In the Land of Milk and Honey by Joyce Carol Thomas

Publisher: Harper Collins

Date: September 18, 2012

Recommended Grades: 3-5

This is the true story of author Joyce Carol Thomas’s trip from Oklahoma to California in 1948, as a young girl.  Her journey is filled with excitement, hope, and promise. 

Lesson Idea:  

Mentor Text, Word Choice/Sensory Details: Read aloud In the Land of Milk and Honey and discuss the language choices the author makes.  Beyond the bay, mountains topped with ice cream snow. . ., the author uses lyrical language, similes and metaphors, and sensory details to describe a trip from flat lands, through desert and onward to the ocean.  Chart the language choices the author makes as part of a word choice anchor chart for students to borrow from when they are writing in writer’s workshop.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book for review by the publisher.

©2013 by Dawn Little for Picture This! Teaching with Picture Books. All Amazon links are affiliate links and may result in my receiving a small commission. This is at no additional cost to you.

I’ve Seen the Promised Land: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by Walter Dean Myers

Recommended Grades: 3-5

Set against key moments of the civil rights movement, Walter Dean Myers eloquently shares the story of the powerful spiritual leader and his belief that nonviolence could be used to overcome racial discrimination.

Lesson Idea:  

Mentor Text, Biography, Civil Rights, and Writer’s Workshop: Read aloud I’ve Seen the Promised Land: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and discuss how the author used key moments in the civil rights movement to write the biography.  Consider pairing this book with Martin’s Big Words by Doreen Rappaport, in which the author used key quotes from Dr. King as a backdrop to write his biography. Compare the author’s craft in both books and have students choose one type of craft to write a biography.

©2013 by Dawn Little for Picture This! Teaching with Picture Books. All Amazon links are affiliate links and may result in my receiving a small commission. This is at no additional cost to you.

Mighty Jackie: The Strikeout Queen by Marissa Moss

Recommended Grades: 3-5

On April 2, 1931, the Chattanooga Lookouts were about to play the New York Yankees, a legendary team with famous players.  The Lookouts were a nothing team, except for the pitcher, Jackie Mitchell.  This is her story.   

Lesson Idea:  

Mentor Text, Biography: Read aloud Mighty Jackie: The Strike-Out Queen and discuss what made her so special.  Use this as a mentor text to discuss the baseball era and why women weren’t typically encouraged to play.  Did Jackie earn respect on the baseball field?  How are sports different today?   This book could lead to great discussions on gender equality.

©2013 by Dawn Little for Picture This! Teaching with Picture Books. All Amazon links are affiliate links and may result in my receiving a small commission. This is at no additional cost to you.

Unspoken: A Story from the Underground Railroad by Henry Cole

Recommended Grades: 3-5

A young girl’s courage is tested in this hauntingly beautiful, wordless picture book.  Beginning with the parallel between the title (of a wordless book) and the characters (who never speak), Cole has created a gorgeous rendering of the unspoken heroes of the Civil War   

Lesson Idea:  

Mentor Text, Civil War/Character Actions/Wordless Picture Books: Unspoken: A Story From the Underground Railroad can be used as a mentor text for a number of techniques.  As a wordless picture book, discuss how the author conveys the story in pictures only.  How would the story change if words were added?  Analyze the relationship between the characters.  What can you learn about their relationship through pictures only? Most books we read about the Civil War speaks to the hardships of war.  This book speaks to the bravery of every-day people.  Use Unspoken: A Story From the Underground Railroad as part of a unit on the Civil War to see both sides of the issue.  This would also pair well with Henry’s Freedom Box by Ellen Levine or Freedom Song: The Story of Henry “Box” Brown by Sally M. Walker in a unit on bravery during the Civil War.

©2013 by Dawn Little for Picture This! Teaching with Picture Books. All Amazon links are affiliate links and may result in my receiving a small commission. This is at no additional cost to you.

Noah Webster & His Words by Jeri Chase Ferris

Recommended Grades: 3-5

From the beginning, Noah Webster knew he didn’t want to be a farmer like the rest of his family.  He wanted to be a SCHOLAR.  This is the story of how he made his dream come true.  

Lesson Idea:  

Mentor Text, Biography and Word Choice:   Read aloud Noah Webster and His Words as part of a unit on biographies.  Noah Webster wrote the first all American (instead of English spellings) dictionary after the American Revolution.  Noah studied twenty different languages and traveled around the world to fully research his dictionary.  In addition to a biography mentor text, Noah Webster and His Words is a fantastic model for the craft of word choice.  The author provided definitions for words embedded throughout the text, a great homage to Mr. Webster, but also a fun writing technique.

©2013 by Dawn Little for Picture This! Teaching with Picture Books. All Amazon links are affiliate links and may result in my receiving a small commission. This is at no additional cost to you.