Title: Words with Wings
Author: Nikki Grimes
Copyright: 2013
Publisher: WordSong
Reading Level: Ages 8+
Lexile: 850L
Suggested Delivery: Independent Read or Read Aloud
Words to describe this book: spontaneous, vivid, insightful, captivating, gratifying
Summary: Gabriella is known to be a daydreamer. Her imagination helps her cope with the separation of her parents and her move to a new school. Her parents and teacher's are constantly asking her "Where'd you go?" Gabriella gets lost in her beautiful thoughts on a regular basis. She tries to give up daydreaming, but her mother and teacher realize she isn't Gabriella without her daydreams. They soon realize how extraordinary Gabriella's daydreams are and that dreaming isn't bad after all.
Key Vocabulary:
Definitions found at http://merriam-webster.com
Before Reading Activity:
Electronic Resources:
http://www.nikkigrimes.com/
The official website of Nikki Grimes. Student's can explore the reasons for the creation of Words with Wings, as well as other books Grimes wrote. Also, there's a photo gallery of events Grimes has attended and information about her writing.
http://pbskids.org/arthur/games/poetry/free_verse.html
This website explores the different kinds of poetry such as free verse, haiku, limerick, and lyric. Students can learn what a poem is, how to write a poem, and examples of poems.
Writing Activity: At the end of the book, we find out that Gabriella's teacher doesn't mind when she daydreams after lessons. The teacher provides the student's with 15-20 minutes where they can write their daydreams in journals. It's an awesome brain break for the student's and can be connected to Words with Wings. They can go back to the text and see poems Gabriella wrote for ideas or create their own.
Author: Nikki Grimes
Copyright: 2013
Publisher: WordSong
Reading Level: Ages 8+
Lexile: 850L
Suggested Delivery: Independent Read or Read Aloud
Words to describe this book: spontaneous, vivid, insightful, captivating, gratifying
Summary: Gabriella is known to be a daydreamer. Her imagination helps her cope with the separation of her parents and her move to a new school. Her parents and teacher's are constantly asking her "Where'd you go?" Gabriella gets lost in her beautiful thoughts on a regular basis. She tries to give up daydreaming, but her mother and teacher realize she isn't Gabriella without her daydreams. They soon realize how extraordinary Gabriella's daydreams are and that dreaming isn't bad after all.
Key Vocabulary:
- Daydreaming - a dream experienced while awake
- Imagination - forming mental images that may not be present to others
- Free Verse - verse that doesn't follow a specific structure
- Reminisce - to recall past events/experiences
- Wander - to go aimlessly or without direction
- Creativity - thinking outside of the box, resulting from originality
- Vivid - strikingly bright or intense
Definitions found at http://merriam-webster.com
Before Reading Activity:
- Words with Wings is written in free verse. Discuss with student's the texts structure and refer back to any previous readings with the same organization method. Ask students what they notice about the text. How is it different or similar to books we've already read? Discuss the reasoning and impact of the structure of the text
- Since the book is written in free verse, student's would benefit from echo or choral reading. It will help students build their fluency and motivation to read poetry.
- Use wordle.net and have students write down words they think of while daydreaming (then put in a wordle). Show them an example of a Wordle you do with Gabriella's thoughts in the novel. My example can be found at the bottom of this blog post.
Electronic Resources:
http://www.nikkigrimes.com/
The official website of Nikki Grimes. Student's can explore the reasons for the creation of Words with Wings, as well as other books Grimes wrote. Also, there's a photo gallery of events Grimes has attended and information about her writing.
http://pbskids.org/arthur/games/poetry/free_verse.html
This website explores the different kinds of poetry such as free verse, haiku, limerick, and lyric. Students can learn what a poem is, how to write a poem, and examples of poems.
Writing Activity: At the end of the book, we find out that Gabriella's teacher doesn't mind when she daydreams after lessons. The teacher provides the student's with 15-20 minutes where they can write their daydreams in journals. It's an awesome brain break for the student's and can be connected to Words with Wings. They can go back to the text and see poems Gabriella wrote for ideas or create their own.