Funded May 7, 2018Thank you so much for your donations. We started Fish in a Tree last week in my reading class and my students instantly fell in love with the story. We did some background knowledge on dyslexia and did a simulation for what a student with dyslexia may experience while reading. My students quickly felt sympathy for students who struggle with this learning disability. We had a great discussion about how even without a learning disability we have all faced learning something that did not come easily to us.
The lessons I am teaching and plan to teach with this book have students reflecting on characters and their choices throughout the story. Ally, the main character, makes a lot of poor choices in her classes but many times she does them for another reason than to be naughty. I am asking that my students make connections between other characters or people in their lives who maybe behave similarly to Ally so that we can better understand one another.
My reading class looks different every day. Some days we read as a class, sometimes we listen to the audio of the book, sometimes students read independently. There is usually a follow up activity or worksheet to have student reflect on what they have read in the story. I also plan to do activities surrounding Ally's "mind movies" where she describes silly scenarios in detail and then draws them in her sketchbook. I want to ask students to come up with their own "mind movies" to share with the class as a creative way to express their thoughts.
Thanks again for the donations so that I can teach my students these valuable life lessons about acceptance and understanding.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Seep