Kristin Levine answers question after question after...

Last week, my fourth graders visited via Skype with Kristin Levine, the author of The Lions of Little Rock, The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had.

My students are in the midst of a unit on the Civil Rights Movement and are reading many books on the subject. Some of the classrooms have finished reading The Lions of Little Rock, while others have not. Prior to our Skype visit the students described themselves as beverages the same way Kristin Levine has her character Marlee describe her family as beverages. You can read about that project here.

For this Skype visit, one class prepared questions (the first one to finish the book). We started with those questions and moved on to an open Q&A.  Kristin was wonderful answering the questions and had vignettes and memorable stories to go along with her answers. As soon as she neared the end of a response, thirty hands shot right back into the air. The visit lasted about fifty-five minutes, but could have gone on for another hour.

The students learned that Kristin Levine:

*doesn't like describing how people look, she would rather find other ways to make the character memorable.

*based some of the characters off of people she knows.

*is working on a new book that takes place during the McCarthy Era, that is based on her father's family's experience. 

Kristin Levine helped them understand:

*that rough drafts help the writer to get a better story

*that they shouldn't try to make a first draft perfect

*that ideas can change after your rough draft

*that it's okay if your rough draft is not that good, it is a place to begin.

*the steps to her writing process

*that writing is just redoing

*that Lions of Little Rock was based upon her mom's experience

*that not every day is a good writing day

*that some good books can have real information in them

*that books that aren't all true can have real facts

*that writers do a lot of revising

*that some writers might have to throw away a lot of work( (150 pages!)


The students have some additional questions for Kristin:

How do you do your research?

How do you edit?

Did you have to do research on segregation?

Do you have a special place you like to write?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For the reflection and assessment of this author visit I gave each of the four classroom a different prompt, 

What did you learn?

What new strategies will you apply to your writing?

Kristin Levine explained...

What is your "take away" from this visit?

The one that received the most thoughtful responses from students was the one that asked them to finish the sentence. The second best responses came from the question "What did you learn?"  Food for thought as I continue to hone my assessment skills. 

Personality Beverages inspired by Lions of Little Rock

We are visiting with Kristin Levine tomorrow!

The fourth grade students have been reading The Lions of Little Rock in the classrooms. It connects to both the Civil Rights Unit that is part of the social studies curriculum, and the unit on character traits that is part of the ELA curriculum.

Inspired by the way Kristin Levine has Marlee describe her family members as beverages (and gives them a corresponding personality trait), the students have done the same, but of themselves.

We started out by looking at the examples from the first fourth grade class. (They were a few weeks ahead.) We then brainstormed beverages and character traits.

We came up with beverages such as: soda, hot chocolate, hi-c, kool aid, lemonade, seltzer, smoothie, frappe, shake, apple cider, milk, juice, tea, shirley temple, water, vitamin water, gatorade, pîna colada, root beer, fruit punch, apple juice, ginger ale, coffee...

We came up with character traits such as: bubbly, sweet, sour, fizzy, bitter, refreshing, unique, reserved, spicy, energetic, flat, tart, smooth, rich, deep, thoughtful, calm...

We talked about the visual message, and how it should match the written message, how the colors of used in the image of the beverage should make you think of the beverage and the colors and font in the word cloud should translate the personality traits and beverage as well.  I think they are understanding the idea, but this is something I want to continue working on with the students. I think this project could be done with any book and characters. I used Tagxedo for the cup image/shaped word clouds and Wordle for the free-form word clouds. The beverages and traits are just as diverse as the students:

Get to know my fourth graders!

Celebrate: Third Graders

Today I am celebrating my week with my third grade students.

Celebration Number One: Fannie in the Kitchen

During our scheduled library class we read Fannie in the Kitchen, written by Deborah Hopkinson  and illustrated by Nancy Carpenter. This book is much fun to read aloud, both text and illustrations sing.  ( I give it a #reedaloudrating of 10). We read it as a wrap up to our biography unit during women's history month. I have also used this book to connect to the cookbooks in on our Wonder Wall (nonfiction wall). The students will perform the reader's theatre script from Library Sparks this coming Monday.

Fannie in the Kitchen by Deborah Hopkinson

TeachingBooks Resources

Celebration Number Two: Suzy Kline

Suzy Kline came a visiting! That same day, Suzy Kline visited our school. She is a wonderful presenter - her rapport with the students demonstrates her background as a classroom teacher. Her visit is filled with stories, strategies, and anecdotes. It is also wonderfully interactive with skits and roles for students to play.

Celebration Number Three: Hour of Code

The students participated in Hour of Code on Thursday afternoon. I saw the three classes of students, back-to-back, and it was fabulous and fun. The productive din made my heart happy. 

There were other memorable and fun moments in the library this week, but these really stood out.

Happy Saturday All!

Lions of Little Rock: What Beverage Are You?

We are gearing up to begin our Civil Right Unit. In preparation, the classroom teachers are reading The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine. 

Our experience using this book last year was a valuable in many ways. You can read what my 4th graders learned during a visit with Kristin Levine. 

You can listen to my students talk about the book.

You can read this student's review:

Now, for this year's new addition to the project:

A student's response from last year led us in a new direction of focusing on character traits.

"I learned how to describe characters without saying or writing how they look. This is useful because there is no "right" or "wrong" of how characters look, (for readers) but you still know what personalities they have.  I learned how to do this because the author of "Lions of Little Rock" wrote that in her second book.  The character Marlee describes other characters as beverages.  I can't wait to use this in my writing!" 

Using a Google Form, the students in this 4th grade class each shared one word to describe Liz and one word to describe Marlee.

Liz

Marlee

Using Wordle, it's easy to see which trait was most commonly used to describe each of these girls. I think it would be interesting to repeat this task after finishing the book, or near the end to see if and how the students' perceptions or understandings of the girls changes.

The second new aspect involved having the students think about their own character traits. As Kristin Levine does in The Lions of Little Rock, the students described themselves as a beverage and then brainstormed different character traits that described them.

They created a Tagxedo of their beverage:

They then used Wordle and brainstormed character traits/

beverage descriptions for themselves:

Slice of Life: Stories Connect Us

Stories connect us.

Tonight, I am working on a project with a 4th grade teacher for the book, The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine. Working with this book is poignant because the connections are both happy and sad. It was fourteen months ago that my father had a brain bleed and I found myself reading this book to him in the hospital. My mother and I used the book as a launching point for a discussion about my parents experiences in the Civil Rights Movement. At the time we thought my father would make a full recovery, but he has not. These fourteen months have changed his life (and therefore ours) in ways that I could not have prepared myself. So here I find myself, being thrown back emotionally to those days in the hospital and then struck by how quickly life changed. Yet reading this book again and working collaboratively with the teacher also carries happiness and hope, along with the remembrance of the ways this book has connected me and continues to connect me with my students. Stories connect us to people, to a time period, to a place, and to memories. These connections, like threads in a quilt, become part of the fabric of our lives.

You can read about my experience of reading this book while my father was in the hospital.

"Stories connect us."

I am pleased that this is the message that Kate DiCamillo carries with her as 

National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.

Stories do connect us and when we are lucky, they reconnect us.

On capturing an amazing conversation about The Lions of Little Rock

When students are left to their own devices, or mine, unexpected gifts often result.

Their own device? Their voices in a free flowing conversation.
My device? My laptop with Voicethread open.

Below is a Voicethread conversation about The Lions of Little Rock, the book by Kristin Levine. Those of you who follow the blog know that we had a Skype visit with Kristin and that I really love her book. 

Check out this conversation about the book.  It is amazing.

Have your students read the book?  If so, please have them join the conversation!

Let me just say a few things about this recording.

These four girls - Carrie, Tove, Ella and Ruby - all took our state standardized test for math this morning.  

Two of them came in to library having a conversation about the book and the other two came over to to join the conversation.  I asked if they would stay after the library period and talk about the book then.  

After library, I uploaded a picture to Voicethread and gave them my laptop.  I eavesdropped a bit (but not much) and as I listened I got a bit teary.  I wish all students could experience an authentic, free flowing conversation around a book like this one.  I am trying to figure out how to make the experience a part of the library program.  Thinking...Thinking...Thinking....

Things my students learned during a Skype visit with Kristin Levine

Yesterday my fourth graders had a Skype visit with Kristin Levine, author of The Lions of Little Rock and The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had. It was a great visit! They asked questions that they had composed prior to the visit and then shared what they learned after the visit.  
Check them both out.

"One thing I learned from Kristin Levine is that you may not like writing at first, like Kristin in fourth grade, but you may grow up to like writing.  Also, I learned that on your first draft you can write something that may not be very good, and then go back and keep editing and revising.  This will help me in the future because sometimes I feel like my writing is terrible and she taught me that it is okay and to just keep on writing." ~Damien

"I learned how to describe characters without saying or writing how they look. This is useful because there is no "right" or "wrong" of how characters look, (for readers) but you still know what personalities they have.  I learned how to do this because the author of "Lions of Little Rock" wrote that in her second book.  The character Marlee describes other characters as beverages.  I can't wait to use this in my writing!" ~Amy

~~~~~

The entire visit was a Q&A because they had many great questions.  Here are some:

"Did you like to write when you were a kid?"

"What books did you like to read when you were a kid?"

"What is the hardest part of the writing process for you?  Is is sitting down and writing or going back to revise?"

"Where did you get most of you information about the Little Rock Nine?"

"How long did it take you to write and research on the book? What took longer?  Writing or researching the book?"

"Did you base any of your characters from any of your books on your real friends?"

"How did you choose the names for your characters?"

"How did you develop your character’s personalities?"

"Which character do you feel you relate to the most in Lions of Little Rock?"

"Was it hard to have such a real and serious topic and then make it fiction?"

"What inspired you to have Marlee describe the characters as beverages?"

"What beverage would you call yourself?"

"What do you want people to walk away with after reading your book?"

"How did you think of the title of your book?"

"What is the next book you are writing?"

Here's what they said they learned:
"I learned that writing doesn't have to be perfect the first time.  Also, if you don't like how something sounds (in your writing) you can think outside the box.  P.S. I think I would describe myself as lemonade, sometimes sweet and sometimes sour." ~Ella

"I learned to take risks in writing." ~Will

"One thing I learned from Kristin Levine is that your first draft doesn't have to be very good; you can always go back and edit a lot." ~Ruby

"I learned that it helps to switch from using a computer to writing by hand." ~Lucy

"One thing I learned from the Skype with Kristin Levine is that you can base stories off real people." ~Aidan

"I learned that in writing it is okay to make mistakes and sometimes it is just important to get something down on paper and you can always edit later." ~Carrie

" I learned that if you are writing and it is really bad, keep going and your writing will slowly get better." ~David

"I learned that you may not like to write when you are a kid but you might change your mind!" ~Sophie

"I learned that you can take risks in writing and that a big problem in a story is better than a small one." ~Ari

"I learned that if you don't like something when you are a kid you should work at it and you'll be good at it. For me, I don;t like math so if I work at it, I will be good." ~Gio

"I learned lots of things through the Skype.  Mostly I liked the suggestion that even if you're not sure if your idea will work, it won't hurt to try." ~Matthew

"I learned that you should always take risks in your writing - even though you might not be sure it will work because it will always make your writing interesting." ~Abby

~~~~~~~~~

COOL BEANS
~~~~~~~~

Check out this wonderful interview about The Lions of Little Rock on The Book Page.

Read this student review of the book.

Read about the special experience I had while reading this book.

Reading: A Time and Place Experience

I was crafting a blog post about the books I considered Newbery Contenders, entitled Reading in the Running.  I was writing about why specific books resonated with me.  Was it the writing, the character, setting and plot or the time and place in which I had read each one. I never got to finish.

In the midst of this post, my father experienced a brain injury and was in the hospital for five days. Life was put on hold. (Wonderful spoiler alert: He returned home this weekend and is well on the road to recovery!)

Upon getting the call from my mother, what did I do?  Grab a book, my smart phone and some very odd clothing choices, and then drove the two hours north. That book that I grabbed?  Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine.  

My parents were both very active in the Civil Rights Movement, so I knew this would be a good time to read this book.  My mother left three very young children at home to complete the march to Selma. Her own mother and those in the community questioned her actions, but my mother stood firm.  As for my father, he was in many places: Philadelphia, Mississippi; Jackson, Mississippi; Medger Evers' funeral; the March on Washington; and Selma to name a few.

Given this history, I knew the book would resonate with them.  So there we sat...and read. We stopped and remembered events during the Civil Rights Movement.  We talked about the characters in the book.  The nurses even got involved in the story and the conversation.  At a time when the future was uncertain, this book transcended our worry and kept us all sane.

I loved the book. I could identify with Marlee.  I grew up in an area called the "salad of Boston" and we would do some pretty foolish things in the name of equality and justice.  I thought the characters in the story represented the diverse views and perspectives surrounding the issue and that Kristin Levine did a fine job of capturing the muddled emotions surrounding the Civil Rights Movement.  

Check out Anita Silvey's wonderful write up of The Lions of Little Rock on her Website: Children's Book-A-Day Almanac.  One of my students wrote this about the book last December.

I was hoping The Lions of Little Rock would be recognized in some way. But maybe this is it.  Maybe this is the recognition. Reader by reader, each book makes its mark.  Recognition, like a Newbery can change a life, but what of those experiences authors never hear of?  The experiences where the book transforms, heals, or inspires?   So, inspired by Marlee, I will share my experience, "Because all the words in the world won't do much good if they're just rattling around in your head."

Will I forget this book? I don't think so. Will I ever be able to separate this book from this experience?  I don't think so. Maybe the reading experience is always about the time in which we read the book, the place where we read it,  and the people with whom we read it.

Thank you Kristin Levine for this well-researched, beautifully-written book.  Marlee, Liz, and Betty Jean and a host of other characters are now part of my literary family.

World Read Aloud Day is March 6th.  If this story resonated with you, READ IT FORWARD by heading on over to LitWorld's Website and signing up.  Help make literacy a reality for all.