Who Was Anne Frank? - Nonfiction

Who Was Anne Frank? was written by Ann Abramson and illustrated by Nancy Harrison. They book goes into detail about Anne's life before she began keeping her famous diary and what it was like up until she was sent to a concentration camp. Chapter 1 is about Anne's family and her life as a child. It talks about her father, Otto, mother, and her sister, Margot. It talks about what Anne and her family did together and the fact that they were Jewish. When Hitler came to Germany, the Franks moved to Switzerland and then to Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Chapter 2 is about Anne's life in Amsterdam. It talks about her new friends and the type of things she likes to do in her free time. Chapter 3 is about World War II which was nearing in on Anne and her family. They did less fun things and spent more time worrying and finding supplies. Chapter 4 is when the Germans came to occupy the Netherlands and the restrictions placed on Jewish people. Chapter 5 talks about the Yellow Star that all Jews had to wear on their clothing. Anne became very sad because she had to be inside at night, she could not ride her bike, and other things were taken away from her. In Chapter 6, Anne receives her diary, Kitty, for her thirteenth birthday. The Franks receive news that Margot was to be sent to a concentration camp so the family decided to go into hiding. They had to wear all their clothes because they could not be seen trying to leave with suitcases in fear of punishment. Mr. and Mrs. Frank had been preparing the hideout for many months. Chapter 7 takes place in the secret annex. It was a small hideout attached to Otto's offices. They had to be very quiet and they could never leave in fear of being caught. Fritz Pfeffer and the Van Pels' family eventually moved in with the Franks. They had the help of a few people who could bring them food and supplies since they could not leave. Anne and Peter Van Pels became good friends and they did school work together to keep each other company. Everyone in the annex was very restless and starting to annoy one another. In Chapter 8 the people in the annex are caught by the Germans after hiding for more than two years. After they were taken, Miep, a friend who had been helping the family, took Anne's diary and other family belongings to keep for when the family got out of the camps. Chapter 9 is about Otto Frank, the only person in the annex that survived the concentration camps. Miep gave him Anne's diary and he had it published because it was her dream to become a famous journalist. 

I would use this book to introduce Anne Frank and the holocaust. I think that it would be a good introductory book for this topic. It gives a broad overview of what happened during the holocaust so the students can become familiar with the subject before studying it more in depth. Many students have read The Diary of Anne Frank but this goes more in depth about who she was and things she enjoyed doing. This will allow the students to connect more to her and she that she is very similar to them. I think it will make them to engaged in learning about her and the holocaust. It will help them make connections to their life and what it would be like if this happened to them. 

Jack and the Beanstalk - Traditional/Folk Literature

Front Cover

Back Cover

This version of Jack and the Beanstalk, which belongs to my mother, was published by Whitman Publishing Company and was illustrated by Art Seiden. Jack's family was very poor and their garden had no food in it, so his mother sent him to sell the cow and return with food. He met an old man and exchanged the cow for some magic beans. His mother was very angry with him and threw the beans out the window. When Jack woke up, the beans had grown a very large and tall beanstalk that reached the sky. Jack climbed the beanstalk and reached a beautiful land. A woman told Jack not to go to the castle because there was a mean giant who had stolen his father's fortune. Jack went to the castle and the giant's wife said she would give him food but told him to hide because the giant ate little boys. But the giant could smell the boy and looked for him but could not find him. He asked his wife to bring him his magic hen which laid him a golden egg. Then the giant fell asleep so Jack stole the hen and went back down the beanstalk. The next day Jack returned to the castle. Again, the giant smelled Jack but could not find him. This time the giant asked his wife for his harp which could play music on its own. For the second time, the giant fell asleep so Jack stole the harp and took it home to his mother. The next day Jack returned to the castle. The giant smelled Jack, but he remained hidden. The giant asked his wife to bring him bags of his gold. The giant pretended to be asleep so Jack tried to steal the gold but was caught. He ran to the beanstalk and climbed down but the giant followed him. Jack chopped the beanstalk down with his ax and the giant fell to his death. Jack and his mother lived happily ever after with the magic hen, harp, and bags of gold.

I would use this book as a writing prompt. The students could either write about whether or not they think that it was fair for Jack to take these things from the giant. They could argue "no" because he was stealing or "yes" because the items belonged to Jack's father originally. I would let the students decide what they believed, pick a stance, and argue for that point-of-view.
It could also be a creative writing prompt. Students could decide new items for Jack to take from the castle. Or, they could write an alternate ending about what happened if Jack did not make it down the beanstalk or what happened if the giant climbed down the beanstalk before Jack could cut it down.

Show Way - Realistic/Historical Fiction

Show Way is written by Jacqueline Woodson and illustrated by Hudson Talbott. This book begins with the story of Soonie's great-grandma who was a slave in South Carolina. She was sold and left her family when she was only seven years old. At the new plantation, she heard stories of slaves who ran away to freedom and she learned to sew. She made quilts called "show ways" which were secret maps of underground railroads. She had a daughter, Mathis May, who also learned to sew these quilts. Mathis May was also sold when she was seven years old but she continued to sew wherever she went. Other slaves came to her to see her show ways so they could escape to freedom. Mathis May grew up and married a man who died during the Civil War, but that same year, 1863, she had a daughter who grew up to have Soonie. Soonie was born free and did not have to work in fields but she also knew how to sew. She did not have to sew show ways anymore, but she did. Soonie also had a daughter, Georgiana. She was very smart and could read at an early age. She had two daughters, Caroline and Ann. They grew up during the time of segregation. Ann had a daughter, Jacqueline, who is the author of the book. The book is about her family history and what they have experienced. 

I would use this book when studying slavery or segregation since the book hits on both topics. We would discuss the history of a African American woman's life and the things she and her family have experienced. This book also touches on the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation even though they are not directly stated. It could be used as a read aloud during Black History Month to educate students on African American's history and culture. We could address the topics of treating everyone equal and how "separate but equal" was not fair. 

No Talking - Realistic Fiction

No Talking is written by Andrew Clements. When Dave Packer, a fifth grade student at Laketon Elementary School, does a project on Gandhi, he decides to try not to talk at school for a whole day. When he finally breaks downs and talks it is to criticize a girl in his class, Lynsey Burgess. The two get into an argument and create a competition for the whole fifth grade. Who can talk the least, boys or girls? The rules: they can only speak when spoken to by an adult but it has to be in three words or less, every other word spoken other than this counts as a point against your team, and the competition will last for two days. This fifth grade class is know as the "Unshushables" so when the teachers do not hear the students talking they are puzzled at what is going on. Most of the teachers are mad at the experiment, especially the principal, because it is wasting their class time. One teacher thinks it is a great experiment though and encourages the students for being so devoted. The principal tries to make the students start talking again but when they do not listen she decides to join the experiment. Lynsey and Dave start to get along towards the end of the book. Lynsey says enough words right before the end of the contest so that the boys and girls result in a tie and neither team wins.

I would use this book as a fun read for the children. I think that it would get them very engaged and interested in the book. I think that they would be very curious to see how the story ended. I would stress the importance of talking when it was necessary. At the beginning, the Unshushables talked too much and it distracted from class time. When they were not talking, it obviously wasn't enough and they couldn't communicate with each other or with their teacher. This book could be used with a very talkative class to hopefully show them that talking is okay when it is the appropriate time. Also, it could be used to teach being respectful of others. Lynsey and Dave did not get along until the end of the story. They gained a new understanding for each other throughout the book and they became friends. This could be taught to a class that might not get along all of the time. The students could create an Animoto for this book.

Animoto:

No Talking

Yolonda's Genius - Multicultural Literature

Yolonda's Genius is written by Carol Fenner. This is a story about an African American family living in chicago. Yolonda lives with her younger brother, Andrew, and her single mother. When the family moves to Grand Rapids, Michigan, a predominantly white community, to escape the pressures of the hard life in Chicago, Yolonda is determined to prove that her brother is not "stupid" and a slow learner, but actually a musical genius. He is a first grade student that cannot read and he hardly ever speaks. Yolonda is big for her age and has trouble making friends at her new school. She is very smart and when she reads the definition for the word genius, she knows that it describes Andrew. He can play any tune and make up new songs on his harmonica that he has with him constantly. Yolonda finally makes a new friend, Shirley, she starts to pay less attention to her younger brother. One day after school she forgets to pick him up and take him home. He ends up getting picked on and they older boys break his harmonica. Yolonda makes it her mission and to let everyone know that he is a musical genius. When the family attends a concert in the park, Yolonda makes a plan to act as lost children so they can be announced on stage. Her plan works and Andrew is given the opportunity to show off his talents on stage.

I would use this book as a read aloud in my classroom. I would read this book if we have a new student in the classroom that might have difficulty making friends. The new student would see how Yolonda adjusted to her school and made a new friend by putting in a little bit of effort. It would show the other students not to judge a person based on their appearance. Yolonda was bigger and "scary" looking but she was very nice. I could also emphasis how not all learners are the same. Andrew struggled with school but was exceptional in other areas. 

The Story of Ferdinand - International Literature

The Story of Ferdinand is written by Munro Leaf and illustrated by Robert Lawson. It is a the story of a bull who loves to sit and smell the flowers instead of fighting with other bulls even though he is very large and fierce looking. One day, a group of men show up to find a bull to fight in the stadium in Madrid, Spain. All of the bulls were fighting except for Ferdinand. He went to sit under his tree and smell the flowers when he sat on a bee which stung him. He jumped up and snorted, butted, and pawed the ground. The men thought he was the fiercest bull and took him to the stadium in Madrid. When Ferdinand walked into the arena, people threw flowers into the ring and he saw women with flowers in their hair, so he sat down to smell his flowers. The matador was very angry and made them take Ferdinand back home where he sat under his favorite tree and smelled the flowers.

I would use this in the classroom to teach that everyone has differences. All the other bulls wanted to mean and fierce, but Ferdinand knew that is not how he wanted to be so he did not act that way. I would have the students write about something that makes them unique and share it with the class. I had have all the students embrace the fact that no two people are the same. They can discuss their similarities and differences which helps build a strong classroom environment. They can create a Wordle with the words used in this discussion.

Walt Disney's Cinderella - Traditional/Folk Literature

Cinderella has a mean stepmother and two mean stepsisters, Drizella and Anastasia. She had to work very hard everyday but neither of her sisters had to. The king sent a letter asking for every girl in the kingdom to come to a ball so his son, the Prince, could find a wife. Cinderella's stepmother said she could attend the ball as long as she had all of her chores done, but they kept making Cinderella do more and more work. When it was time to leave for the ball, Cinderella had not had time to make her dress, but when she returned to her room, the mice, her only friends, had fixed it! Her stepsisters were so mad that they ripped her dress and left without her. She cried and wished that she could go to the ball, and then her fairy godmother appeared and granted her wish. Cinderella was able to go to the ball in a fancy dress and carriage, but she only had until midnight before the magic wore off. When she arrived, the Prince was infatuated with her and they danced all night. Before she knew it, the clock was striking twelve so she ran away and she shoe fell off. The Prince found it chasing after her. The Prince searched the kingdom high and low until he found Cinderella. They got married and lived happily ever after.

I would use this book in the classroom by reading multiple versions of the Cinderella story. I would have the students compare and contrast the different versions. They would then write their own version of the story. In groups, they could act a student's story out and record in on a Flip Cam to share with the class.