It can be challenging at the end of the school year for a teacher to keep students engaged and learning while matching their level of anticipation for summer break. This past school year a third-grade teacher came to discuss an idea that would mix learning and fun! She wanted to celebrate Children’s Book Week from May 1st – 5th. We developed a week-long plan of activities that focused on picture books while adding a bit of excitement.
Grade Level: 3rd Grade
Overview:
This mini-unit took place over one week. Students chose a picture book to review and then dressed as a character from that book. They read their book with kindergarten students too! Additionally, they added a review to the inside cover of the book so others find out what it is about in the future. These reviews will stay in the book as long as the book is in the library.
Lesson 1: Choosing a Book
Objectives:
- Students will choose a picture book from the school library to read and review
- Students will choose a picture book with a character they can dress up as
- Explore/Think V.A.1 – Read widely and deeply in multiple formats
- Curate/Think IV.A.3 – Make critical choices about information sources to use
Materials:
- various picture books
Activities:
- 4 min: Explain to students what Children’s Book Week is about. Give students some basic information about why we are celebrating.
- 6 min: Explain the steps for the project. Make sure that students understand that they need to choose a picture book they will enjoy reading. This also needs to be a book they can use to dress up like a character. Students are encouraged to ask questions about the project.
- 15 min: Have students explore the picture books on the tables. Note: We had them choose a seat and first look at the books on their table. A timer was set for 5 minutes and students were asked to choose a book to read for that time period. If they found one they liked they kept that book with them. Then they could travel to another table and the timer was set again. They read another book for 5 minutes. This was repeated one more time. At the end, students were asked to choose one of the three books they explored to check out.
- 5 min: Students checked out books to take with them for the project.
Assessment:
- Each student will have a book checked out from the school library to use for the project
Tips & Tricks:
- We made sure to talk about all the parts of the project first before discussing the dress-up component. Once we introduced that part of the project most students had many questions about it.
- We made sure to stress that this was not a second Halloween, but instead for students to think more simply and creatively. We provided examples of how they could dress up like a character using some basics they had already. For example, one student chose Parker Looks Up by Jessica Curry and Parker Curry. She wore a pink coat she already owned and red boots and pulled her hair into a ponytail high up on her head. Another student chose Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds. He dressed like a carrot wearing an orange shirt and a green hat with felt leaves attached to it.
- We had some students who had a book at home with a character they wanted to dress like. These were usually books they loved to read when they were younger. If this was the case we did allow students to choose a book from home for the character dress-up part of the project, but they still needed to choose a book from the school library for the Hexagonal Thinking and review part of the project. So these students had two books.
Lesson 2: Hexagonal Thinking
Objectives:
- Students will read the book they have chosen and identify story elements, such as characters, problem, setting, etc.
- Students will make text-to-text connections between their chosen book and their classmates chosen book
- Collaborate/Create III.B.2 – Establish connections with other learners to build on their own prior knowledge and create new knowledge
- Collaborate/Grow III.D.1 – Actively contribute to group discussions
Materials:
- Books chosen from lesson #1
- Hexagonal Thinking page
Activities:
- Before this lesson: This was a unit completed in collaboration with the classroom teachers so some of the project was done with the classroom teacher and some was done with both the classroom teacher and I together. Before I arrived for this part of the project the students had already read through their books twice. Once on their own and once with a partner in their classroom.
- 3 min: Review what Hexagonal Thinking is.
- 7 min: Together discuss some of the types of story elements or discussion points that they could include on their Hexagonal Thinking page. Note: We did not want students to just write that the pictures were good. So we brainstormed ways they could discuss the parts of the story that were more specific and would lead to meaningful connections. For example, the pictures are drawn with pencil and in black and white.
- 15 min: Have students complete their Hexagonal Thinking page using the story elements and ideas that were brainstormed.
- 5 min: Have students get into groups and start to make connections with their hexagons.
Assessment:
- Students will have a completed Hexagonal Thinking page and use that to discuss how their stories connect to each other.
Tips & Tricks:
- This was not the first time we have done Hexagonal Thinking this year with students. They have done this technique for discussion many times so we did not have to explain the expectations for that part of the lesson. You would need to add additional time if this instructional method has not been used before.
- In three out of the four classes I completed this lesson with we needed to spend a bit more time brainstorming ideas of what story elements they could include. Instead of rushing through the discussion of how their hexagons connected. The teacher and I decided to collect their hexagons and had them make the connections the next day in class.
Lesson 3: Book Review
Objectives:
- Students will complete a book review to evaluate the book and share their thoughts with others
- Inquire/Create I.B.3 – Generate products that illustrate learning
Materials:
- Books chosen from lesson #1
- Book review sheet
Activities:
- 5 min: Talk about what a book review is and look at a few examples. Look at our specific review page and shared how it needed to be filled out. Make sure to discuss that neatness matters for this activity since the reviews were being glued inside the front cover.
- 15 min: Have students complete their review page.
- When finished: Have students share their review page with a partner in class and check for anything they may have missed. Then have it checked by a teacher.
Assessment:
- Students will have a completed review that will be glued into the front cover of their book.
Tips & Tricks:
- I have found that rubber cement works great for gluing the reviews inside the front cover.
- Since we wanted to give each student enough time to fill out their review we did not rush this lesson or try to include a sharing piece at this point. Instead, I set up a 10 – 15 minute block time to come back into the classroom for sharing. To share, we sat in a circle with our books in front of us. Then we played a song and passed our books around the circle (keeping them on the floor) like a hot potato. When the music stopped students took the book in front of them and read the review inside. We repeated this process 4 or 5 times so each student got to read 4 or 5 of their classmates’ reviews.
Lesson 4: Dress Up and Read
Objectives:
- Students will dress up like a character in a story to make connections to that character
- Inquire/Share I.C.4 – Sharing products with an authentic audience
Materials:
- Book chosen from #1
- Times to meet with another classroom of younger students
Activities:
- Before the lesson: The third-grade teachers had paired up with the kindergarten teachers for this part of the project. They had talked about what time would work best for each class to meet together for 30 minutes to read two weeks prior.
- Students came to school that day dressed as their book character
- 30 min: Have students travel to the kindergarten classes to read together dressed as their characters.
Assessment:
- Students will have dressed like a character from their book.
- Students will read a book to a student who is younger than them make sure to read with expression
Tips & Tricks:
- Have fun!
This celebration will happen again on November 6th – 12th, 2023, and in May of 2024. It was a great way to spend a week celebrating books at the end of the school year. It also reminded these third graders that picture books can still be fun to read! Sometimes once they start reading chapter books or longer texts they feel that picture books are no longer something they can or will enjoy. This unit was a great way to help them think deeply about the book while having a bit of fun!
Resources:
AASL. 2018. AASL Standards Framework for Learners. https://standards.aasl.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/180206-AASL-framework-for-learners-2.pdf
Author: Kelly Hincks
I am the librarian at Detroit Country Day Lower School in Bloomfield Hills, MI. I have worked as a school librarian for the past eleven years. I was a classroom teacher for four years prior to that. I have worked in charter, public, and private schools. My favorite thing about being a school librarian is the opportunities I have to work both with students and teachers. I love the co-teaching opportunities and connections I have been able to make! I have served on AASL committees as a member and chair. I currently serve as secretary of my state association, Michigan Association of School Librarians (MASL).
Categories: Community/Teacher Collaboration, Student Engagement/ Teaching Models
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