How I Use Picture Books In My High School English Classes
How I Use Picture Books In My High School English Classes.
I use picture books to explore themes.
I choose books that “explore issues and themes to which my students [can] relate.” (Rynerson, 1992) In addition to picture books, my thematic approach also includes novels, short stories, poems, essays, songs and films. I have included a couple of examples for you. When I am teaching older students, I simply change the novels that are used. For my unit on aging/the elderly, I substitute The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence and Old Friends by Tracy Kidder. For my unit on war, I substitute All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque and Obasan by Joy Kogawa.
Why do I teach thematically?
• Themes focus on a single topic that is of interest to students.
• Writing, reading, speaking, listening, and content can all be taught within the context of a theme.
• Themes can provide relevance for students.
• Themes can attract and maintain interest over a long period of time and can provide continuity for a series of activities.
Why do I include picture books?
• My students enjoy reading them.
• Many picture books deal with mature themes and issues readily understood by older readers.
• Picture books elicit thoughtful discussion and speculation.
• Even students with limited reading abilities are able to read and comprehend the picture books and participate in group and class discussions on theme.
• “Some of the very best writing may be found in picture books and should not be missed by young adults.” (Osborn, 2001)
I use picture books to introduce literature circles to my students.
Literature circles allow students to become more aware of different readings that they might not otherwise have considered. They also give students an opportunity to compare their own responses with others in the classroom. The students use written or drawn notes to guide both their reading and discussion, and discussion topics come from the students.
Most picture books can “be read in 15-30 minutes, leaving time for discussion, or another lesson activity afterward.” (Robin and Simpson, 2001) This makes them perfect vehicles for introducing literature circles to my students.
At my school, the classes are seventy-five minutes long, so I have enough time to carry out the following literature circle practice:
1. I share the picture book with my students.
2. Individually, I have them write down their initial reactions.
3. I discuss literature circle procedure with the whole class.
4. I organize them into groups of 4-5 students.
5. The circles discuss the picture book using their written notes as starting points.
6. A group reporter shares the group’s interpretation with the whole class.
7. We have a whole class discussion of the picture book.
8. Before the next class, the students reread, reflect upon, and write in response journals.
I use picture books as a way to have students illustrate what they have learned.
When my students have finished exploring a theme, they must each complete an independent research project. In order to honor multiple ways of knowing, I give them a choice of assignments (see below). One option I give my students is to create their own picture book. I encourage my students to work collaboratively as they study balances between texts and illustrations. I also make sure that there are plenty of models around the room so that they can see how professional authors and illustrators do it.
INDEPENDENT RESEARCH PROJECT
1. VISIT WITH SENIORS
Visit a home for seniors or a nursing home. Write about your impressions of that visit.
2. OLD AGE AND AGING - ANOTHER VIEW
Read one of the following and discuss the author’s treatment of old age and aging.
Clifford, Eth. The Rocking Chair Rebellion
MacLachlan, Patricia. Journey
Mazer, Norma Fox. A Figure of Speech
Voigt, Cynthia. Dicey’s Song
3. BOND BETWEEN GENERATIONS
Read children’s literature that illustrates the bond between the very young and the very old. Create your own picture book.
4. THE ELDERLY AND FILM
View one of the following films. Compare the director’s treatment of the elderly to Zindel’s portrait of Mr. Pignati.
Autumn Sonata
Cocoon
Lies My Father Told Me
On Golden Pond
The Company of Strangers
Trip to Bountiful
5. POETRY
Create a collection of poetry about the elderly. Include a written explanation of your choice of poems.
6. SONGS
Put together a cassette tape of songs about the elderly. Include a written explanation of your choice of songs.
7. MEDIA
Create a collage using pictures, articles and advertisements about the elderly. Include a written explanation of how the elderly are portrayed in the media.
In my Writing 12 class, I use “picture books as a model for writing and as spring-boards for [my students’] own writing projects”. (Robin and Simpson, 2001)
I have used wordless picture books to spark ideas for writing. Since the stories are told entirely through a sequence of illustrations, students are able to interpret them in their own way. Sector 7 and Free Fall, both by David Wiesner, are two books that I have used to give my students ideas and topics for writing.
I use Nick Bantock’s Griffin & Sabine to teach students about letter writing.
I use picture books as quick and easy examples to help my students understand the basic structure of stories.
How do you use picture books in your classroom?
Why do you use them?
I use picture books to explore themes.
I choose books that “explore issues and themes to which my students [can] relate.” (Rynerson, 1992) In addition to picture books, my thematic approach also includes novels, short stories, poems, essays, songs and films. I have included a couple of examples for you. When I am teaching older students, I simply change the novels that are used. For my unit on aging/the elderly, I substitute The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence and Old Friends by Tracy Kidder. For my unit on war, I substitute All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque and Obasan by Joy Kogawa.
Why do I teach thematically?
• Themes focus on a single topic that is of interest to students.
• Writing, reading, speaking, listening, and content can all be taught within the context of a theme.
• Themes can provide relevance for students.
• Themes can attract and maintain interest over a long period of time and can provide continuity for a series of activities.
Why do I include picture books?
• My students enjoy reading them.
• Many picture books deal with mature themes and issues readily understood by older readers.
• Picture books elicit thoughtful discussion and speculation.
• Even students with limited reading abilities are able to read and comprehend the picture books and participate in group and class discussions on theme.
• “Some of the very best writing may be found in picture books and should not be missed by young adults.” (Osborn, 2001)
I use picture books to introduce literature circles to my students.
Literature circles allow students to become more aware of different readings that they might not otherwise have considered. They also give students an opportunity to compare their own responses with others in the classroom. The students use written or drawn notes to guide both their reading and discussion, and discussion topics come from the students.
Most picture books can “be read in 15-30 minutes, leaving time for discussion, or another lesson activity afterward.” (Robin and Simpson, 2001) This makes them perfect vehicles for introducing literature circles to my students.
At my school, the classes are seventy-five minutes long, so I have enough time to carry out the following literature circle practice:
1. I share the picture book with my students.
2. Individually, I have them write down their initial reactions.
3. I discuss literature circle procedure with the whole class.
4. I organize them into groups of 4-5 students.
5. The circles discuss the picture book using their written notes as starting points.
6. A group reporter shares the group’s interpretation with the whole class.
7. We have a whole class discussion of the picture book.
8. Before the next class, the students reread, reflect upon, and write in response journals.
I use picture books as a way to have students illustrate what they have learned.
When my students have finished exploring a theme, they must each complete an independent research project. In order to honor multiple ways of knowing, I give them a choice of assignments (see below). One option I give my students is to create their own picture book. I encourage my students to work collaboratively as they study balances between texts and illustrations. I also make sure that there are plenty of models around the room so that they can see how professional authors and illustrators do it.
INDEPENDENT RESEARCH PROJECT
1. VISIT WITH SENIORS
Visit a home for seniors or a nursing home. Write about your impressions of that visit.
2. OLD AGE AND AGING - ANOTHER VIEW
Read one of the following and discuss the author’s treatment of old age and aging.
Clifford, Eth. The Rocking Chair Rebellion
MacLachlan, Patricia. Journey
Mazer, Norma Fox. A Figure of Speech
Voigt, Cynthia. Dicey’s Song
3. BOND BETWEEN GENERATIONS
Read children’s literature that illustrates the bond between the very young and the very old. Create your own picture book.
4. THE ELDERLY AND FILM
View one of the following films. Compare the director’s treatment of the elderly to Zindel’s portrait of Mr. Pignati.
Autumn Sonata
Cocoon
Lies My Father Told Me
On Golden Pond
The Company of Strangers
Trip to Bountiful
5. POETRY
Create a collection of poetry about the elderly. Include a written explanation of your choice of poems.
6. SONGS
Put together a cassette tape of songs about the elderly. Include a written explanation of your choice of songs.
7. MEDIA
Create a collage using pictures, articles and advertisements about the elderly. Include a written explanation of how the elderly are portrayed in the media.
In my Writing 12 class, I use “picture books as a model for writing and as spring-boards for [my students’] own writing projects”. (Robin and Simpson, 2001)
I have used wordless picture books to spark ideas for writing. Since the stories are told entirely through a sequence of illustrations, students are able to interpret them in their own way. Sector 7 and Free Fall, both by David Wiesner, are two books that I have used to give my students ideas and topics for writing.
I use Nick Bantock’s Griffin & Sabine to teach students about letter writing.
I use picture books as quick and easy examples to help my students understand the basic structure of stories.
How do you use picture books in your classroom?
Why do you use them?
posted by Mrs. Corman at 9:33 AM
14 Comments:
Excuse my last "double post" with the spelling correction. You can tell I've never "blogged" before.
Again, I've not used picture books often with older readers, but I can see the potential. I love the literature circle model. I just attended my first workshop on literature circles this year and am really itching to try them out with a group - both with fiction and non-fiction titles. Do you always have each group read the same story, or do you offer different books to different groups and have them report back?
I love your ideas for incorporating different learning styles into choices for assignments.
Tracy, when we are doing a novel study, I try to give my students a choice of titles related to the theme. Then I organize my groups so that students who are reading the same novel are in the same literature circle.
I LOVE literature circles! I love that they enable all of my students to get involved in the discussion, not just the one or two who always have their hands up.
I loved your suggestions regarding literature circles. I know how to do them with middle years kids, but I was not sure about how to go about doing them in the high school classroom. Thanks for the great information Heather, it is both practical and easy to use. The example you give about theming (elderly) is also great.
As far as how I use picture books. Iusually use them to introduce a them, especially if it is a difficult topic. Picture books are great for introducing issues in health: drugs, suicide, gun control, bullying, abuse, etc... They are short and to the point and often bring up some key issues. With students who have short attention spans this is even more helpful. I also find that they really enjoy looking at the illustrations and they love being read to!!!
I also use them in Math, starting the year with the book Math Curse by Jon Scieszka. It often puts the kids minds at ease and makes them laugh. He has a new one out called Science Verse and it is absolultely hilarious. I would definitely recommend it.
In Social Studies picture books are great for linking curriucum objectives and teaching content. There are tonnes of books on government, the holocaust, the world wars, and Canadian regionalism that again are easy to read, full of information, have great illustrations, and are enjoyable to read....great resources too!
I could go on and on about how wonderful picture books are and how they can be used in all different subject areas, but you already know this. Thanks again for your great suggestions Heather!
Jillian
I try to encourage our teachers at the middle school level to use picture books. We are still trying to convince teachers that literature circles are the way to go and that 2 months does not need to be spent of a novel study. Providing choice for books to read is important but I also find too much choice creates a problem. Jillian has made references to using picture books in Math such as Scieszka. Another author who has been around for years is ANNO.
Why use picture books?--I read the The Gift of Reading by Bouchard who used picture books to capture his class. They are short, with more complexity than can be anticipated and they have pictures. A message can be conveying in a short time frame rather than the need to read a novel that takes much longer. One of our grade eight teachers uses Sylvester and the Magic Pebble to start her class every year. Recently the challenge class from the local high school presented and created picture books for our middle school students. These have become treasures.
Darinka, I agree that too much choice can be a problem with literature circles. I usually limit the choices to three or four titles. It is a fine balance because I want to have enough choice so that everyone can find a book they can read and enjoy, regardless of interest or ability, but I don't want to overwhelm them.
Jillian, circles work really well in high school, especially if you are lucky enough to have students who have been exposed to them in middle school. However, even if they are not, they pick it up quickly and really enjoy them. I do find that it is important to require the students to bring notes with them to the discussion though. This ensures that everyone is prepared and has something to contribute.
Ditto Darnika and Jillian! When you are a TL and not a classroom teacher, you only have a class for a short time, until the next class arrives. A picture book can be done in one sitting (as many have already said). I have a unit on using picture books with older students (as well as some workshop notes from an excellent session). If I get the presenters' permission, and if I can type my unit up (it's handwritten), then I'll share it with the group.
I did a unit with older elementary kids--grade 5, 6, 7, and 8--on multiculturalism that was based on a combination of picture books and a novel study. Each student read a different novel that had some multicultural / diversity theme and then they did various activities as they read (I had a sheet with lots of choices of 'fun' things to do with their novel). When they were done their novels, they then had to create a way to 'sell' the novel to their classmates--most did a poster or brochure, but a few did videos, etc. We had a book fair day when all the students presented their projects to the class.
In terms of the picture books, I had the students work in small groups to read and evaluate 'multicultural' picture books. I had a sheet that they had to use as a discussion guide to help them evaluate the books. We used books by Patricia Polacco (Pink and Say, etc.), Amazing Grace by Hoffman, and others. Although the unit was on multiculturalism, part of what we were also doing was identifying parts of a story (theme, etc.) and also analyzing illustrations. Part of what I had the kids do with each book was look at what they liked about the illustrations and what they might have changed. I wish I had had Molly Bang's book to help with this aspect of the project! We also talked about the parts of a book (cover, title page, bibliographic information, dedication page, etc.).
The final aspect of the unit was to have the kids write their own multicultural picture books. They did research on a particular country or culture they wanted to focus on, they wrote stories and edited them, then illustrated their stories. The books were then shared with other classes.
Each time I used this unit with classes, I was amazed at how well it worked and the quality of the picture books the kids produced. They were amazing. One little guy, who was in grade 5 and had a number of learning difficulties, created an amazing book. His story was simple but the illustrations were fantastic. He was so pleased with his final product and it was wonderful to see how his confidence improved because of the success he had during this unit.
Joanne
Your description of how you use picture books with high school students sounds very effective. I agree with your point about keeping a balance.
Hi, this has been so very interesting to read! I love the interactive nature of it. I have one little question, and one comment.
Question: Have you ever come up against resistance to using picture books by older kids? If yes, how did you deal with it. If no, why do you think that was the case?
Comment: When I taught grade 2, my husband was at the highschool teaching a grade 11 writing class. As an assignment we had a Writing Buddies program, where we invited the grade 11's to the little school, partnered up the kids. Before the meeting the kids and I picked our favourite books, and we had a little "reading" then talked about what the kids loved about those books. After that, the kids brainstormed story ideas together. The grade 11's came with a list of questions to help them dig deeper. The grade 11's went back, wrote a draft, came back a few weeks later, met with their little buddies. The Two's then helped come up with illustration ideas--in fact the two's were given the job of illustrating 3 of the pictures for their older buddy. After that, the grade 11's went and made good copies of their stories. We met at the highschool for a read-in, and it went over very well. The buddies sat together and read their story, to a small group, then talked about how they came up with their idea. Afterwards, the Grade 11's donated their books to our class. They were very popular during free-choice reading. It was fun, and it worked for us. What my husband liked was that the Grade 11's had an authentic audience for their creations. I think that made a big difference.
Diana, I would love to see the notes.
Joanne, I have also been impressed by the quality of the picture books my students have created. I remember one in particular that a pair of grade twelve girls worked on as part of my unit on aging/the elderly. They wrote about the relationship between a grandmother and grand-daughter. The story was touching, but what I really remember were the incredible illustrations. I have forgotten the technical term now, but we had talked about how illustrators sometimes include a smaller picture on the page with the text in addition to the full-page illustration across from the text. I remember one part of the story was was about playing in the rain with grandma. The larger illustration showed the two playing together. The smaller showed a pair of yellow rubber boots, sitting in the entrance in a puddle. Another part of the story was about baking blueberry muffins with grandma. The smaller picture showed some crumbs on a plate. The thought that went into the story and illustrations took my breath away. This was a book I would have been pleased to find of the shelves of my local bookstore.
Sarahe, what a challenging situation, but I'm sure also very rewarding at times. My English classes usually contain a huge range of abilities and interests (as I'm sure all classes do). As you have experienced, picture books work wonderfully with my struggling readers. They might not be able to read any of the novels related to the theme, but they can read the picture books, and can therefore participate in discussions and projects. It's very inclusive.
Carol, I love what you and your husband did with the Writing Buddies. I agree that an authentic audience is important. We have an elementary school right next to our high school. I think that I will approach them in the fall to see if I can organize a similar activity.
In answer to your question.... I really had no problem using picture books with my senior students. There were a few giggles at first, especially when I made them sit around me on the floor while I read so that they could all see the pictures. However, when I introduced the idea of picture books to them, I spent some time discussing how many of the books contain mature themes and are directed more to adults than children. We also looked at picture books as another genre, just like novels, poems, short stories.... No big deal.
The biggest problem I had with using picture books with senior students came from the parents, not the children. Some parents worried that I was not properly preparing their sons or daughters for provincial exams, or university. I needed to be doing more serious stuff. However, after my first group did well on exams and were successful in university, parents stopped worrying.
Shirley, I thought that I was the only English teacher using picture books in my classroom. However, during a lunch time conversation with some colleagues, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that there are others out there. They tend to own the picture books they use, and don't think to check in the school library. However, motivated by discussions about picture books that came about as a result of my readings for my VS, my TL has ordered many titles. I will share these with my department when school starts in September, and hopefully they will get used.
Heather,
I enjoyed reading about your sample unit...there is something there for everyone...lots of variety..lots of choice. Kids love that and it makes for a much more interesting teaching experience for you as well.
I totally agree with you about thematic units...it just feels more holistic, which I like...almost any concept can be brought in to connect with the theme and it allows for tweaking and changes if need be, for the future.
I also love using literature circles, but have only used them with novels. Seeing how you use them with picture books for older students has inspired me to try this, too. It all fits very neatly into a one period activity.
Great ideas!!!
Bobbi
Post a Comment
<< Home