Chris Raschka and All That Jazz

Listening to John Coltrane's "My Favorite Things" and drawing what the music makes you feel or see.  My kindergarten students created works of art based on a piece of jazz music.  The lesson started off with an introduction to John Coltrane and then I explained to my students that the author/illustrator, Chris Raschka, listened to Coltrane's "Giant Steps" while he illustrated the story of the same title.  Raschka pieced together the music using a box, snowflakes, raindrops, and a kitten. 

The narrator welcomes readers to the performance.  The illustrations move along in primary colors providing the piano, bass, melody, and tempo.  The book provides a basic intro to jazz and Coltrane.  I read aloud the book first, then played the song while reading aloud the certain parts.  Students and I worked on identifying the saxophone, piano, and the bass.  The song makes it easy to identify some parts because the saxophone will rest through part and the piano can be heard over other instruments.

I loved providing my students the opportunity to be like Raschka and draw how they heard the music from "My Favorite Things" or what it made them think about.  This was a meaningful way for me to bring Black History alive for my younger students while combining multiple media for them to work with.

Book cover image from Simon&Schuster.com

"My Favorite Things" video from Youtube.com

Black History Month Webquest

This past Friday, I knew I HAD to keep the students engaged...it was our first full week of school without any snow days, it was Valentine's Day and did I mention it was Friday?!  A last minute idea formed and suddenly, I knew the students should complete a Black History Month WebQuest.  I had already gathered websites beforehand (to help the 3rd gr with their black hero research) and bookmarked them on my Only2Clicks, which you can view here.  *There are more sites than on the webquest because I wanted them to browse this page during centers week.

Typically, I've created WebQuests that are made completely online where you ask students to visit a site, they read the content, and answer questions or explore topics by following links all in one place.  This time, students in grades 3-5 are introduced to this concept via a worksheet I created to visit the bookmarking site and follow links to answer questions or view videos.  They were directed to learn more about the Harlem Renaissance, children's book authors and illustrators, influential sports figures (website works best on Google Chrome), inventors, and a choose your own path version of the Underground Railroad.  

My students have to get used to the idea of navigating several websites to find answers to questions. After their interest in this activity, I've decided to begin brainstorming more WebQuests.  I think one of the next ones I create will involve the skill of gathering information on the same topic from several forms of visual media online--text, video, and picture (ala Common Core).

I'm working on a modified version of the sheet I'm sharing with you so that 2nd graders can complete the webquest, too.  

Image courtesy of supakitmod/freedigitalphotos.net

Post-Worthy Black Heroes

Nothing like overhearing older students argue about whether Michael Jackson was white or black because they couldn't figure out if he should go on the Black History Month mini word wall.  If it weren't for the books at the table, students would've come up short on names of black heroes.  Typically, MLK, Jr., Rosa Parks, and Barack Obama make the list without having to look in a book.  I realized they needed to expand their repertoire of black people who made or are making a difference.  That's when I made the decision to whip out a project I did two years ago with my 5th graders called Post-Worthy Hero.  

The 5th graders chose a famous black person from anywhere in the world that they considered worthy of being on a postage stamp.  The project turned out pretty decent and the students did a good job of applying research skills and their postage stamps were creative.

This year, I'm having my 3rd-5th graders complete the project.  The template I used for the 5th graders is readjusted for each grade level--all end up asking for facts, an event including year, and a justification statement as to why the individual deserves to be on a postage stamp.  It's nothing fancy, but here is the link to an example.  

Students will use three different resources: book, online database (World Book Online), and the Internet.  Students will use each resource as a different center--15 min looking through a book, 15 minutes looking through World Book Online, and 15 minutes searching the Internet.  This allows for student management by group sizes because I only have 12 computers currently and I want everyone to be able to use that resource.

The hope is that this project guides students to learn about other eras besides Civil Rights and modern day pop star singers/rappers.  Having students get to know famous figures that are beginning to get lost in the shuffle--Sojourner Truth, Nelson Mandela, Duke Ellington, Joe Louis, Mahalia Jackson, Wangari Maathai, Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, Wilma Rudolph, Lonnie G. Johnson, Mae Jemison, Louis Armstrong--that would expand their knowledge base a considerable amount.


Image courtesy of zole4 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

"Thunderclap Laughter"

Recommended for grades 2-5

     This month at school, my students will be studying Black History in some fashion.  I’ve decided that my 2^nd and 3^rd graders will be studying Black poets before they create their own original poems.  The Black figure I have them basing their study around is Langston Hughes, a Missouri born poet.  The students began the study by listing the first words that come to mind when they think of poetry (which I had to emphasize doesn’t mean writing a poem).  We shared these and then we moved on to looking up Langston Hughes on World Book Student.  I used the text to speech feature and asked students to listen and write down one thing they learned about Hughes. 

     The book I’m using to connect it all is Langston’s Train Ride by Robert Burleigh.  The story focuses on when Hughes wrote “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” and at one point I asked my students to write down all the words they could to describe a river without using the word river.  I began by reading the ‘Author’s Note’ in which Burleigh says he wanted to describe the moment where Hughes realized he was a writer.  Burleigh does a beautiful job emulating Hughes’ poetic form; the words come alive in first person narration.  I liked that I was able to focus my student’s attention on certain parts: 

     At one point, the main character states that he drifts back and this allows me to question my students if the story will stay in the present. 

     One of my favorite lines, “No matter what, I’ll keep on going,” allowed for my students to mention character traits—such as being brave, strong, having courage and allowed me to contribute a new word—perseverance. 

     Another point I enjoyed was when the protagonist mentions Illinois and in turn I am able to not only ask my students what it is, but show them the state on the ‘Interactive Maps & More’ feature on World Book Kids. 

     The book ends with the complete poem and I will be using Nikki Giovanni’s CD from Hip Hop Speaks to Children that has Hughes reading his poem.  The illustrations are gorgeous mixed-media, rich in color, sometimes covering a two page spread and other times opposite a page of text, which has the background of wood cuts against a solid color. 

Burliegh, R. (2004). Langston's train ride. New York, NY: Orchard Books.

Giovanni, N. (2008). Hip hop speaks to children: a celebration of poetry with a beat. Naperville: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky.