Let’s Make a Book
Inspiration Book:
At this very moment by Arnosky, Jim - Dutton Children's Books, p2011, c2011--E--Int Lvl: K-3--Rd Lvl: 6.0. Looks at what wild animals around the world are doing while people go about their ordinary days.
Rationale: I love making books with students. They could be individual books, small group books, or whole class books depending on the topic, amount of time available, and specific purpose. I have found that when student work is in a published work that can be read and/or checked out from the library, the quality of the work improves. All of the suggested books can be used as the inspiration for a student book. When used as a pattern book, even the very young child can create a page, and the older student can make several pages or a whole book. When introducing the project read and reread the book you’ve chosen to have students emulate. You may need to point out format features and have them note details in illustrations.
The exact procedure you use can be your own or the classroom teacher’s. Here I’m going to simply suggest book making ideas I have used and when and how I have used them plus appropriate pattern books. Sometimes the work involves research, sometimes merely imagination. Sometimes we use the computer, sometimes lined papers and construction paper. Sometimes I use the same book for several grades, but the resulting project is different. Sometimes the books are prepared for check-out from the library. Sometimes the books become property of the classroom. Of course, if it’s an individual’s work, the book goes to the student.
Summary of a major yearly theme: I like to use this approach for social studies or science beginning about in fourth grade because the subsets of the topics often are studied throughout the year. An end of the year book then becomes a summary of the whole year’s study. The Inspiration Book is a model to use for this type of book. For example, students who have studied countries around the world in social studies can select an animal, a food, a song, a story, clothing, whatever interests them. After studying the country, a page is made about their topic and saved for the book. If the subject is science, students describe visually and verbally their favorite experiment for each unit. We do one day “research” books with children in Grades K-2--more about primary “research” in another entry.
Computer Lab Book: Each week students in grades K-2 complete a computer project that correlates with the story hour or other library lesson that connects with classroom instruction.. Most of the work is in the form of computer art because the young children do not have keyboarding skills. We include such activities as self portraits (beginning and end of year), graphs, pet drawings, name and letter stamps, symmetry, grandparent stories (an adult does the keyboarding), title pages, matching, holiday symbols, story parts (beginning, middle, end), etc. While doing all the projects students learn to use the computer following the procedures established for the school. Some of the projects may be similar each year, but a skill is added to make the activity more challenging. It is interesting to watch the growth through the year and over the years. I save all the work in construction paper folders. Then at the end of the year the students make a cover on the computer and a volunteer binds all pages together with a binding machine. Before the books go home, I page through the books with the students and we remember the day, skill, project, and effort. Parents save these books for years.
Personal History: About a month before Mother’s Day or Christmas, I introduce the following books, then students do individual research about the day they were born. Students do online research for topics such as weather, newspaper headlines, movies, TV shows, music, etc. for their birthday. We also have included world history and famous people who share the same birthday. How in-depth and how many topics depends on the age and experience of the students. If they’re computer savvy to the school’s skill level, I have the students design a book that uses 8 ½ x 5 pages. We learn about gutters and columns and inserting clip-art and other graphics including photos that have been scanned. Appropriate for Grades 4+
When I first held you : a lullaby from Israel by Senir, Mirik — Kar-Ben Pub., 2009--E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 1.5 A parent describes, in rhyming text, the beauty of the world on the day a baby is born.
Tell me again about the night I was born by Curtis, Jamie Lee, 1958- — Joanna Cotler Books, 1996--E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 2.8. A young girl asks her parents to tell her again the cherished family story of her birth and adoption.
On the night you were born by Tillman, Nancy — Feiwel and Friends, c2005 p2006--E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 3.0. A message of love for a child that describes the celebration shared by the wind, rain, moon, and animals on the night of its birth.
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Observation Book: During and after a field trip, students take notes by drawing or writing about things they see that apply to the purpose of the field trip. Upon return to the classroom, allow students to be very creative in the way their notes are organized in their journal and how the journal is published. They could do a handmade book or a computerized book or you could introduce a variety of bookmaking procedures including handsewn books, folded, bound with yarn, etc. Even very young students can make an observation book. Begin each page with the words from the Inspiration Book: "Each and every moment/ of each and every day,/ amazing things are happening."
A closer look by McCarthy, Mary, 1951 Mar. 20- — Greenwillow Books, 2007--E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 0.6. Detailed collage illustrations accompanied by simple text present expanding views of familiar objects in nature, such as a bug and a flower.
In the meadow by Kato, Yukiko, 1936- — Enchanted Lion Books, 2011- -E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 2.3. A little girl hears the sounds of nature all around her when she follows a butterfly into a meadow.
I took a walk by Cole, Henry, 1955- — Greenwillow Books, 1998--E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 2.8
A visit to woods, pasture, and pond brings encounters with various birds, insects, and other creatures of nature. Flaps fold out to reveal the animals on each two-page spread.
On the way to the beach by Cole, Henry — Greenwillow Books, 2003--E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 2.8. On a walk through the woods and a marsh to the seashore, the reader is encouraged to notice all sorts of plants, animals, insects, and shells.
Questions, questions by Pfister, Marcus — NorthSouth, 2011--E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 2.9
Colorful illustrations and rhyming couplets ask questions about the mysteries of the natural world, including why sea shells appear on the shore and what brings summer after spring.
Traces by Fox, Paula — Boyds Mills Press, c2008 p2011--E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 2.9
Looks at the traces left behind by a turtle on the sand, a jet in the sky, and even a long-gone dinosaur in loose soil.
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Keeping and interpreting data: When students study day and night and what causes seasons, keeping data pages for such topics as length of day and night, length of shadows, and temperatures over a period of time can provide the data to make and interpret graphs. In social studies topics like population, density, rainfall can be made into graphs.The National Center for Educational Statistics has an online graphing tool http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/. An online program Journey North Sunlight and Seasons https://learner.org/jnorth/sunlight-seasons
was my original inspiration for a record keeping book. Middle School students can use data and interpret it and create pages in a book.
On the same day in March : a tour of the world's weather by Singer, Marilyn — HarperCollins, 2000--551.6; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 3.3. Highlights a wide variety of weather conditions by taking a tour around the world and examining weather in different places on the same day in March.
Where the sunrise begins by Wood, Douglas, 1951- — Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2010--E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 3.3. Reveals the part that each of us plays in the beginning of every day.
Count down to fall by Hawk, Fran — Sylvan Dell Pub., 2009--E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 3.5
Rhyming text and colorful illustrations introduce the numbers one through ten by describing the sights of autumn in the forest.
Red sings from treetops : a year in colors by Sidman, Joyce — Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2009--535.6; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 2.4. Illustrations and simple text combine the senses of sight, sound, smell, and taste to describe the colors of the seasons.
When the wind stops by Zolotow, Charlotte, 1915- — HarperCollins, 1995--E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 3.2. A mother explains to her son that in nature, an end is also a beginning as day gives way to night, winter ends and spring begins, and, after it stops falling, rain makes clouds for other storms.
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How to Books: How is something made? How do we grow certain foods? I use this technique as a summary for demonstration talks either before or after the oral presentation. Making the book before help the students organize their thoughts and help remember the steps for the oral presentation. Making the book after results in a nice souvenir especially if the steps are photographed during the oral presentation.
There's a barnyard in my bedroom by Suzuki, David T., 1936- — David Suzuki Foundation ,Greystone Books, c2008 p2010--E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 1.8. Megan and Jamie learn that everything in their lives comes from nature, including the air they breath and the food they eat; and contains color illustrations and activities.
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Turn-Around Books: Twist the idea in a book by changing from humans to animals or vice versa. This often results in creative crazy responses and works best to make a class book. Suitable for many ages. Crazy mixed up fairy or folk tales work well with this type book as does reverse poetry.
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