Activating and Connecting to Background Knowledge

A Gift From the Sea by: Kate Banks and illustrated by: Georg Hallensleben

Synopsis: A boy picks up a rock from the beach and although he does not realize the events or history behind why the rock ended up where it was, he appreciates it for its appearance and uniqueness. There are several journeys that the rock has encountered, and this boy finally finds it and realizes the special scrapes, lines and ridges it contains. He accepts it to be a gift from the sea, and let its past be a mystery.

Text to World

Connection to Strategy: This book is a good example for connecting text to world. The boy does not know the history behind the rock, but the author takes us on a journey through several historical events. We see pictures of the rock in a very old volcano, the ice age, ancient times, and before there was a built up society. The pictures are illuminating and would quickly grasp students’ attention. Students can relate this book to any historical event that they know about and took place. If the class is learning about a particular event in history, this would be a good book to read to show that even things we find now have made it through several journeys and are still here today. Students may know something they own, or their parents own, that is from a long time ago and can relate it to what the world was like. Teachers can provide students with examples of dinosaur findings, or digging up bones and tracing it thousands of years back. The students can then relate this text to how we find things today that have survived years and years. This can be demonstrated through a written response and then shared among students to see the variety of answers.

Never Ride Your Elephant to School by: Doug Johnson and illustrated by: Abby Carter

Synopsis: When a little girl decides to ride her elephant to school it results in several mishaps that she did not plan on happening. The elephant is loud, causing the teacher to faint, the elephant is big, breaks his chair, kicks to hard, and plays too rough. Everything the elephant tries to do ends with a disaster. Maybe there are better places to ride your elephant to.

Text to Text

Connection to Strategy: This book is good match for connecting text to text. In the beginning of the book characters choose to do something and it results in several bad things to happen throughout the book. It is very similar to If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, and Never Babysit the Hippopotamuses! Students should be familiar with stories such as these, or a teacher could bring them in as resources to familiarize their students with them before reading this book. They can then see the comparison in how if you make a choice, there can be consequences that are good or bad. The book is entertaining and students would enjoy all the humorous things that take place. This can be demonstrated in a written response comparing this book to others that the child is familiar with. Students will enjoy sharing how they find things similar between several books.

Ella Sarah Gets Dressed by: Margaret Chodos-Irvine

Synopsis: Ella Sarah gets up for school one day and already knows what she would like to wear that day. Her family does not think this is a good outfit, it is either too fancy or does not match or, maybe she should try something else. Every time a family member suggests something else, she responds with “I want to wear my pink polka-dot pants, my dress with orange-and-green flowers, my purple-and-blue striped socks, my yellow shoes, and my red hat!” She has her mind set, and will not be convinced otherwise. So, she gets dressed as she originally wanted to and when her friends show up wearing similar clothing Ella Sarah feels very satisfied.

Text to Self

Connection to Strategy: This book is great for connecting text to self. Everyone should be able to relate to this situation, and think back to a time when they only wanted to do what their heart was set on. Maybe it’s where they want to go for dinner or what they want to wear to school or what they want to go outside and play. They can relate to Ella Sarah in this way. The book also has great pictures children can be engaged by. The colors used within the story are rich and vibrant; they really help the story come alive. Students can interact with this book and think back to a time when they were being stubborn because their mind was set and did not need others input. This can be demonstrated with a written response or sketch to stretch. Students can share their pictures or thoughts and enjoy hearing about other experiences people found similar to the book.