Book Title: Shortcut
Author(s): Donald Crews
Illustrator/Photographer/Artist: Donald Crews
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Copyright Date: 1992
Genre: Contemporary realistic fiction picturebook
Brief Annotation: A group of children decide to take the shortcut home one day, but when they hear a train approaching, they must choose whether to run back toward the cut-off or attempt to run ahead home. Colorfully illustrated by the author, this book is an exciting story (based on actual events) that will keep readers engaged, while instilling important messages, as well.
Your Rating (1-5) and why: 4—This book can be used to help teach young children lessons on following rules, making smart decisions, and learning from mistakes. It can also be used to open a discussion on predictions, foreshadowing, and onomatopoeia.
Readers who will like this book: Children who like adventure stories and books about trains; adults wanting to use a story to teach and reinforce messages on the importance of following directions and/or thinking before acting.
Teaching Strategy from Tompkins or Yopp & Yopp (you'll link a strategy to at least 10 of your 40 books) : A combination of 3-D Responses and Dramatic Responses. In a 3-D response, students respond by “creating a three-dimensional representation of a reading selection (which) provides students with a nonverbal medium for responding to literature and challenges students to process text deeply” (Yopp & Yopp, p. 110). Students will then use their creations to reenact the book in a dramatic response, which will “capitalize on the social nature of learning as students work together to re-create, explain, or extend a scene or an idea” (Yopp & Yopp, p. 113). This combination of formats can be seen by clicking the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_loP6W008A. In this example, students use lighting, music, and sound effects to retell and enhance the story, and in doing so, they have created a wonderful and dramatic work of art.
Question to ask about this book before a read aloud: Have you ever taken a shortcut that you knew you wasn’t a good decision but it made something faster or easier? (Can be either physically or in school, sports and other activities, or at home.) Did you experience any repercussions of your actions? (Talk about the definition of “repercussions.")
Optional, but noted as extra effort:
1. Interest Level (age): Kindergarten-second grade
2. Grade Level Equivalent (grade): 1.9
3. List awards: Parents’ Choice Gold Award, Horn Book Fanfare
4. Book trailer: None
I have a lot to say! First, how wonderful that you found a real classroom of kids who responded to this book. And how smart to take a creative, engaging response strategy and match it (backwards-ly) to two different strategies in Yopp & Yopp. I like your ingenuity.
ReplyDeleteSecond, I was thinking that the idea of "shortcuts" would be an interesting thematic study, especially building on the pre-reading question you suggested, that shortcuts can be literal or metaphorical.
Finally, I haven't read this book, so I appreciate the fact that you didn't include spoilers about the girls' decision.
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ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments, Dr. Kaback. I like the idea of using "shortcuts" for a thematic study--I just might use it! If you have any other suggestions for books that would fit within that theme, I'd love to hear about them!
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