No Baby Books November: Verdi

Picture books. Most of us love them.

Picture books are the instructional chameleon. They work in a variety of literacy lessons, formats, and purposes. They are brightly colored and engaging. For many of us, we are emotionally attached to these texts due to the rich stories and wonderful memories we have from either reading them ourselves or sharing them with students. If you are like many of us at ERG, you are possibly within eyesight of a shelf full of them!

Beyond pulling our heart strings, these books also lend themselves beautifully for comprehension support and crticial thinking of all students. One worry we often hear from teachers in upper grades is how to use picture books effectively to keep students engaged and thinking beyond the text without feeling like they are “baby books.”

No worries. It’s time to take the “baby book” thing off your list of concerns!

One way to approach this challenge is to shift your thinking about these instructional tools. Design your thinking and your conversation on a higher level by starting with understanding the big ideas in the text. And just like Pixar movies, there are LAYERS – you just have to look closely.

On top of having lower lexile levels (which means easy access for all readers- YES!), these books have meaning and lessons that we can carry with us well into adulthood. This helps us build a solid foundation for comprehension as well as practice for critical thinking. Let your older readers know there are numerous benefits to reading (and rereading) these texts!

One way to engage the older students is to have them look at the author’s craft – how the books are put together, characters are developed, etc. ERG fully supports the idea of “reading as a writer,” even though the words on the page may be very simple. In fact, this is a really good practice for readers who need to stretch, consider a variety of points of view, and use a mentor text for writing.

Spoiler alert: In order to get our students thinking and talking at this level, we have to plan for it. Yes. The planning for this is the actual key to the thinking. You have to read the text yourself, consider the deeper meaning, and think about questions that would generate thoughts and discussions from your readers.

Here is an example of a possible plan sheet to get at some of the bigger ideas and promote higher-level discussions with students:

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Name of Book: Verdi, by Janell Cannon

Level of Text:

Guided Reading Level O, Lexile Level 620

It is worth noting that Amazon recommends this text for ages 4-7. We say there is no age limit!

Brief Summary:

A young snake named Verdi is determined to stay young and fun. After being rescued from his adventures, Verdi realizes the old green snakes have not always been so “boring” and begins to appreciate slowing down. The issues of identity, friendship, and being oneself are meshed together with science and fantasy, along with incredibly vibrant illustrations.

Higher Level Thinking Questions:

• What problems did Verdi face? Are they realistic problems?
• What did he have and not have control over?
• In our lives, what do we have and not have control over?
• What kind of courage is expressed in this book?
• How did the events in the book change the life of Verdi?
• Which events in this story contributed to the change?
• Can you think of a character in another story that had similar issues?
• How and why does the author use comedy in the book?
• Consider the artwork and colors within this text. How was symbolism used? 

These can be discussed in collaborative groups or used as a way to increase comprehension through writing!

If you like this, then you might like others by this author:

Janell Cannon: Stellaluna, Crickwing, Pinduli