The first is Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein. In this book, a father and child chicken read stories, which the child interrupts. The illustrations show a different voice in the style when the stories start, and the rhythm of the words does too -- a more formal tone as a fairy tale begins. It is a fantastic look at voice.
Another off-the-wall example of voice is Chloe and the Lion by Mac Barnett and Adam Rex. Once again, the illustrations tell the story. But in this book, in which the author and illustrator are having conversations on the side, the voices of different characters also come through. I love it! It is funny as well as a good example of voice in picture books.
What books would you use to teach your students voice? Link up at Comprehension Connection or right here:We created our own mail center in our schoolroom and play room because my kids love getting the mail. They love to send letters to friends, teachers, and grandparents. I also created monster postcard templates to help them practice everything from early writing skills to addressing postcards and learning the parts of a letter. Of
Read MorePart of learning to construct sentences is recognizing the parts of speech. When students have an understanding of the parts of speech and grammar, they can better express themselves in both writing and speech. Students can understand how sentences are composed and why they are as they are. Students can recognize mistakes, especially as they
Read MoreIn Tia Isa Wants a Car and A Chair for My Mother, kids work towards earning money for a goal. Although they are very different stories, the goals of the main characters make them perfect for a lesson in comparing and contrasting. The ultimate goal setting lesson from these books is also a great character
Read MoreI had a lot of fun considering favorite picture books as I considered the variety of ways one could organize a story. So many times in elementary school kids are given a prescription for writing and they must follow that. Obviously many stories follow a traditional structure with a clear beginning, a middle, and an
Read MoreHoliday “crackers” are getting more and more popular in the USA, so we had fun with holiday compound words by putting the broken “crackers” together during our hands-on Language Art lesson. Holiday Crackers for Compound Words When our family spent a year in Australia (my oldest was born there), my favorite part of the familiar holiday season
Read MoreThe students in my co-op writing class (who are in first to fourth grade) really struggle with starting a story. For the most part, every story starts with “Once there was….” and goes from there. “Once upon a time…” is a close second. It is a challenge to get them to think outside of the
Read More