Free and Easy with Sarah, Plain and Tall

Did you know my Sarah, Plain and Tall Comprehension Packet is my featured freebie on TPT and has been downloaded nearly 20,000 times? That number still staggers me. I just kicked off the year with with this Comprehension Packet with my own class, and I'm here to share six free, fantastic ideas for teaching this beloved book.

The first reading skill I focus on each year is genre, and this novel provides an excellent yet accessible example of historical fiction. What I mean by that is that other than I Survived books, which I love!), many of my students come to me with limited experience with historical fiction. Many upper grades historical fiction books are tough reads, but this one is manageable in most any third, fourth or fifth grade classroom. This book short (58 pages),  has a low word count (under 10,000) and has less than ten chapters (nine to be exact).

The story takes place in the late 1800's in the prairie lands of the midwestern United States. If you haven't read this book, the premise is that a widower with two children places an ad for a wife and a lady named Sarah (who is plain and tall) comes from Maine to give it a shot. The first day we read, we talked about how this seemed like such a strange concept and definitely let us know the story was set in the past. But then I asked, "How is this similar to dating practices today?" It took my kids NO time to make the connection to dating websites and idea #1 was born...

I made a quick, simple Google slide and pushed it out to my kids (we are a Google school system). They had so much fun creating a "dating profile" for either Papa (Jacob) or Sarah (their choice) and called it PrairieMatch.com which the kids thought was hilarious. This was their first attempt at a Google slide to be shared in class, and they did a good job considering. I even included one box where they had to insert a photo that they believed could represent what Papa or Sarah looked like. If your students don't have access to Google, you could use this simple template and delete the text boxes and "insert photo here" before printing.  Click here to access!

A big theme of this story is patience as the narrator, Anna, waits to see if Sarah will like life on the prairie with her family or if she'll return home to Maine, which she talks about often. We looked at these two locations on the map, but I wanted my students to have an even better sense of the contrast of the two settings, so we did some research.

If you don't have Epic set up for your classroom, why not? It's an amazing, FREE resource for online viewing of books, and it has a wealth of nonfiction easy reads. I went on and searched for Sarah, Plain and Tall and immediately found a saved collection by a third grade teacher. I saved the collection to my library, shared the "shelf" with my students, and they did some quick research while making a Venn diagram comparing Maine and the prairie. It was so easy and informative!

One of my favorite (and SIMPLEST) novel activities is to have the students choose a character (animals count!), setting or object from the story, create it and explain its significance to the plot on an index card. This activity makes an eye-catching hall display and gives those artistic learners a chance to express themselves. This works with any book, just wait until you are almost done or completely done reading. Which brings me to my after reading activities...

I have Kahoot quizzes for vocabulary of many of my Novel Units.  We played Kahoot for the first time this past week, and this is a screenshot of my Instagram story that day. My kids were literally squealing with excitement over playing this online game! To access my Sarah, Plain and Tall Kahoot, make sure you have a Kahoot account and click here.

This next idea is the only one that isn't entirely free (unless you count the fact that you must have technology to play Kahoot), but it's WELL worth it! There is a Sarah, Plain and Tall full length Hallmark movie that was made in 1990. I don't always show the movie every time we read a book for which one exists, but this one is a must-show! It's rated G and it follows VERY closely to the plot of the book, often using exact quotes and vocabulary words. It stars Glenn Close (one of my students said, "That's the lady from 101 Dalmatians!") and Christopher Walken. Right now, it's showing on Amazon Prime for only $8.49! To order your own copy on Amazon, click here.

I also created a Movie Companion for my students to follow along with as they watched the movie. You can download a free copy by clicking here.


Last, but not least, download my FREE Sarah, Plain and Tall products on TPT! They are truly everything you need to teach this book effectively. Once you click on the link for the packet, you'll also find links to FREE vocabulary activities and a final test. Please feel free to share feedback, questions or suggestions. I truly love this book and believe you and your students will too!

0

N.C. Historical Fiction Must-Reads

I love all genres of children's literature.  I grew up on realistic fiction, dreaming of being a member of The Baby-sitter's Club.  I love fantasy; I rank Roald Dahl at the top of my favorite children's authors and I'm a huge Harry Potter fan.  As a teacher, I've seen the power other genres like mystery, graphic novels, and informational text has to attract reluctant readers.  But perhaps no genre of children's literature is more powerful than historical fiction.

We've heard it said many times: "Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it." I've invoked the famous quote once or twice in my classroom when my students ask "why" we have to learn about a particular topic or read a particular book.  I believe it, and I also believe the best way for children to learn from history in a way that makes as impact is to immerse themselves in it.  There's no better way to accomplish that than with a good book.


This summer I've been reading through the North Carolina Elementary Battle of the Books (EBOB) list and I recently finished Blue by Joyce Moyer Hostetter.  Any book that has me wiping tears on the beach on vacation deserves a nod and this one did just that.  I read a lot of children's books but only once in a while does the content truly change my personal outlook.  I want to share with you three historical fiction novels rooted in North Carolina that impacted my views on racial, political, social and/or physical oppression. These books shaped a little corner of my heart, and I believe they'll do the same for yours and any children with whom you share them.

We'll start with the one I read first and know the best.  You may notice this copy is well-worn, and that's for good reason.  Five years ago, my grade level heard about Soft Rain by Cornelia Cornelissen and we decided to start teaching it every year in every classroom.  We had all just missed it as kids (it was published in 1998) but we didn't want our kids to miss it.  I wrote a Novel Unit for it and we ran with it.  It's a simple book and definitely the easiest read of these three, but it truly has changed the way I feel inside every time I hear the phrase "Trail of Tears."  It is written from the perspective of a nine-year-old Cherokee girl named Soft Rain who, along with her family, is driven West from their North Carolina mountain home.  Year after year, we read this book and students cry out for reasons ranging from worrying about the main character's dog left behind to asking with big eyes, "How could the government do that?"

There are plenty of present day examples we can use to talk about tolerance, diversity and quality with children.  However, there are also age-old examples like this one that serve to show 1) we have made so much progress as a society but 2) in order to sustain that progress, we must be vigilant.  I tell my students every year it is up to them to be aware of what's going on around them, look at situations from other people's points-of-view and most importantly, to stand up for those who aren't being treated fairly.  I always hope that they'll remember their frustration at not being able to help Soft Rain when they find themselves with an opportunity to help someone else.

Next is the book that took me by surprise on my vacation.  I always take my Kindle when we travel, so didn't have any idea what this book was about when I started it on the beach that day.  Blue by Joyce Meyer Hostetter is the story of a young teenage girl named Ann Fay Honeycutt who lives near Hickory in 1944, as her father goes off to fight in World War II and polio strikes her small town, including her family.  This book is beautifully written, and Ann Fay's plight took hold deep in my heart as I turned those pages.  I just kept thinking how daunting these challenges were only 75 years ago and how fortunate we are to live not only in a time of relative peace but also of medical advancement.  This book offers much needed perspective today for the young and the old.

Added bonus: I just found out there's also a sequel (Comfort) and it's in my Amazon cart now!

I read Stella by Starlight by Sharon M. Draper school year before last when my EBOB team made it to the finals.  It was a pretty new release then, published in January 2015, and was one of the books we analyzed together.  The more I studied this novel, the deeper impression it made on me.  It is set in the 1930s and focuses on the daily challenges faced by an African American girl alongside her family and community.  We focus in schools on times of slavery, including the Underground Railroad and the Civil War.  But what happened next?  Reading this book goes a long way to fill in those blanks and to give children a deeper understanding of the long, hard and tense battle fought for fairness, respect and equality.  You can hear more from the author here...

Whether there's still some room on your summer reading list, you're lesson planning for next school year or you just want to enlighten yourself or your own children, I highly recommend getting your hands on any of these three novels.  As Sharon Draper writes in Stella by Starlight, "Words fall out of the sky like leaves, girl.  Grab a couple and write 'em down." (p. 156)  In this case, grab a couple and read 'em, share 'em, learn from 'em... It'll change your heart!

0

What Went Down: A Trail of Tears Project

"You're good with technology," one of my students said to me today as I rushed around between six groups of students using a dozen Chromebooks, trying out a new interactive website.  As I took pictures of their drawings, uploaded them to Google Drive, and shared with the group leaders while simultaneously trying to help them navigate the web and overseeing their actual work on some level, I didn't feel "good" at it at all times.  But, it did feel very good when we were finished.

Soft Rain by Cornelia Cornilessen is usually my most popular novel unit during the month of November.  It's a historical fiction novel about a little Cherokee girl on the Trail of Tears with her family and it's a must-read for social studies integration in my fourth grade classroom.  The discussions that ensue while reading this novel are always memorable, if difficult, as students are faced with the idea of social injustice, often for the first time.

 

In trying to provide students an outlet for their opinions and feelings, I developed a Trail of Tears newspaper group project, which I carried out for the third time in my classroom over the last week.  (In addition to being in the midst of reading the novel, I also did some background study of the Trail of Tears prior to this project.  I found some great resources from Jersey Girl Gone South and Bow Tie Guy and Wife on TPT.)  Whether you're able to read the novel or you're simply learning about the Trail of Tears in your classroom, this activity is sure to get your students thinking, sharing and creating.  You can download the student handouts for free by clicking here.

I begin this activity by showing my students a PowerPoint presentation I created explaining the concept of a one-page newspaper as well as the concept of bias.  Once students are put into groups for creating their newspaper from the time period of the Trail of Tears, I assign half the groups to write from the perspective of the white settlers and the other half to write from the perspective of the Cherokee.  The half who are assigned the white settlers' perspective always protest, which shows their empathy with the Cherokee and distress over this period of history.  However, I explain to the whole class the importance of seeking to understand why history happened the way it did so we can be aware not to repeat the regretful portions.  You can download the PowerPoint presentation for free by clicking here.

After viewing the PowerPoint presentation, students get into groups and complete their planning sheets, discussing together as they go.  Once they are ready, they create their newspaper on ReadWriteThink's website, specifically using the printing press student interactive.  This tool saves the project in PDF and can be saved to Google Drive on the Chromebooks.  It can also be saved as a draft during the process.

Other students can type their articles in Google Docs, then share with the student who has the printing press opened on their Chromebook to copy and paste.  Students with illustrations get my attention when they are done and I take a photo of their drawing which I upload to Google Drive and share with the group leader as well.  While it may sound complicated, it really comes together quite well and the students had a great time creating together!  I'm usually so busy assisting with the technology aspect that I don't have as much time to guide students with their ideas as I'd like, but it actually works out for the best because they have such great ideas on their own!

Of course, there is always going to be the group who names their newspaper "What Went Down" and advertises the new invention of toilet paper... But laughs like that are what keep us coming back to this teaching gig day after day and year after year!

0