My fourth and fifth graders have been reading these biographies and nonfiction books byAndrea Davis Pinkney.
The students are reading in small groups. From there, the fifth graders are creating biography posters that share the personality traits and achievements of the subject of the book along with examples of author's craft. The fourth graders are crafting six word memoirs and making posters with them. I can't wait to share the students' finished products!
What follows is a sneak peak of the student work thus far, followed by my exemplars as well as the templates for their work.
Fourth Grade Six Word Memoirs
brainstorming
Fifth Grade Biography Posters
Here are the templates and my exemplar for Alvin Ailey:
My fourth and fifth graders have been reading books by and learning about Andrea Davis Pinkney in advance of her visit.
They would like to tell her these things:
You write interesting books You are a very thoughtful writer and make wonderful stories I enjoy reading her books. You are very thoughtful and get really emotional when talking about the past and your own books. Her books are really good and inspiring We would like to tell her that her books really help us understand the civil rights movement/time of racism.
The Red Pencil amazed me because there are not many books about kids living in a refugee camp. Your books are awesome! We used your books when we studied the civil rights movement. I think it's cool tat you and your husband work as a team! Your books deeply show the injustices of black women back then. Congratulations on being a New York Times best selling author I studied the March on Washington, and I really liked how you added the part when Mahaila Jackson said, "Tell them about your dream Martin!" Because not many people know about it. (Leni) I really enjoy the Martin and Mahalia book. The book is very powerful and moving and is about a very interesting topic. The Red Pencil is a really good book!
I like that it seems that you put time into your books We want to tell her that she is an amazing writer and she inspires many people including us. I would love to tell her that her books are amazing and when I stop reading I can't stop thinking about that book and than has the great urge to read more fantastic books. We want to tell her that we think it's important to raise awareness about black equality because some people still don't understand that it's really wrong to not let black people have equal rights.-Orly We enjoy the books you write. We studied the Civil Rights Movement in 4th grade. We would like to tell her that we are really enjoying the books we're reading that you wrote. I like the way you wrote the Red Pencil. We are exited to meet you! That she is an awesome author and she makes a great team with her husband. We would like to tell you that we're looking forward to meeting you in person. We are very exited about your upcoming visit. I would like to tell how great your books are. We can't wait to meet you! I think you are a great writer We really enjoyed reading your book Martin & Mahalia I am watching an Alvin Ailey production soon (Miles) I think it is impressive that you have written 32 books. One thing we would like to tell Andrea Davis Pinkney is that she has written several books that we enjoyed reading. These are some wonderful things to share!
To see what they have learned about Andrea Davis Pinkney and her work read this blog post. To read about what they are wondering about Andrea and her work, click here.
My fourth and fifth graders have been learning about Andrea Davis Pinkney in advance of her visit.
The students worked in pairs to explore both her website and the resources on TeachingBooks. They are wondering these things:
My students are wondering: Where do your get your ideas? Exactly how many awards have you won? What kind of things did you write in your notebook? Were you close to your siblings as a child? When is your next book going to come out? Why do you write books? How do you come up with your ideas? Where do you typically like to write? What's your favorite book (that you have not written)? How does she write so many books. How did you become interested in writing books about civil rights? When was your first book published and what was it? How long have her and her husband been a team/married? Why does she only write books for children and young adults? What are you going to write about next. Is one of the events in the Civil Rights Movements your favorite? Do you like writing poems? Why does Andrea Davis Pinkney write about African-American history? How do you decide what your going to write? How long did it take for you to write a picture book biography? Do you get to choose which books Brian illustrates, or does the publisher? What was your favorite book to write? What did you want to be as a kid? What inspired you to write biographies, and in your fiction books, how do you choose the names for your characters? How do you get the facts for your books? How did your husband become such a good artist? What's your most prized book? Where do you like to work? Why do you write about African-Americans? What is your reaction when you or your husband gets a medal for one of your books? What is a Motown moment? When is your next book coming out? What is it like to work with your husband? How has working with your husband changed your work as a writer? How do you get all the information about the people you write about? Is there an award you would like to win? How long does it take to edit your work? What is it like to be an author? I hope Andrea is ready to start answering many questions! To see what they have learned about Andrea Davis Pinkney and her work read this blog post. To read the things they want to share with Andrea, click here.
Andrea Davis Pinkneywill be meeting with our fourth and fifth graders next month! We are preparing for her visit by reading her books in whole groups, small groups, and as individuals. The classrooms are also sharing her books as part of their curriculum.
Now that the students have read a few of her books, it's time to learn more about Andrea. Today, the students worked in pairs to explore both her website and the resources on TeachingBooks.
While exploring these resources the students shared three things they learned, two things they were wondering, and one thing they wanted Andrea to know. The students also shared if they had a "wow" or "aha" moment while exploring the resources.
Things my students have learned about Andrea: She lives in New York She grew up outside Washington D.C. in a town called Gaithersburg, Maryland, When she was in the seventh grade, her family moved to Wilton, Connecticut, and her mom was a teacher; she taught middle school English. Two of her books won Caldecott honors She really cares about the Civil Rights Movement. Her parents were active during the Civil Rights Movement She calls herself a product of the civil rights movement.
She is really energetic She really pays attention on what is happening in our country and other countries. She is a New York Times Bestseller Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkney make books together She works as a team with her husband to make books.
She and Brian have published more than 50 children's books She starred in a talk show Her book Red Pencil was a New York Times Editors’ Pick.
She's won a lot of awards.
She has two children. She won the George Arents Award . She wrote "The Red Pencil" and "Raven in a Dove House" She wrote 32 books She uses her own experiences as inspiration. She writes through her characters. She has the Medgar Evers College Lifetime Achievement Award. I did not know that she had written so many books and I did not realize how many of them were about African American history. I also learned that she and her husband make an author-illustrator team. She has a husband named Brian who she collaborates with. Also she has won The Adams prize which recognizes individuals who overcome learning struggles. She is a publishing executive. ADP and her husband have both won a lot of awards for their illustrations and books. ADP also writes many black history books. ADP has also written 32 books! We have learned that a lot of her books is from her wondering things and they are basically about real life things and that some of them are about real people like Marten Luther King. She wrote Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down. She was named one of the most influential black women in business. Another achievement is that she won lots of awards for The Red Pencil. The last achievement is that she was a big influence in many kids lives. We learned that Andrea Davis Pinkney got a lot of awards from writing non-fiction picture books. Also, we learned that she mostly writes her picture books on black history. 1). gets some book ideas from questions 2). writes non fiction or realistic fiction. 3). Husband illiterates her books. She wrote the book called ""With the Might of Angels"" in the Dear America series." She has been in magazines She is the best selling award winning author She has written many different genres Brian's father is a Caldecott Medal winning illustrator. She can't make sense of war.
She is an editor and an author Andrea and her books have won almost 100 awards
That's quite a bit of knowledge they gained today! To see what they are wondering about Andrea Davis Pinkney and her work read this blog post. To read the things they want to share with Andrea, click here.
The timing could not be more perfect. As this extremely snowy, cold, and long Boston winter carries on, we are given hope that spring will arrive. That hope arrives in the form of a book: Growing Up Pedro byMatt Tavares.
Yesterday I read Growing Up Pedro with the fifth graders who visited via Skype with Matt last week (see below). Reading this book on a March day that carried twenty degree temperatures and involved sledding and playing on four-foot snow piles was a salve to our winter blues.
Matt Tavares has crafted another well-researched, readable biography. This one tugged at my heart more than the others though. To say that Matt's work gets better with every book would be a disservice to his previous work, which is amazing. Growing Up Pedro feels different though. It feels more personal. Matt's respect for and connection to the subject imbues the narrative and artwork.
It is a tribute to brotherly love that knows no bounds, and Pedro's adoration of and loyalty to his big brother shines through.
The art transports the reader to the times, places, and moments that made Pedro, Pedro.
Matt Tavares' meticulous and beautifully-wrought illustrations beckon the reader to slow down and take in the details.
Here's a sample of what my students had to say about the book:
"The relationship between Pedro and Ramon is truly inspiring and the way it’s written is absolutelywonderful." –Daniela
"I love the relationship between the two brothers, Pedro and Ramon. It’s find it very inspiring not just for me, but for other people too. This is probably my favorite picture book! And I’m not that much of a baseball fan. This is absolutely awesome!"
-Toni
Last week, these students were lucky enough to connect via Skype with Matt. In the category of, "You never know where your Tweets will bring you," I tweeted out a picture of Matt Tavares, who was talking about the research trips to the Dominican Republic to learn about Pedro. Kathy Schmidt, a mutual friend (who knew!?), made the connection and the idea of a Skype visit was born. To talk about baseball and hear about Matt's trips to Fenway Park infused a spring-like attitude into our Friday afternoon. Here's a snippet of our visit.
Upon finding a little wolf baby on the door, Mr. and Mrs. Bunny become immediately smitten and adopt him into their family. Dot, once the one and only child, is worried.
It appears as if Dot is the only one to recognize the danger they are all in. New siblings are always an adjustment, but a new sibling that might want to eat you is something else entirely. Even her friends recognize the situation. For each of Dot's complaints, the parents see only joy in the new member of their family. Their complete adoration of Wolfie sends a reaffirming message about families and love.
Dot might have continued in her misunderstandings (don't all siblings misunderstand each other at some point?) if not for the fateful trip to the grocer to get more carrots. Sometimes we don't know what we have or how much we love someone until someone else helps us see it.
Ame Dyckman's funny and heartfelt story of sibling relationships is rendered beautifully by Zachariah OHora. A forward looking retro style adds to the universality of the story. When Dot says that Wolfie follows her everywhere, OHora shows an exasperated Dot in the bathroom with company she'd rather not have.
OHora's depiction of a scowling Dot is one of my favorites in the book. Who knew that bunnies could scowl?
Watch out for bunnies in red hoodies.
My first graders recently had a visit with Ame Dyckman via Skype. Her enthusiasm is infectious! Hearing Ame read her book was an added bonus to an already wonderful story.
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