Web Resource · Library Lessons · January 2015 • LibrarySparks

Using Wordless Picture Books

Advantages to using a wordless picture book include

• Levelingtheplayingfieldforallreaders.WordlessbookshavenolanguagebarrierandcanbeusedingradesK–12.

• Allowingformeaningfulconversationsaboutvariousinterpretations.

• Developingcomprehensionskills,encouragingrichvocabularyusage,andenhancingstorytellingtalents.

Wordless Picture Book ActivitiesCause and Effect

Instorytelling,actionscreateconsequences.Explaincauseandeffecttostudentswithsimpleexamples,suchas“Cause:Ididnoteatanylunch.Effect:Iamhungry.”Asyougothroughawordlesspicturebook,identifysomeofthecharacters’actionsandtheeffectsoftheiractions.InJourney,theadventurousgirlcametotheaidofthecapturedbird.Askstudents:Whatwastheeffectofthebravegirl’sactions?

Narrative WritingInstructstudentstowritetheirownstoriesbasedontheillustrations.Thismaybedoneonchartpaperasateacher-directedclassactivity.Studentsmayalsowritetheirnarrativesinsmallgroupsorindependently.Note:Eventhoughtheyareusingthesamevisualimages,studentsmaydevelopverydifferentinterpretations.Encouragestudentstosharetheiruniqueworkwiththeclass.

SequencingAfterthestudentshavestudiedtheillustrationsinawordlessbookanddiscusseditscontent,askthemtosummarizethestory.Explainthatallstorieshaveabeginning,middle,andend.Askthestudentstosequencethestoryinthreesentences.Thefirstsentenceshouldopenwith,“Atthebeginningofthestory…”Thesecondsentenceshouldbeginwith,“Inthemiddleofthestory…”Thethirdsentenceshouldstartwith,“Attheendofthestory…”

Story ChartAfterreadingawordlesspicturebookwithstudents,reviewthecontentbycompletingastorychart.Whoarethecharacters?Whatisthesetting?Whatisthemainproblemofthestory?Whateventsoccurbecauseofthisproblem?Whatisthesolutiontotheproblem?

Web Resource · Library Lessons · January 2015 • LibrarySparks

A Wordless Book Story Chart

Title:

Author/Illustrator:

Setting:

Where:

When:

Characters (with short description):

BEGINNING (Storyproblem)

Event #1

Event #2

Event #3

END(Storysolution)

Web Resource · Library Lessons · January 2015 • LibrarySparks

Lesson I: Colorful Library LessonsIntroduction: InHarold and the Purple CrayonbyCrockettJohnson,Haroldisaproblemsolver.Usingsimplelinestocreatetheimagesneeded,hediscoverswaystohavefun,findfriends,andstaysafe.

Grade Level:K–3

Time Allocation:15–20minutes

Objectives:

• Thestudentwillanswerquestionstodemonstrateanunderstandingoftheplot,characters,andsettingofafictionaltext.

• Thestudentwillidentifytwo-dimensionalshapesbytheirsidesandangles.

Materials:

• Harold and the Purple CrayonbyCrockettJohnson

• Visual:ColorfulLibraryLessonsDecodingGrid

• ActivitySheet:ColorfulLibraryLessonsDecodingGrid

• Writingtools

Procedure:

1. IntroducethelessonbyshowingthestudentsthecoverofHarold and the Purple Crayon.Tellthemthatthetitleandcoverrevealalotaboutthestory.Theytellwhothemaincharacterisandwhatthestoryisabout.Askthestudentswhotheythinkthemaincharacteris.Askthemwhattheythinkthestorymightbeabout.

2. Readthebooktothestudents.Thistakesaboutfourminutes.AgoodvideoclipofateacherreadingthebookcanbefoundonYouTube(http://tinyurl.com/kshb9lx).

3. Afterfinishingthestory,askthestudentswhattheylikedaboutHaroldandhisadventures.

4. Tellthestudentsthatthisbookwaswrittenoverfiftyyearsago.Askthemiftheplot,characters,andsettingseem“oldfashioned”or“modern.”Askthestudentstogiveexamplestosupporttheiropinion.

5. DisplaytheColorfulLibraryLessonsDecodingGridvisual.ExplainthatthisisanactivitythatHaroldwouldhavelikedbecauseitinvolvescolorsandproblemsolving.

6. Explainthegridtothestudents,pointingoutthateachletterisframedbyauniquesetoflinesandangles.Completethevisualasaclassactivity.

7. Distributetheactivitysheetsandwritingtools.Note:It’sfuntousecrayonsinthisactivity.

8. Readthedirectionstothestudentsandhavethemcompletetheactivity.Checkforunderstanding.

9. Concludethelessonbyaskingthestudentswhichofthedecodedcolorsistheirfavoriteone.

Lesson Extension:Encouragestudentstousethegridontheactivitysheettocreatenewwordcodesoftheirown.Theymayexchangepaperswithotherstudentsandthendecodeeachother’swords.Suggestednewwords:now,row,owl,down,one,done,doe,loon,end,only,andwrong.

Example:

1.

2.

3.

Web Resource · Library Lessons · January 2015 • LibrarySparks

Lesson I: Colorful Library Lessons: Decoding GridHaroldmayhaveusedhispurplecrayontodrawthelinesonthisgrid.

Eachletterinthisgridisframedbyauniquesetoflines.

Usethisgridtodecodethethreecolorsbelow.

R E D

B

R

D EG L NP U

Example:

1.

2.

3.

Web Resource · Library Lessons · January 2015 • LibrarySparks

Lesson I: Colorful Library Lessons: Decoding GridHaroldmayhaveusedhispurplecrayontodrawthelinesonthisgrid.

Eachletterinthisgridisframedbyauniquesetoflines.

Usethisgridtodecodethethreecolorsbelow.

B L U E

G R E E N

P U R P L E

R E D

B

R

D EG L NP U

ANSWER Key

Example:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Web Resource · Library Lessons · January 2015 • LibrarySparks

Lesson I: Colorful Library Lessons: Decoding GridHaroldmayhaveusedhispurplecrayontodrawthelinesonthisgrid.

Eachletterinthisgridisframedbyauniquesetoflines.

Usethisgridtodecodethewordsbelow.

G O O

D

W

E GL O NR Y

D

Example:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Web Resource · Library Lessons · January 2015 • LibrarySparks

Y E L L O W

G O L D

G R E E N

R E D

G R E Y

ANSWER KeyLesson I: Colorful Library Lessons: Decoding GridHaroldmayhaveusedhispurplecrayontodrawthelinesonthisgrid.

Eachletterinthisgridisframedbyauniquesetoflines.

Usethisgridtodecodethewordsbelow.

D

W

E GL O NR Y

G O O D

Web Resource · Library Lessons · January 2015 • LibrarySparks

Lesson II: Extension ActivitiesPoetry: Invitethestudentstowriteahaikuthatexpressestheuniquenessofaspecificcolor.AhaikuisaJapanesenaturepoemcomposedofthreeunrhymedlinesoffive,seven,andfivesyllables.

Example:

Warmwholesomeorange

Splashedontreesandpumpkins

Announcingautumn

Reading: Studentswhoenjoycolorandcreativitymayfindtheseimaginativebooksentertaining.

• Beautiful Oops!byBarneySaltzberg.WorkmanPublishingCompany,2010.

• Extra YarnbyMacBarnett,illustratedbyJonKlassen.Balzer+Bray,2012.

• GreenbyLauraVaccaroSeeger.RoaringBrookPress,2012.

• The Red BookbyBarbaraLehman.HMHBooksforYoungReaders,2004.

• The Silver Pony: A Story in PicturesbyLyndWard.HoughtonMifflin,1973.

• Sky ColorbyPeterH.Reynolds.Candlewick,2012.

Creative Problem Solving: In The Day the Crayons QuitbyDrewDaywalt,thedifferent-coloredcrayonsareveryoutspokenabouttheirfeelings.Eachonethinksitisthemostimportantcolorinthecrayonbox.Aresomecolorsmoreimportantthanothers?Dividethestudentsintosmallgroupsandgiveeacheightcrayons.Askthemtorankthecrayonsfrommostimportanttoleastimportant.Invitethemtodefendtheirchoices.Otherrankingscouldincludefromtheprettiesttotheugliest,fromthemostusefultotheleastuseful,andfromtheoldesttothenewest.

Compare/Contrast:JourneybyAaronBeckerisabookwithoutwords,yetitisfullofsymbolismandsocialcommentary.Becker’sdetailedartworkcanbecomparedtothemeticulousillustrationsinDavidMacaulay’sbooks,suchasCastle(HMHBooksforYoungReaders,1977).TheactioninBecker’staleisdrivenbyachildwithanimaginationandacrayon,similartoCrockettJohnson’sHarold and the Purple Crayon(HarperCollins,1955).Andthemaincharacter’sfrustrationwithhertechnology-obsessedfamilycanbecomparedtothatoftheyoungboyinJohnRocco’sBlackout(Disney-Hyperion,2011).

SelectoneofthesetitlestopairwithJourney.Afterthestudentsbecomefamiliarwithbothbooks,havethemcreateaclasslisttorecordthewaysthebooksarealikeandthewaystheydifferent.

Web Resource · Library Lessons · January 2015 • LibrarySparks

Lesson III: Creating Colorful WordsStory Synopsis: InThe Day the Crayons Quit,writtenbyDrewDaywaltandillustratedbyOliverJeffers,Duncan’scrayonboxcontainssomecolorfulcharacters.ManyofthecolorsfeelthatDuncanisbeingunfairwiththeirusage.Throughaseriesofnotesandletters,thedifferentcrayonssharetheirviewsoneitherbeingtakenadvantageoforbeingignored.(Tobefair,yellowandorangearen’tupsetwithDuncan—theyjustdon’tlikeeachother.)Theseoutspokencrayonsareofficiallyonstrike,andit’suptoDuncantomakethingsright.

Introduction: Duncan’scrayonsarearticulateandexpressive.Theypossessexcellentvocabulariesandhavenotroublecommunicatingtheirviewsinthewrittenform.Encourageyourstudentstoemulatethese“prominentpigmentproducers”astheycreateandusesomeuniquevocabularyoftheirown.

Grade Level:3–6

Time Allocation:25–35minutes

Objectives:

• Thestudentwillidentifyrootwords,prefixes,andsuffixes.

• Thestudentwillusetheguidewordsinadictionarytofindawordanditsdefinition.

• Thestudentwilluseglossariesandbeginningdictionaries,bothprintanddigital,todetermineorclarifythemeaningofwordsandphrases.

Materials:

• The Day the Crayons QuitbyDrewDaywalt(fordisplayandreference)

• Visual:ColorfulWordCreation

• Activitysheet:ColorfulWordCreation

• Writingtools

• Selectiondevices,suchasdiceorspinners

• Dictionaries

Procedure:

1. IntroducethelessonbyshowingthestudentsthecoverofThe Day the Crayons QuitbyDrewDaywalt.ExplainthatinthisbookthecrayonsbelongtoastudentnamedDuncanandtheyallhavecomplaints.TheysharetheseconcernsbywritingnotestoDuncan.

2. Readthenotesfromtheredcrayononthefirstpageandthosefromthebluecrayonabouthalfwayin.Askthestudentswhatissimilaraboutthesecrayons’complaints.Askthemifthesecrayonscouldsaythattheywerebeing“overcolorized”?Explainthatovercolorizeisnotarealword.However,ifitwere,theprefixover,meaning“toomuch,”andthesuffixize,meaning“tomakeorbecome,”wouldmakethisnewwordmean“tomaketoomuchofonecolor.”

3. Tellthestudentsthatinthislessontheywillbecreatingcolorfulnewwordsoftheirown.

4. Displaythevisualandreviewthecontentswiththestudents.

5. Defineguide wordsasthewordslocatedonthetopofthedictionarypagethatlistthefirstandlastentryonthatpage.Wordsthatfallalphabeticallybetweenthetwoguidewordswillappearonthatpage.Useadictionarytoshowanexampleofguidewordstothestudents.

6. Distributetheactivitysheets,writingtools,dictionaries,andselectiondevices.Studentsmayworkindividuallyorinsmallgroups.

7. Encouragestudentstosharetheirnewwordswiththeclass.

Web Resource · Library Lessons · January 2015 • LibrarySparks

Lesson III: Colorful Word CreationUsingaselectiondevice,selectonewordpartfromeachcolumn;circleyourselections.Combinethesepartstomakeanewword.Pretendthisnewwordisnowacolorfulnewterm.Writeadefinitionanduseitinasentence.Bepreparedtoshareitwiththeclass.

Prefix Root Suffix1 anti(against) albus(white) esque(inthestyleof)

2 non(not) chrom(color) ish(resemble)

3 multi(many) irid(rainbow) ization(makeinto)

4 neo(new) rubra(red) less(without)

5 prim(first) verde(green) typic(pattern)

6 veri(true) xanth(yellow) static(still)

New Colorful Word:primchromization

Definition:Makingsomethingintocolorforthefirsttime.

Sentence:Afterprimchromization,mosttelevisionprogramsandmovieswerenolongerfilmedinblackandwhite.

Pretend this new word was in the dictionary.

Onwhatpagewouldyoufindthisentry?Page359

Whataretheguidewordsonthispage?preventive–principle

Whatisthenameofthedictionary?Webster’s New World Dictionary

Example

Web Resource · Library Lessons · January 2015 • LibrarySparks

Lesson III: Colorful Word Creation

Directions:Usingaselectiondevice,selectonewordpartfromeachcolumn;circleyourselection.Combinethesepartstomakeanewword.Pretendthisnewwordisnowacolorfulnewterm.Writeadefinitionanduseitinasentence.Bepreparedtoshareitwiththeclass.

Prefix Root Suffix1 anti(against) albus(white) esque(inthestyleof)

2 non(not) chrom(color) ish(resemble)

3 multi(many) irid(rainbow) ization(makeinto)

4 neo(new) rubra(red) less(without)

5 prim(first) verde(green) typic(pattern)

6 veri(true) xanth(yellow) static(still)

New Colorful Word:

Definition:

Sentence:

Pretend this new word was in the dictionary.

Onwhatpagewouldyoufindthisentry?

Whataretheguidewordsonthispage?

Whatisthenameofthedictionary?