Category: Litropolis

In all my years of teaching literature, I’ve never met a reader, regardless of reluctancy, who has not been drawn delightedly into the The Westing Game’s intrigue. The plot is complex and captivating. Upper elementary and middle school readers enjoy every twist and turn. Beyond the fact that I am thrilled to have a mystery that is age appropriate for this audience, the theme of embracing true identity and resisting the urge to be what others want us to be, is an added bonus. In the story, characters often behave a certain way based on perceived expectations from other characters and situations, in the real world we call this peer pressure! And we all know, when peer pressure is present, appearances are deceiving. The Westing Game is a terrific reminder.

So the plot goes, one of 16 people will win Westing’s $200 million fortune if they solve a mystery involving word clues. For the past three weeks, Søren and his literature buddies have been collecting clues as they read. Compounding the tension for this specific group is that all of the participants have older siblings who have read the book. Can you say, “Spoiler alert?”

Last night, just as the house was beginning to settle, I heard the roar of a surprise party, Liam and Søren were at it again! I marched to the scene where my two youngest boys were laughing hysterically. “What happened?” I asked.

The thing is, I can’t tell you their response because it would spoil the mystery! What I can say is that I was completely taken aback. My boys had settled down for the evening, were reading quietly until Søren reached the end of the book where the mystery is solved. Both he and Liam delighted together at last.

In the end, like every great mystery, nothing is as it seems but all the pieces are in place!

~Kimberly

Q: What do readers like best about Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder?
A: The FOOD!

Last week I celebrated the end of an era, read the last pages of Farmer Boy with my youngest son, Søren and his literature circle buddies. This was the second time that I read the book with an all boy group, the second time I was surprised by the level of boy-enthusiasm for the reading. These boys were fascinated by the history, intrigued by the real responsibilities that Almanzo tackled each day, but mostly, they were amazed by how much Almanzo could eat!

The group enjoyed sharing their projects inspired by the book during a culminating feast of Almanzo’s favorites—apples and onions, cornbread, ham, and, of course, stacked pancakes!

“Ten pancakes cooked on the smoking griddle, and as fast as they were done Mother added another cake to each stack and buttered it lavishly and covered it with maple sugar. Butter and sugar melted together and soaked the fluffly pancakes and dripped all down their crisp edges. That was stacked pancakes. Almanzo liked them better than any other kind of pancakes.”

This past week my students completed reading the first book of the year, The Family Under the Bridge. I was delighted that my youngest son not only knew what to do but dove into the work headfirst! He began by removing all the sandwich bags from their box in the drawer, piling tape, glue, scissors, colored pencils and a plethora of art paper on the kitchen table. I watched him move from idea to finished product as I washed dishes and prepared dinner. In the end he smiled with satisfaction and proclaimed joyfully, “Tomorrow I will write a report to go with my diorama.” My son just turned 10! Not only is he self-motivated, he is delighted to do the work. Why? Routine.

No matter the subject, establishing a routine is a painstaking process, but once rooted, students thrive. Our literature products are developed with this truth in mind, providing students with the framework to guide them through the discovery process in a consistent manner that will, over time, develop the disciplined routine that leads to self-motivation.

With our approach, each book is read and explored over the course of four weeks. During the fifth week, students develop a creative culminating project with options that provide a variety of ways for them to demonstrate deep understanding of the book. Students not only get a chance to demonstrate their originality, organization, clarity of purpose, and critical thinking skills, more importantly this culminating endeavor will allow them to show off what they have learned in their own, uniquely creative way.

Whether you are using our literature discovery guides in an individual mentoring situation or in a group setting, students really love sharing their culminating thoughts about great stories. Encouraging readers to create final projects with a high level of execution teaches them that their ideas are valuable and builds integrity into their work habits. Connecting your students with other students and the work produced in response to great stories is motivating and raises the bar on the end product. For this reason, we have created a Flickr group where students can share visuals of how great stories spark creativity. We encourage you to join this group, to add your own work samples, and to visit often!

~Kimberly