Teacher as Reader: Book Talk for teachers

Video link--- again too big to upload, so here's the script


I want to tell you about this Newberry Honor Book I read from a Teacher's perspective. Penny from Heaven by Jennifer L. Holm is a wonderful book to use in reading groups in fourth and fifth grade classrooms. It might be a bit difficult for students to get through on their own because there is so much historical information that would need some extra instruction. This is also the reason why it would make such a great book for guided reading. It offers a lot of opportunities for exploratory and interactive learning. It takes place in the 1950's, so there are many activities that can be incorporated to teach the students about the time period. I am imagining a lesson that involves a mystery bag full of photos, music, clothing articles, etc. from the time period that would give the students a chance to make inferences about the time period. It gives many opportunities to integrate art into the lessons.

Penny from Heaven also has many pertinent themes that students could learn from. Some major discussion ideas include: family (who is your family? how are they different from Penny's family?), Italian culture (how does Penny's Italian family differ from her mom's family? What are some things we notice about Italian culture from Penny's story? Let's talk about our own cultures.), Parents dating (What is it like for Penny's mom to have a new boyfriend? can anyone relate to how she is feeling?), Domestic abuse (What is going on with Mrs. Morelli? What should she do if her husband is hurting her? What should we do if we are being hurt by family members?), Internment camps (What was going on historically with internment camps at this time? Should we use internment camps?)

I think that this really is a great book for students. It can be used for so many different teaching points, and I think it is a good challenge for students. We can pull in so many different lessons and use many different activities and projects to really engage our students.