My Chair

Teacher’s Guide for

My Chair By Betsy James

Illustrated By Mary Newell DePalma

Pre-reading Activity:

Talk about chairs. How important are they? What are they for? How long do you think they have been around? What are they made out of?

Draw, paint or sculpt a picture of your favorite chair. Share as a group before reading the story.

Discussion Questions:

1. What is your favorite chair? Why do you like it so much?
2. What types of games can you play with only a chair?
3. What is important about chairs?
4. Who do you think has the best imagination in the story? Why?
5. What does the author mean when she says, “In my chair I consider what’s fair?” Do you ever have to consider that too?
6. Which illustration is your favorite? Why?
7. How can a chair eat quarters, trucks and colored pencils?
8. Why is it important that “underneath my chair is where grown-ups aren’t” When might you like to go under a chair?
9. What could a chair be besides a chair
10.  How is your favorite chair like others? How is it different?

Projects:

Art: Using materials found around the house and no bigger than a paper plate create a chair. Then, using the same materials reshape it into one of these other images from the book:

 

intergalactic zoo

horse

train

glasses

roller skater

dancing bear

forest

flower

fort

ship

plane

prison

truck

gate

cage

ocean

cave

treasure

 

Music:

Sing this song:

to “Shortening Bread”

Everybody has a chair

Everybody has a chair

Everybody has a chair on the floor

Not on the ceiling (point)

Not on the door (point)

Everybody has a chair on the floor

See if you can make up another song about chairs (or your chair) to one of these familiar tunes:

Frere Jacques

Mulberry Bush

I’m a Little Teapot

Movement:

Play musical chairs but instead of using identical chairs (boring!) use your imagination and discover what different objects could be used as a chair. (Ex: pillow, rock, block, box, stuffed animal, or even a picture with a chair on it!) After the game discuss which chairs were the best and why.

Math:

Brainstorm the qualities you could graph in a chair (color, size, use, etc.) and then have students choose three qualities to graph all the chairs in their own home that evening.

Science:

Look at the book:

1000 Chairs Charlotte Fiell, Peter Fiell, Simone Philippi

and then these guidelines to good seating:

http://www.betterseating.org/lookfor.html

Then design a quality chair for yourself or someone in your family. You can draw it on paper or build it from sculpey or other material.

Language Arts:

Write a book inspired by My Chair about your room, bed or favorite spot.

Related Title:

A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams

www.TracieVaughnZimmer.com

The Mud Family

Teacher’s Guide for

The Mud Family by Betsy James

Illustrated by Paul Morin

Pre-reading Activity:

Look at the front cover and the first few pages (before the story begins) then answer or discuss the following questions:

1. Where do you think this story will take place? What clues are given to you?
2. Do you think this story is from today (that’s called contemporary) or is it from long ago? Why?
3. Who do you think will be the main character in the story?

Discussion Guide:

1. Why is rain so important? Is it still important to us today? Why?
2. How is Sosi’s family and life like yours? What, if anything, is different?
3. Why does Sosi make her mud family?
4. Which is your favorite painting in the book? Why?
5. What kinds of things does the mud father say to his daughter? Why do you think Sosi has him say these things?

Comprehension Check:

1. Why is Sosi’s family preparing to leave?
2. What does Sosi play when she is by herself?
3. Who lives with Sosi?
4. What happens to the mud family?
5. In the end, what does the family do?   (answers will vary)

Projects:

Language Arts:

Keep a journal as if you are Sosi for three days. Write down what is happening and also what she wishes for.

Math:

Collect and measure rainfall at your school or neighborhood for two weeks. Graph your daily findings. Research the typical rainfall for the month that you are collecting data and compare it to your own findings.

Art:

Look at examples of Anasazi art at these websites:

http://www.raysweb.net/rockart/pages/01.html

Slide show of rock art

http://www.co.blm.gov/ahc/artifact.htm

Bureau of Land Management of Colorado

http://www.pro-visions.com/pictogrphs.htm

Pictographs and Petroglyphs

Define the following terms for students:

Symbol—a thing that represents something else

Petroglyphs—images carved or inscribed on a rock surface

Pictographs—ancient drawings or paintings on rock

Project:

Cut apart a brown grocery bag and crumple it up so it has the appearance of rock. Have students create and paint their own symbols about the three things most important to them. Or, have students make red or white handprints on the paper.

Social Studies:

Geography- Southwest Region of the United States

Have students locate the Southwest on a globe, a world map, and a map of the United States.  Then compare the geography of that region with their local one in the following areas- annual rainfall, feet above sea level, types of plant life, and population.

Older Students:

In small groups research find out about the Anasazi culture in the following areas:

Dwellings

Food

Religious beliefs

Conflicts

Regions inhabited

Art

Music

Clothing

Related Titles:

Tha Ancient Cliff Dwellers of Mesa Verde by Carolyn Arnold (Clarion Books)

101 Questions About Ancient Indians of the Southwest by David Grand Noble (Southwest Parks and Monuments)

www.TracieVaughnZimmer.com

Freedom Ship

Freedom Ship

by Doreen Rappaport

illustrated by Curtis James

About the book:

During the Civil War, young Samuel and his father work on a Confederate steamship out of Charleston, South Carolina. Samuel and his family are born slaves. Every day when they look beyond the harbor filled with Confederate ships, they can see the Atlantic Ocean, where the Union ships are, where their freedom lies.

In only they could somehow get there. On May 13, 1862, Samuel and his family take their chances and risk it all to be free. Based on a true incident, Doreen Rappaport’s riveting story gives readers a glimpse into history, while Curtis James’ stunning illustrations further illuminate this gripping and suspenseful adventure.

Author Interview:

1. How did you learn about this remarkable story?
2. What types of historical documents do you research when you’re writing a story like this one?
3. What advice do you have for young writers?

About the guide:

This guide includes discussion questions intended to provoke thought and insight into the themes of the book, which include freedom, family, risk and hope.

Pre-reading:

What do you think is the meaning of the title? How can a ship take someone to freedom?

Is the book set in this time period or long ago? What makes you think this? What clues do author’s use to tell us what the time period is?

Discussion guide:

1.      What is a slave? When did America have slavery?

2.      Who is telling the story? Where did he learn it?

3.      Who is the Union? Who are the confederates? What war are they fighting?

4.      Why would Samuel be free if he could only get to a Union ship?

5.      Why does Samuel’s mother tell him to do everything quietly? What could happen if he disobeyed?

6.      How do they get past the other ships and the islands that are guarded? What is the plan if they get caught? Why are they willing to do that?

7.      Why does Pap put on Captain Relyea’s clothing? Does it work?

8.      What do they do with Samuel’s white sheet? What does it mean?

9.      What do they give to the Union Army? Why?

10.  Would you be willing to risk everything for such a daring escape? Why or why not?

Projects:

Language Arts:

Write the dialogue between the escaping women and children hidden in the dark cabin below deck. What might they be whispering to each other? What hopes do they have for their new life?

Social Studies/ Geography:

Color a United States map from the 1860’s. Color the union states blue and the confederate states red. Place an X where this story takes place.

Art:

The color of freedom. Create two pieces of art, an abstract painting that uses colors, shape and design to represent slavery and a second piece that uses colors, shape and design to represent freedom. Explain your choices in a brief artist’s statement.

www.TracieVaughnZimmer.com