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4.42 AVERAGE
4.42 AVERAGE
good for teaching impact. back to school read.
Each Kindness Is so Amazing!!!. This is a book that everyone really needs to read!!. It is so moving, heartfelt, and beautiful.
This book perfectly exemplifies realistic fiction. In fact, the story structure is perhaps more realistic than most. I love this book for the lesson it teaches, but especially for the way it ends, with no closure, not a happy ending. This is often the case in our real lives and our students' lives. We're left at the "end" with more questions and some regrets. In terms of "windows and mirrors," many students can find a mirror in this book by relating it to a time in their lives when things didn't end well.
I used this book this week in a social emotional learning lesson. It's the perfect story for this! It shows both the negative (how the main character kept ignoring and putting down the new girl) and the positive (the teacher's lesson on how kindness spreads like ripples). Students get a sense of how their actions impact others and spread like ripples whether the actions are positive or not. Our discussions in class helped the students to see that kindness should be shown at all times, because you never know when your chance at kindness will slip away.
I would pair this book with writing narratives, though I would save this lesson extension for later in the year. Once the students have a strong grasp of typical plot structure in narrative writing, I would use this book as a mentor text to help the students to create a cliff-hanging, thought provoking ending, rather than a resolution that ties up all loose ends. I would pair it with another text, like Mac Barnett's shape series, because they also end in questions that prompt discussion and don't leave the reader with the traditionally satisfying closure.
I used this book this week in a social emotional learning lesson. It's the perfect story for this! It shows both the negative (how the main character kept ignoring and putting down the new girl) and the positive (the teacher's lesson on how kindness spreads like ripples). Students get a sense of how their actions impact others and spread like ripples whether the actions are positive or not. Our discussions in class helped the students to see that kindness should be shown at all times, because you never know when your chance at kindness will slip away.
I would pair this book with writing narratives, though I would save this lesson extension for later in the year. Once the students have a strong grasp of typical plot structure in narrative writing, I would use this book as a mentor text to help the students to create a cliff-hanging, thought provoking ending, rather than a resolution that ties up all loose ends. I would pair it with another text, like Mac Barnett's shape series, because they also end in questions that prompt discussion and don't leave the reader with the traditionally satisfying closure.
Occasionally, I read the By the Book column in the New York Times Book Review. I don't need any more books to read, but I am fascinated by what authors have to say about writing, reading and books. I was especially taken by what Woodson had to say. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/28/books/review/jacqueline-woodson-by-the-book.html?_r=0
That is what brought me to this book. I don't read a lot of picture books anymore. However, after reading that Woodson would teach this book to fifth graders, I wanted to see what it was about. There is too much to this story for me to be able to give a synopsis. Let me just say that I will be making sure my grandson encounters this book when he is a bit older. Woodson has written about empathy in a way that I did not expect. It is no wonder that she is such a respected storyteller.
I think everyone should encounter this tale and really think about Woodson is trying to tell us.
That is what brought me to this book. I don't read a lot of picture books anymore. However, after reading that Woodson would teach this book to fifth graders, I wanted to see what it was about. There is too much to this story for me to be able to give a synopsis. Let me just say that I will be making sure my grandson encounters this book when he is a bit older. Woodson has written about empathy in a way that I did not expect. It is no wonder that she is such a respected storyteller.
I think everyone should encounter this tale and really think about Woodson is trying to tell us.
This is a beautiful story that would be FANTASTIC for the classroom. Students of any age can learn from this book, and I would read it to my class on the very first day of school. It is easy to get caught up in drama and gossip, and Jackie Woodson reminds us how hurtful this can be. I am so glad that I own a copy of this book. I plan to read it to my son very often because the lessons are so important, and the story is simply stunning.
One of my favorite parts about this book is that it doesn't have a happy ending. I would love to discuss this with students--why might this be? Is Woodson teaching us something? Then, we might explore other books that don't have happy endings and discuss why authors might do this intentionally and how it might impact readers' feelings about the books. Students are notorious for disliking sad endings, so I think this would provoke much discussion.
This book can be used both preventative and reactionary to bullying issues in the classroom/school community. While I would read it at the beginning of the school year, I could also see it as an effective tool for teachers who are having issues with bullying during the school year. This book makes us want to be better people.
One of my favorite parts about this book is that it doesn't have a happy ending. I would love to discuss this with students--why might this be? Is Woodson teaching us something? Then, we might explore other books that don't have happy endings and discuss why authors might do this intentionally and how it might impact readers' feelings about the books. Students are notorious for disliking sad endings, so I think this would provoke much discussion.
This book can be used both preventative and reactionary to bullying issues in the classroom/school community. While I would read it at the beginning of the school year, I could also see it as an effective tool for teachers who are having issues with bullying during the school year. This book makes us want to be better people.
Copyright: 2012, Genre: Fiction
In this children's picture book, a student acts coldly towards the new student on various occasions. The teacher instructs a lesson on kindness by using a ripples metaphor. This has great influence on the main character, who had failed to be kind to the new student.
I love that I as a teacher, could also do a similar representation with the ripples. I will def be adding this to my read aloud list.
In this children's picture book, a student acts coldly towards the new student on various occasions. The teacher instructs a lesson on kindness by using a ripples metaphor. This has great influence on the main character, who had failed to be kind to the new student.
I love that I as a teacher, could also do a similar representation with the ripples. I will def be adding this to my read aloud list.
I will definitely be pairing this text with Wonder by RJ Palacio. Lots to discuss here. Especially the less-than-neat ending.
We're reading Estes' [b:The Hundred Dresses|42369|The Hundred Dresses|Eleanor Estes|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328875733s/42369.jpg|1000219] for book club in December, so this new picture book immediately struck me as similar. They're both stories about a new girl in school who is treated as an outcast because her clothes are shabby and she seems culturally different from the other kids. And (spoiler alert) in both books the poor bullied girl moves away before the mean girls can realize how terrible they've been and apologize.
I think what makes Each Kindness special is that it distills the essence of a very big subject in kid lit: bullying. The kids in Each Kindness are probably in 2nd or 3rd grade, so this story can speak to very young kids, which is great. It may only take a few minutes to read, but I think it could have a big impact. The central positive image in the book is the ripple effect of a stone dropped in water, which is likened to the effects of doing something kind. It's a great image. It has the same kind of resonance the phrase "pay it forward" had for awhile. It makes you feel like each nice thing you do really can make the world a better place.
It's also interesting how Woodson doesn't make her bully seem that terrible (Chloe's certainly not as bad as Peggy in THD). Because the reader sees things from the bully's POV, we can feel sympathetic for Chloe and sort of understand how she falls into bullying without really choosing it. The bullying depicted in the book is relatively mild, mostly involving ignoring and excluding Maya, never harassing or attacking her.
Of course, this book is message-y, but not forcefully so. When our main character, Chloe, realizes that she should've shown Maya kindness, it's a quiet revelation. And the book in the end is pretty sad. Chloe is stuck with her regrets and we don't know when she'll get another chance to show someone kindness. Like her predecessor Wanda Petronski, we never know what happens to Maya.
I think what makes Each Kindness special is that it distills the essence of a very big subject in kid lit: bullying. The kids in Each Kindness are probably in 2nd or 3rd grade, so this story can speak to very young kids, which is great. It may only take a few minutes to read, but I think it could have a big impact. The central positive image in the book is the ripple effect of a stone dropped in water, which is likened to the effects of doing something kind. It's a great image. It has the same kind of resonance the phrase "pay it forward" had for awhile. It makes you feel like each nice thing you do really can make the world a better place.
It's also interesting how Woodson doesn't make her bully seem that terrible (Chloe's certainly not as bad as Peggy in THD). Because the reader sees things from the bully's POV, we can feel sympathetic for Chloe and sort of understand how she falls into bullying without really choosing it. The bullying depicted in the book is relatively mild, mostly involving ignoring and excluding Maya, never harassing or attacking her.
Of course, this book is message-y, but not forcefully so. When our main character, Chloe, realizes that she should've shown Maya kindness, it's a quiet revelation. And the book in the end is pretty sad. Chloe is stuck with her regrets and we don't know when she'll get another chance to show someone kindness. Like her predecessor Wanda Petronski, we never know what happens to Maya.
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Hard hitter. Reminded me of Larger Than Life Laura.