Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade and 3rd Grade
MO School Library Instructional Standards: (K-2) Reading Engagement. Connect. Recognize connections through reading. Identify a connection between myself and what I am reading.
AASL III.D.1 Actively contributing to group discussions.
AASL V.A.1 Learners develop and satisfy personal curiosity by reading variety and multiple formats.
Core Standards Addressed:
Fiction 2.A.2
Visual Arts Cn10A.2
one 60-minute class period or two 30-minute class periods (could extend to an additional class period if needed)
This lesson was created by Becky Grisham from Gainesville Elementary School.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
This lesson is designed to help create a sense of community among students and to help them to learn positive ways that they can respond to challenging or difficult experiences. Students will listen to a read aloud of the book A Walk in the Words by Hudson Talbott, participate in a post reading class discussion about how we feel when we experience things that are challenging or difficult. After the class discussion, students will draw a picture to show a time when they struggled with doing something that was challenging or difficult. This lesson will also help students to connect with the 2023-2024 Missouri Show Me Readers Award Nominees.
A Walk in the Words by Hudson Talbott
Pencils, crayons, markers, colored pencils
White paper or construction paper
A Walk in the Words
by
-Students will make a connection between their own experiences with a challenging or difficult experience and the experiences of the main character in the story, A Walk in the Words by Hudson Talbott,.
-Students will engage in a post reading class discussion about thoughts and feelings surrounding things that are challenging or difficult to do.
-Students will draw a picture to show a time when they struggled with doing something that was challenging or difficult.
Before Reading:
-Introduce the book A Walk in the Words by Hudson Talbott.
-Have students predict what they think the story will be about based on the cover images and the title.
-Turn to the ‘Author’s Note’ page at the end of the book and use the information shared in this section to explain Hudson Talbott’s struggles with reading to the class.
During Reading:
-Read A Walk in the Words by Hudson Talbott aloud to the class.
Pause at key points in the story to discuss the main character’s thoughts and feelings about reading. How does he feel about reading? When reading is difficult for him, what does he do?
After Reading:
-Lead a class discussion about the different challenges that the main character struggled with in the story when he was learning to read: lots of words made it hard for him to read and stay focused, he felt like he was the slowest reader, books with lots of words scared him, lots of words and big words made him want to give up, he could not keep up with reading, he felt alone.
-Continue the discussion by pointing out that the main character did not give up on reading and ask students to share examples of how the main character worked to overcome his struggles with reading: taking things step by step, understanding it is his journey and not some else’s journey, working at your own pace when something is difficult is okay, use what you already know and do not get upset about what you do not know yet, not being the best at something does not mean you have to be afraid of it, use your strengths to help you overcome challenges.
-Ask students if they have ever struggled with something that is difficult or challenging to do like the main character in the story struggled with when he was learning to read. Invite students to share a time that they struggled to learn something new with the class or you can provide general examples to discuss with the group (ex: learning to play a new musical instrument, learning to play a new sport). Discuss the parallels between the stories/examples that are shared to the main character’s experiences. Be sure to share and discuss positive ways that they can respond to challenging or difficult experiences.
-After the group discussion, have each student draw a picture to show a time when they struggled with something that was challenging or difficult.
Informally evaluate student responses and participation during the read aloud discussion and the class discussion to check for understanding.
Evaluate the drawings by asking questions about the drawings while the students are working to complete them and checking to see if the image they drew shows a challenging or difficult experience.
Students could write or tell about a time when they struggled with something that was challenging or difficult.
This could be a digital lesson that students could complete using a program like Google Draw or students could write about a time when they struggled with something that was challenging or difficult by typing their response in a Google Doc.
