24 February 2012

Connections, Memories, and The Hickory Chair

Don't you just love those books that come along and touch your heart?  The Hickory Chair is one of those (okay, I have to admit, there really are many, many) that mean something special to me.  Making a connection to a story is important and is what we strive to teach our students.  If you have not read The Hickory Chair, you really should.  I was introduced to it while completing my master's program and now I teach it to my students and they can definitely connect!




In this sweet story, the boy loses his grandma (I know-sad, but ends sweet).  The family looks for notes the grandma left for each person.  My grandma left notes in a lot of her things too and we got to find them and read them after she had passed away, so the students get to see a real personal connection for me to this story.  Then then made their own connections.  Here are some of their sweet connections the students made.





Students also got to compare how Gran in the story was similar to their grandparent and how they were different.  Lots of talk about grandparents was happening!  They would love that!





We also did cause and effect with this story.  What books do you use in your classroom, not only because they are good literature, but also because they have a special connection for you?  I would love to hear about them!



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9 comments:

  1. The Daily AlphabetFebruary 24, 2012 at 4:56 PM

    One of my favorite books is The Secret Olivia Told Me by N. Joy. This book discusses in a child friendly way, how once a secret is told, it's not a secret anymore. I love how wide my kids eyes get while listening to the story. It also discusses at the end how some secrets should not be kept, especially when someone is hurt, etc. I like this book, because I think children need to hear this over and over, that sometimes its ok to keep a secret, but other times it is not, and it's ok to be a tattletale.

    Angela
    The Daily Alphabet

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  2. Lisa Lizak and Beth WrightFebruary 24, 2012 at 5:05 PM

    Thanks for sharing a new book! I haven't heard of this one yet so I super excited to check it out :)

    Lisa :)
    Made In The Shade In Second Grade

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  3. TammyFebruary 24, 2012 at 5:16 PM

    I love the one about putting perfume in her hair. Grandmas always have a particular smell. This looks like a great book, especially in the way that you've used it with your readers.

    ❀ Tammy
    Forever in First

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  4. UnknownFebruary 24, 2012 at 5:47 PM

    Sounds like a great book! Love the connection sheet:)

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  5. KatieFebruary 24, 2012 at 9:23 PM

    Thank you so much for the book recommendation. I haven't heard of this one. It sounds sweet and definitely something the students can make connections to!

    ~ Katie
    First Grade ABCs

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  6. ~Stephanie February 24, 2012 at 11:14 PM

    I love how you got the different types of connections out of the students. Thank you for the idea!

    ~Stephanie
    Teaching in Room 6

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  7. LoriFebruary 25, 2012 at 9:07 AM

    Angela, I have not heard of The Secret Olivia Told Me. That sounds like a wonderful book! Must check into that one. Thanks for sharing that one with me.

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  8. LoriFebruary 25, 2012 at 9:09 AM

    Thank you Lisa, Tammy SF, Katie, and Stephanie for leaving such nice comments! Sure do appreciate that! :)

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  9. LoriFebruary 25, 2012 at 9:12 AM

    Tammy, the one about the perfume in the hair was quite a conversation! The boy who wrote that said his grandma put on lots of perfume and he didn't like it. Said it burned his eyes and he didn't like the way it smelled! We discussed whether he should write all of that or not since he lives with this grandma and he (thankfully) decided it would not be nice to write that as it might hurt her feelings when she read it later. :)

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