Wordless picture books!

I will begin instruction by looking through each book. I have the groups already made up, but I want all the groups to see all the books. After getting into groups, I will focus on my group I am working with. I look through the book a few times before we ever write any text.

We begin looking and discussing what could happen. Though this looks like a easy book, the story could be rather complex. After a few sessions of discussion, I will begin scribing the text. We will do a few pages each day for about a week. After the text is done, students will illustrate the book. They will decide what is more appropriate, a regular size book or a big book. They will work independently now.

Publishing the book will again be with me. I will write on a few pages too. The finished product will be read aloud to our class and then to the 3rd grade class next door, and then to my son’s 1st grade class. Products will then be sent to the library for display.

Each of the 3 groups will have the opportunity to share.

  • Identify the population :I chose to complete this project with my heterogeneous fourth grade homeroom. I have quite a mix, so I decide to undertake three books! Crazy,stupid, yes!…But, they really enjoyed it. In my homeroom I have eight identified Academically Gifted, five more that possibly will be identified later this year, two EC students, three more struggling readers, and seven grade level students. I grouped them by ability and level I felt the book could be.

Identify the participation structure: I had three small groups.

  • Identify the books you will be using including title and illustratoror creator.

My below grade level students wrote The Red Book by Barbara Lehman

On grade level students wrote Time Flies by Eric Rohman

My above grade level students wrote You Can’t Take a Balloon into the Museum of Fine Arts by Jacqueline Preiss Weitzman and Robin Preiss Glasser

  • Identify your purpose of instruction: why will you be reading wordless picture books with this population? My purpose was a few language arts skills including: Sequencing, identifying details, inference, and grammar.

I wanted the students to further their writing skills. The state writing test is behind us now, and while some teachers would stop writing in the classroom, I did not choose to do that. This was a great way to see where the students are now, what they can carry over to a wordless picture book they did not design, and how well they could work together.

For the below grade level group, I scribed and really talked them through this book. What looks like a very simple story turned out to be anything but. After the illustrations were complete, I was out and asked a substitute to write the words on the pages we had written. She took that as letting them figure it out. Needless to say there are many misspellings and more, but they were so happy to have written something this year, I really did not mind. They were my real project.

Instead of having everyone else “left out” I gave them a book too. But I did not scribe, type, or help them unless they asked.

All in all-my main goal was for students to see themselves as authors. It was so hard for them to stray at all from the original test. I felt I had to convince them every day they WERE authors. No one else wrote this book.

Results: We just completed the project, so as far as writing is concerned I am not sure yet. I think the biggest thing was confidence. This group, and the middle group, worked so much better than the higher group. They did get off task a few times, but that is expected.

The biggest deal was the product being displayed. The students ate that up; they will be in there for a few weeks so hopefully all grade levels will have an opportunity to see. I am asking our librarian if she would allow my students to do her reading time one day. I am sure she would not mind!

Participation, staying on task, working cooperatively / 25
Mechanics / 25
presentation / 50

Interviews: I personally asked questions to one child in each group. I wrote out the questions and all participants answered.

1.Have you ever looked at a wordless picture book before? Tell me about it. What’s your opinion of this kind of book?Any student who stated they had read a wordless picture book was familiar with Zoom, and one child said he’d seen Time Flies before. All in all, students enjoyed these books.

2.Explain how you feel about reading and writing wordless picture books. They loved it. It gave them a chance to be a real author. Most students do not consider writes narratives in class authoring, no matter how much we tell them otherwise.

3.Did the illustrations (pictures) help you to write the words to the story? How so?Obviously they helped with the words. I had a hard time convincing the students that they could stray form the original book if they wanted.

4.What was your favorite part of writing the words to the wordless picture book? Was there anything about this project you didn’t enjoy? One group said drawing, while another group stated that was their least favorite! It was a real lesson in motivation.

5.Would you like to write the words to another wordless picture book? Why or why not?Interesting answers! One child said if he was paid to do it he would. The Museum group all agreed that they did not work well together and they would try it independently. (I agreed)

Author______

1.Have you ever looked at a wordless picture book before? Tell me about it. What’s your opinion of this kind of book?

2.Explain how you feel about reading and writing wordless picture books.

3.Did the illustrations (pictures) help you to write the words to the story? How so?

4.What was your favorite part of writing the words to the wordless picture book?

5.Was there anything about this project you didn’t enjoy?

6.Would you like to write the words to another wordless picture book? Why or why not?

7.What was your favorite part of this entire wordless book activity?

8.Do you think you will try to write and illustrate your own picture book now? Explain.