The example of a counting book shown in class was “Ten Little Rabits” by Sylvia Long and Virginia Grossman. I felt that this was noteworthy because it ties in cultural diversity within the story. Although none of the books that I selected for this unit were of different cultural or ethnic background, I intend to include stories that are in the future.
The book that I chose to focus on was “Duck in the Truck” by Jez Alborough, which is a pattern book. This book is considered a pattern book because it rhymes throughout the story, for example: duck and truck, truck and stuck, stuck and muck, sheep and jeep, the list goes on. In addition to the rhyme scheme throughout the story, it repeats. By this I mean that the same words start off the sentence, followed by a different character being introduced or completing a different idea/concept/task.
While creating my page in the ABC book, I evaluated how this book could be used in a classroom. Apart from the students enjoying rhymes, which will reinforce their enjoyment of literature in general, it teaches a lesson. The Frog, Sheep, and Goat all help the Duck get his truck out of the muck, but the Duck leaves them all stuck. This lesson shows that the students should help each other, and not leave without helping back, or saying thank you.
Although I am currently interning in a third grade classroom, I think that creating an ABC book in the class would be a great activity for all age groups. Last Thursday the students read an article about wildfires, perhaps if I could find an article that covered different countries (tying into Social Studies) from A-Z and assign each student a letter to create a page. I am not sure if such an article exists, but there is a different country for each letter in the alphabet (some are less known, but should be considered just as important). I think that this particular idea would take a lot more planning. A simpler idea that would be to assign each student a letter, and have them pick an animal corresponding to the letter in the alphabet. Then write a small paragraph on what they learned while reading about the animal.
The different cultures in different countries also ties into my jigsaw article, which was Schrodt’s “Exploring Culturally Relevant Texts with Kindergarteners and Their Families”. This article was amazing; I thoroughly enjoyed the ideas within the article. The main idea was to create a culturally responsive classroom that includes the child’s family. This was achieved through the “Family Backpack Project”. Which is an amazing idea and should be implemented if the opportunity presents itself. The teacher would pick four culturally diverse books (one per week) and read/discuss them in class. At the end of the unit the child takes home a journal where the child and his or her family can respond or reflect. This involves the parents in the students education, and expands the students understanding of their own and different cultures. It is a great way to get emergent learners involved in writing and learn about their peers.