Time to get ready for the weekend!
Kick up your feet and find a good place to read.
Sharing #booklove for your classroom or library.
Spotlighting a book or two because these books deserve the spotlight!
Books that make you DO something!
Are you thinking about having your students think about what they can do to help in the community? This is a perfect book to use!
Follow the Moon Home: A Tale of One Idea,
Twenty Kids, and a Hundred Sea Turtles
by Philippe Cousteau and Deborah Hopkinson
illustrated by Meilo So
Published by Chronicle Books
After reading this book to students, think and talk about:
- the action plan! On the second layout, there is an illustration of the way the teacher, Mr. J, was outlining the class project - community action. I love the basic steps that are posted: Identify, Plan, Take Action, Tell the Story and Reflect. Take time to go over this chart. How can you make it work?
- If you want to use this book as a mentor text, go back and reread. Have students look for evidence in the text the characters following the action plan. What did they do? What sources did they use?
- Notice how the plan in this book is local for that particular community. What are the benefits of keeping a community action plan local? I also like how the kids went outside the classroom walls to identify the problem. It wasn't just brainstorming in the classroom.
- By keeping their plan local, they were able to see the outcome. Was this important? Why do you think so?
- Be sure you check out the letter Philippe Cousteau wrote at the end that is titled "Letter to Young Activists". Notice how he touches upon the steps of the action plan, giving options and ideas of how people of all ages can get involved.
- I also love the passion-filled letter to parents and teachers explaining how young people are our hope to be leaders and thinkers and doers.
- Finally, check out the additional sources included in the endnotes!
We have an amazing teacher in our building, Angie Wake (if you aren't following her already, make sure that you do now @mrswake3rdgrade) that has spearheaded projects with our Student Council, but has also done a Student Activist Club that has taken on a number of projects. Things you can do with your students: collect supplies for a local children's hospital, make blankets for your local homeless shelter, sell popcorn during lunch to raise money for a variety of things (including books for the school library!) and write letters to the troops, fire and police departments. I've seen other clubs/schools do a Little Free Library, what an awesome idea!
Thank you to Chronicle Books for the review copy!
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