This is a Patricia Polacco author study for grades 2-4. You will love teaching with picture books and studying the memoir genre.
Many teachers use novel studies in their classrooms. They provide a week or two of continuity, allow us to go in-depth with our students and exposes children to literary works they might otherwise not ever encounter. You can do the same with a collection of picture books by the same author.
If you have never read a Patricia Polacco book, listen to Melissa Gilbert read My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother. It makes me think of the times I used to purposefully get my older brother into trouble…
The Patricia Polocco Book Unit is a perfect unit of study for end of year 2nd graders up through fourth grade.
Don’t be fooled into thinking her picture books are for the younger crowd only.
The themes in her writing are historical, wrenching and personal (remember her book Pink and Say?). They are also humorous and full of childhood memories all kids can relate to.
Teaching with Picture Books
I am a firm believer in the power of reading aloud to students.
This unit is designed to have every story read out loud, whether you are teaching primary or intermediate grades.
Nothing can replace a teacher demonstrating fluency, prosody and the love of reading. Read the books three ways to get the most of them:
- Read the pictures (pre-read and do a think aloud)
- Read the text (demonstrating prosody and self-talk)
- Retell the story (summarizing, discussion, relooking at key points)
The author study is a guide – you are the master.
Real world connections, visualizing the stories, being able to summarize the problem and solution…and making it personal to our lives. That’s reading.
- Interactive Read Alouds
- Reading With a Buddy
- Re-reading for fluency and understanding
- Text-to-Text Connections
- Text-to-Self Connections
- Text-to-World Connections
- Learning how to identify a genre and author’s style
…and so much more! This is how you should be teaching with Patricia Polacco books.
What All Teachers Want:
- Improve writing skills
- Establish a community of readers
- Make the school day fun!