Kids at Heart

I learned a new way to approach children’s books in a high school setting. At first, I was unfairly a little skeptical when Kathy Nielson brought in a bunch of kids books with the intentions of reading them to middle school and high school kids. Even though I like kids books, I could not see how to link them together in a lesson. I was mistaken and should not have jumped to conclusions.

I really enjoyed how Kathy tied together the book Secret of the Dance and how she made it relevant to an older audience. It was genius. I liked how there were many angles that could be explored when talking about the book afterward and how powerful the book was in general.

I read a book that she brought in called Frog Girl. While reading it I could see using this book in a biology setting because the book in part talks about frogs and overharvesting. It also covers some of the seasons and the changes that happen and a volcano eruption. I like the balance that it suggests keeping the ecosystem in check. I could use this book as a way to start the topic of the environment, ecosystem, overharvesting, balance in nature and the introduction of volcanos and the layers of the earth and the tectonic plates.

I will be reading kids books to high school kids when I am a teacher. After all, we are all kids at heart and we shouldn’t always take things so seriously.