145th Street

145th Street: short stories
by Walter Dean Meyers


I loved Walter Dean Meyers novels when I was in junior high so I was very excited to see that he had a collection of short stories.  As a reader I enjoyed every story in the book, but as a fifth grade teacher I quickly noticed that not everyone was appropriate for fifth graders. They are just too intense. Most of the stories would be a better fit for middle or high school but there were three stories I could see reading to my students. 


In "Kitty and Mack: A Love Story," Kitty never gives up on Mack even after Mack gives up on himself.  Mack was a superstar athlete and Kitty was his smart girlfriend.  After Mack gets hurt, and his athletic career ends, he gives up on himself and on his relationship with Kitty.  Kitty doesn't and you won't believe how hard she tries to get Mack back on his feet.


Patrolman O'Brien, who lives in the pleasant suburbs, walks the beat in tough Harlem in the short story "A Christmas Story."  Despite his desire to keep his home life and work life separate he develops an unlikely friendship with Mother Fletcher.  When Mrs. O'Brien and her daughter find out that Mother Fletcher has invited them to Christmas dinner, they demand to go.  At the dinner, Patrolman O'Brien learns that Christmas is celebrated where he lives and where he works. 


In "Block Party-145th Street Style," everyone is supposed to be having a good time and enjoying free food.  Then Peaches gets into it with JT for being a trouble maker and he leaves without any food.  After cooling down, she decides to take some food up to him in his apartment.  What she discovers changes her opinion about JT and what she does will change your opinion of Peaches. 

American Tall Tales

American Tall Tales
by Adrien Stoutenburg
Illustrated by Richard M. Powers


My fifth graders really enjoy tall tales.  They enjoy the exaggerations and the adventures of the characters.  American Tall Tales is an excellent collection offering a variety of tall tales. 


Most of the tales start with the character's birth and end with their death.  Only two don't cover the full life span.  Paul Bunyan walks off into the sunset in his story while Joe Magarac shows up fully grown.


Paul Bunyan's, Pecos Bill's, Stormalong's, Mike Fink's and Joe Magarac's stories include lots of exaggerations.  Davy Crockett's tale also includes a lot of exaggerations but ties in real life events too.  Johnny Appleseed's and John Henry's stories include the least amount of exaggeration.


I had never read Stormalong before, but it reminded me of John Henry.  Both characters compete against more modern machines and die in the process of defeating them. 


The ending of the Mike Fink story was very dark.  Mike was killed by one of his friends after Mike had killed another one of their friends. 


I would also recommend The Bunyans by Audrey Wood.  It tells Paul Bunyan's tale after he gets married.  According to the book, Paul and his family are responsible for many of the natural wonders found in the United States.


Big Men, Big Country: A Collection of American Tall Tales by Paul Robert Walker and American Tall Tales by Mary Pope Osborne are excellent tall tale anthologies. 

Science Fiction Short Stories

One of the genres that the state of Michigan recommends I teach my students is Science Fiction.  I know science fiction isn't for everyone and that it comes in a lot of forms, from super machines to dystopian futures, so I've decided to read a bunch of Science Fiction short stories instead of reading one Science Fiction chapter book to my class. So far I have found stories in the following two anthologies to use.  


Tomorrowland: Stories about the Future
Compiled by Michael Cart



"His Brother's Keeper"
by Gloria Skurzynski


Scientific advancements allow for groups of four to travel to Mars. The Holbrook family is the current group of four.  Their mission is to make Mars hospitable for humans. While working in Science Fiction elements the story mainly focuses on the relationship between genius brother Kern and happy go lucky brother Dylan. Everyone should be able to relate to the jealousies and annoyances that arise from being stuck on Mars with no other children to distract them.


"The Last Dog"  
by Katherine Peterson


Brock lives in a dome.  He has been told everything outside the dome is a wasteland and that nothing can survive out there.  He decides he wants to go out of the dome anyway.  Wearing protective gear he discovers the impossible, a living breathing puppy.  What will Brock do when he sees something that goes against everything he's been taught?


 2041
Selected and Edited by Jane Yolen



"Lose Now, Pay Later"
by Carol Farley


Trinja and Deb discover Swoodies, a free dessert, at the mall.  They fall in love with it and gain a lot of weight.  


Eventually, The Slimmer opens up in the mall parking lot.  For a fee, it instantly makes you lose weight.  Trinja and Deb have to decide if spending all of their money losing weight is worth eating all the free Swoodies they want.


"Moby James"
by Patricia A. McKillip


This story is about relating with your brother.  It just happens to take place in the future where all classes are taught by computers and students read reading disks on viewers instead of reading books.  


The two brothers, Rob and James share a bedroom.  James is annoyed with Rob.  Rob is mad at his brother.  Read "Moby James" to see if Moby Dick can help them work things out.






I would love to find more Science Fiction stories to share with my students.  I've read a bunch of good one but most aren't appropriate for fifth graders.  I would love to hear about any Science Fiction Short Stories that you could recommend to me.

Saturdays and Teacakes

Saturdays and Teacakes
by Lester L. Laminack
Paintings by Chris Soentpiet

In Saturdays and Teacakes the storyteller describes a typical Saturday spent with his grandmother.  The two spend every Saturday working together outside, eating lunch, and always end the day by making teacakes.  


Saturdays and Teacakes reminds me of Thundercake by Patricia Polacco.  In both, children spend charming days with their grandmothers baking.  The writing is filled with great details that help remind you of your childhood. The major difference between the two stories is that the young boy in Saturdays and Teacakes doesn't have any fears to overcome, while in Thundercake, the young girl does. 


I can't take any credit for finding this story.  I found it in I Can Write Like That!: A Guide to Mentor Texts and Craft Studies for Writers' Workshop, K-6.  Per their recommendation I used it to teach emotional endings.  It has a great ending that you can use to discuss literal and figurative language. 


In addition, I definitely see myself using it again to teach personal narrative and adding specific details. The details that went into making the teacakes, from making the batter to the dialogue between the two, were phenomenal.


I loved the book and have added it to my Amazon wish list. 


Published: 2004


Locations: School Library, Amazon

Hooray for Inventors

Hooray for Inventors
by Marca Williams


Hooray for Inventors is a great introduction to numerous inventors throughout time.  It details the inventions of Edison, Bell, the Wright Brothers and more.  Their stories are told in two to three page cartoons. 


These short stories would be great introductions to inspire students to do more reading about these amazing inventors. 


A bunch of the inventors are great examples of dedication and hard work because they weren't successful at first but had to keep trying to meet their goals. Their stories might inspire students to keep trying to achieve their goals in life and at school. 


Published: 2005

Genre: Non-fiction

Locations: School Library, Public Library

Live Writing by Ralph Fletcher

Live Writing
by Ralph Fletcher


I read Live Writing about five years ago and didn't get much out of it.  I must not have been ready for what the book had to offer because I just reread it and found so much useful information.  In the book, Ralph Fletcher actually mentions that you should reread the book over and over.  I probably laughed the first time I read that passage, but now I totally agree.  When I read it again, that's when, not if, I know I'll pick up new ideas to improve my writing instruction


I'm not sure if this book is written for students or for teachers.  Either way, it will help all of us become better narrative, personal or fiction, and poetry writers. While it never mentions the 6 Traits, it covers all of them.  It hits ideas and organization in multiple chapters.  It covers voice, word choice and sentence fluency in individual chapters.  


Live Writing doesn't contain any mini-lessons but as you read it, mini-lessons pop out at you.  "Leads: Breaking the Ice" inspired me to come up with three solid lessons on leads. "The End: Getting the Last Word" helped me figure out what I need to teach about endings. Finally, "Conflict: Here Comes Trouble" showed me what I needed to show my students about problems in narrative stories. 


Please read this book if you haven't read it before.  If you were like me, and read it a while ago, read it again.  First time and repeat readers are bound to gain insight into their writing instruction. 


Published: 1999

Location:  Amazon

"Getting Ready For Bed Directions" - Organization Lesson

Organization Writing Lesson
   - Getting Ready for Bed Directions


My class has been working on organization for the last week.  We've talked about and practiced bold beginnings and catchy endings but I'm still concerned about students putting things in order.  This lesson is to help students practice putting steps in order.

First, I'll ask my students to think about what they do to get ready for bed.  We'll take a minute or two to share.

Second, I'll read at least one of the following three picture books. None of the books are great upper elementary picture books but they apply to the topic in a fun way and get students thinking.


     1.  How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague
          -  This book explains how dinosaurs say good night using two parts.  The first part details what    

             dinosaurs do not do.  The second part explains what dinosaurs do to get ready for bed.

  

     2.  Cornelius P. Mud, Are You Ready For Bed? by Barney Saltzburg

          -  An adorable pig does his bedtime routine, but the illustrations show that he is being extremely silly.  

             Finally, after going through six steps, he tells his mom that he forgot one thing.

     3.   Good Night, Monkey Boy by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

         - A young boy in monkey pajamas acts like a monkey while he gets ready for bed.

Third, we'll discuss what the characters did to get ready for bed.

Finally, I will ask the students to write.  Each student will imagine they are a parent writing a list of directions that tell the step by step how a baby sitter would put their six year old to bed.   Each student will be asked to write at least 10 directions in a logical order.

I did this assignment last year and allowed the students to be creative in choosing the 10 steps.  They came up with some very interesting writing.  This year I'm going to require them to use realistic bedtime activities.

Top Ten Picture Books to Read Aloud to Fifth Graders

- Shortcut by Donald Crews


This small moment story is focused on a group of brothers and sisters taking a shortcut home on the railroad tracks.  They have some fun goofing around and experience a little danger when an unexpected freight train shows up.   


- No, David! by David Shannon


In 13 years, I've never met a class that didn't enjoy this book.  You can use it discuss the themes of love and forgiveness or use it to teach revision for the ideas trait.









- Thundercake by Patricia Polacco


This is my favorite book by Patricia Polacco.  Fetching the ingredients to make a cake is a very clever way to solve the problem of being afraid of thunderstorms.  To show ideas, the story explodes moments and uses dialogue. 




- Knuffle Bunny Free by Mo Willems


 I love Knuffle Bunny and enjoy Knuffle Bunny Too but Knuffle Bunny Free is my favorite in the series.  Once again, Trixie loses Knuffle Bunny, but this book isn't just about Trixie finding Knuffle Bunny, it is about Trixie growing up.




- Roller Coaster by Marla Frazee


I'm pretty sure Marla Frazee is my favorite illustrator.  I just love how life like her pictures are. Roller Coaster is a great book for modeling focusing on one small moment of a big trip.  It is safe to assume that the main character did more than ride one roller coaster at the amusement park, but that is all Marla Frazee writes about.  


- The Daddy Mountain by Jules Feiffer


This is another book that does a great job of focusing on a short moment in time and just exploding it with tons of detail.  Instead of writing "I climbed up my daddy," Jules Feiffer stretches the moment out using step by step details of the ascent with funny thought shots mixed in along the way.




- Owl Moon written by Jane Yolen, illustrated by John Schoenhaar


Just like, The Daddy Mountain and Roller Coaster, Owl Moon takes a moment that could be written with very little detail and stretches it out into a beautiful book.  A young girl and her father go searching for a owl in the middle of the night.  Students wonder if they will ever spot one. 





- The Three Little Dinosaurs by Jim Harris


I love to read traditional fairy tales to fifth graders because with so many books and TV shows out there, they don't normally know them. While I'm not a big fan of the traditional version of The Three Little Pigs, with the long drawn out ending,  I am a big fan of The Three Little Dinosaurs.  In this retelling, a "big bad Tyrannosaurus rex" tries to eat three little dinos that have left their mother's slde The ending is awesome.


- Ugly Fish by Kara LaReau and Scott Magoon


Ugly Fish is a mean and selfish fish that eats all of the fish that move into his tank.  When he finally comes to the conclusion that he might be happier if he had a friend to play with, his owner decides to buy a bigger meaner fish.  Students love this not so happy surprise ending.


- Tadpole's Promise written by Jeanne Willis and illustrated by Tony Ross

This is probably my favorite book to read to students because the ending is just done right awesome.  In the three years that I've read it, only one student has ever predicted the ending correctly.  In the book, Tadpole and Caterpillar fall in love.  Caterpillar keeps getting mad at Tadpole because he keeps breaking his promise that he won't change.  They eventually go their separate ways.  Then in the end, after Caterpillar has turned into a butterfly she goes off to find her Tadpole, not knowing he has changed into a frog.  When the butterfly and the frog meet again is  my favorite ending in all of picture books.