Parts

Title:  Parts

By Tedd Arnold

To purchase this book from Amazon, click here!

 

Subjects: Language Arts, Media Art/Technology (photography), art, science

Objectives: Rhyming, poetry, sequencing, comprehension, creativity, fluency, human body

Grade(s): Any Grade

Possible Materials Needed: Camera, writing utensils, computers, chalk, or other materials. 

Brief Description: Parts is a poem in a book.  Therefore, you can use this book for teaching poetry and/or rhyming.  It is also a great book to get older students/children out of their comfort zone, and present the book as if they were the little boy “loosing” his parts (see Drama Integration Activity).  

Lesson:

1.   HOOK: (Get the students interested). Begin by reading the book in a dramatic way to the students (even older students).  Read it as if you were the main character.  Most likely students will think you are funny!

Choose one or more from the following activities:

2.   Media Art/Technology Activity: This activity can be done as a whole class, in groups, or as individual projects for older kids.  It can be incorporated when teaching sequencing, creativity, comprehension, or many other things depending on how you use it.  The activity: for each page of the book, take a creative picture of what the page is saying.  For example: On the second page the main character’s hair falls out in his comb.  You or your students depending on how you set the activity up-take a picture of someone holding a comb with hair in it.  After all the pictures are taken, you can have the kids put them in order for a sequencing activity.  If you did groups, you could have the students present their group media arts project about the book with the pictures.  There is a lot you could do with the pictures. 

I actually did this activity with my class when I was teaching 3^rd grade.  We did it to feature this book because it is one of my favorite books, and it is the book my students voted for to feature.  We did this as a class, and students took turns being in the pictures.  (I took the pictures).  When we were all done, we put the pictures on our classroom door, with a sign that said- “Can you guess the book?”  The students loved it, and it made them more excited to read other books.  Here are some of the examples of pictures I took.  (The kids were creative, and they chose what to do for the picture). 

 

3.   Drama Integration Activity: If you chose to use the “hook” for this book, this activity is exactly that, but it is what students will do and present.  You can use this book as an introduction/example, and have the students choose their own books, or you can have students read this book to the class, you, or in a group.  The Activity: have students read the book in a dramatic way- as if they were the little boy missing his hair, brain, etc.  This is a good way to help with fluency.   

4.   Art/Writing Integration: After using this book to teach poetry, have the children write and illustrate their own poem.  You can have younger children use writing utensils, or have older children create their graphics using technology: photography, a program like Paint, or other graphics. 

5.   Science Integration Activity: This is a perfect book to use when teaching about our bodies to little kids.  The book has reference to skin, bones, boogers, body parts (eyes and arm), teeth, and ear wax.  You could focus on any one of these things or all of them when introducing a unit on the body.  Some Art integration activities when using this book to teach the body is: self-portraits, skeleton bodies, or go outside with chalk and trace students’ bodies.  Let them draw their own face and clothes. 

At Home Ideas: Any of the above ideas can easily be done at home with a little adaptation.  Some may even be easier to do at home than in a classroom.