Why Did Humpty Dumpty Have a Great Fall?

by Joan Waites

While planning out an upcoming class session, I pulled out many of my favorite picture books, fairy Tales and Mother Goose collections for inspiration. The class is titled “Story Art” where students will learn about the art of children’s book illustration, and how to illustrate an original story of their own.

The job of an illustrator is to not only depict what is written in the story, but to offer  the reader a visual surprise-a twist, a hidden element or another parallel story happening in the illustrations so the child will want to come back to the book over and over again.

Using the above concept, have your students try their hand at illustrating a short Mother Goose rhyme.  In most classic Mother Goose books we see an image of Humpty Dumpty sitting perched on a wall, or perhaps broken in pieces after he tumbles down.  But how and why did he fall? Was he pushed? Was he dancing a jig on the ledge and slipped? Trying to ice skate? There are limitless possibilities for your students to imagine and have fun drawing.

What about Little Bo-Peep? Where did those sheep go when she was trying to find them? What were they doing? Why did Jack jump over the candlestick? What was he trying to reach on the other side? Are the characters in the rhymes human or animals?

Expanding on this idea even further, have students write an original story to go along with the art they have created for the rhyme. A perfect example of this is the picture book And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel  Harcourt Children's Books; 1st edition (May 1, 2001). Each night in the story, the rhyme Hey Diddle Diddle is performed. Dish and Spoon return after they run away, and the characters complete the rhyme in the same way over and over again. But one night, Dish and Spoon run away and don’t come back, leading the other characters on a desperate chase to find them.  We are lead through this humorous tale of what happened to them and how their friends come to the rescue.

Have students share their illustrations and stories with the class. Perhaps the mystery of why Humpty Dumpty had a great fall will be revealed!

http://www.joanwaites.com/

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“This cheerful package of images and information delivers intellectual nourishment in the guise of a tasty treat for the eyes.” --School Library Journal

WHAT IF? and WHAT ELSE?: Helping Young Writers Expand Their Stories

by Jacqueline Jules

What if your character was pursued by a wolf? How could she save herself?

What else could you add to make the reader feel your main character’s fear?

“What if?” and “What else?” These two short questions can help young writers get into the habit of expanding and resolving their fiction stories. Post them with a cute graphic and remind your budding writers to brainstorm throughout the creation of their stories, particularly when they find themselves stuck in the middle. Young writers are often unable to end their stories because their main character doesn’t have a problem to solve. Asking WHAT IF—the character wanted something, the character was afraid of something, the character was in danger, etc.—naturally leads to a problem in need of resolution.

The question WHAT ELSE? opens the conversation about adding details.

A great picture book for modeling this process is The Plot Chickens by Mary Jane and Herm Auch. In this book, Henrietta, a book-loving chicken, writes a story with the help of her three chicken aunts. Together, they brainstorm an adventure entitled, “The Perils of Maxine,” about a hen who ventures into the woods and is pursued by a wolf. Henrietta follows a set of “Writing Rules” which includes the very wise advice of developing your plot by asking the question, “What if?”

After reading The Plot Chickens with several groups of students, I’ve had a humorous frame of reference for asking the question “What if?” during writing conferences. Brainstorming should never be restricted to pre-writing. It is an essential part of plot and character development and the best way to move a stalled story forward. Questions fuel stories like gasoline powers cars. Help your students keep their pencils moving by asking “What if?” and “What else?”  

http://www.jacquelinejules.com/

Writing and Wonder

by Mary Quattlebaum

Kids are full of questions about the world:  How do snakes shed?  When do sharks lose their teeth?  What makes rocks hard?  Why is the sand white at this beach and beige at another?

Writing can be a place to explore, formulate opinions and theories, ponder facts and share ideas.  One of the most helpful books on this subject is A Place for Wonder by Georgia Heard and Jennifer McDonough (Stenhouse, 2009, $20).

Though this volume is geared toward parents and teachers of grades K-3, many of the writing prompts—and certainly the spirit—can apply to older kids and adults as well.  Indeed, some of the simplest exercises are the most adaptable—and profound.

With summer upon us, you might be eager for some “playful learning” approaches that stretch your kids, engage the whole family and fit in well with vacations, daycamps and the season’s more relaxed pace.  Or as a teacher, perhaps you’re thinking through changes for next year’s lesson plans.  Here’s an activity that can last the whole summer—and beyond.

Place of Wonder.  Heard and McDonough designate an actual place in the classroom for children to write and post questions.  Kids can read one another’s questions, share thoughts and think about where to find answers.  You might designate a similar place in your home or have a weekly dinner where each family member comes with a question about the natural world.

Even reluctant writers can write down one question and reluctant readers are often galvanized to read if they think it will help them to discover what they want to know.  Rather than simply doing a Google search, encourage kids to check out books from the library and to “teach” or talk about what they learned.  They might make a poster, draw a picture or write a report, story or poem.  This whole question-research-writing/drawing-teaching/sharing process often jumpstarts additional questions and investigations.

For adults, the Place of Wonder can be a powerful way to connect with what actually is around us.  Techno gadgetry, general busyness and a certain “seen that-done that” attitude can work against us actually experiencing the small wonders of the world—which are anything but mundane.  This summer, adult writers might set aside 10 or 15 minutes a few times a week to focus on something in the natural world—perhaps a plant, bird, stone or shell.  Allow yourself to be curious, to ask questions, to seek out some answers, to write about the experience.  Or perhaps, just stay quiet with that object for a while and wonder.

www.maryquattlebaum.com