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From the 2020 Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts: Moving From Small to Large Through Play and Imagination

12/8/2020

 

By Kathryn Will, Meghan Goodwin, and Sophie Hendrix

​​The Notable Children’s Books in Language Arts Committee (NCBLA), reads, reviews, and discusses over 400 books of various genres written for K-8 children each year. These works of poetry and prose are analyzed using the charge of the committee that asks in making the selection of the top thirty texts the seven committee members consider:
        1. Appealing format,
        2. Enduring quality,
        3. Exemplary quality for their genre, and
        4. Meeting one or more of the following:
                a. Use of language: play on words, word origins, history of language
                b. Uniqueness in use of language or style
                c. Invitation of child response or engagement
This post focuses on two of the texts from the 2020 Notables List that might be seen through the lens of a progression from small to large. Although The Magic of Letters (2019) and Small World (2019) are very different books, they can be used to invite readers to imagine, play, and wonder.

The Magic of Letters
Written by Tony Johnston
Illustrated by Wendell Minor
Penguin Random House, unpaged, ISBN
 978-0823441594
Imagine an invitation to play with language through the revelation of letters as building blocks to words, and words to meaning. Through rich images of simple, but colorful line drawings, and collage, readers are encouraged to consider the magical nature of literacy as the pathway to building new ideas. The interplay of the text and illustrations immerse the reader in the playful progress as the rabbit leads the journey from letters, to words, to sentences. Interesting and rigorous vocabulary such as flibbertigibbet, clunk, limber, and enchantment invite readers to strive for complex use of language.
The Magic of Letters cover

Small World
Written by Ishta Mercurio

Illustrated by Jen Corace
Abrams Books for Young Readers, unpaged, ISBN 
978-1419734076
Small World cover

From the beginning of her time on the Earth as a baby in her mother’s arms to her travels to the moon as an astronaut, we journey with Nanda in her ever-expanding world. As Nanda grows, her participatory experiences with her expanding world grow more scientifically complex. Beautiful vocabulary such as fractals, symphony, and spooled, complement the rich illustrations vividly layered with color and images. Lyrical language invites the reader to travel along the journey with comfort. Woven throughout the story as the perspectives change, a thread of circularity brings comfort within the expansive boundaries or growing up--first in her mother’s arms and finally in the sphere of the Earth as she looks at her home from afar. The illustrations of gouache, ink, and pencil provide the depth of realism with warm inviting scenes that allow the reader to imagine the existence of this journey.​
Ishta Mercurio offers craft ideas related to things Nanda does in Small World.

​​Teaching Tips

Both of these books invite readers to engage in exploration and discussion through multiple reads due to their rich vocabulary and use of language. Teachers can easily deepen and extend the texts through a variety of activities.

Using the illustrative style of The Magic of Letters, children could repurpose magazines and catalogues to cut out letters and words as sources for creating new words and sentences. As they pore over the texts, they could look for familiar and known letters and words, providing opportunities for practice in letter and word recognition before assembling them in a collage. Children could use crayon resist to create magic letters of their very own, or even play roll and write to create sentences from familiar and new words. These activities reflect the rich and playful nature of the text.

Small World is a text that envelopes the reader in the world of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math). The rich vocabulary begs teachers to consider connections to geometry, snow science, and roller coasters. With consideration of Nanda’s career as an astronaut, students might watch this video about women astronauts, or think about materials they might need for a trip to the moon. This book also holds opportunities for rich discussion with questions such as:
  • In what ways is the world large? In what ways is it small?
  • What do the pictures in this book tell you? (without reading the book first to focus on inferencing)
  • How has your perception of the world changed as you have grown up?
  • In what ways did Nanda’s world change as she grew up? How does she see the world differently towards the end of the book as compared to the beginning?
  • Why do you think Nanda’s perception of the world changed throughout the book? Can you relate to this?
Children might write or draw with consideration of the ways in which their world has expanded outward from their welcome into the world, to their current context, and even the possibilities of where they might like to be in the future.


Kathryn Will is an Assistant Professor of Literacy at the University of Maine Farmington (@KWsLitCrew). She is passionate about sharing the power of children's literature with her students, including the two listed below who assisted in the creation of the teaching tips shared. She is a member of the 2019 Notables Committee, and will be chairing the committee in the upcoming year.
Meghan Goodwin, Preservice teacher, University of Maine Farmington (@Ms_G_Teaches)
Sophie Hendrix, Preservice teacher, University of Maine Farmington

Teaching Vocabulary Words in Context Using Exemplary Nonfiction Texts

10/20/2020

 

BY ALLY HAUPTMAN

Why do we teach vocabulary? At its core increasing a student’s vocabulary gives that student power. The power to express ideas, opinions, and feelings. The power to find the right words to persuade, inform, or to bring joy to readers. The power to build knowledge and understand complex concepts across disciplines. 

To effectively teach vocabulary and empower our students, teachers must provide rich and varied language experiences, learning experiences that connect words within a context, and opportunities to develop word consciousness (Allen, 2014).  Students need opportunities to read, write, and talk in authentic ways. Teachers can model how to use words in context, and immerse students in the language of different disciplines.  We need to show students how powerful words are in helping us communicate our ideas.  We have to show them how to become “word collectors.”  We need to teach vocabulary within context, and intentionally put students in situations where they make connections between words and concepts.

One of the most effective ways for students to make connections and construct meaning is to make sure new vocabulary is presented within a meaningful context. This is where excellent children’s literature comes into play. There are so many brilliantly written non-fiction picture books that can be used to teach vocabulary within a context. With students, I refer to these non-fiction books that are accessible to young readers and use text features in interesting ways, as jazzy non-fiction. Students are drawn to these texts because they make the subject fascinating for readers.

One author whose jazzy nonfiction I often use is Jess Keating. She is an author, artist, and zoologist who creates texts that spark curiosity about animals and women in science. In her World of Weird Animals series, she uses photographs, cartoons, and text features in unique and engaging ways. This is what makes her books so appealing to young readers, but as a teacher I am drawn to the complex vocabulary she uses in her writing. Jess Keating books can be used as mentor texts for writing, sparking a myriad of writing possibilities for students as they begin to see creative ways to write nonfiction. Jess Keating books are perfect for modeling a rich array of metacognitive comprehension strategies like determining importance. Jess Keating books are the best for teaching science concepts and related vocabulary within an authentic context. 

Cute As an Axolotl: Discovering the World’s Most Adorable Animals

In this text, Jess Keating and David DeGrand present a combination of stunning animal photographs, cartoon animals, and text features that invite readers to learn about some seriously cute creatures. For each animal, Keating lists facts like species name, size, diet, habitat, predators and threats. She also tells the reader strange, interesting facts that leave you wanting to do more research on these adorable creatures.

Learning Experience Using Cute As an Axolotl
Sorting and Reading to Place Vocabulary Within a Context
(Johns & Bergland, 2002)

Book Cover: Cute as an Axolotl Discovering the World's Most Adorable Animals By Jess Keating
  • On the first two pages of the book, Keating uses the words axolotl, aquatic, regeneration, predator, gills, species name, habitat, traits, features. Print these words and ask students to cut out each, so they are able to manipulate the words in an open sort. 
  • Students take a pencil and lightly mark how they would rank their knowledge of each word. Asking students to rank their knowledge of the word is an easy way to activate prior knowledge.
  • Ask students to complete an open sort.  They can sort the word cards in any way that makes sense to them. I have seen students sort alphabetically and by number of syllables in a word during their first sort. Many students sort the words by words they know or have never heard. Other students begin sorting by their conception of how the words are related. There are no wrong answers!
  • Students turn and talk with a partner to explain their sorts. This is where the magic happens! Students are sharing ideas about each word and learning from each other. I often see students re-sorting words during their conversations with partners as they refine their thinking together. The more they interact with words and have to make decisions about them, the words become closer to being “owned” than “rented” (Gillis, 2014). 
  • Ask students to justify their sort in writing in their notebook. This makes thinking visible and gives the teacher a quick check of their current knowledge of the vocabulary. 
  • Place the vocabulary within the context of a Jess Keating book! Read the first page of Cute As an Axolotl.  After reading, quickly discuss each word that was on their cards that appeared in the text.   
  • Re-sort based on what students now know about the words after hearing them within the context of Cute As an Axolotl.  Explain the sort to a partner and then write the justification for their resort in their notebooks.

More Jess Keating Books to Consider

Pink Is For Blobfish
Discovering the 
Book Cover: World's Perfectly Pink Animals By Jess Keating
Book Cover: 
Eat Your Rocks, Croc!: Dr. Glider's Advice for Troubled Animals
Written by Jess Keating
Book Cover: Shark Lady by Jess Keating
The World of Weird Animals Series (illustrated by David DeGrand)
  • Pink is for Blobfish: Discovering the World’s Perfectly Pink Animals
  • What Makes a Monster?: Discovering the World’s Scariest Creature
  • Gross as a Snot Otter: Discovering the World’s Most Disgusting Animals
 
Other Books
  • Eat Your Rocks, Croc!: Dr. Glider’s Advice for Troubled Animals, illustrated by Pete Oswald
  • Ocean Speaks: How Marie Tharp Revealed the Ocean’s Biggest Secret, illustrated by Katie Hickey
  • Shark Lady: The True Story of how Eugenie Clark Become the Ocean’s Most Fearless Scientist, illustrated by Marta Álvarez Miguėns

References

Allen, J. (2014). Tools for teaching academic vocabulary. Portland, ME: Stenhouse.

Berglund, R. & Johns, J. (2002). Strategies for content area learning: Vocabulary, comprehension, and
      response
. Dubuque, IA: Kendall-Hunt. 

Gillis, V. (2014). Talking the talk: Vocabulary instruction across the disciplines (or what to do instead).
       Journal of Adolescent and Adult Learning, 58(4), 281-287.

Ally Hauptman is a CLA Board Member and is the Chair of the Ways and Means Committee. She is an associate professor at Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN. 

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