story about?
This book is about a girl who grew up in a love environment and has a unique name, that evokes cynicism in her peer Victoria, which is why the protagonist becomes complex and no longer wants to go to school because of it. The book tells the story of how a negative expression can affect us, but how important is support for us as well in situations of that need.
Mirrors and Windows: How might this book support children in your class. Is it a mirror, window, a sliding door, or a combination? Explain.
This book will help children understand how reckless behavior can hurt another person and what harm it can do to her/him. This is a mirror if we take the reflective behavior, a window for the things I would introduce them to and a sliding door for the circumstantial conditions that will sometimes face them, and they need to come up with solutions and creative thinking.
The reflection here is depicted from events like when I am involved in some inner circumstances of self-thinking and I start to deny myself by preferring myself to be different or with more or less characters of my personality. The window on the other side, allows me to see how another person (in this case music teacher Mrs. Twinkle) stands up for her name and enjoys it. And by through sliding door we get to know the feelings of all the characters.
Describe the illustrations. How do the illustrations add to the story?
By seeing illustration I understood all the personages through exact visual, character and mood.
List questions that you would ask before, during or following a read aloud or discussion of this book.
“What are the names of characters?”
“Do you ever have the same feelings like Chrysantemum?”
“Do you think we have to laugh on anybody’s names and why?”
“How Mrs. Twinkle supported Chrysantemum?”
“What flower name would you give to yourself and your best friends and why?”
Get creative! Briefly describe an art activity (using visual arts, movement, music, or dramatic play) that you would do with your class of 4-, 5-, or 6-year-old in connection with reading this book.
I would ask the children to draw Chrysanthemums as they see, as well as a music teacher. I would ask what was particularly memorable to them about the character of Chrysanthemums and the music teacher.
Building Curriculum Through Books
Sub theme #2
Please complete all sections of the book report.
Curriculum Theme: _My Family____________________________
Book title: _” Me and my family tree” _______________________________
Author: ____Joan Sweeney ____________________________
Summarize your book. What is the story about?
This book describes how all family members; siblings, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins are relative to one little girl.
Mirrors and Windows: How might this book support children in your class. Is it a mirror, window, a sliding door, or a combination? Explain.
This book will support children in my classroom to understand the value of family members and what does a family bond mean. It shows us a perfect example of a mirror and a window, when a girl arranges a family tree, we also arrange in our minds our family members, relatives and their names.
Describe the illustrations. How do the illustrations add to the story?
The Illustration absolutely helped me to have clear imagination about how and where to put my family members in my family tree.
List questions that you would ask before, during or following a read aloud or discussion of this book.
“How many members are in your family? Tell me their names and which relationship do you have with them?”
“Do you know all your relatives’ birthdays?”
“What are you celebrating together?”
“What do you know about your grand-grandparents?”
“Do you have a family tree?”
Get creative! Briefly describe an art activity (using visual arts, movement, music, or dramatic play) that you would do with your class of 4, 5, or 6-yearolds in connection with a reading this book.
Today we are going to draw family free. We will need each member a crayon color to draw his/her branch to build a big tree and draw faces of each on its part. We will then sing a song about gratefulness we have to our relatives.
Building Curriculum Through Books
Sub theme #3
Please complete all sections of the book report.
Curriculum Theme: __My relationships ___________________________
Book title: __You are special” ______________________________
Author: _____Max Lucado___________________________
Summarize your book. What is the story about?
Eli the woodcarver helps Punchinello understand how special he is – no matter what other Wemmicks may think.
Mirrors and Windows: How might this book support children in your class. Is it a mirror, window, a sliding door, or a combination? Explain.
This book will support children in my classroom to learn more about respect and friendships. How important is to have a right person, who will accept and support you as you are. In my opinion, this is a combination of mirror, window and sliding door. When we see Punchinello’s sadness and unhappiness, we are reminded of our melancholy and unhappiness. When we meet his friend Lucia, who does not care about the opinion of others, and advises the same to Punchinello, with whose help he went to Eli’s house, we remember all the friends or good people we met on the way of our life and we are grateful for their help.
Describe the illustrations. How do the illustrations add to the story?
The illustrations are sad, but it accurately describes Punchinello’s inner state.
List questions that you would ask before, during or following a read aloud or discussion of this book.
“Why Wemmicks were giving each other stickers?”
“Why Punchinello was always sad?”
“What Lucia advised him?”
“Who was Eli?”
“Why good relationship is so important?”
“Why we are special?”
“What color sticker would you give to your best friend and why?”
Get creative! Briefly describe an art activity (using visual arts, movement, music, or dramatic play) that you would do with your class of 4, 5, or 6-yearolds in connection with a reading this book.
Today we are going to draw stickers that we would like to give our friends.
Building Curriculum Through Books
Sub theme #4
Please complete all sections of the book report.
Curriculum Theme: _____My Culture/traditions________________________
Book title: __” One classroom many cultures” _____________________________
Author: ________Elizabeth Massive________________________
Summarize your book. What is the story about?
The US is a nation of many people. Some of them have families that have lived here for hundreds of years. Some of them may have families that moved here from other countries not long ago. These people live in the same neighborhoods. The parents work together, the children go to school together.
Mirrors and Windows: How might this book support children in your class. Is it a mirror, window, a sliding door, or a combination? Explain.
This book will help children in my class discover other countries with their cultures and traditions. Children could share their customs, food and teach each other one word from their language. This book is a great example of the mirror, window and sliding door combination. Watching and listening others’ culture and traditions, you are thinking about yours and you realize you are part of this challenge.
Describe the illustrations. How do the illustrations add to the story?
The illustration shows all persons differently and accurately reflects their circumstance.
List questions that you would ask before, during or following a read aloud or discussion of this book.
“What traditions do you have?”
“Where do you come from?”
“What language do you speak at home?”
“What celebrations do you have besides the American ones?”
“What is your favorite tradition/celebration?”
“What is that one word you love most?”
“Tell us the rule that all of your family follows”
Get creative! Briefly describe an art activity (using visual arts, movement, music, or dramatic play) that you would do with your class of 4, 5, or 6-yearolds in connection with a reading this book.
Today we are going to draw flags of our respective countries of origin, and most popular food in our family. Also, we all will dance on our traditional music.
Building Curriculum Through Books
Sub theme #5
Please complete all sections of the book report.
Curriculum Theme: _____The world around me ________________________
Book title: _” We are different, we are the same and we are all wonderful” _______________________________
Author: __Bobbi Jane Kates______________________________
Summarize your book. What is the story about?
This is the story about how we all are the same, no matter who we look like, who wears what, or who has which skin color.
Mirrors and Windows: How might this book support children in your class. Is it a mirror, window, a sliding door, or a combination? Explain.
This book will support children in my classroom to be who they are. So, what if I have orange hair, or long nose, or I am fat, tall or very thin? I will still be your friend and stand by you like a dark hair with small nose, or midget. To me, this example illustrates all the three combinations: A mirror, a window and sliding door.
Describe the illustrations. How do the illustrations add to the story?
The illustrations are very lovely, funny, and amazing and exactly respond to the story told in the book.
List questions that you would ask before, during or following a read aloud or discussion of this book.
“Describe yourself”
“Describe your friends”
“Why we are different?”
“Why we are the same?”
“What unites all of us?”
Get creative! Briefly describe an art activity (using visual arts, movement, music, or dramatic play) that you would do with your class of 4, 5, or 6-yearolds in connection with a reading this book.
Let’s draw ourselves and our friends.