Lauren Houser

Title of Book: Si se puede! Yes we can! Author's Name: Cohn, Diana Copyright Year: 2002 Genre: Multicultural SYNOPSIS OF STORY: This is the bilingual story of the Janitors Strike in LA in 1985. Carlitos's mom works cleaning office buildings at night, though she always fmds time to eat breakfast and walk to school with him before heading off to bed. One day though, Carlitos's mom explains to him one day that she and the other cleaners do not get paid very well for all the work they do so they are going on strike. His mother explains what a strike is and how it works to Carlitos and Carlitos, in tum, talks of these events in his classroom at school to get his friends involved. Together they make signs and help demonstrate with the other janitors on strike. In the end, Carlitos explains that the janitors got what they wanted and no longer have to clean on weekends or work longer hours so his mama' now has time to take him to the park on Saturdays. ACTIVITY ONE:

• Original Idea • Using a variety of newspapers (local and national: USA today, Chi. Tribune, NY Times,

etc.) look for examples of workers going on strike and cut them out to present to the class and add it to the class bulletin board/poster display.

ACTIVITY TWO: • Original Idea • Look up other translations for "Yes We Can!" and create posters displaying the phrases

in other languages (Chinese, Arabic, Greek, etc.) to display around the classroom.

Title of Book: Tree of Cranes Author's Name: Allen Say Copyright Year: 1991 Genre: Multicultural SYNOPSIS OF STORY: This is the story of a little boy in Japan who discovers what Christmas is for the very fust time. On the way home from school one day, a little boy from Japan becomes cold and his mother assumes he is sick and puts him straight into bed right. The boy did not feel sick though and he attempts to leave the confines of his bed only to discover his mother folding cranes, digging up a tree from the garden, and acting rather strange. When the boy finally asks his mother what she is doing she explains about the holiday of Christmas. The boy helps his mother decorate the tree and light the can es before he sleeps. When he awakes the next morning, he finds a fierce warrior kite under the tree, just as American children do on Christmas mommg. ACTIVITY ONE:

• Original idea • Have the students write a Japanese Haiku on a sheet of paper and have the students cut

the paper out of make kite shapes. Give the kites tails (string/ribbon) to display them with.

ACTIVITY TWO: • Original idea • Teach students how to make paper cranes. Have the students write down their

goals/promises for the new year like the boy in the story (ex: I will read 20 minutes a night). Have students fold their goals/promises into paper cranes.

Lauren Houser

Title of Book: Black Snowman Author's Name: Phil Mendez Copyright Year: 2005 Genre: Multicultural SYNOPSIS OF STORY: The story is about a boy named Jacob who dislikes being black. He wishes he had the magical kente cloth his ancestors brought over from African when they were sold into slavery so long ago because he does not like being black. Jacob's mother and brother though, try to make Jacob understand that being black is a good thing but Jacob will hear none of it. One day, Jacob and his brother make a snowman and decorated it with a very colorful cloth (the kente cloth). Jacob is upset though because the soot from the city caused his snowman to be black. With the magical powers of the kente cloth, the snowman works with Jacob on understanding why black is not bad. In a series of events, Jacob finds his younger brother trapped in a burning building and rushed in to save him, using the strength and courage the snowman had taught Jacob to find within himself. The story ends with the two brothers making it out alive safely and a fireman fmding a bright piece of cloth on the ground that he takes home to his daughter. ACTIVITY ONE:

• Original Idea • Have the students pick out a memorable or favorite scene and act it out for the class.

ACTIVITY TWO: • Original idea • Ask the students to bring in (or draw if it's too valuable to bring in) something they

received from their ancestors, such as a necklace, picture, doll, etc., and present it to the class in a mini-presentation/speech. ­

Title of Book: Somewhere in Africa Author's Name: Ingrid Mennen Copyright Year: 1992 Genre: Multicultural SYNOPSIS OF STORY: Ashraf lives in a big city in Africa, far away from lions, giraffes, and crocodiles. The story beings with Ashraf describing what he loves about his city. He talks about how he begins when he starts walking down the crowded city streets and sees the shops that hold old Coca-Cola bottles and street vendors who try to sell him onions that make you cry. He describes the flowers sellers and dancers who occupy the market space and play the music of Africa as he passes through on the way to the library. When he gets to the library, he checks out his favorite book, a book about lions, giraffes, and crocodiles that are found in the wild parts of Africa. He takes the book home to read it before venturing back into the city again. ACTIVITY ONE:

• Original Idea • Have students create a safari guide book with pictures of animals and descriptions/facts

about those animals. ACTIVITY TWO:

• Original idea • Have students draw a "senses" map of their route to school/library/store/etc. Have

students label the sights, sounds, and smells of their route (ex: smelling factory exhaust, hearing church bells, seeing the dog with the stub tail).

Lauren Houser

Title of Book: Hooray, a Pinata Author's Name: Elisa Kleven Copyright Year: 2000 Genre: Multicultural SYNOPSIS OF STORY: Clara is going to have a birthday party and her friend Samson is going to help her pick out a pinata for the party. Clara picks out a little dog shaped pinata from the pinata vendor and takes him home. Once at home she names him Lucky and begins to take care ofhim as ifhe is a real dog. Clara takes him on walks, feeds him, and even takes him on the merry-go-round near her grandma's house. Samson is worried that Clara will break the pinata before the party and he continually warns her throughout to keep the piiiata safe. When the day of the party arrives, Samson gives Clara his present: a new piiiata. Once the other children arrive, they break open the pinata and eat the candy inside, all while Lucky the pifiata dog watches from a safe distance away. ACTIVITY ONE:

• Original idea • Students can make pinatas in pairs/groups. Use a balloon for the base and com starch and

water for the glue. Have students cut out headlines from the newspapers. Challenge students to find exclamations, questions, and commands like the title in the store.

ACTIVITY TWO: • Original idea • Have students plan their own birthday party. Ideas can include guests to invite, food to be

served, entertainment they are going to have, a list of gifts they might like to receive, etc.

Title of Book: The City of Dragons Author's Name: Laurence Yep Copyright Year: 1995 Genre: Fantasy SYNOPSIS OF STORY: A small boy, who has a face so sad that anyone who sees him instantly becomes sad too, comes across a group of giants on the beach on the beach one day and asks to join them on their quest to visit the City of Dragons for pearls. The boy will not look at the giants so the giants think he is the bravest of the brave and they allow him to continue on with them towards the city of dragons. When they arrive, the elder dragon says that the dragons can no longer cry tears to create the pearls. The boy went up to the dragons and, because he would not talk, the dragons thought he had such a tragic tale to tell that their imaginations took over and they began crying baskets of pearls. The dragons were grateful to the boy and returned him to his village as a hero. His town's people, who once chased him out, now greeted him happily and listened to his tale again and again about his adventure in the city of dragons. ACTIVITY ONE:

• Original idea • Have students write a sad story by imagining what the dragons might think the boy's sad

tale was. *Edit tales for appropriate content. No real persons are allowed to die are get hurt.

ACTIVITY TWO: • Original idea • Have students draw the saddest face in the world to imagine what the boy's face in the

story must have looked like. Title of Book: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Lauren Houser

Author's Name: 1.K. Rowling Copyright Year: 1997 Genre: Fantasy SYNOPSIS OF STORY: Harry Potter thinks he is a normal ll-year-old orphaned boy destined to live with his cruel extended family until an extremely tall, almost giant-like, man visits him on his 11 th birthday. Then, Harry Potter finds out he is a wizard and he is to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry just as his parents did. Once at school, Harry Potter begins to make friends for the first time in his life with individuals like Ron and Hermoine. Here, Harry learns all about spells, magical beings, how to fly on a broomstick, and he even joins the school quidditch team. Evil still lurks in the wizarding world and the man who killed Harry's parents is looking to finish the job by killing Harry. With the help of his two best friends, Harry navigates through a series challenges in an effort to obtain the highly sought after Elixir of Life before the evil Lord Voldennort finds it and kills Harry. The first book of the series ends with battling his professor and Lord Voldermort with Harry coming out victorious and saving his school. ACTIVITY ONE:

• Original idea • Have students create a list of the British words and their English (American) counterparts

that are found throughout the British version of this book ACTIVITY TWO:

• Original idea • Have students copy down the spells from Harry Potter and look up their English

counterparts using a Latin translation service online.

Title of Book: The Capture Author's Name: Kathryn Lasky Copyright Year: 2003 Genre: Fantasy SYNOPSIS OF STORY: Originally, Soren was born in the forest and lived peacefully with his parents till one day he fell from his tree hollow and was picked up by a group of owls and taken to St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls where he meets other "orphaned" owls like himself. Here, Soren and his new friend Gylfie are forced to participate in "moon blinking" (brainwashing) and are assigned chores that help with the running of the school. Soren and Gylfie soon figure out that the school is evil and that they are stealing owl children in order to strengthen their army. Secretly, Gylfie and Soren teach themselves to fly and, with the help of a few other friends, they escape from the evil school and fly off towards Ga'Hoole, a supposedly mythical group of good owls who defend the weak and downtrodden. In the end, Gylfie and Soren do discover Ga'Hoole and they are able to warn the others and join the fight against evil in the books that follow. ACTIVITY ONE:

• Original idea • Make a family tree for one of the main owlet characters of the story.

ACTIVITY TWO: • Original idea • Put Skench or Spoom (headmasters ofthe evil academy) on trial. Give students positions

like prosecution, defense, or witnesses (with the teacher as the judge and jury) and allow them to use sections from the book or outside research about owls to make their case.

Lauren Houser

Title of Book: My Penguin Osbert Author's Name: Elizabeth Kimmel Copyright Year: 2004 Genre: Fantasy SYNOPSIS OF STORY: Joe is a young boy who always takes great care when writing his letters to Santa. This year Joe was very specific and made sure his letter to Santa included size, color, and picture specifications of penguins. On Christmas, Joe got his penguin and, just as he promised Santa he would, he began taking good care of it. Joe soon realized though that taking care of a penguin was not fun because penguins like cold baths, playing out in the snow for hours, and eating herring for breakfast. So Joe writes Santa and explains the problem and Santa sends Joe a nice red sweater (an exchange gift for the penguin) and two tickets to the zoo. Joe takes Osbert to the zoo where they see other penguins like Osbert. In the end, Joe decides it is best to leave Osbert with the others where he can come and visit him anytime he wants. ACTIVITY ONE:

• Original idea • Using as many descriptive words as possible, write a letter to Santa describing what you

want for Chirstmas without actually saying the word (ex: if you want a bike use "two tires and a handle bar" instead of "bike"). Have students pair up, read their letters, and try and guess what their partner wants for Christmas based on the descriptions.

ACTIVITY TWO: • Original idea • Design the ultimate penguin habitat at the zoo for Osbert.

Title of Book: Lost and Found Author's Name: Oliver Jeffers Copyright Year: 2005 Genre: Fantasy SYNOPSIS OF STORY: The story begins with a boy opening his door one day only to find a penguin sitting on his stoop. The penguin, which follows the boy around everywhere, looks sad and so the boy assumes it must be lost. He tries to return it but no one seems to have lost a penguin and so, after some research at the library, the boy discovers penguins come from the South Pole and he decides it is up to him to deliver the penguin back. While at sea the boy spends his time telling the penguin all sorts of stories as they navigate bad weather with giant waves and good weather with calm seas. They [mally arrive at the South Pole where the boy drops the penguin off but as he rows away he realizes the penguin was just lonely. He turns back only to soon see the penguin coming towards him and the two quickly became best friends. ACTIVITY ONE:

• Original idea • Play the game 20 questions with students and brainstorm a list of questions the boy might

have asked when he was trying to help the penguin [md its way home ACTIVITY TWO:

• Original idea • Using items from the schools lost and found box, create "Found flyers" for the items that

detail what the item is, where it was found or imagined to be found, and who students can contact if they think the item is theirs. Post around school if able.

Lauren Houser

Title of Book: Apt. 3 Author's Name: Ezra Jack Keats Copyright Year: 1971 Genre: Realistic Fiction SYNOPSIS OF STORY: One rain, cloudy day in the city, two young boys, Sam and Ben, hear a strange sound coming from somewhere in their apartment building. Sam and Ben head off and check each floor and listen to each door where they hear people eating dinner, watching a baseball game loudly on the television, or arguing about various issues of the family. The boys continue their search throughout the building until they reach the ground floor. When the boys peak inside an open door a loud voice yells at them to come in and "quit spying" on the other tenants. As the boys come inside they see the noise is coming from a harmonica and that the man who is playing it is blind. As the boys and the man begin to talk they realize they have more in cornmon than they thought and the man begins to play them the most wonderful music on the harmonica. The boys promise to return the next day but this time, the man will accompany them on a walk outside where everyone can hear his tunes. ACTIVITY ONE:

• Original Idea - Using a digital camera, re-illustrate the story with students by having them posing for a scene. Compile the pictures, and text, to create a new classroom version of Apt. 3. oj

ACTIVITY TWO: ~ c0 \~ • Original Idea - Obtain harmonicas for the students (sold in bulk at party supplies stores) {'Ie

and allow students to practice playing them. Then, reread the stories and have students pi y the harmonica at the appropriate moments when the boys hear the strange sound.

Title of Book: Willie Wins Author's Name: Almira Astudillo Gilles Copyright Year: 2001 (.~ seA.d Genre: Realistic Fiction \CJ SYNOPSIS OF STORY: The story begins with Willie being blamed by his teammates for losing his little league baseball. While Willie's dad attempts to cheer him up back at the house Willie remembers that he must have a money bank for school so he can compete in a class contest for circus tickets by collecting the most play money. Willie's dad decides now is the perfect time to give his son the coconut bank he had as a boy in the Philippines. Willie hesitantly takes the strange looking bank to school where his classmates tease him about the strange looking contraption. Willie work's hard all month and when the time comes to break his bank open he is nervous because his father told him there is a special surprise inside. In the end, Willie finds that he not only has the most play money but there is also a Willie Mays baseball card inside the bank that was a special gift in and of itself from his father. ACTIVITY ONE:

• Original Idea - Using Kool-aid clay, have students construct their own special banks. Have students place a special prize like a half-dollar or pencil inside their banks. Store student \ banks away and allow students to break them open on a later date to get the prize. & .

ACTIVITY TWO: It~ • Original Idea - Rewrite the story, while keeping the theme of diversity, with a different

cultural component (ex: Miao tribal stick) and have students act out different parts of the r "new" book. Students can use easy editing software (i.e. Windows Movie Maker, Ado e, etc), to upload video clip and add scene transitions, a title slide, and rolling credits.

Lauren Houser

Title of Book: Root Beer and Banana Author's Name: Sarah Sullivan Copyright Year: 2005 Genre: Realistic Fiction SYNOPSIS OF STORY: One hot, hazy summer day, Molly, whose Grandfather calls her "Squirt", cannot wait to pick her out her special ice pop treat at Mister Mac's store. The only problem is she cannot decide which flavor to get and so she wanders outside to ponder her decision while the grown-ups talk. Outside, she discovers another young girl standing under a willow tree wearing a tattered brown dress with patches. The girl tells Squirt her name is "Miracle" and that she is going to buy an ice pop treat with a nickel she found in the road. Squirt knows the ice pops cost a dime but she doesn't know how to tell the girl so when they go inside Squirt tells her grandfather that she would like two ice pops today, one root beer and one banana. Grandfather soon figures out why Squirt wants two ice pops and he buys both girls their treats where they then go outside and split their ice pops in half to share both flavors together. ACTIVITY ONE:

• Original Idea - Have students recreate the general store. Allow students to create items or services to sell in the store (cookies, hand drawn coloring pages, a "what day of the week were you born on" service, etc.) and allow another class to come through and use play or fake money to purchase the service or items.

ACTIVITY TWO: • Original Idea - Have students create their own ice pops of different flavors using Kool-Ai

mixes. Have students write predictions for which flavor they thinl( will melt the fastest. Then take the popsicles outside and perform an experiment to see how fast they melt. Have students write about whether they were right or not and why the experiment turned out the way it did in their~cience notebo~s. ~ :

Title of Book: The Leaving Morning () Author's Name: Angela Johnson Copyright Year: 1992 Genre: Realistic Fiction SYNOPSIS OF STORY: In the early morning hours, two children stand with their lips pressed against the frost window pan, watching the garbage truck pass below. The children will be moving out of their apartment today and they are not happy about leaving. yvrule the men move their boxes into the moving truck the children begin the hard process of saying good-bye to all of the friends. They say goodbye to the local deli and grocer, their friends at the playground, the other tenets of their building, and their cousins. They sip hot cocoa as the neighbors pass on advice about staying safe and taking care in their new house. Finally, the time has come to move and the children wave good-bye to everybody one last time as their parents shepherd them into the car and drive off ACTIVITY ONE:

• QJ"il?ip.al)dl:a_::..B~y_e2!1!<ien1?_ crea!.~ f!...P~O'y{~IP.Qjnt \yij:h limLAQQllVUQyinJ!. Proiects should .A..C':"'T"r"-TT'""'£"""'li.r '"T"'-"'V"C').:_" :::~!~~a{ (~~~ -/:~:_=~a:7! It::::~/~!~ 121J.~2j) HJ»J)P-JJJ JD f!liJ}J.J))JJ Df)l )j3)!e e9Cfl

• gn~)nall~~lt -\Tl tl "t~l' ,~}~W till 2)Dm JD! tl2t);JlJl&7CR!~ . C'ec~iI ""'\..~~<:'R"""'<:""r....e....c..."-.·~<!....~<:""~~~~,-~~~~~\....""",,-""-;,~"-~~ ~~~~~,,;; - ~_

as how the move looked from the eyes of the doll y car) to a partner or small group of students.

f

Lauren Houser

Title of Book: Jingle Dancer Author's Name: Cynthia Leitich Smith Copyright Year: 2000 Genre: Realistic Fiction SYNOPSIS OF STORY: Jenna wants to dance in the her tribe's upcoming powwow as the women in her family do every year but her dress has no bells, or jingles, to make the clinking noise. Grandma says there is not enough time to mail-order the bells but Jenna practices the dance by watching old home movies anyways. In the following days, Jenna visits a variety of her family

@embers located throughout her reservation. Each family member has a jingle dress but each -\: {; mily member will not be able to dance at the powwow because they are too old, will be busy

lling fry bread, or off on business. With the donation of each set of bells, Jenna is able to add them to her dress until she finally has enough to dance at the pOV-TWOW. At the powwow, Jenna dances proudly, doing her best to stand for each one of the ancestors represented by the bells on her dress. ACTIVITY ONE:

• Original Idea - Teach students part of the jingle dance (both boys and girls can participate). Have students perfonn for their peers or younger students in the school.

ACTIVITY TWO: • Original Idea - Create Indian fry bread with the students by having them mix, pour, and stir

the ingredients (instructor must actually fry the bread). Top with powdered sugar or cinnamon and sugar and serve to students while rereading Jingle Dancer.

Title of Book: Hurry Author's Name: Jessie Haas Copyright Year: 2000 Genre: Historical Fiction SYNOPSIS OF STORY: Fifty years ago, fanners did not have tractors or even motors to power the machinery to bale hay. In this story, a young girl is at her grandparents' fann helping during the bailing season. The young girl, Nora, has already cut with the grass with the tedder, pulled by the clydesdales Bonnie and Stella. Everyone must wait until the hay dries before it can be gathered however, a rainstonn is approaching and if the hay gets wet it will spoil before it can be gathered to feed the animals for winter. All day long Grandpa checks to see if the hay is dry and just as the sky turns grey, Nora finds the hay to be dry and ready. While Grandpa drives the rake, Grandma hitches up the hay loader and grabs the pitchforks where everybody heads out to pick up the hay. Nora drives the hayloader while her grandparents pile it up high onto the cart and soon it's too full for Nora to drive without tipping and grandpa takes over the to let Nora lay on the top of the cart with grandma. The rain begins to fall just as Grandpa pulls the cart into the bam where they all watch the storm begin, knowing the hay is safe and stored for the winter. ACTIVITY ONE:

• Original Idea - Teach students how to make a handkerchief and hay doll (directions are online) using cloth, string, and hay just as individuals did 75 years ago.

ACTIVITY TWO: • Original Idea - Have students research about farming and farm life 75 years ago. Students

should learn what they did for work, what they ate, what games they played, etc. Have students create game show quiz questions and then compile their questions/answers to play a classroom version of [Jeopardy, Who wants to be a Millionaire, Pyramid, etc] based on the olden days.

Lauren Houser

Title of Book: Hiawatha Passing Author's Name: Jeff Hagen Copyright Year: 1995 Genre: Historical Fiction SYNOPSIS OF STORY: In 1935 the Milwaukee Railroad System introduced a new train called the Hiawatha that could reach speeds of 100 m.p.h on its Chicago-to-Minneapolis run. In the story, a young boy is staying at his grandparents' house when he hears a new sound coming across the prairie land. The boy stirs from his bed and goes to the window, wiping away the frost to create his own porthole. Suddenly, the boy hears the railroad tracks begin to hum a bright light approach the valley. As the speeding train passes the entire farmhouse shakes and the boy gazes in wonder at the passengers aboard this new kind of train. The train moves so fast trough that the boy does not have much time to wonder and soon he left crawling back under his feather quilt to dream about the wonders of the world's new fast train: the Hiawatha. ACTIVITY ONE:

• Original Idea - Have students make brochures for the Milwaukee Railroad Systems' Hiawatha train in an attempt to convince passengers weary of boarding the world's fastest train. Students can research extra facts about the train to include in their brochure.

ACTIVITY TWO: • Original Idea - Have students decorate cloth quilt squares (with fabric markers images) of

the Hiawatha or other historical trains. Sew the squares together, add a backing before displaying, and stuff (with a thin layer of cotton, feathers, or grass/hay) before draping the quilt over the reading chair/corner of the classroom.

Title of Book: Just Like Josh Gibson Author's Name: Angela Johnson Copyright Year: 2004 Genre: Historical Fiction SYNOPSIS OF STORY: During the 1940s girls could not play baseball, no matter how good they were. Josh Gibson was one of the best players in the Negro-League and he was one little girl's hero. The little girl played baseball with her dad every day in the SUlIll1ler and sometimes even her cousin's little league team would even let her practice with them. Unfortunately, the little girl could never play in the games, she could only watch from the stands with everyone else. One day though, her cousin broke his arm sliding into home plate and the All-Stars little league team was short by one player. The team turned to the little girl with the pink dress and white bow who, wearing Danny's baseball shoes, pretends to be Josh Gibson from the Greys and saves the day for the team by hitting a home run, catching pop-up balls, and stealing home. ACTIVITY ONE:

• Original Idea - Have students dress up as their favorite hero, be it a baseball player, firemen, or parent, and give a short presentation about why that person is their hero.

ACTIVITY TWO: • Original Idea - Have students research other old-time baseball players (or other athletes) 1:.~

and create playing cards of them using all the statistics and other relevant information than 0 real trading cards use.

Lauren Houser

Title of Book: The Hard-Times Jar Author's Name: Ethel Footman Smothers Copyright Year: 2003 Genre: Historical Fiction SYNOPSIS OF STORY: Emma Jean Turner loves books but her family works as migrant farmers and are too poor to afford any real store-bought books so Emma must make due by writing stories on grocery sacks. One season, her family moves up north to pick apples in Pennsylvania and Emma develops a plan to pick enough apples to fill the hard-times jar, a jar her family keeps money in for times when payday doesn't come fast enough. However, Emma Jean is now eight years old and must go to school, a school full of children who are not black like her. However, Emma's school books and, though her teacher's only rule is that the books cannot be taken home, Emma Jean takes two of the books anyway. When Emma's mother finds out she makes Emma Jean return the books to her school and tell her teacher what she did and, though Emma says it was one of the hardest things she's ever done, her mama gives her six shiny quarters from the hard­times hard jar to buy a store-bought book. ACTIVITY ONE:

• Original Idea- Have students plan and implement a fundraiser (or a book drive) to raimoney for books to give to a local charity organization that serves children. Oversee an (1VJtS~ assist students as needed. Students can select books with the donations from book flyers 'ff__tACTIVITY TWO: . ~ K/dscanrYla/~ I Wet1CP.O'Yt1

• Original Idea - Have students create hard-times jars from tin, aluminum, or glass cans (all ..J clean and without sharp edges). Students can decorate jars with puffy paint, stickers, . markers, or other materials.

Title of Book: A Band of Angels Author's Name: Deborah Hopkinson Copyright Year: 2001 Genre: Historical Fiction SYNOPSIS OF STORY: A Band ofAngels tells the story of the Jubilee Singers from the Deep South. The story begins with a little girl listening to her aunt tell the story of her great-great­grandmother Ella. Ella loved to sing, and even though she was born into slavery, she learned to play the piano and sung every time she could. After the Civil War ended, Ella was free to go to school and become a professional music singer. The school, however, was in desperate need of money and was going to close until Ella and her friends put together a singing group to travel around and raise money. The group could only draw small crowds at first but Ella had the idea to begin singing songs from the days of slavery. The white individuals they had been singing for loved the songs and the Jubilee Singers became a huge success. The story ends with the Aunt telling her niece how important it is to follow your dreams and persevere despite the hardships. ACTIVITY ONE:

• Original Idea - Have students compose their own song of about struggle and hardship (ex: homework, tests, long bus rides). Students can write the words and then sing/speak them to the tune of old spirituals or music from the days of slavery.

ACTIVITY TWO: • Original Idea - Have student§...create....Euppets for the characters (from socks, paper bags,

other materials) and have them retell the story in their own words using the puppets to help guide their tale.

Educ 340 - Literacy Block Name _L_L1U=----_f_en_+1_o_us_.er-__ Trade Book Sheets - Installment #2

Genres: 5 realistic fiction and 5 historical fiction

Points: 3'0 /30 \ 10 Trade Book Sheets (each worth 3 points) c~'

• 5 realistic fiction books and 5 historical fiction ~ \ • Summary of book (5-7 sentences) ) • Format of sample page followed ~ • Activities are not repeated and are engaging and specific (\ ~ ,. • Source for the idea is indicated even if ~ is original/,. ,v\Jl' .U elf'"

COMMENTS: ~ _ yJJ" FiAn - h(A/mol'1f 'Uti' /

~