Jazz Up a Classic | April 2022

A recent listserv member asked this question: “What core novels are your 5th graders reading at your school?” One of the answers was: “My 5th-grade team is using these oldies but goodies (in our district in CA there is no budget to replace classroom/grade level sets with new titles, sadly).”

Having seen the same thing (and taught it myself), I started thinking about solutions. While it is sad (and often true) that budget can drive our teaching choices, I wondered, “What can we do about that?” From there I jumped to how I teach teachers about TeachingBooks. I often ask, “What’s a title you always teach?” Usually, it’s a classic that’s been taught forever. I ask them to consider new resources for the same title—jazzing up the classics.

Let’s look at Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt. There are 19 resources including a Meet-the-Author Recording. There’s only one place you can get that recording. I listened to the recording and decided I might use that after we read the book. And there are 11 lesson plans—lots of new options.

Then I thought, what if we pair this book with a contemporary title? What if we use these classics, then encourage students to read related contemporary titles?

For example, on the Tuck Everlasting book page, if I choose Discover Like Books at the top, I see a subject heading of Aging—Fiction. From there I see Jenni Holm’s book, The Fourteenth Goldfish—a story about how Grandpa Melvin has found the secret of youth.

I’ve written an example of what that unit of study might look like with new resources. (See the end of post.) You’ll see the end of the unit asks students to use Discover Like Books to identify new titles for their own reading. Check out this video of how to use Discover Like Books.

You can do the same thing with Shakespeare. While you won’t find a Meet-the-Author Recording (haha), you will find contemporary videos (60second Recap) for teaching many of the classic plays. Look for them under Book Guides. You’ll also see (in this case) a Complete Reading with text and audio from Lit2Go. These are a great way to extend your budget. If bandwidth is an issue, these can be downloaded and listened to offline. Or have students listen in class—lesson book wear and tear by leaving the text at home.

For our elementary students, pair classics like The Very Busy Caterpillar with a reading by the author. Then share a reading of The Very Impatient Caterpillar by Ross Burach. Scholastic has a complete reading by the author. (The text also works great as a reader’s theater script.)

Try to include nonfiction in your classic to contemporary pairings. These could even be picture books.

Speaking of picture books…Next month, my post addresses another related request: “Please write a book or at least an article that pairs a picture book with a novel or longer work. We don’t have much time to read aloud to upper grades, but if we can spark their interest with a shorter work…” Stay tuned! Picture book to Novel pairings is on deck for May.

Here are ideas for spicing up a classic with new resources

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt, A Book Study
Choose from a variety of lesson plans to engage your readers in a study of the title.

• Introduce the book using the Jigsaw Puzzle. You can set it up in advance, hide the cover, and allow students to move the pieces on your overhead board. Students can have conversations about the content and setting of the story by looking at the cover illustration.
• Read Chapter One (use the Google Preview if you like). Project it on your screen so that they have an overhead visual.
• Play the audiobook excerpt. What does the excerpt describe? Plot? Setting? Character? Problem? How do you know?
• Compare the excerpt with the book. (It skips the prologue. How is the prologue important?)
• After reading the book, play the Meet-the-Author Recording to learn why Babbitt wrote the book.
• Use the Word Search, adding your own word choices, to reinforce vocabulary. Extend your vocabulary work using Vocabulary.com.
• To extend student connections to the topic, use the Discover Like Books to find resources for books with similar themes, genres, reading levels, or units of study. Students should use the Year Published Filter to narrow options to the last three years.

For assessment, select one of the multi-leveled lessons (story map or cultural representation). You can also differentiate instruction, assigning different levels for different classes or students.

 


About the contributor: Deborah Salyer is a long-time lover of children’s and YA lit. Her seminars and workshops have created piles of books to be read on nightstands from the east to west coasts. She’s also the CA Implementation Specialist for TeachingBooks and a senior presenter at BER.org, What’s New in Children’s Books, K-6. She’s been a member of CSLA since 2001.