Dear Blue Sky / Shooting the Moon

 

I recently started reading Dear Blue Sky and I realized the parallels to Shooting the Moon are incredible. I read Shooting the Moon several years ago and a student of mine is currently reading it.  In both books, the main character is a girl whose brother has gone off to war, supported by the father. Both books also have a character with a disability, in Shooting the Moon, a neighbor, and in Dear Blue Sky, her brother. Another key similarity is that both main characters perspectives on the war evolves throughout the book. In Shooting the Moon, Jamie’s brother is in Vietnam and he sends her rolls of film instead of letters. Through developing them, she is able to see into the reality of the Vietnam War. In Cassie’s story, she read an Iraqi girls blog and sees how the war affect the Iraqi population.  Both are using technology of the day to see the true story of the war. Both books could be used together, or separately to highlight the effect war has on families back home.

Dear Blue Sky:
(Sullivan, M. (2012). Dear Blue Sky. New York: Nancy Paulsen Books. )

 Reading Level: Ages 10 and up

Suggesting Reading Style: Small Group or Partners

Technology Resources:  A Prezi created about Dear Blue Sky, sharing highlights about the author, reviews, and the book itself.

Shooting the Moon:

(Dowell, F. O. (2008). Shooting the moon. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.)

 Reading Level: Lexile 890L/ Ages 10 and up

Suggesting Reading Style: Small Group or Partners

Technology Resources:The official website of Frances O'Roarke Dowell offers readers information about her books, a bio, and a journal written by the author.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again

(Boyce, F., & Berger, J. (2012). Chitty Chitty Bang Bang flies again. Somerville, Mass.: Candlewick Press. )

Summary: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again is a stay-up-late-to-finish-reading-it page turner. Besides the fantastic British lexicon and the interesting illustrations that are sprinkled throughout the text, the characters are well developed (Lucy!) and interesting. This book details the Tootings vacation adventures and begins with the father recently losing his job. He takes to using his creativity to fixing things around the house (toys that play with you, motion sensor front doors that turn on the teapot) to mixed results. The ultimate project for him, and his family, is the restoration of a camper van. Once they begin traveling, they discover their van has some interesting abilities.  This book is a supplement to the original Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by Ian Fleming and is inspired by the author's childhood experience watching the movie.

Reading Level: Ages: 8 to 10, Lexile 710L

  

Suggested Delivery: Read Aloud/Independent Read

Technology Resources:

1. The Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again Book Trailer is narrated by the author, Frank Cottrell Boyce.

2. The Candlwick Site for this book offers a plethora of resources for teachers and students.

3. Ian Fleming's website highlights his books and includes a page on the original Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, including information about the sequel to Flies Again, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the Race Against Time, published in 2012.

 

Frank Cottrell Boyce



Kira-Kira

(Kadohata, C. (2004). Kira-kira . New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.)

Summary: Kira-Kira, meaning glittery in Japanese, is how Katie’s sister Lynn views the world. Lynn helps Katie deal with their family’s move from Iowa to rural Georgia, where their parents work overtime to be able to support the family and fulfill Lynn’s dream of owning a house. Lynn helps Katie transition and deal with the changes that came with living in a community with few Japanese. When Lynn falls sick and their parents are working overtime, Katie becomes the one to encourage the Kira-Kira outlook of seeing the beautiful in the ordinary.

Reading Level: Ages 9-12, Lexile 740L

Key words/phrases:

    1. Japanese-Americans

    2. Sisters

    3. Death

    4. Injustice

    5. Rural Georgia 1950s

Suggested Delivery: Individual

Electronic Resources:  

1.   Japanese American National Museum provides students with cultural background on Japanese Americans throughout United States history. Specifically the “Toyo Miyatake Studio / Rafu Shimpo Collection” provides information about Japanese Americans during the 1950s.
2.    Asian Pacific American Historical Timeline Details (1950 to 1959) provides a timeline starting in 1950 of Japanese American history.

Chicken hatchery

Teaching Suggestions:

   Key Vocabulary: Hatchery, Anemia, Sexers, Inoculators, Lymphoma, Union

   Reading Strategies to increase comprehension:

         Before:  Students can read the back cover of the book, and perhaps a summary online (http://www.amazon.com/Kira-Kira-Cynthia-Kadohata/dp/0689856407/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1315354768&sr=1-1) and make three predictions about what will happen in the book in their reader’s notebook.

         During: Students can write a brief one to two sentence summary after each chapter to display comprehension of what they have read. The teacher can check in the students reading journal to ensure that the student comprehends the story. If they are not, the teacher can intervene with a reader’s conference to clear up confusion and encourage rereading.

         After: After the student finishes the book, have an informal reader’s conference to discuss it one on one. Analyze their responses to ensure they have reached an understanding of the book and any confusion that may have happened earlier has been cleared up. This is also a good time to go back to the original predictions and see if any of them were correct. During this conference, the teacher could also suggest other books about similar topics that might be of interest to the student. Such books are Weedflower also by Cynthia Kadohata about Japanese Americans; and Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick about siblings with cancer.

  

 Writing activity demonstrating inferential comprehension: Observe one day with the spirit of kira-kira. Write a poem, story, or journal entry in your writing journal of the things in your life which have kira kira in them that you might not have initially noticed before looking at them with the spirit of kira-kira.


  Cynthia Kadohata

The Lemonade Crime

(Davies, J. (2011). The lemonade crime. Cookery: Houghton Mifflin Books For Children.)

Summary: After Evan Treski’s money (stolen from his sister, Jessie, who made it selling lemonade) is stolen from him and Scott Spencer suddenly shows up bragging about his new Xbox, things look suspicious and the Treski’s want revenge. Jessie issues a warrant for Scott’s arrest and he is put on trial with a judge, witnesses, and a jury.  At the trial a verdict is issued, but the real surprise comes after the trial.

Reading Level: Ages 9-12.

Key words/phrases:

1.      Trial

2.      Siblings

3.      Fourth Grade

4.      Emotions

5.      Stealing

Suggested Delivery: Whole Class

Electronic Resources:

1.   Teacher Resources: Mock Trial Information provides guides to conducting mock trials in the classroom as well as mock trial scripts.
2.   The Lemonade War Series Teacher Resources provides a book trailer and author interview for The Lemonade Crime.

Teaching Suggestions:

Key Vocabulary: Trial, jury, warrant, closing argument, defense, atonement

Reading Strategies to increase comprehension:

         Before: Teach about the basics of a trial, including jury, evidence, judge, perjury, and the idea of innocent until proven guilty.

         During: As a whole class  “jury” , after each chapter  based on the evidence and the events in the chapter, have students write a sentence stating whether Scott is guilty or not guilty and a reason why. Share. If a person changes their opinion, have them explain what evidence was so compelling to do so. Also discuss the effect that personal feelings may have on character motives throughout the book. After the trial, discuss whether they think based on the evidence the trial was had the right verdict, and based on emotions whether the trial had the right verdict.

         After: As a class, go back and outline the steps that were laid out in the book for a trial. In your classroom have a mini-trial stating with a warrant for arrest and ending with a verdict from the jury.

Writing activity demonstrating inferential comprehension:

Write a reflection on trials, if they are always fair, and whether they depend solely on evidence or whether emotions, personal feelings, and biases influence feelings of guilt or innocence. Explain belief as backed by evidence found in story and mini trial experience.