So
far, all the books I’ve discussed have had a large, simple main text with
general information and smaller, longer text features that provide additional
details. There is a second, though probably less common, way of employing
layered text.
In
books like Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline
Briggs Martin (illus. by Mary Azarian; Houghton Mifflin) and The Bumblebee Queen by April Pulley
Sayre (illus by Patricia Wynne;
Charlesbridge), the main text offers a compelling narrative. Blocks of text set
in a smaller typeface and/or tucked in out-of-the-way places provide details
that are interesting but might interrupt the story’s flow if they were
integrated into the main text.
While
the reading level of the two kinds of text is generally similar in these
titles, the tone is distinctive. Buddies may enjoy alternating between reading
the main storyline and the fact blocks, and may even want to use different
voices as they read the two styles of text. This will help them see that the two
kinds of text serve different functions in the storytelling process.
Snowflake Bentley, winner of the
Caldecott Medal, is a wonderful biography of Wilson Bentley, a Vermont farm boy
whose fascination with snowflakes led to a lifelong pursuit to photograph and
study their crystal structures. The lovely woodcut illustrations, simple,
graceful main text, and scattering of fact-filled sidebars work together
beautifully to create a truly special book.
If
you live in a place where it snows, have the buddies read and discuss the book
on a snowy day. Then take the students out while snow is still falling. Have
each team of buddies work together to catch snowflakes on black construction
paper and look at them with a magnifying glass. Ask the students to make detailed
drawings and/or descriptions the snowflakes in a notebook. When the class goes
back inside, have buddy teams share their drawings and/or descriptions with one
another. Ask the students how the snowflakes are similar? How are they
different? Make a list on chart paper.
Gentle,
informative, and appealing, The Bumblebee
Queen features
lyrical main text that describes the somewhat surprising life cycle “story” of
a bumblebee queen, from her awakening from winter hibernation to her death in
late autumn. More straightforward text cleverly set off by a bee’s dashed
flight path offer related facts in greater detail. Precise ink drawings with
watercolor washes illustrate the text with clarity, simplicity, and skill.
After
reading and discussing the book, encourage the buddies to carefully look for signs of bees and wasps on the school
playground, at home, or at a local park. This activity can be done at any time
of year if you show students photos or samples of bee and wasp nests. Can the
children identify some of the bee and wasp species that live in your area?
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