KateBrightwell

ChildrensLiteratureAssignment
Educ128/228
4thgrade
1.NameofChildrensBook:
Johnson,StephenandSiebert,Diane.(2006).TourAmerica:AJourneyThroughPoemsand
Art.SanFrancisco,California.ChronicleBooksLLC.
2.SummaryofChildrensBook
ThisbookguidesstudentsthroughtheU.S.usingvividimageryandpoetry.Ittakesimportant
landmarksfrom26ofthe50statesanddescribesthemtothereader.Thereadergetsasenseof
howimportanttheselandmarksaretothestatetheyarefrom.Eachlandmarkisdescribedina
poem.Thepoemsusevividlanguageandstructuretogivethereaderasenseofwhatisso
importantaboutthatlandmark.Italsogivesthereaderasenseofwhatthestateislikeasa
whole.Inadditiontothepoems,thereisalsoatextfeatureoneachpagethatgivesthereader
additionalinformationaboutthestateorlandmark.Thetextfeaturesuppliesthereaderwith
informationtheymayneedtounderstandthepoemaswellextrainformationthatthereadermay
finduseful.
Theillustrationsinthisbookarealmostasimportantasthetext.Theillustrationsaredonewith
differentmediumstohighlightthedifferencesbetweenthestates.Mostoftheillustrationsare
somewhatambiguous,whichallowsthereadertoassimilateadditionalvisualstotheirschemaof
thestateorlandmark.Overall,thisbooksprovidesajourneythroughtheU.S.usinganunusual
medium.
3.Questions
Prereading
Hasanyonetraveledtoanotherstate?Ifso,wheredidyougoandwhatdidyousee?
WhataresomeimportantplaceswehavehereinIowa?Whyaretheyimportant?
Whatisalandmark?Whyarelandmarksimportanttopeople?
Doapicturewalkwiththestudents.Askthemwhichonetheythinkwillbetheirfavorite.
Duringreading
ReadAmericanTown.Stop.Askstudentsiftheyrecognizeanyofthetownnames.Askif
theycanlistanymore.Bringoutamapandhavethempointtoplacestheyhavebeenor
placesfromthispoem.
ReadLucytheElephant,Gargoyles,StatuesupNorth,Badlands,AuroraBorealis,
Vortex,TheEverglades,andTheWashingtonMonument.Canpick48studentstoread
instead.Askstudentswhattheynoticedaboutthepoems.
SpecificallystopatVortexandaskwhyisthepicturelikethat?
Aftereachpoem,askhowthepicturereflectsthepoem.

Postreading
Whydoyouthinktheauthorchosetheselandmarks?
Whatdoyounowknowaboutthesestates?
Didyourfavoritepoemmatchupwithyourfavoriteillustration?
4.Activities:DayOne/Activity#1:
ContentDiscipline:Geographyandcreativewriting
NCSSstrand(s):
III:Thestudyofpeople,places,andhumanenvironmentalinteractionsassistsstudentsas
theycreatetheirspatialviewsandgeographicviewsoftheworldbeyondtheirpersonal
locations.Studentsneedtheknowledge,skills,andunderstandingstoanswerquestions
suchas:Wherearethingslocated?Whyaretheylocatedwheretheyare?Whatdowe
meanbyregion?Howdolandformschange?Whatimplicationstothesechangeshave
forpeople?
Inthisunit,studentswilluselandmarkstohelpdefineanarea,thusmakingconnections
outsideoftheirpersonalareaandrealizinghowapeoplecanconnecttothingsaround
them.
Objectives:
Forthgradestudentswillbeabletodescribehowthepicturesinthebookreflectthewritingstyle
oftheauthor.Theywillalsobeabletosayhowthepoemsandartdescribethelandmark.
Forthgradestudentswillbeabletoanalyzewhyalandmarkisimportanttopeoplefromacertain
state.
Forthgradestudentswillbeabletodefinewhatalandmarkis.
Studentswillbeabletothoughtfullyutilizeresourcestoresearchtheirspecificlandmark.
Introduction:Class,todaywearegoingtotakearoadtripthroughtheUnitedStates.Whatdo
youthinkwewouldseeonaroadtripthroughtheU.S.?Haveanyofyoutakenaroadtripor
traveledanywhere?Pulloutmapandhavestudentspointtowheretheyhavebeen.
Arethereanyspecificstatesyouwouldliketovisitonourroadtriptoday?
Whatdoyouthinkyouwouldseeinthosespecificstates?
Whatisalandmark?Entertainideasandaskstudentstoexpand.
DowehaveanylandmarkshereinIowa?Howdoyoufeelaboutthoselandmarks?
BridgesofMadisonCounty,StateFair,Capitol,ect.
Wearenowgoingtogoonourroadtrip.Iamgoingtoletyoualldriveandhereisyourvehicle.
Bringoutbookandaskforvolunteerstoreadfirstpoemhavestudentstryandfindsomeofthe
citiesonthemap.
Continuetoreadthroughtherestofthechosenpoems.Stopbrieflyaftereachonetoclassify
vocabanddiscussthepictures.

Nowthatwehavetakenourtour,whatdidyoulearnthatyoudidntknowbefore?
Howdidtheauthordescribethelandmarksinthepoems?
Whatdidyounoticeabouttherelationbetweenthepoemsandtheartwork.
Itisnowgoingtobeyourjobtochoosealandmarkfromanotherstateandbringittolifelike
theauthordidwiththeselandmarks.Studentswillworkindependently,butiftheychoosethe
samestatetheycancollaborate.Donotgivethemthispieceifinformationuntiltheyhave
chosentheirstate.Studentswillhavetodaytoresearchastateandlandmarktodescribe.
Youwillhavefifteenminutestodaytodecideonastateandlandmarktodescribe.Youwillhave
todefendwhyyouchosethatlandmarkandwhyitisalandmarkforthatstate.Differentiation
willbeinsupportwithresearch.Teacherwillpromptstudentswithadditionalquestioningand
informationtoguideresearch.
Activity:Studentswillresearchdifferentstatesandcomeuptotheboardtosignupfora
landmark.Theywillthenwritedownwhytheywanttoresearchthislandmarkandwhatthey
wanttofindoutaboutit.Theywillthenfindtheirlandmarkonthemapandputapininit.This
istofamiliarizethemselveswithmaps.
Closure:Thankyouforyourhardworklisteningandresearchingtoday.Ilookforwardto
hearingmoreaboutyourlandmark.Yourjobsfornextclassistoresearchmoreaboutyour
landmarkandbringinfivepicturesofyourlandmark.Theycanbeprinted,onemail,ordisk
drive.
Assessment:
Assessmentwillbeinformalandjustachecktoseewhattheyarethinkingabouttheirlandmark
andstates.Itwillbeinthewrittenquestionsfortheirlandmarkhandedinaftertheyresearchand
choseaspecificone.
Adaptationsforgiftedandstrugglinglearners:
Studentsthataregiftedwillbegiventheoptiontocreatearoadtriprouteinwhichtheywilstop
atleastthreeplaces.Foreachoftheseplaces,theywillwriteapoemusingvividimageryand
illustrateit.Theywillthenmarktheirdestinationsonamapandplacetheirillustrationinthat
state.
Forstrugglinglearners,theywilldescribetheirlandmarkusingasmanyadjectivesaspossible.
Butnotberequiredtodoapoem.

DayTwo/Activity#2:
ContentDiscipline:GeographyandCreativeWriting.
NCSSstrand(s):
III:Thestudyofpeople,places,andhumanenvironmentalinteractionsassistsstudentsas
theycreatetheirspatialviewsandgeographicviewsoftheworldbeyondtheirpersonal
locations.Studentsneedtheknowledge,skills,andunderstandingstoanswerquestions

suchas:Wherearethingslocated?Whyaretheylocatedwheretheyare?Whatdowe
meanbyregion?Howdolandformschange?Whatimplicationstothesechangeshave
forpeople?
Inthisunit,studentswilluselandmarkstohelpdefineanarea,thusmakingconnections
outsideoftheirpersonalareaandrealizinghowapeoplecanconnecttothingsaround
them.

Objective:Studentswillbeabletousedescriptivelanguagetobrainstormwordstodescribe
thelandmarktheychose,basedontheimagestheybroughtintoclass.
Studentswillalsobeabletocomposeapoemabouttheirlandmarkusingthelanguageandother
literarydevices.
Studentswillbeabletoediteachothersworkwiththoughtfulandmeaningfulcritiques.
Introduction:Helloclass!Couldeveryonepleasegetoutthepicturesyouweretobringto
classtodayofyourlandmark.Nowdiscusswithyourgroupswhyyouchosethatlandmarkand
whatyouseeinthepictureyoubrought.Alsodiscusswithyourgroupanythingelseyoufound
outaboutyourlandmarkandwhyyouthinkitisimportant.
Studentswhodidnotbringtheirpicturemayresearchoneonalaptopbutwillnotgetcreditfor
todayspreparation.
Nowthatyouhavediscussedyourpicturesalittlebit,wearegoingtoreadtwomorepoems
fromthebook.
HavetwostudentsreadTheGoldenGateBridgeandTheGatewayArch.
WhatdidyounoticeaboutthewaytheauthordescribedtheArch?
Activity:
Sonow,Iwantyoualltowriteapoemdescribingyourlandmark.Thinkofasmanydescriptive
wordsyoucanuseandwritethemdownfirst.Youdonothavetowriteaboutjustwhatyousee,
thinkaboutwhatyoumightfeelifyouwerestandingnexttoyourlandmark.Iwantyoutomake
yourreadersfeelasthoughtheywerethere.Ifyouneed,youcancomeuptothefrontandread
somemoreselectionsfromthebook.Youcanalsoreadtheadditionalinformationprovided
aboutthelandmarks.Iwillwantyoutohaveablurbwithanyadditionalinformationyouthinkis
important.
Handoutlaptopssothatstudentsmayresearchadditionalinformationabouttheirlandmark.
Givethemabout5to10minutesforprewritingandresearchandthendirectthemtotheactual
writingportion.
Havestudentswriteforabout2025minutes.Goaroundtheroomandpromptwithquestioning
suchashowdoyouwantyourreadertofeelwhatisimportantaboutthislandmarkwhyis
thislandmarkimportanttoothersect.
Nowwearegoingtotradepaperswithapartner.Haveyourpartnerreadthroughyourwork
andthisdiscusswhattheysawwhenreadingit.Partnerspleasegiveconstructivefeedbackas
wehavelearnedearlier.Makesureyouareconveyingcontentaboutyourlandmarkandwhyit
isimportant.

Closure:Onceyouarefinishededitingeachotherspaper,itwillbeyoujobtonighttofinishthe
poem.Alsocomewithasmuchinformationasyoucanaboutyourlandmark.Wewillbe
discussingtheminclasstomorrow.
Assessment:
Noformalassessmentfortoday,howevertheteacherwillconstantlybegoingaroundtocheck
forcomprehensionandunderstandofwhatalandmarkisandwhyitisimportant.Studentswill
keeptheireditedpiecetohandinwiththeirfinalpiece.

Adaptationsforgiftedandstrugglinglearners:
Giftedstudentswillworkontheiradditionallandmarksandroadmaps.Theywillalsoshare
ideaswiththegroupandworkwithstudentswhomaybehavingtrouble.
Strugglinglearnerswillhaveassistedresearchtimeandbeabletopickoutofthewordjarto
comeupwithsomegoodadjectivesfortheirpoem.Theywillbeinstructedto
Map(teacherexamplecompleted)frominitialreadofbook:

DayThree/Activity#3:
ContentDiscipline:GeographyandExpressiveArts(writing/presenting)

NCSSstrand(s):
III:Thestudyofpeople,places,andhumanenvironmentalinteractionsassistsstudentsas
theycreatetheirspatialviewsandgeographicviewsoftheworldbeyondtheirpersonal
locations.Studentswilldescriptivelyandcreativelywriteapoemaboutaspecific
landmark.
Objective:Studentswillbeabletoresearch,record,andpresentinformationonachosen
landmarkwith95%accuracy.Theywillpresenttheinformationinavisuallyappealingwaythat
showsinsightintotheirunderstandingofwhythatlandmarkisimportant.
Introduction:Thepastseveraldays,wehavetalkedaboutwhylandmarksareimportantto
peopleandwhattheysayabouttheplacetheyarein.Youhaveallcomposedpoemsabouta
specificlandmark.Iknowwantyoutoaddavisualaspecttoyourpoem.Itdoesnothavetobea
drawingorevenreallylooklikeyourlandmark,butitshouldreflectsomethingaboutyour
landmarki.e.Vortex.Youcanlookbackatthebooktoseehowtheillustrationsandthetext
worktogethertoaddtoourunderstandingofthelandmarksandplacestheyarefrom.Wewill
putallyourpoemstogetherinourownlandmarkbooktoseewhereourroadtriptookus.
Activity:Studentswillgetouttheirpoemsthattheyhavebeenworkingonanddiscussthemin
smallgroups.Theinstructorwillgoaroundandaskwhystudentschosetodescribetheir
landmarkinanyspecificway.Theinstructorwillalsopromptstudentstodiscusswhatthey
foundinterestingintheirresearch.Studentswillthenbeaskedtocreatetheirvisuals.Theycan
useanymaterialsintheclassroomwithhopefullylittlepromptingfromtheteacher.Theycan
referencetheTourAmericabooktogetideas.Theycanworkonthisfor2025minutes.After
that,theywilleitherwriteorprinttheirpoemalongsidetheirvisual.
Closure:Studentswillpresenttheirlandmarkstowholeclassandhandthemin.Teacherwill
makecopiesforstudentstotakehome.Studentswillalsomapoutthetracktheywouldgoonif
theyweretoactuallygoonthisroadtrip.Thatmapwouldbeplacedinthefrontoftheboard
withthestudentsvisualsnexttothedestination.
Assessment:
Thisactivitywillbeassessedusingarubricthatwilljudgestudentsfinalpresentation.Students
willhaveinformalcheckinsthroughouttheprocesstomakesuretheyareontopicand
exploring.Theywillalsohaveanexitslipthatasksstudentswhatlandmarksareandwhy
landmarksareimportant.
Adaptationsforgiftedandstrugglinglearners:
Giftedlearnerswillbeabletoaddtheadditionallandmarkstheyresearchedtothemap.They
wouldalsohavetoclassifytheregiontheyarein.
Strugglinglearnerscouldhaveadditionalpromptingtodirectthemintheirinquiry.

REFERNCES

LessonplantemplatefromDr.BeissersEDUC:128classatDrakeUniversity
ConsultedIowaCoreStandards:https://iowacore.gov/iowacore/subject/social
studies/4/history
Johnson,StephenandSiebert,Diane.(2006).TourAmerica:AJourneyThroughPoems
andArt.SanFrancisco,California.ChronicleBooksLLC.
Researchedlandmarkshttp://www.travelandleisure.com/slideshows/americasmost
beautifullandmarks/4

TheWave
IntheremotedesertofUtahthereisaplace
Frozenintimeandspace
Itisadazzlingrockformation
Ahikersperfectvacation

Allaroundisacrestingwavefrozenintime
Soquiet,onecouldhearthe
drop
of
adime.
Thethreemiletrekoversandyterrain
Willnotbeinvain
Whenoneseesthebeautyfortheirown
OfthismillionyearoldfieryswirlofJurassicagesandstone.

TaskComponent

Excellent

Satisfactory

Research

Studentsthoughtfully
utilizedresearch.
Studentsbroughtin3
4picturesoftheir
landmarkandbrought
detailedinformation
abouttheirlandmark
in.
Studentsuseda
varietyofdetailsto
writeacreativepoem.
Theyreflectthe
feelingoftheir
landmarkintheir
poem.
Studentsthoughtfully
representedtheir
landmarktoconveya
messageaboutwhat
theyfoundoutabout
theirlandmark.
Studentswerecreative
withtheirvisual.
Studentsexplained
whytheychosethis
landmark,whatmakes
italandmark,and

Studentsresearched
theirlandmarkand
broughtinpictures.
Theresearchmaynot
betargetedorlack
details.

LessThan
Satisfactory
Studentsdidnot
researchtheir
landmarkorbringin
pictures.Theyhave
nodetailsabouttheir
landmark.

Studentsuseddetails
towritetheirpoem.
Theymaynot
demonstrate
creativity.

Studentsdidnotuse
detailsinwritingtheir
poemsanddidnot
seemtohaveitina
creative

Studentsrepresented
theirlandmarkbutdid
notdosoinacreative
way.

Studentsdidnot
representtheir
landmarkinavisual
way.

Studentsmayhave
explainedoneortwo
thingsaboutwhythey
chosethelandmarkor

Studentsdidnot
explainabouttheir
landmark.

Poem

Visuals

Presentation

whylandmarksare
importanttoothers.
Theyexplainedtheir
reasoningand
creativity.

whatmakesita
landmark.