Critical Literacy Lesson:
Introduce title, author/illustrator and make predictions based on the cover illustration.
Read book. Stop periodically to ask students how they think the characters might be feeling, as well as to invite them to make predictions about what will happen next.
Ask students to describe the conflict between Christina Katerina and her friend. How could they have done better?
Help students understand Fat's perspective.Askthem which of the two characters they know the most about. (Christina Katerina). Who do they know the least about? (Fats.)Brainstorm what they knowabout him, and what's missing from the picture.Invite children tospeculate about what he might be like.Discuss the name he has been given by the author. (Is it perhaps a name given by unkind friends because of how he looks?) Discuss how calling someone names can hurt. Also, discuss how unkind actions can hurt as well.
Whatis Fatstrying to dothroughout the episodesof the book? Often he istrying to help! Being kind and helpful are important skills. Fat's activities also suggest his interests/talents. He was trying to fix the race car. Might he be a budding mechanic? (Mechanical skills aren't so helpful when it comes to race cars that are made from cardboard boxes. But in the right context they can be very helpful.)
Ask students to brainstorm how the book would be different if told from Fat's perspective.Invite themto writefrom Fat's perspective.Primary grade studentsshould simplywrite about a day in Fat's life: one in which he has fun and shows off his own skills. Intermediate grade students may choose to take an episode from the story (the ship, the racing car, the ballroom) and rewrite it from his perspective.
Invite children to again share their thought on the conflict between Christina Katerina and Fats. Do they have any new ideas?
Extensions/Using Christina Katerina across the curriculum
Social Sciences:
1. Christina Katerinas's mom wanted to throw that box away! She probably didn't havethe option to recycle the box. Talk with your child about how the world has changedsince 1971.
2. Back in 1971, Christina Katerina and the Box was considered a groundbreaking book because it challenged gender stereotypes -- another interesting topic for discussion.