More Than Anything Else
By: Marie Bradby
Illustrated by: Chris K. Soentpiet
Young Booker desperately wants to
learn to read. Will anyone ever understand
his dream or realize what he can
become?
Reading strategies utilized come from Strategies That Work by Stephanie Harvey.
Before Reading:
Activating prior knowledge and making connections: Discuss the title of the book: More Than Anything Else, and ask the students if they can imagine why it might be called that. Then ask them to finish this statement:
“What I want more than anything else is…….” After discussion, have them look at the front cover and discuss what the little boy might want more than anything else, and discuss how they came to that conclusion.
Early grades: Take a picture walk and discuss what they see. They can make some predictions based on the pictures or come up with questions about the pictures. (See intermediate plan below)
During the reading
Intermediate grades: Questioning- the” key to understanding.” This strategy not only helps with comprehension, but it gets students in the habit of asking questions as he or she reads.
As you read the book, have students devise some questions about what they wonder about the story. Some of these questions will be able to be answered, and some will not, but that is ok. Make a chart with the list of kids’ questions. (You may want to solicit the help of a parent to write the questions as you continue reading. If you have never done questioning with your class before, model how you come up with questions about the story as read and they will soon understand what to do.
Example questions:
Why is the book called “More Than Anything Else?”
Where are they going in the middle of the night?
What is the white stuff that is piled so high?
Why don’t they have shoes on?
Reasoning through the text: Engage students in conversation about the text. We ask questions, clarify ideas, listen to each other, clear up misconceptions, and monitor understanding.
Model how to do this first by thinking aloud about what you are reading. Soon the students will join your conversation. You will become the facilitator. Some possible text examples might be:
“A white mountain of salt rises above Papa’s head. All day long we shovel it, but it refuses to grow smaller.”
“…but I do not think of the pain there. I think about the hunger still in my head..reading.”
“There is something different about this place where we live now. All people are free to go where they want and do what they can.”
“I can’t catch the tune of what I see.”
“Finally I find that brown face of hope. He tells me the song, the sounds the marks make.”
After Reading:
Questioning Follow up:
Read each question that the children have come up with and decide if it was answered as you read, or not. It is okay if it was not answered. Place an “A” next to the questions that were answered. Sometimes the questions that are not answered stimulate the best discussions.
Story Map
Book Title:___________________________Author:__________
Pick the most important character in this story and draw a portrait of him or her. Then, write three words that describe the character you drew.
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