Cricket in Times Square

Transcription

1 A QUIVER OF ARROWS By George Selden Brave Brave Writer Writer Julie Julie Bogart: Bogart: This This is is your your copy. copy. It It may may not not be be shared shared outside outside your your family family or or resold resold in in either either digital digital or or printed printed form. form. 1

2 Brave Writer Spin and Spiral Maybe you ve heard the educationese term scope and sequence? Here's our version: the Brave Writer Spin and Spiral terms and skills to visit and revisit. In this issue of the Arrow:» We ll shriek, howl, and rumble with sounds (onomatopoeia);» We ll hang onto the edge of a chapter with a cliffhanger;» We ll use capitals to transform common nouns into proper nouns;» We ll become acquainted with the em dash;» We ll mull over the motivation to start a new paragraph;» We ll reset the mood with active verbs and verbals;» We ll repeat with rhyme; and» We ll unleash limericks! Look out! 2

3 Week One Now Tucker Mouse had heard almost all the sounds that can be heard in New York City. He had heard the rumble of subway trains and the shriek their iron wheels make when they go around a corner. (Chapter 1) 3

4 Week Two From above, through the iron grilles that open onto the streets, he had heard the thrumming of the rubber tires of automobiles, and the hooting of their horns, and the howling of their brakes. (Chapter 1) 4

5 Week One and Two Vocabulary pertaining to sound Week One Now Tucker Mouse had heard almost all the sounds that can be heard in New York City. He had heard the rumble of subway trains and the shriek their iron wheels make when they go around a corner. (Chapter 1) Week Two From above, through the iron grilles that open onto the streets, he had heard the thrumming of the rubber tires of automobiles, and the hooting of their horns, and the howling of their brakes. (Chapter 1) 5

6 Why this passage Read the two passages above together and then continue with the following: And he had heard the babble of voices when the station was full of human beings, and the barking of dogs that some of them had on leashes. Birds, the pigeons of New York, and cats, and even the high purring of airplanes above the city Tucker had heard. But in all his days, and on all his journeys through the greatest city in the world, Tucker had never heard a sound quite like this one. This entire passage (which is divided into two weeks worth of copywork) is a part of a long paragraph rich with vocabulary from one category: sounds. Rumble, shriek, thrumming, hooting, howling, followed by babble, barking, and purring these words all connote sounds. Words that suggest specific sounds are referred to as onomatopoeia, a literary term that is more often seen in poetry but is also used in prose. What to note The second week s passage is not indented because it continues where the first weeks passage left off in the same paragraph. Your child can literally continue on the same page when copying. Note the way the words themselves reveal the sounds they indicate. As mentioned previously, we call this literary element onomatopoeia (ah-noh-mah-toh-pea-ah). With many of these 6

7 instances of onomatopoeia stemming from verbs, these vivid verbs add strength and action to the writing style of the full paragraph. Pause and consider how rumble and shriek are the sounds a train makes as it hurries down the track, and then the shriek of rounding a corner. Selden, the author, goes on to describe a car set of sounds: thrumming of rubber tires, hooting of horns, howling of brakes. Is there a difference between how a train s shriek sounds compared with the thrumming or howling of a car? Discuss. Compare trains and cars on YouTube, if it helps. Next, listen to the musicality of the language. Notice the alliteration (the repetition of the same sound at the beginning of words) throughout this passage. Can you find the repetition of the h sound and the b sound?» had heard, hooting, horns, howling» rubber, brakes, babble, beings, barking, birds Repetition of sounds creates rhythm and poetry, in the midst of storytelling. Notice the clever writing that mentions cats only to follow with the purring of the airplanes. We re set up for purring, but we don t expect it to be tied to planes. Surprising word usage such as this example brings both uniqueness and unity to the writing, rather like an inside joke between the author and the readers. This passage is also surprising on its own. After mentioning every possible city sound, we are left hanging on to the edge of our seats as there s one sound that Tucker Mouse has heard here that he has never heard before. What could it be? Notice the author s clever 7

8 use of a cliffhanger. Books that use this technique leave readers suspended at the end of a chapter to motivate us to continue reading in order to uncover the mystery. This cliffhanger technique is also sometimes called a teaser. How to teach the passage The punctuation in this section is straightforward. As usual, we have commas, periods, and capitals. Note the capitalization of Tucker Mouse (the last name of Mouse also receives capital treatment). New York City (including the word City ) is all capitalized as all three words make up the name of the most populous city in the U.S. Both of these examples demonstrate how common nouns may become proper nouns when they refer to the name of a city or an individual (in this case, not a person but a mouse who definitely has human qualities as he is the central character in this story). Notice also the spelling of the following challenging words.» shriek» grilles» automobiles» brakes (vs. breaks) Onomatopoeia To reinforce the concept of sound words, create a list together on a whiteboard of all the words related to sound that you can find. These can be nonsense words that sound like the sound (crrrritch, blubblubblub) or words we associate with sounds we hear (hum, ding, woof, gurgle). Add to the list any more sound words you find in the reading as well. Discuss all the notes. You can use both weeks to do it, or just a few days whatever sustains interest. 8

9 Pay attention to the other reading you do, television shows, sounds occurring in the house, and sounds heard when outside. You might try to help your kids create words for sounds like the tapping of the keyboard, the water coming from a faucet, or the sound of the sliding glass door when it opens. Copywork and French-style dictation Though there are two passages (one for each of the first two weeks), it is fine if the student copies them both in one week. If that occurs, continue with the longer paragraph for the following week. These are densely written sentences with many challenging words, so it s okay to take it slowly. Once both passages have been copied, use the French-style dictation page. It includes both passages together, in one paragraph. Be sure to prepare for the task by reviewing vocabulary that is difficult to spell. The French-style dictation word lists follow. Week One» Tucker» Mouse» sounds» New» York» City» rumble» shriek» wheels Week Two» above» thrumming» automobiles» hooting» horns» howling» brakes 9

10 Name: Date: Weeks One & Two: French-style Dictation (Chapter 1) Now had heard almost all the that can be heard in. He had heard the of subway trains and the their iron make when they go around a corner. From, through the iron grilles that open onto the streets, he had heard the of the rubber tires of, and the of their, and the of their. 10

11 Week Three A cricket! he exclaimed. Keeping his cupped hand very steady, Mario walked back to the newsstand. The cricket didn t move. And he didn t make that little musical noise anymore. He just lay perfectly still as if he were sleeping, or frightened to death. (Chapter 2) 11

12 Week Three Punctuation and paragraphing A cricket! he exclaimed. Keeping his cupped hand very steady, Mario walked back to the newsstand. The cricket didn t move. And he didn t make that little musical noise anymore. He just lay perfectly still as if he were sleeping, or frightened to death. (Chapter 2) Why this passage This shorter passage gives kids the chance to experience paragraph breaks, an em dash, dialogue punctuation, and apostrophes in addition to the usual punctuation marks: capitals, end marks, and commas. What to note Note that exclamation marks usually belong inside the closing quotation mark in dialogue. Notice that Kleenex is capitalized as it s a brand name of facial tissues and is thus a proper noun. 12

13 The compound word newsstand can be a bit tricky to spell: the s remains on the end of news while the beginning s of stand also remains, causing a double- s : newsstand. A few other words that may need to be studied before attempting dictation include: exclaimed, anymore (one word), musical, perfectly, and frightened. Note that each new paragraph is indented. On lined paper the indentation should be about three characters in from the margin line, about the space of the capitalized word The. The first line is a comment. Once it is completed, the next paragraph begins. The dialogue uses an exclamation point. It s not surprising since it is followed by the tag he exclaimed. Exclamation comes from the verb to exclaim. The description of the little cricket causes the reader to worry. The use of the em dash (a dash the length of a lowercase m ) describes the reader s worry right after reading that the little cricket lay perfectly still. The em dash adds emphasis when it attaches additional information to the main sentence. 13

14 How to teach the passage Monday: Discuss the notes The em dash: Em dashes are just another way of writing a parenthesis or a comma or semicolon. The em dash connects a related thought but does so more casually than a semicolon. Em dashes may:» Show a rather abrupt change of topic or break in thought: I thought he was rather wait, did you feel that earthquake?» Introduce a side comment: I think no, it can t be! she exclaimed.» Explain or add information: His pack weighed eighty pounds far too much for his thin frame.» Show hesitation, shyness, and/or stammering: I I I didn t know! Ethan gasped.» Show attributions: Action is eloquence William Shakespeare Knowing when to stop one paragraph and start a new paragraph is a very subjective part of the writing process. Take the opportunity to look at this paragraph and see if you and your kids can determine why this author (at this point in the writing) chose to start a new paragraph. The first indentation in our passage follows a dialogue quote. That reason for starting a new paragraph is self-explanatory. 14

15 Now open the book. Read the paragraph that follows this passage. Notice that this subsequent indentation occurs because it follows a complete idea. What is that idea? It is a description of the little cricket and how Mario finds him. Once we hear that the little cricket lies as still as death, the scene changes to Mario s attempt to help the cricket which is the motivation for starting a new paragraph. Open a book that you are currently reading and see if you can guess why the author stopped one paragraph and then started a new one. Try this activity with your child/children everyone grabbing a book from the shelf and all of you taking turns making guesses as to why the author started a new paragraph at different points within the books. Tuesday Copy the first two sentences of the passage. The first sentence is its own paragraph. It should be indented. The second sentence is a new paragraph so it should also be indented. If the child s handwriting is unable to keep the entire first sentence on one line (like the model), that s fine. The remaining part of the sentence should then wrap to the left hand margin. The new paragraph then indents on a new line. Wednesday Copy the next two sentences. Neither is very long. Notice the apostrophe in the word didn t (in both sentences). It is a contraction for the words did and not. did + not = didn t Ask your child which two words make up the contraction. It s 15

16 important to deconstruct them when you see them so that your kids know the actual words, not just the sounds, that form contractions. This practice will protect your children from mistakenly attributing some other word to the contraction. Thursday Copy the last sentence of the passage. Pay close attention to the em dash. Friday: French-style dictation Once your child has successfully copied and discussed the passage, it s time for French-style dictation. This version is challenging. It includes both spelling challenges and punctuation. The following list of omitted words includes any punctuation attached to them. Review. You may even fill in a copy of the French-style dictation together one day and then give a blank one the next for your child to complete as you read the passage aloud.» A cricket!» cupped» newsstand.» The» didn t» didn t» little» noise» still as» death. Wikimedia commons: Times Square 16

17 Name: Date: Week Three: French-style Dictation (Chapter 2) _ he exclaimed. Keeping his hand very steady, Mario walked back to the cricket move. And he make that musical anymore. He just lay perfectly if he were sleeping, or frightened to 17

18 Week Four Chester s playing filled the station. Like ripples around a stone dropped into still water, the circles of silence spread out from the newsstand. And as the people listened, a change came over their faces. Eyes that looked worried grew soft and peaceful, tongues left off chattering, and ears full of the city s rustling were rested by the cricket s melody. (Chapter 14) 18

19 Week Four Description techniques Chester s playing filled the station. Like ripples around a stone dropped into still water, the circles of silence spread out from the newsstand. And as the people listened, a change came over their faces. Eyes that looked worried grew soft and peaceful, tongues left off chattering, and ears full of the city s rustling were rested by the cricket s melody. (Chapter 14) Why this passage This passage illustrates effective description techniques that children can easily emulate. It begins with a simile and continues with attention to the details of the human anatomy and what happens to it on encountering the lovely music of the cricket. This is a long passage. Select part of it for very young writers. 19

20 What to note The use of verbs in this brief passage is noteworthy. A verb is the action of the sentence how the subject behaves. Let s make a list of the verbs and verbals (verbs used in a different grammatical way in a sentence, perhaps as an adjective, adverb, or noun) that appear here.» playing» filled» dropped» spread» listened» came» looked» worried» grew» left» chattering» rustling» rested This list of verbs shows all kinds of activity. Each word prompts a mental image of something happening. Good writing requires a reader s mind to be active. Strong writing is energized by strong verb choices, making the piece expressive and exciting. If the writing feels flat (dull, tedious, notimpacting), take a look at the verbs and see if an overuse of to be (is, am, are, was, were, be, being, been) or to have (have, has, had) is deadening the writing. Highlight all verbs and try to find more active and expressive verb choices to replace the overuse of to be and to have verbs. The lovely language doesn t stop there. See how the following phrases and word pairs create a mood in addition to a vision. 20

21 » like ripples around a stone» into still water» circles of silence» over their faces» soft and peaceful» ears full» cricket s melody Even reading these phrases in a row without any other words leads to a profound sense of calm and a yearning to hear the melody. Quality writing pairs active verbs with selective description to create the over-arching mood and tone. Help your children see this by taking some of the words and swapping them for others. What happens if we change soft and peaceful to loud and agitating? What happens if we change circles of silence to ragged edges of noise? See how it feels to reset the mood. How to teach the passage A simile uses like or as to make a comparison. Like ripples around a stone dropped into still water, the circles of silence spread out from the newsstand. The reason this simile works is that the comparison is made between circles: circles of water and circles of silence. It s an ironic comparison since the stone dropped in the water generally makes an initial sound. However, in both instances, the circles spread soundlessly. The circles 21

22 in the water (the ripples) gradually move out and touch anything in their path. They spread silently. The circles of silence in the station spread too, impacting everything in their path as well. Remember the first two weeks of dictation? That passage was all about a sound that was brand new to New York City. Now we have the absence of sound making as big an impact on the listener. Why is this interesting? Can you think of a time when silence was surprising? In this instance, the silence creates the conditions for the music to be heard perfectly. Selden (the author) continues to increase the impact of the music by describing its effect on the human anatomy. He follows one of the rules for good description: Show; don t tell. Notice that he did not say: And everyone noticed how beautiful it was. That would be telling his readers what to see. Instead, he shows us the reactions of faces, eyes, and ears how each comprehended the perfect stillness of a busy subway. Showing is almost always more effective writing than mere telling because readers have to connect the ideas themselves rather than the author doing it for them. Monday Discuss the notes for this week s passage. Tuesday-Thursday Ask your child to copy one sentence per day. Review the notes that go with that sentence before copying. 22

23 Friday: French-style dictation The passage focuses on double letters and possessives. The possessive their is included. Review there, they re, and their.» Chester s» ripples» dropped» silence» newsstand» their» looked» soft» tongues» city s» cricket s 23

24 Name: Date: Week Four: French-style Dictation (Chapter 14) playing filled the station. Like around a stone into still water, the circles of spread out from the. And as the people listened, a change came over faces. Eyes that worried grew and peaceful, left off chattering, and ears full of the rustling were rested by the melody. 24

25 Literary Element Rhyme Rhyme is the repetition of sounds in two or more words or phrases that usually appear close to each other in a poem. A rhyme scheme is the pattern of end rhymes in a poem. Rhyme can be found in lots of places: pop music lyrics, hymns, poetry, and TV ads. Use this month to notice surprising places where you find rhyme. Kids love rhyme, so read poetry each day this month. Use Read Aloud Poems for Young People, or one of the Jack Prelutsky poetry books. Here are a few of his titles that most kids enjoy: A Pizza the Size of the Sun, It s Raining Pigs and Noodles, Something BIG Has Been Here and The New Kid on the Block. You re in for a treat if you ve never read him before. The following examples can be used as copywork. I ve indicated the kinds of rhyme schemes they model. The Limerick The limerick was originally popularized by Edward Lear ( ), an English artist, illustrator, and writer. The rhyme scheme for limericks is as follows.» Two lines that rhyme with each other» Two more lines that rhyme with each other but not with the first two» One last line that rhymes with the first two For an overall rhyme scheme of: aabba 25

26 The syllable count for the lines is as follows.» 8» 8» 5» 5» 8 By Edward Lear There was a Young Lady whose eyes, Were unique as to color and size; When she opened them wide People all turned aside And started away in surprise. By Edward Lear There was an Old Man with a beard, Who said, It is just as I feared! Two Owls and a Hen, Four Larks and a Wren, Have all built their nests in my beard. Traditional quatrain The traditional quatrain is a common poetic form that alternates end rhymes in a four-line verse poem. 26

27 The Crocodile By Lewis Carroll How doth the little crocodile Improve his shining tail, And pour the waters of the Nile On every golden scale! How cheerfully he seems to grin, How neatly spreads his claws, And welcomes little fishes in, With gently smiling jaws! This poem follows the rhyme scheme abab cdcd. To identify the rhyme scheme, follow these rules.» Each rhyming ending-sound gets its own lower-case letter.» When the rhyme at the end of the line repeats, repeat the lower-case letter that represents it. This week, find a poem in one of your books and create the rhyme scheme using letters to represent the end-rhyme. Internal Rhyme In addition to end rhyme, some poetry makes use of internal rhyme as well. Internal rhyme means that some words rhyme with each other within the lines of the poetry, not just at the end. 27

28 Night-Lights Anonymous There is no need to light a night-light On a light night like tonight; For a night-light s light s a slight light When the moonlight s white and bright. This poem follows an aaaa scheme for end rhyme, but is made more interesting because of all the uses of the sound -ite within the poem itself. See if you can find other examples of both ending and internal rhyme in poems. (Hint: Edgar Allan Poe uses a lot of internal rhyme in his poems.) 28

29 Writing Activity Write your own poem using any of the previous forms as models. The format for the Limerick is included here for ease of use. Limericks Limericks are a blast! Once you unleash this form in your house, look out! Limericks may proliferate. If your kids enjoy this poetic form, you can take it up a notch. Suggest everyone write secret limericks to share at the next poetry teatime! 1. It s easiest to start with There once was a/an It leads to naming a character or identifying an old man, or little baby, or silly sister It s not required though. You are free to start any way you wish! 2. Then choose a predicament (ordinary or silly)» performing ballet» playing soccer» bathing» making dinner» tying a shoe» jumping in the waves» dying hair» growing a sunflower» panning for gold» calculating math homework» growing a long nose 29

30 » walking through town on your hands» eating lunch on a Frisbee» tickling your dog» baking an upside down cake. You get the idea. 3. Next list rhyming words related to the predicament See if these words inspire some kind of story line or silly interpretation of an event. Freewriting a list is a great way to generate terms. Then come back after the freewrite and rhyme as many of them as you can (make it a group project to make it easier). 4. Create a model Write lines (blanks) on a clean sheet of paper or whiteboard for each word that your young poet will supply for each line. This model will help your kids count the syllables. Remember that words with multiple syllables take up more than one space. Words like be-cause or la-dy take up two slots. Com-pa-ny would take up three slots. Get it? Here s how it will look 30

31 5. Don t obsess over the syllable count Do the best you can aim for the rhythm and if something sounds like it works, keep it. Also, sometimes the best final rhyme is a repetition of one of the words at the end of the first two lines. Because of the two lines in the middle, it s acceptable to repeat a rhyming word from line one or two. Some limericks have 9 syllables in the first, second, and fifth lines. So feel free to add a syllable if that makes it easier for your kids. You can also reduce those lines to 7 syllables, if that is easier. 6. Count the syllables To help count the syllables, slap your hand on the table or your thigh as you say each syllable in a word. Have your kids do it with you. Another way to feel syllables is use the jaw drop rule: each time your jaw drops as you read a line aloud, you have said a syllable. When your children finish writing limericks, see if they would like to illustrate their poems. Happy writing! 31

32 Book Club Party School Hello, Book Club Planners! By Mary Wilson This book club guide is packed with ideas for a memorable book club party school. Pick and choose the ideas that work best for you, your location, and the children involved. Believe me when I say: even I won t use all of the ideas included in this guide, but I wanted to provide you with a lot of choices. Go forth and kick-start a lifetime of literary enjoyment for your kids. The Newspapers for sale! Newspapers for sale! Get your newspaper here! That will be five cents, please. And now, to thank you for your purchase, we have a special treat for you today. Our singing cricket will play a song for you. He seems to be in the mood for Italian opera, though he might switch to hymns at any moment. Please relax and enjoy the sweet sounds of our newsstand cricket. The Big Apple» Cover the table with newspaper or magazine pages.» Find a large apple or lots of smaller apples to use as a centerpiece. Prop a small sign by the apples that says, Welcome to the Big Apple. Surround the apples with fairy lights to represent the bright lights of the big city. 32

33 » Play the sounds of New York City or New York, New York by Frank Sinatra as your guests arrive. Later on, play cricket sounds for your group. Finally, while everyone is eating you can enjoy Italian classical music or opera. All of these selections can be found on YouTube.» Using black craft paper, cut out a city skyline to hang on the wall. Paint or glue yellow rectangles to represent the lit windows at night.» Hang Chinese lanterns, Chinese fans, or images of Chinese architecture in the room.» Make a small bed for Chester Cricket somewhere in the room. Use an empty matchbox filled with scrap pieces of fabric. A Picnic for A Cricket» Pack a picnic basket and have a picnic outdoors, on the floor, or on the table. Any picnic friendly items will work including some of the food from the story: Hard boiled eggs»» Bread Candy»» Cold roasted chicken» Roast beef sandwiches (or any sandwich)» BLT sandwiches (Save a few bits of bacon for the crickets! *wink!) Ham Hide a toy cricket in the basket for everyone to find as they help unpack the basket. 33

34 » Enjoy Chinese food and encourage your guests to use chopsticks while eating. (Use a rubber band to make training chopsticks for young children.) Include Chinese food items that your guests will enjoy and perhaps a few items from the book: Chow Yuk Chow Mein Duck with pineapples Pork Fried Rice Don t forget the fortune cookies. Drink Chinese tea with your meal.» Serve broken bits of Hershey bars or Oh Henry! bars for dessert along with chocolate cookies.» Set up a soda bar with cola, root beer, orange soda, and strawberry soda. Label paper cups with the name of each guest and let them help themselves to various sodas. Label a small a cup cricket and fill it with a few drops of soda. You never know if Chester Cricket might be thirsty.» Create an edible Tucker Mouse (or two) for each guest using strawberries. Remove the stem and then slice a whole strawberry in half from the center of the stem to the bottom point. Lay it flat and use two sliced almonds for ears. Press the point of a chocolate chip into the front for a black nose. Images can be found by searching for strawberry mice snacks on Pinterest. A Cricket House» Make A bookmark. Cut colored cardstock into bookmark-sized rectangles. Punch a hole in the top of each rectangle. 34

35 Children can draw a favorite scene from the book using markers on one side of their bookmark. On the other side, write the title, author, and date. Be sure to have pre-printed rectangles with the title and author available for guests who prefer to glue the information on the bookmark. Children might also choose to include a favorite quote from the book. Laminate the bookmarks then punch through the lamination that covered the hole. Tie a ribbon through the hole at the top of the bookmark. Tie a small bell, just like the one in the cricket house, to the ribbon. Small craft bells can be purchased at your local craft store.» Make simple Chinese paper fans. Basic instructions can be found online if you search for Chinese paper fan kids or basic paper fan kids. Most instructions include sheets of paper, popsicle sticks, and glue. Provide markers if your guests want to decorate their fans before folding the papers.» Play Is it a Grasshopper or Cricket? Read one of the facts below. Children should stand up if they think the fact is true of a cricket and remain seated if they believe it is true of a grasshopper. Is the larger of the two species. (grasshopper) Sings by rubbing its wings together. (cricket)» Typically out during the day. (grasshopper) Eats plants only. (grasshopper)»» Detects sounds with ears on the front legs. (cricket)» Sings by rubbing its hind legs against its wings. (grasshopper) Has longer antennae. (cricket) 35

36 Source: orthoptera.html Find more facts online by searching cricket vs. grasshopper. Happy hopping and singing, my cricket friends. 36