craft Archives - Page 35 of 41

Pitter and Patter
by Martha Sullivan (Author) and Cathy Morrison (Illustrator)

Take a ride with Pitter on a water cycle! You’ll go through a watershed, down, around and up again. How about going with Patter? You’ll even go underground. Oh, the places you’ll go and the creatures you’ll see. A water drop is a wonderfully adventurous thing to be!

#kidlit Writing Lesson: the small details

The two water drops landed in different places. The story follows one water drop at a time:

Pitter landed on the leaf
of an oak tree.
Hello, squirrel.
Good morning, blue jay.
Rise and shine, caterpillar.

After following Pitter all the way to the ocean, the book shows readers where the other water drop landed. The water cycle repeats:

Meanwhile, Patter had landed
in a spring meadow.
Hello, daisy.
Good morning, bee.
Rise and shine, butterfly.

The second water drop falls to the ground, travels back to the sea, and the water cycle begins again. The repeating pattern in the text reinforces the idea behind the story.

It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

Little Shaq
by Shaquille O’Neal (Author) and Theodore Taylor (Illustrator)

Booktalk: The BIG Picture

When Little Shaq and his cousin Barry accidentally break their favorite video game, they need to find a way to replace it. That’s when Little Shaq’s science project inspires a solution: a gardening business. They can water their neighbors’ gardens to raise money for a new game! Little Shaq and Barry make a great team both on and off the basketball court, but will their business be as successful as they hoped?

#kidlit Writing Lesson: the small details

There are three chapters in this early chapter book. Chapter one ends this way:

“But what about the video game?” Little Shaq asked. “It’s still broken.”

“Well,” said Dad. “If you boys want a new game, you’ll have to work together to earn it.”

Little Shaq looked over at Barry. He didn’t know how they were going to do that.

At the end of this “set up” chapter, the story problem is quite clear:

“But what about the video game?” Little Shaq asked. “It’s still broken.”

Notice that the adult does NOT solve the problem:

“Well,” said Dad. “If you boys want a new game, you’ll have to work together to earn it.”

As the chapter ends, the main character has a new goal, but no idea how to reach that goal.

Little Shaq looked over at Barry. He didn’t know how they were going to do that.