Book Information: Burton, V. (1942).The Little House.New York, New York: Houghton Mifflin
Genre: Children's picture book
Grade Level: 3-8 I would recommend this book for older elementary and middle school students. The book can just be about the Little House being sad over the years or older students can see the deeper meaning of the passage of time and the implications of suburbanization.
Part Two
Predictions: When looking thorough the titles of the Caldecott books, this one caught my eye. Then I went to pick up the book and the front cover won me over. I tend to base the books I read off of the front cover illustration, so this was no different. At first, I flipped through the pages and could tell that this book had beautiful illustrations and conveyed the movement of time. In just the few seconds I took to look over the book without really reading, I could see emotion and time displayed together.
Thoughts About Craft: The book contained amazing illustrations by Virginia Lee Burton. The words were always on the left side of the book, while the pictures were on the right side, until the Little House began changing. Then the pictures spread onto both pages. I think this was deliberate in conveying the movement of time and changes that time brings. The Little House was always the main focal point in the illustrations. I could see the emotion in the house as if it was a person. From being happy in the Spring to being lonely and abandoned in the city to being fixed-up and moved back to the country. The illustrations were very deliberate in color and expressed the passage of time.
Part Three
Critique: Overall, I fell in love with this book! The setting of the story, the point of view, and the plot were well thought out and written. The Little House was the main character of the book; her emotions were described, her likes and dislikes, what she saw and how she looked. This gave the house a human like quality that I (and students) could relate to. The setting involves the big idea of urbanization. This is a theme that younger children are not introduced to, but older students could recognize the actual time periods in history and issues of those time periods. This makes the book very versatile in the grade levels it can appeal too. I can defiantly see why this book won the Caldecott award and it may be one of my new favorite children's books.
Part Four
Lesson Sketch
Grade: 3rd
Lesson Objectives:
The students will be able to:
- identify and describe the four seasons(winter, spring, summer and fall)
- create four diagrams of the different seasons
- answer questions about the four seasons
Lesson Outline:
1. Listen to and discuss The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
2. View other books or the internet to gather more information about the seasons
3. List and describe the four seasons as a class
4. Fold two pieces of paper into 4 sections, labeling the seasons and a square for the description
5. Use magazines, the internet, newspapers or draw/color to depict the four seasons
6. Describe the four seasons next to the pictures/drawings for each
7. Take a 10 question quiz about the four seasons
-I can use this worksheet to help students with descriptive words about the seasons http://www.kids-pages.com/folders/worksheets/Nature/page4.htm
- Here is a fun song about the seasons for students to listen to http://www.kidsknowit.com/educational-songs/play-educational-song.php?song=Why%20Do%20We%20Have%20Seasons
- This webpage is interactive and will give students the opportunity to practice what objects/things go in each season http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/scienceforkids/seasons/seasons.htm
- If you would like to do a lesson for older students on the implications of urbanization, there is a short Walt Disney film based on the book that would be great to show http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y881yjtFluQ
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