Love that Dog

Sharon Creech, Love That Dog, USA, HarperCollins Children’s Books, 2001, 86 pp. children’s poetry, Grades 2-6

Tomie dePaola’s Mother Goose, Nursery Rhyme

Book: Tomie dePaola’s Mother Goose, Nursery Rhyme: There was a Crooked Man, New York, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1985, page 24. Grades K-3

The crooked man was surrounded by all that was crooked including his house and cat who also caught crooked mice. This story is directed to attract a young child’s attention with its poetic and rhyming words and descriptive, colorful illustrations of the crooked man and his slightly unusual life.

Activity:

1. For an activity with young children I would read it with them and have them identify the words that rhyme. Then I would have them change the words around or find other rhyming words. They can even write another nursery rhyme about the crooked man or expand on this one. For example: What else could the crooked man have?

Fairy Tales of Siberian Folks Story

Complied by Galina Smirnova, Book: Fairy Tales of Siberian Folks Story: How the Camel Lost his Good Looks,Design by Victor and Larisa Yegorov, Krasnoyarsk “Vital” Publishers, 1992, 23-23 pp. Folktales for Children, Grades K-4

Long ago the arrogant camel was one of the best-looking animals in the forest and he proudly announced it to be sure all the animals knew of his handsome qualities. Soon the animals got fed up with his boastful comments and plotted against him asking to borrow his beautiful horns and tail. This short child-centered folktale can be described as a pourquoi tale as it’s meaning is to describe why camels look the way they do and also why being egotistical is not a good trait to have.

Activity

1. I think the best activity to do with young children based on a short pourquoi tale is to talk about it briefly (the silliness of it) and bring another book in to the discussion that is also a pourquoi tale. The students can discuss it again. Then the teacher can assign student to brainstorm a kind of way they can describe why the camel looks the way it does and write their own story.

The Sleeping Lady

Retold by Ann Dixon, The Sleeping Lady, Elizabeth Johns, USA, Alaska Northwest Books, 1994, 30 pp. Alaska Folktale for Children, Grades K-3

Susitna and Nekatla are two young adults in love and in preparation to be married when their day is disrupted by a stranger who brings them news of bad people approaching their village along the shores of Cook Inlet Alaska. Because they only believed in peace and happiness Nekatla convinced his fellow villagers to go meet these people and offer a peace offering rather then wait for the violence to approach their village. This folktale is told in third person and in past tense shining the light on love and devotion and to describe the magnificent landscape of Susitna Mountain.

1. A great activity to do with children is have them think about something else in nature they can describe. First have them brainstorm ideas, teacher can write ideas on board. Then have students write their own, illustrate and share.

Jack and the Beanstalk

Retold by Virginia Haviland, Jack and the Beanstalk, S.D Schindler, Boston, Little, Brown and Company, 35-44 pp. Children’s Fairy Tales, Grades K-3

Jack is a young boy whose mother tells him to go and sell their cow because she no longer produced milk for them to sell. On his way to the market he meets a strange peddler who in exchange for his cow offers Jack magic beans. The story is told to be seen from a child’s perspective with imaginary minds and the idea what troubles can occur when one simply doesn’t follow one simple rule and how lessons can be learned from mistakes made.

Activity:

1. A great way for students to visualize how it was that the beans grew would be for them to actually plant their own. A teacher can bring seeds and small containers and student can plant their own seeds and watch them grow. To build on this teacher can have a writing assignment such as for student to build on to the story or even slightly change the ending such as “What would have happened if Jack had not chopped down the beanstalk?”

Little Red Riding Hood

Candice Ransom, Little Red Riding Hood, USA, Brighter Child, 2002, 32 pp. Children’s Story, Grades K-3

Little Red Riding Hood is a young girl who is sent to her grandmother’s house with a basket of goods. Along the way, through the forest, a big, bad Wolf sees her and dashes to the grandmother’s house to cause Little Red trouble. This story is told in third person point of view and with the use of childlike dialogue really brings it to life why it is so important for children to listen to their parents or otherwise may end up in an unsafe situation.

Response Activities:

1. A good activity to do with young children is to come up with a “safety plan” as a group. Teacher can lead a discussion on what children already know about safety and who they must go to when they are in trouble or who they should or should not talk to. Children can have group discussions and then come up with a master classroom plan.

2. Another activity to do would be to try and re-enact the story. Each student can be a character or two, props could be made from classroom materials, etc. Students would gain a better understanding while re-enacting the story.