Excitedly Preparing for an Author Visit from Elly Swartz

Elly Swartz visited my school last year to share her first published novel, Finding Perfect. Elly's visit was incredible, not only because she was engaging and informative, but because she imprinted Molly Nathan's story on my students' hearts. The way Elly spoke of creating the character of Molly and writing her story touched my students. 

Shhhhh, Exciting news....Elly is returning to my school on Tuesday to celebrate the book birthday of her new book, SMART COOKIE! 

The students and I have been eagerly awaiting this visit. To prepare my current fourth and fifth graders (they did not meet her last year, only last year's fifth graders met Elly), we've been reading from both Finding Perfect and Smart Cookie. 

First, I read the first two chapters of Finding Perfect. While I read, the students wrote down words or phrases or drew pictures of images or scenes that stood out to them. We finished by talking about what we already knew about Molly. Here are a few examples of the students' work:

The next week, I read chapter eighteen, when Molly's (undiagnosed) OCD really starts to impact her ability to get through daily routines. The students and I talked about OCD. I differentiated between Molly being neat and orderly in chapters one and two versus being driven by her need to follow routines to control what feels out-of-control in her life.

Elly created a project connected to Finding Perfect, called the Unfolding Identity Project. The students and I used what we knew about Molly to introduce the it. I left the example at work, but will at it to this post later. When you create the fortune-teller-styled identity project, different layers or aspects of your identity are revealed as you unfold it. The students thought about something their classmates know about them that the average person at our school might not -- something about themselves that they reveal to their classmates. (My 5th graders did something similar last year.) Here's a glimpse into the unfolding identities of my fourth and fifth graders.

The third week, we read from Smart Cookie. Again, I read the first two chapters because they set the stage for the rest of the book. I have read these two chapters with eight classes of students and I can say that there is a deftness and thoughtfulness to how Elly lets the reader know that Frankie's mother died in a car accident when Frankie, now eleven, was four. The writing has the right amount of pacing for the students to absorb this information, while also seeing that Molly is fine and living a normal life. 

After reading the final sentence in the second chapter where Frankie and her best friend Elliot have made a pact to help each other in their quests, I said, "and so begins Frankie's and Elliot's adventures in ghost hunting and mom finding. Along the way they will get involved in a mystery and discover things about themselves and those around them." I shared that just as Molly experiences growth, so to does Frankie, but where Molly's sense of herself changes, it is Frankie's sense of family that does. I am looking forward to learning about the project that Elly has created for Smart Cookie, I am guessing it has to do with the Winter Family Festival Float theme, "Who is in your herd?"  We'll see!

There was one part of the first two chapters that really caught the students' attention, the game-themed rooms in Frankie's family's B&B. I asked the students which room they would want to stay in. I also asked them which new room's the Greene Family needed. After hearing the students' ideas, which ranged from Twister to Trouble and from Stratego to Solitaire, I shared mine: Chutes and Ladders, equipped with with actual slides and ladders. Wouldn't that be amazing? Here are some student suggestions:

Which room would you like to stay in?

We are more than one thing: fifth graders and the unfolding identify project

This is the bulletin board outside the library. It's an expression of the self created from things the fifth graders shared while participating in the Unfolding Identity Project. The Unfolding Identity Project was created by Elly Swartz as a companion activity for her book Finding Perfect. Like the character Molly, Elly wants children to understand that no one things defines any of us. Elly Swartz introduced this activity during her visit to our school.

What appears on the bulletin board are the aspects of the students identity that they share with classmates, teammates, band mates, and the like. 

In the project these are the words and phrases the students add in steps five through twelve. I thought these would be the appropriate things to share anonymously but publicly. I put out pens, paper, scissors and a basket for them to contribute these words and phrases.

In the subsequent steps the students delve deeper into themselves and think about who it is they share with close friends and family and then ultimately those things they keep to themselves. They do not have to share this process if they don't want, but many did and many students worked in pairs to talk through the process. 

After reintroducing the project,the students were invited to collect materials and work anywhere in the library.

I circulated to make sure students both understood and were feeling okay about the process. If a student felt comfortable sharing, I asked if I could take a photograph. Below are a few examples of how my fifth graders see themselves. Most students did not get to the final steps in the project, which I prepared them for and which I think is good. Finishing this at home will give them emotional space and time to be thoughtful thinkers about themselves.

The final project can be folded into a fortune teller which becomes a tangible way to see how these aspects of their identity are revealed in different layers and protected deep within.

This was an incredibly cool day in the library.