Pillows, Dogs, and Writing Fun

by Laura Gehl

My Pillow Keeps Moving, written by Laura Gehl and illustrated by Christopher Weyant, is the story of a lonely man who tries to buy a pillow and accidentally buys a dog—who becomes his new best friend.

After you read My Pillow Keeps Moving out loud to your students, you can use the story as a fun writing prompt. Try these suggestions for getting your students writing:

1) In this story, a man walks into a pillow store and accidentally buys a dog. Write your own story using this formula:

? walks into a store to buy ? and accidentally buys ?

Replace the first question mark with a character, the second question mark with an item you might buy in a store, and the third question mark with an animal.

2) The man in the story starts out with no pets and ends up with two. Do you have a pet? Do you wish you had a pet? What pet would you like to have, and why? You can even write about an imaginary creature you would love to have as a pet, like a unicorn or a dragon!

3) This book has a lot of pages without text, where the story is told only through pictures. Choose one of those pages and imagine that you need to describe what is happening to someone who cannot see the illustration. Use words to tell that part of the story.

www.lauragehl.com

Jim the Wonder Dog--Writing About Pets

guest post by Marty Rhodes Figley

My newest book, Jim the Wonder Dog, is about a Depression Era Llewellin setter that many believed was either a genius or possessed of clairvoyant skills. This hunting dog predicted seven Kentucky Derby winners, the winners of the 1936 World Series and presidential race. He could also take direction in foreign languages (Italian, French, German, Spanish), shorthand, and Morse code—and recognized both colors and musical instruments. After a thorough examination by veterinarian scientists at the University of Missouri the mystery of Jim remained.  No one could ever figure out how he did those things. 

In the back of my book I have an extensive discussion of oral history. We have a much better understanding of Jim the Wonder Dog and the town where he lived because of the oral history created by the Marshall, Missouri Chamber of Commerce and the Missouri Valley College. In 1997, those two organizations conducted video interviews of people who had known Jim when they were children or young adults. Their recollections have details about Jim and Marshall, Missouri that would otherwise have been lost to time.

Classroom discussion: Discuss what an oral history is, its strengths and weaknesses.

Oral histories capture a moment in history that might have otherwise been lost.

In the case of my book, these personal stories, from people who are no longer with us, about their experiences with an amazing dog they could not forget, let history come alive. Their enthusiasm and love for Jim the Wonder Dog are apparent, as is their obvious enjoyment in having an opportunity to give their honest account of their treasured memories of Jim from so long ago.

Some disadvantages of oral history are: The person who is giving the firsthand account might not have been able to observe everything that happened or his perspective might have tainted what he saw. That person also might not have made an accurate observation because of his location, the surrounding circumstances (such as darkness, rain, or smoke), or his personal circumstances (such as excitement, sleepiness, or poor eyesight).  Finally, that person might not remember accurately.  Memories can fade with time or be influenced by hearing other accounts of the same event. 

Your students can make history come alive by creating their own oral histories by interviewing family members.

It’s important to conduct the interview in an informed manner.

Ask questions one at a time.

Give time for an answer before you ask the next question.

Try to ask questions that can’t just be answered with a yes or no.  Get more detailed responses.

Be a good listener.

Here are some questions  students could ask family members about their experiences with pets.  

Did you have pets when you were growing up?

How old were you when you got your first pet?

What kind of animal was it?

Where did you get it?

Who named it?

Who took care of the family pet?

Where did your pet sleep?

How did your pet show you love?

Did any of your pets have special talents?

What was the most interesting thing your pet did?

Did you feel your pet understood you? Why?

Did you have a favorite pet?

If so, why was this pet your favorite?

What did your favorite pet look like?

Did you ever have more than one pet at the same time?

If so, did they get along?

Bio: Marty Rhodes Figley is the author of several picture books including Emily and Carlo, Santa’s Underwear, Saving the Liberty Bell, and The Schoolchildren’s Blizzard. She grew up in Missouri and now lives in Virginia with her husband and Airedale terrier. She is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College where she earned a bachelor's degree in American Studies. Besides writing for kids Marty enjoys making pies and playing the guitar. Visit Marty online at /http://www.martyrhodesfigley.com/

FINDING WORDS TO WRITE ABOUT LOSS...

by Alison Ashley Formento

The first pet I owned as an adult, a small cockatiel named Felicity, flew away when I was cleaning her cage. One minute she was there, and the next—my pet bird was gone. I searched the neighborhood for days, but she never returned. Though I’ll never know for certain, I hope that Felicity found a home with someone who fed her grapes that she loved to eat, or that she flew south and is now chirping amongst the palms on a tropical island. I still miss her, as anyone who has lost a beloved pet can understand.

The loss of a pet can inspire novelists and Cynthia Chapman Willis an author inspiration of mine, shares the struggle of loss and longing in her powerful middle grade novels, Buck Fever, and in particular, Dog Gone where a young girl named Dill, with family problems, searches for her missing dog named Dead End.

In my young adult novel, Twigs, the title character loses her phone and people are lost or missing in her life, too. She’s not sure where her dad has gone and there’s a mystery about her brother in the Army, too. Twigs experiences feelings of frustration, anger, and sadness in dealing with these various losses.

Finding words to write about loss: Writing Prompt:
Have you ever lost something important to you? A favorite piece of clothing, a special toy, or a beloved stuffed animal? Or something important you need for school like a signed permission slip for a field trip? Write about your experience when you’ve lost something important.
• Where did you look?
• How long did you search?
• Did you ask others for help?
• Did you feel a particular way because of losing this item?
• Did you find what was lost?

http://alisonashleyformento.com/

HISTORY WITH A HISS (AND A BARK AND A SQUEAK)

by Mary Quattlebaum

Playful prompts can help students to explore history and writing in ways that reinforce lessons in both.  Applicable at any time during the year, this exercise can be especially appropriate for Presidents’ Day.

1.  Tell kids about the pets owned by U.S. Presidents.  George Washington had a favorite horse, Nelson, whom he rode when the British surrendered to the Americans at Yorktown in 1781, which ended the Revolutionary War.  Abraham Lincoln’s sons kept rabbits, goats, and a turkey named Jack at the White House.  Calvin Coolidge had a pet raccoon, and Theodore Roosevelt’s six kids happily tended dogs, cats, guinea pigs, birds, snakes, a badger, and a bear during their father’s administration.

2.  Read and talk about First Dog Fala by Elizabeth Van Steenwyk, illustrated by Michael Montgomery (Peachtree 2008).  Fala was Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s beloved Scottish terrier.  She lived with him during his presidency from 1940 to his death in 1945; and her bronze sculpture sits beside that of her master in the Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, DC.  Ask the class what a presidential pet like Fala might notice.  How might he describe the president and an important historical event? Would a pet’s perception be different from what people might notice?  Why or why not?

3.  History/Writing Prompt #1:  Choose a President or ask students to choose a favorite to research.  Have children research the particular President’s important accomplishments as well as worries, mistakes, or low points of his term(s).  Ask students to take the point of view of the President’s pet and, as that pet, to write about what they notice/feel about the President and about that historical event.  Or they might write from the perspective of a “hidden” animal (spider, mouse).

4.  History/Writing Prompt #2:  Choose a historical event and discuss its importance with the class.  Talk about what happened.  Then ask students to become an animal witnessing that historical event or living during a certain point in time (an ox pulling a wagon West, the horse of a Pony Express rider, a dog welcoming his soldier master home from a specific war).  Have students write from the point of view of that animal and describe what the animal saw, heard, smelled, and felt. 

http://www.maryquattlebaum.com/Mary_Quattlebaum/Welcome.html