Visualizing

     


Picture It!
This book is about a caterpillar and a goose.

Watch the video below, and listen to their story.

                                            

Farfallina and Marcel by Holly Keller is a story of a goose and caterpillar who became friends.  They met on a rainy day,and  Farfallina,the caterpillar, was nibbling on a leaf.   Marcel noticed the nibbling caterpiller, and told Farfallina that she was eating his umbrella.  They began to have a conversation, and became friends. They decided to play hide and seek.  Farfallina could hide really well on the limb of a plant.  Marcel had a hard time finding Farfallina, but Farfallina could find Marcel quickly.  

Then, one day Farfallina climbed up a tree, and went to sleep. Marcel came by the tree everyday to find Farfallina.  He did not find her.  Marcel did not give up his search, and he looked for her each day. 

Then one day Marcel began to notice that his reflection began to change in the pond, and Farfallina began to awake.  She emerged from the cocoon, and wondered how long she had been in the tree.  She immediately began flying around looking for Marcel.  When Farfallina reached the pond, she saw a goose swimming.  She told the goose that she was looking for her friend.  Marcel agreed to help her, and offered her a ride on his back.  During the ride,  Farfallina began to tell the goose that she was looking for her friend Marcel.  Marcel was so excited to realize that Farfallina was the beautiful butterfly on his back.  He flapped his wings happily, and shouted that he was Marcel.  Both of the friends were happy to be reunited.  

Farfallina and  Marcel remained the best of friends.  They even flew south together when the leaves began to turn orange.  

This is a wonderful tale about metamorphosis and friendship, 

despite the life changes one faces.  A caterpillar and a gosling 

become friends, and play together every day. Then the caterpillar 

changes into a butterfly, and the gosling grew into a goose.  This 

book teaches young ones that animals go through changes. It also 

implies that people can change and grow over time, but still remain

friends.

This book is a wonderful text to use while teaching visualizing. Students can either listen to a read aloud, or participate in a shared reading of the text.  After reading, students should be asked questions about the sequence of the story.  Next, students should draw the sequence of the story on the story wheel.  Finally when the illustrations are finished, students can retell the story to their partner while using the story wheel.  

"Farfallina and Marcel would be a great read-aloud for younger

 children to accompany any science unit on life cycles. A great 

activity to go along with the book would be the life cycle of the 

butterfly foldable below.  In addition, I can do a mini-lesson on 

friendship, and what it means to be a true friend!" Cassandra Lewis

"I really like Farfallina and Marcel.  Visualizing and drawing the sequence of events on a story wheel helps students to confidently comprehend the text.  Teachers could also integrate this English Language Arts lesson plan with a Life Science lesson on the life cycle of a butterfly.  If students can draw the sequence of events of a story, they can also write about the story."  Heather Coleman  

 

                                                                                 

                                                                                                       

Source: http://reading.ecb.org/downloads/vis_lp_StoryWheel.pdf
http://reading.ecb.org/teacher/visualizing/visual_lessonplans.html

Making Inferences

How can inferring help us?
Remember, making inferences is "reading between the lines". Listen to the story below, and see if you can answer the inferential questions!

Train to Somewhere By: Eve Bunting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osG-22GvMhA

Inferential Questions:

What is Saint Christopher's?

Why did the children change into older clothes from their new clothes after boarding the train?

Why did Nora and Marianne want people to believe that they are sisters?

Why did some of the couples feel the muscles through their coat?

Why did the couple bring a puppy for Nora?

Why did Marianne keep the white feather?

Why did Marianne give Mrs. Book the white feather?

What do you think happened to Marianne's mother?

Train to Somewhere is a historical fiction story about Marianne and thirteen other children who boarded the "orphan train" in New York City.  The train traveled west, and made several stops along the way.  At each stop, couples waited to adopt a child. The orphans were chosen one-by-one until Marianne is the only remaining orphan.  Marianne felt alone and unwanted, both by her real mother and other families. She felt as if she is not pretty enough to be adopted. Finally, the train pulled into its final stop, a town called “Somewhere”.  Marianne realized her mother won’t be coming to get her, but an elderly couple takes her in as their own even though they were looking for a boy. She saw how Mr. and Mrs. Book cared for her.  Hopeful, Marianne began her new life with her new family.  

Train to Somewhere is appropriate older elementary students.  This text can be used to teach "making inferences" while students are studying the Great Plains and Westward Expansion in Social Studies.  An activity that will help student's answer the inferential questions above, would be completing the inferential chart.  The chart is divided into three columns that are labeled, "What the author tells me", "What I know", and "My Inference".  During the read-aloud, the teacher should pause while students write "What the author tells me" in their chart.  After reading Train to Somewhere, students complete the chart in their groups.  After the groups have finished, each group will present their inferences. 

An enrichment for this text would be to research the actual children that journeyed on the orphan train. Students can find the children's names and their stories by clicking on the link below.
http://orphantraindepot.org/orphan-train-rider-stories/


"I thoroughly enjoyed reading Train to Somewhere, and learning of the history of the orphan train.  Although the characters in this book are fictionalized, the text is based on actual events during 1888-1930.  Train to Somewhere resonances emotion for readers as they try to identify with the character's feelings.  This emotion provides a wonderful opportunity for readers to make inferences about the story.  I plan to definitely read this text to my future class." 
Heather Coleman 

" I truly enjoyed this story of a young orphan girl name Marianne. 

 I will use this book to teach making inferences by modeling for the

 students how they can use context clues.  Students will be able to see how they can the information from the text, and combine it with what they know already to make inferences. I will point out which facts came from the text, and which came from their background knowledge. In addition, I will use a graphic organizer or T-chart that will have three columns and labeled 'What the Author Tells Me', 'What I Know', and 'My Inference'. As we read I will stop at certain places in the book and have them say their inferences as I recorded their answers on the chart."**Cassandra

Source: http://www.tips-for-teachers.com/Inferencing_mini_lessons.htm