Who Likes Lemonade?

I have seen it done on television and I have heard plenty of stories, but never in my childhood did I operate a lemonade stand. In Who Likes Lemonade? by Karen Mockler, our protagonist Mike McCarthy creates a lemonade stand business of his own.

The story begins by telling us of Mike’s desire to purchase a Super Spy Kit from his friend Derek for twenty-five dollars. In order to do so, he needs to earn that money. His solution to this, a lemonade stand, comes a year after he failed in the same venture. His mom brings this up to him, and Mike replies,

“’The problem,’ Mike said, ‘was that the lemonade was not high quality. This time I’m gonna make artisanal lemonade, from scratch.”

The book’s bold font of the word “artisanal” indicates that it can be found in the glossary and is introduced as new vocabulary for the reader. In addition to introducing new vocabulary, the book exposes the reader to real world math – in this case, math related to financial decision-making.

“Mike did the math. Fake lemonade might go for fifty cents a cup, but real, organic lemonade could go for twice that. He needed twenty-five dollars to buy Derek’s kit. That meant he needed to sell at least twenty-five cups of lemonade.”

Below this paragraph, the following cut-out is displayed:

Not only is the book introducing the student to real-world math problems, but it is encouraging active math problem-solving skills as the reader analyzes the text.

The text goes on to introduce the reader to other business terms, such as “profit margin” and “discount.” With Mike determining the cost to start his business by determining how much product would cost, the book continues to influence the reader to analyze different math concepts.

This book gives us a realistic character with a realistic life situation to expose the reader to real-world math problems and solutions. Reading this story, I can see how it would be effective in a few different areas, including:

-          Calling on critical math skills.

-          Allowing the reader to see how their math lessons relate to the real world.

-          Making math learning more enjoyable.

This isn’t a genre I have put much thought into in the past. If you would have said the words “math book” to me a week ago, I immediately would have thought about a textbook. Now, though, I see how useful books revolving around math concepts can be for a developing reader.

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games is likely the most popular science fiction book series today. Rated at a middle grades reading level, it is the perfect book series to have in a middle school classroom.

The series is introduced in the first of three books that complete the trilogy, aptly named The Hunger Games. We are introduced to Katniss Everdeen, the protagonist, and the world of Panem, the state that exists after the fall of North America. In this world, the tyrannical government hosts a yearly Hunger Games, a king-of-the-hill style contest where 24 contestants, two from each district that make up the nation, fight to the death.

The first book introduces us to the games themselves, with our protagonist being caught in a love triangle with her District 12 Hunger Games partner Peeta Mellark and her best friend Gale Hawthorne. While the struggle to overcome tyranny becomes the main focus of the series as it progresses, the technology that is a part of their every day lives help classify this series as science fiction.

The Capitol, home to the oppressive government, is characterized as a technologically advanced metropolis that has made significant gains in the areas of science and engineering. The text explains “they do surgery in the Capitol, to make people appear younger and thinner.” The clothing designed for Katniss to introduce her to Panem for the Hunger Games displays actual flames. These descriptions of technology used in the Capitol paint a picture showing how they take advantage of it to distance themselves from the lower-class citizens of the districts.

We also see evidence of advanced technology within the arena, where the Hunger Games are played out. This includes the control room, where the Gamemakers control the environment of the arena with sophisticated technology; technology that allows the Capitol to create new species of animals to implement into the Hunger Games; and medicine that Katniss takes advantage of to instantly heal her injuries inside the arena. There are numerous pieces of technology we see subtly included in the storyline in later books, but I don’t want to spoil anything!

Overall, The Hunger Games primary focus is on the dystopian future, showing the plight of the citizens of the districts. However, its science fiction elements can be taken advantage of for the purpose of a classroom setting. The inclusion of these small technological advancements can show students the possibilities of the future. We don’t currently have medicine that instantly heals burns; why can’t we in the future? The science fiction genre should open your students’ minds to limitless possibilities for the future and show them that the current state of the world is just temporary.

It is their job to mold the future. Let’s help them make that happen.

The Starving Time

Jamestown, Virginia. 1609.

The My America book The Starving Time incorporates the journal of a girl named Elizabeth, or Lizzie, as she faces the struggles of the colonial time period. Her friend, Jessie, and captain John Smith have just departed to return to England, and she is now facing life without them.

Elizabeth’s journals detail the struggles the settlers went through.
“November 7, 1609

I am very hungry today. All we have eaten for two days is a bit of hardtack and some cornmeal. This morning, the cornmeal was crunchy with bugs. I tried not to notice. But it was hard not to gag.”

Elizabeth’s journals not only detail the starvation that occurred, but the disease that ran rampant through the settlement.

“December 17, 1609

Everyone is sick! And sicker. It is sweeping over the whole fort. Papa brought word from the Dobsons. Mary is as sick as she can be. I wish I could go see her. But I cannot. I cannot even stand.”

The use of journals to tell a story is unique. It provides an opportunity for the author to teach about the history of the Jamestown colony from a first person perspective, and does so while incorporating well-known historical figures like Pocahontas and John Smith.

This form of historical fiction is almost written in autobiographical form. Although it is fictional, it is giving a potentially realistic account from somebody who lived in the era. I particularly like this type of fiction because of its multiple uses. It is essentially a reading and history lesson wrapped into one.

I think students will be much more responsive to texts like this than to social studies textbooks. While a history lesson or textbook reading will pass information to the student, a narrative such as the My America book series presents a story and incorporates the necessary information into the story. It is essentially a form of active learning.

This book, like most, if not all, historical fiction books, takes a historical setting and adds a narrative to create a new form of learning for the reader. It is a nice combination of fiction and nonfiction that makes the learning experience unique.

Magic Tree House #17 - Tonight on the Titanic

This was too good of an opportunity to not talk about another Magic Tree House book. This time, we’re taking a trip on the Titanic.

The interesting part about the Magic Tree House books is that they fit into both the nonfiction and fiction genres. They use a realistic, historical setting to draw interest from the student, using fictional characters to create a plot that will interest them. While the interactions and specific plot in the book never happened, the background information and representation of the setting provided to the student is accurate. Naturally, as is true with roughly half of the series, there is a companion book that details the history of the Titanic.

The introduction of the Titanic in Tonight on the Titanic is a bit of unintended sadistic humor on the part of Mary Pope Osborne.

“The title of the book was The Unsinkable Ship.

‘Well, at least that’s good,’ said Jack. ‘The ship won’t sink, even if it is lost.’”

I think we all know what happens next.

The siblings are given a quest by Morgan le Fay to find four gifts, one of which needs to come from a ship lost at sea. That is where the Titanic comes into play. The book mentioned in the quote provides a source of information for the pair as they are whisked back in time to the night of April 14, 1912 – the night the Titanic struck an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean.

As the scene unfolds before them, Jack repeatedly references the book for information about what is happening – first discovering the ship is doomed to sink, then finding out that no ships nearby come to the rescue, and then that there are not enough lifeboats for the passengers. The use of an in-text reference book teaches the reader all about the sinking while continuing to expand upon the story.

The story runs its course, and the book is capped off by a list of facts about the Titanic. This element is a nice addition that wraps up the real story for the reader, clearing up any questions they may have after reading the story of Jack and Annie.

The Stag at the Pool

Before today, I didn’t even realize I had a copy of Aesop’s Fables laying around my house. Reading through the book, I later realized that I didn’t know a majority of the short stories told by the former slave, Aesop.

So I read them.

“The Stag at the Pool” tells the story of a stag gazing at his own reflection in a pool. Seeing himself, he admires his antlers, while feeling contempt for his seemingly weak legs.

While looking at his reflection, the stag is attacked by a lion. He quickly escapes thanks to his legs, but is halted when his antlers become entangles in tree branches. The story presents a sense of irony. His legs, which the stag hated so much, were possibly his biggest strength, while his antlers, which he was proud of, became his downfall.

Like all of Aesop’s Fables, and most traditional stories, the story contains a moral – in this case, “what is worth most is often valued least.” I see another moral here as well – “nothing is appreciated until it is needed.”

I see traditional stories, such as this one, as reflective stories. They are fun stories to tell, but they are meant to present to you a moral that causes reflection on your own life. From “The Stag at the Pool,” what can you find in your own life that is undervalued?

I think the presence of moral thinking in a classroom is a positive addition in itself. Encouraging your students to read traditional, reflective stories has multiple benefits. These include (the obvious) reading skills-building, critical thinking involving the double meaning behind the story, and the contribution to the student’s moral compass.

While short, the readings can be used in a variety of ways for a variety of reasons. Admittedly, I never saw the benefit of passing stories down from generation to generation, but now…

I think I do.

"Popcorn" by Alex Moran

For this post, I wanted to challenge myself a bit. I found a box of old books in my house and decided I would read and talk about the first book of poetry I found. The book I eventually stumbled on is titled "Popcorn" by Alex Moran.

This emergent level poetry book, oddly enough, starts out as a cookbook, describing in simple terms the process of making popcorn.

“Popcorn. Popcorn. Put it in a pot.

Popcorn. Popcorn. Get the pot hot.”

After making the popcorn, the unnamed characters quickly realize there is WAY too much popcorn, as it overflows, with the characters attempting to catch it as it flies into the air. Eventually, it fills up the house and flows out the door. All is well in the end as everybody enjoys the snack.

“Popcorn. Popcorn. Get it while it’s hot.

We are happy. We like it a lot!”

At fourteen pages, with only one or two sentences per page, the book is obviously intended for beginning readers. Each stanza makes use of rhyme, as evidenced in the quotes above. The phrase “Popcorn. Popcorn.” is repeated throughout the book, signifying the use of repetition, a qualifier of poetry books. You know when you look at a word so many times it starts to sound weird? That’s what the word “popcorn” is to me right now.

Illustrations take up roughly 75% of each page, with each image directly correlating to the particular stanza. The first two pages have a drawing of the characters, who appear to be a rabbit, cat, raccoon and two children, gathering around a pot, with the phrase “put it in a pot” located directly under the image. This is a strategy by the author and illustrator to help beginning readers draw a connection between the words on the page to the physical item they represent. This is continued throughout the book with images of popcorn, a door, and smiling faces corresponding with the words “happy” and “like.”

This book is, altogether, a short poem at most. In this short poem, we find repetition and rhyming. Sight words are prevalent and multi-syllable words are few and far between, but are located within the text. The illustrations and use of poetry tag-team to give context clues to the reader.

If you are looking for a book to introduce sight words or multi-syllable words to a beginning reader, or if you are looking to learn how to make popcorn, I highly recommend this book.