"This looks like an ordinary box full of ordinary yarn."
Book Information:Author: Barnett, Mac
Illustrator: Klassen, Jon Title: Extra Yarn ISBN: 9780061953385 Place of Publication: New York Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers Date of Publication: 2012 Number of Pages: 40 pages Recommended / Listed Price: $16.99 Target Audience: Ages 4-8 Extra Yarn is a Caldecott Honor Book, Boston Globe-Horn Book Award winner, and a New York Times bestseller. It is an endearing story of a little girl's mission to create a more unified, colorful community with her magical box of yarn. Jon Klassen's illustrations combined with Mac Barnett's addition of gentle humor results in a timeless story that will be in an instant classic in any home or classroom. It is the heartwarming story of how a young girl and her box of magical yarn transform a community. Barnett, M (2012). Extra Yarn. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers. |
Activate Relevant Prior Knowledge: Because many elementary students are unfamiliar with the process of knitting and yarn, previewing the text in order to introduce unfamiliar content specific vocabulary is crucial. An Extra Yarn grab bag is an engaging, fun activity to activate student interest. Students are provided with concrete objects and visuals that represent characters or plot events that they will encounter as they read a text. The Extra Yarn grab bags could have photos of Annabelle, the Archduke, animals with knitted sweaters on, knitting needles, mittens, a small box, and of course, yarn. Distribute the bags to groups of students prior to approaching the text. The bags will serve as a resource to "take on their reading journeys." From the objects in the grab bags, students will be able to predict what they think the story will be about - in a similar way that they would predict based on a story's pictures via a picture walk. The grab bag approach is especially useful as an alternative strategy to activate student thinking and prior knowledge.
Wilhelm, J. D. (2012). From the known to the new: Building background before and during reading. In Enriching comprehension with visualization strategies (pp.77, 94).New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc.
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Rationale for Book Choice &
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Establish Purpose & Interactive
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Connection/Teaching Point: As "one of the most helpful tools for active reading," bookmarks - or in elementary terminology, Think Marks! - are intended to be used by students during-reading. Bookmarks can help students keep track of important characters or information. They can be an informal log for the reader's questions as they read. And they can also provide a checklist for effective reading and remind them of important "fix-it" strategies to use when they are confused. Therefore, students can determine if they utilized their time wisely at the conclusion of Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) time and know what to do when comprehension wavers.
Modeling: In the first few pages of Extra Yarn, students meet Annabelle. The teacher will model what thinking-aloud looks like by posing questions and commenting on her own thinking while reading. For example, the teacher might say, "I wonder what is in Annabelle's box. I notice that the pictures are black and white. Why is the dog's name Mars? Is he named after the planet?" Following this think-aloud example, the teacher will read one more page and pause so that students can talk to an elbow buddy about what they are thinking about the text and illustrations. After establishing the think-aloud process, the teacher will ask students to fill in the first bullet on the think-mark.
Active Engagement: Throughout the read-aloud, the teacher will pause to let students fill in the think-marks both independently or with a partner. After each student records their answers on the think-mark, the teacher will ask for students to share their thinking with the class. She will ask if any other students were thinking or wondering what the participating student just shared. Once the think-marks are complete, the teacher will reiterate the importance of self-monitoring, "real-reading," and thinking-aloud while they read.
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Link/Send-Off:As a quick way to assess whether students comprehended Extra Yarn, S.W.B.S.T. is an acronym for "Somebody," "Wanted," "But," "So," "Then" that students write at the top of a five column chart on a sheet of loose-leaf paper. In the "Somebody" column, students write the name of the main character. What the character wants goes in the next column (either a concrete or abstract desire). The "But" column introduces the conflict and "So" asks what the main character will do to transcend that problem. Lastly, the "Then" column presents the ultimate solution in the story. S.W.B.S.T. could also be used in students' story retelling, rather than as a written assignment. Using the information in the five columns, students should write a brief summary. To practice identifying the most important information from Extra Yarn, and using it in a summary, the teacher will have students complete the five-column chart of S.W.B.S.T. after they complete every chapter of a book. Lesesne, T. S. (2006). Chapter 5: What can we do to follow up reading? A baker's dozen of un-book report ideas. In Naked reading: Uncovering what tweens need to become lifelong readers (pp. 83-84). Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.
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