Archive for the 'Christmas' Category

Stick Man by Julia Donaldson

Schema:  sticks, playing with sticks Text-to-Text Connections: Over in the Meadow, an old rhyme about the animals in a meadow; the rhyme goes something like, “over in the meadow in the sand and the sun lived an old mother turtle and her little turtle one…”  See the lyrics Also a connection with the Gingerbread Man [...]

Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto

Schema: making tamales, admiring jewelry Text-to-Self Connections: taking something without permission, not wanting to get caught, getting together with relatives for the holidays,  seeing something and then remembering something you forgot about Predicting: Predict what Maria is going to do when her mother leaves to answer the phone. Drawing Conclusions: What conclusion does Maria come [...]

Tree of Cranes by Alan Say

Schema: origami, making a wish Author’s Purpose: to share the experience of  learning about Christmas in Japan. Mental Images: The mother describes the lights and trees in California to her son. Organizational Strategy: Flashback: the book begins with the narrator telling the reader that he had not been back to the pond since he was [...]

The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree: an Appalachian Story by Gloria Houston

Schema: Christmas trees, theme of the White House Christmas tree Author’s Purpose:   Gloria Houston and her family grew up in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina; the historical fiction story depicts what life was like in the early 1900′s during World War I. Characterization: Characterize the mother in the story and use example from the [...]