Close Reading with Tim McGraw

Day 26 of #BTBC14

What kinds of music do you enjoy most?

     I have previously blogged about Justin Timberlake here.  I definitely enjoy his music.  He should make this post, too.  :)

***Disclaimer:  Many of you know that I am a literacy nerd, and post pictures with or tweets from literacy gurus.  Well, my passions in life do not limit themselves to literacy.  I am also a huge Tim McGraw fan.

Here comes Tim McGraw!  (He is blurry because I was jumping up and down.) 

     Since I have had children, I have learned that it is not really about my favorites anymore.  The kids always seems to have songs they want to hear in the car, and my husband is always playing his music around the house.  Basically, that's ok with me, because I really do like most types of music.  The one that is definitely mine, though, is Tim McGraw.  My friend, Jaime, and I go to see him in concert every time he comes to Chicago.  We have gone to Indiana and Wisconsin along the way, too. It has been our "thing" that I really embrace now that we both have little kids.  We have seen him 14 times now (15 if you count the book signing we went to).  Last year he walked into the concert through the audience, and I actually got to touch his hand!  It was glorious.

 

     So, how does this tie to literacy?  Two ways!  First, we went to his book signing a few years back at the Borders in Chicago.  I guess officially he is an author, an actor and a musician!  He started with co-authoring a book about his music career, and then went on to co-write children's books about being a dad.  I like his autobiography, especially since mine is autographed, but I also really enjoy reading his picture books to my kids.  They are filled with themes of adventure, and family, and love.

Pages from My Little Girl (McGraw and Douglas, 2008)

   
     My daughter was given My Little Girl as a gift.  I was giddy that it was written by Tim McGraw,  of course.  But, I have written a few posts this year about close reading life, and this book definitely is a metaphor for that!  It starts out with the promise of having a spectacular day with dad.  "A better than chocolate ice cream with sprinkles" kind of day!  The main character, Katie, dresses up in everything that she own to prepare for that spectacular day.  (Everyone with a preschool girl relates to that).  The book then shows a dad and daughter, doing everyday things together.  They go to the store, look at clouds, swing on the tire swim, etc.  Just a regular day, that turned out to be a "spectacular, nothing-in-particular day" because they were together.  Now isn't that close reading life at it's best?

     The second way that he can tie to literacy is through his song lyrics.  Many of his songs are just meant to be fun, or are about love, so those wouldn't necessarily apply to the classroom.  A few have some deeper meaning and would be great to use with older students.  But, since I work with teachers, I think that some would be great to close read as a staff PD.  Take, for example, Blank Sheet of Paper.

"Blank Sheet of Paper"

I'm just a blank sheet of paper
This fool's about to write you a letter
To tell you that he's sorry
For the way he did you wrong
To ask for your forgiveness
For leavin you alone

He's been lookin down at me
It seems like forever
He takes the top on and off his pen
It's like he can't decide
What he wants to say
If he'd just tell the truth
I'd be on my way

But he just stares at me
And I just stare at him
He don't know where to start
To say he doesn't want it to end
Now its one hour later
And I'm still a blank sheet of paper

The sunlight is comin through the curtains
He's almost asleep pen in hand
There's a tear in his eye
That refuses to fall
If it would land on me
That would say it all

But he just stares at me
And I just stare at him
He don't know where to start
To say he doesn't want it to end
Now it's four hours later
And I'm still a blank sheet of paper

Oh but he just stares at me
And I just stare at him
He don't know where to start
To say he wants you back again
One broken heart later
And I'm still a blank sheet of paper

     Let's walk up the Common Core standards with this one.  At first read, it's about a guy who won't write a letter to his ex-girlfriend.  It is about asking forgiveness.  The guy would be described as sad, perhaps, or stubborn because he refuses to write the letter.  Hours pass, but the paper remains blank.  It then says "there's a tear in his eye that refuses to fall."  Is that because he is stubborn?  Or because he won't take ownership of his mistakes?  Or, perhaps, because he wants her back but he know she is better off without him?  It says the tear would say it all, and yet he refuses to let them fall.  Is this about him asking her to forgive him, or him trying to forgive himself and failing?  "One broken heart later" is how the song ends, but who is the broken hearted one?  It seems that he is pretty heart broken, as evidenced by his staring at the paper, his inability (or perhaps reluctance) to share his emotions, and the fact that he remained at the table for hours unable to change the blank sheet of paper.  But shouldn't there be two broken hearts here?  "One broken heart later" could imply she is really better off without him.  Is this song really about the sacrifices we make for the ones we love?  Or is it about pride, and how our pride gets in the way of our happiness at times?  The song being written from the point of view of the blank sheet of paper, instead of the guy, gives us some perspectives that we would not have had otherwise.  It is really taking a step outside of the character's shoes, but is still leaving the perspective of the woman missing.  

     I just used Standards 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 to interpret the lyrics of the song.  I just wish there was someone else sitting here to have a discussion about it! 

     Who would have thought that Tim McGraw could help me close read?  Actually, it isn't a far stretch to make.  Close reading, according to Christopher Lehman in Falling in Love with Close Reading, is when: 
"a reader independently stops at moments in a text (or media or life) to reread and observe the choices an author has made.  He or she reflects on those observations to reach for new understanding that can color the way the rest of the book is read (or song heard or life lived) and thought about."

     Perhaps the secret to close reading is just that...  Giving our students the tools to stop and reflect and find new understandings on the texts (written, media, or life) that matter most to them.  We need to give them the tools they need to do that, but we have to allow them to apply them independently.  Close reading doesn't have to be something that we force our students to do.  It can be something that helps them stay on the path of being life long readers, because readers who create their own meaning continue to read.  (Even if they don't want to close read Tim McGraw lyrics.  That's ok.  I'll just continue to do that in the car when his songs come on the radio!)

     

The Goonies

Day 16 of #BTBC

Favorite TV shows or movies.

How does IMDb describe the Goonies (1985)?  

A group of kids set out on an adventure in search of

pirate treasure that could save their homes from 

foreclosure.  

    In one sentence, that is a quick little summary of the plot.  But, it is so much more than that.  That movie has always been one of my favorites of all time.  Perhaps it is because the family that was up against foreclosure was the Walsh family, and that was my maiden name.  I identified with them, on some weird coincidence level, you know, because we have the same name.  Perhaps.  

     The story is about a group of friends who call themselves the Goonies.  The main character is Mikey Walsh, but his friends Mouth, Data, and Chunk together call themselves the Goonies.  Mikey's family is about to get their house foreclosed so that developers can build a golf course.   The group stumbles upon a treasure map from "One Eyed Willy" and they go on their last adventure together through a tunnel found in a deserted seaside restaurant owned by criminals.  

     The story has many themes throughout it.  It's a thematic roller coaster in fact.  It starts with sadness and friendship, then adventure and curiosity, then danger and fear, then joy and greed, with tales of growing up and determination along the way, and ultimately family and the feeling of pride and acceptance of oneself.  The varying idea of treasure is another easy to spot theme, and the thematic statement could be many different things at various points in the movie.  

Treasure is sometimes right in front of you.

Friendship is the greatest treasure of all.

Treasure takes on different forms for different reasons.  

     If you look at it through a character lens, though, I think the movie really shines.  In the CCSS, the character standard really looks at the development of the character in the text as the ladder continues up the grades.  You start off with identifying characters and their traits, and how their actions affect the sequence of events.  In this movie's case, I think in many ways the characters not only build off each others' traits, but also utilize them to help move the plot along.  Their nicknames, their mannerisms, their words, and their actions all help add a deeper layer to the overall themes of friendship and perseverance in the course of the movie.  

"The next time you see sky, it'll be over another town. The next time you take a test, it'll be in some other school. Our parents, they want the bestest stuff for us. But right now they gotta do what's right for them, 'cause it's their time. Their time, up there. Down here it's our time. It's our time down here. That's all over the second we ride up Troy's bucket."

-Mikey

     It is seriously one of the best movies ever.  Check it out. 

The Theme of Friendship

Day 12 of #BTBC14

Share about your most important friendships.

     My friends are very important to me.  I have some friends that I have known since I was just a little girl, and some I met in 2014.  What makes my friendships special?

Like Hagrid and Harry...

My friends have always protected and cared for me, and I have tried to do the same for them.  

Like Frog and Toad...

 My friends and I have enjoyed sitting down and catching up with each other over a cup of tea.  

Well, we might prefer a cup of coffee and a nice meal, too.

Like Pooh and Piglet...

My friends have been there to give me a hug when I need it, and I give them hugs in return.

Like Wilbur and Charlotte...

My friends see the best in me, sometimes when I can't see it myself.  

The reverse is also true.

Like The Man in the Yellow Hat and Curious George...

My friends and I appreciate a good park.  There is nothing like a swing and a slide to make you smile.

Like Thing 1 and Thing 2...

My friends and I like to celebrate things (anything, really) together.  

Like Louis and Alphonse...

My friends and I sometimes don't get to see each other as often as we like.  When we are together, 

we appreciate the time spent with each other.

 Like Piggie and Gerald...

My friends are honest with me, even when it is something I don't want to hear.  They don't judge me when I tell them all my worries (and man, there are a lot).  My friends do silly things with me, and we celebrate even the smallest of things in big ways.  

Friendship!

     Friendship is a theme that should be studied in all the books we read, starting in kindergarten.  What a great message for our students to think about as they listen to books in class!  Book characters can be role models for many things in life, and friendship is among my favorites.  If you have been worried about starting a theme conversation in your class in the early grades, think about a theme like friendship to get you started.  Your kids will start to notice it in the books that you read, and even the ones they read by themselves.  And, perhaps they will be better friends on the playground too!

     Who are your favorite book character friends?  Share them in the comments!

Teaching Theme

Literature Anchor Standard 2:

Determine the central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; 

summarize the key supporting details and ideas.

     Standard 2 is a critical standard, in my opinion.  Not all common core standards are created equally. I feel that standards 1, 2 and 3 provide the foundation necessary for our students to be independent learners.  They learn the skills necessary for later standards in the first three (text support, main idea/theme, character).  Standards 4-6 focus on Craft and Structure, and Standards 7-9 on Integration of Knowledge and Ideas.  If students know standards 1-3 and use them to support standards 4-9, we really start to see deeper thinking.

     The literature half of standard 2 talks about central ideas and themes in a story.  I like to call them the Big Ideas, because then you start to cross the literature/ informational border.  Just like we did in character trait development, I think the first place to start theme is by helping our students create the vocabulary they need.  They won't have the terms for big ideas/ themes just waiting for us to ask.  They need to be modeled at first.  We need to help them build single word themes as a starting point.

     One way to introduce themes is through read aloud.  If you have read your book as usual, but start and end the lesson with a theme board visible, it starts to focus the kids on the new terms.  Start your theme board off with just one or two themes, and then each day, as you read, slowly build the list as the stories you read reveal them.  I often like to add themes in pairs, like love/hate, life/death, etc., because many books actually have both visible in the text.  The theme board below is one we used with our study of fables.  Fables are short, yet filled with big ideas and themes to explore.

     You can see that some of the themes are nouns, but some are almost lessons learned.  Theme is sometimes seen as single words, and sometimes seen as almost the lesson or moral learned.  I think a good starting place is to give the kids the vocabulary of the single word themes, because they can always be turned into a lesson/moral learned.  My 2nd graders were able, by the end of the year, to come up with the big ideas/ themes but still struggled with creating generalized lessons from them.  Your students will determine what they are ready for.  

     The anchor chart above hangs in 5DEAV.  Mrs. DeCaire and Mrs. Avila had the students create cards with the themes they found in their independent reading books to create the chart.  When they came back to the meeting place after the lesson, they discussed the themes as a class and grouped them near each other on the chart.  The categorization process can really help move the students along in their thinking and start to see patterns and relationships in their books.  

     There is a good video from the Teaching Channel that also shows a possible progression of theme instruction.  It is a middle school class, but it gives some good opportunities for students to discuss theme, write themes, and even act them out.  They used excerpts from their past read alouds, and then used fairy tales as well.  I think teaching the theme using real texts to model them is a great way for the learning to happen.  The scaffolding they do can be modified for younger grades just by changing the texts and the delivery of the material.  Their use of cooperative learning and discussion would be great for our students in D100.

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/teaching-themes

     I found one teacher's (Angela Bunyi's) way of teaching the theme as "THE MEssage", where she has the students turn that single key word into a message that you can apply to your own life.  Many of my students struggled with this part of theme, because they tried to make the lesson very specific to the book.   If they can learn to be less book specific and more generalizable, our students will really start to be able to see themes across books and compare them.

     One other great piece from Angela Bunyi's post was her chart about how to connect their work with character traits to the theme.  Like I said earlier, the common core standards work TOGETHER.  When our students notice character traits and use them to determine central themes, we are moving closer to independent close reading.

Here is her article from Scholastic:
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/top_teaching/2011/02/helping-students-grasp-themes-in-literature

     Here is a list of possible themes to consider when making your theme board.  I struggled a bit last year determining what was a true theme, and what wasn't.  Honestly, my board above has things that I don't think I would actually classify as a theme.  However, my children created the board with me, and it validated their thinking.  It is a work in progress.  Hopefully this document will help you on your theme journey.
List of Possible Themes in Literary Works.doc - comp colts