The Junkyard Wonders

Having had a special education experience in her previous school a young girl named Trisha is excited to start a new school. However she is heartbroken to learn that she was assigned to the classroom known as the junkyard. She feels like quitting but with an extraordinary teacher and incredible friendships she realizes that every kid in the junkyard is truly special.

Based on her own experience Patricia Polacco brilliantly describes her encounter with segregation in this book. Ability levels vary from person to person and all to often this is still a very real experience for some learners today. The Junkyard Wonders is definitely a contemporary fiction piece that is sure move the reader to embrace diversity, specifically in the classroom.

Reader Response Questions

1. Do you enjoy learning? About what?

2. Do you have trouble understanding things sometimes?

3. How did this story make you feel?

Motivational Activities

1. Group the children by 3 or 4 and provide each group with random household items. Together they can create their own "junkyard wonder"

2. Allow each group to present their project to the class and explain their rational for what they created and why.

Patricia Polacco

Patricia Polacco was moved by an unforgettable teacher around the age of 14. With the help of this educator she was able to get the help that she needed for her newly found special need. She is dyslexic but has persevered and overcome hurdles and today she is a renown children's author.

Polacco, P. (2010). Junkyard wonders. New York: Philomel Books.

I Love My Hair

I Love My Hair written by Natasha Anastasia Tarpley illustrated by E.B. Lewis is a wonderful multicultural piece that will accent any classroom. In this delightful story a young girl named Keyana describes how her mother tends to her hair each night.

It hurts. Yet no matter how gentle mama is Keyana sometimes sheds a few tears. She does not feel very lucky to have her hair but mama reminds her how fortunate she is because she can wear it in any style that she pleases.

Whether in braids, rows, an Afro or two ponytails, her favorite of all, Keyana ultimately embraces her beautiful hair. She especially likes the clickety clackety beat the beads make in sync with her motion.

Tarpley beautifully incorporates lots of descriptive language that engages the reader's sense of hearing. The narrative is also beautifully woven with the illustrations creating a story inspiring African American women to be proud of their heritage. 

Reader Response Questions

1. Do you like to have your hair brushed? Why or why not?

2. Describe your favorite hairstyle.

3. What questions in this book would you like answered?

Motivational Activities

1. Create an art center displaying a hair show. Allow children to explore a hair maniquin using various brushes, combs and hair accessories.

2. Describe your experience in the hair show center. Did you have a favorite hairstyle?

Natasha Anastasia Tarpley

Tarpley's books are highly recommended reads with I Love My Hair being a best seller. She is an experienced reporter and has been the recipient of various awards.  

Tarpley, N., & Lewis, E. B. (1997). I love my hair!. Boston: Little, Brown.

Harold and the Purple Crayon

Every child should be encouraged and given the opportunity to use their imagination. Harold and the Purple Crayon written by Crockett Johnson is a book that does just that. This simple piece introduces a young boy, his purple crayon, and a boundless imagination. 

With his purple crayon, Harold embarks on many self-created adventures until he grows wearisome and decides to go home. Sadly, Harold cannot find his bedroom window. Luckily, amidst his inventiveness and alongside his purple crayon, Harold skillfully draws himself safe and sound in his bed.

In the end, Harold’s creativity brings the text to life and becomes the purpose for the narrative. Johnson uses simple child-like illustrations mainly of the purple color to create a world of wonder. In exposing children to this picture book they are able to see that sometimes a little imagination can go a long way. 

Reader Response Questions

1. If you could draw something that came to life what would you draw?

2. Do you think the title fits this book? Why or why not?

3. What is the most important word in this book? Explain.

Motivational Activities

1. Give each child a purple crayon and a blank sheet of paper and allow them to create their own masterpiece. These can then be displayed in the classroom.

 2. Go on a color walk. Pair the children with a buddy, give each group a clipboard and assign them a particular color. Each group will then observe and log any items they saw with that particular color. 

3. Give each child pieces of purple yarn and a white sheet of paper. Using glue the students can create pictures with the yarn.  

"Crokett Johnson"

October 20, 1906 - July 11, 1975

Leisk wrote under the name "Crockett Johnson" because, he said, "Crockett is my childhood nickname. My real name is David Johnson Leisk. Leisk was too hard to pronounce -- so -- I am now Crockett Johnson!" (Hopkins 124). According to the Third Book of Junior Authors (1972), he was "six feet tall, tan, husky, and blue-eyed" (153). Like Barnaby and Harold (his two most famous characters), Johnson was bald. Referring to his hairless head, he once remarked, "I draw people without hair because it's so much easier! Besides, to me, people with hair look funny" (Hopkins 121).

Johnson, C. (1955). Harold and the purple crayon. New York: Harper & Row.

Listen, My Children: Poems for First Graders

Poetry is a unique genre in that it allows the poet to defy the rules of conventional writing. Listen My Children is a book that contains poems geared specifically towards first graders although anyone may enjoy them.  

Table Manners by Gelett Burgess is one that employs a rhyming technique evidenced in every other line. It is a method that is catchy and amusing particularly when read aloud. Beyond that it is a teaching poem in that it is warning young readers not to be a Goop for they have poor table manners. It also ends with a question that encourages self-reflection on one’s own manners.

Thanksgiving Day by Lydia Maria Child is another poem in this piece that contains a particular literary technique. In this selection the author employs the use of repetition. For example, the phrase, over the river and through the wood is repeated in the first line of each stanza. 

Descriptive language is another great approach used in children’s poetry that allows readers to create mental pictures or draw on experiences by way of words that appeal to the senses. The Owl and the Pussycat by Edward Lear provides great models of this technique. In the line a beautiful pea-green boat for example, readers are able to imagine a craft with a precise color.

There are endless benefits that result from reading poetry to children, although some of them may not be visible. For example, poetry allows students to depict aspects of their lives using gimmicks giving purpose to their writings. Exposure to poetry also encourages speaking and listening skills, which are two of the four language domains that are often neglected in language arts. Finally, because of the less stringent writing formality, poetry is a genre more accessible to English language learners. Ultimately, poetry exposure enhances student success.

Reader Response Questions

1. How did that poem make you feel?

2. Did you hear any rhyming words?

3. What descriptive words did you hear that help you imagine a picture in your mind?

Motivational Activities

1. The teacher can review several writing crafts and types of poems and the children can choose a model and create their own.

*Writing crafts: alliteration/simile/hyperbole/onomatopoeia/ repetition.

*Poem types: color poem/wish poem/acrostic/cinquain/haiku/ diamante/alphabet poem

Sample haiku poem:

Flowers bloom again

In many vibrant colors.

Spring is in the air. 

2. The teacher can create a special pulpit or chair and conduct a poetry reading with students volunteering to read their work.

Listen, my children: poems for first graders.. (2001). Charlotesville, VA.: Core Knowldge Foundation.