Contemporary Realistic Fiction

Contemporary Realistic Fiction

Contemporary/Realistic: Realistic fiction creates imaginary characters and situations that depict our world and society. It focuses on themes of growing up and confronting personal and social problems. This genre portrays characters coming to understand themselves and others.

Of all the genres in children’s literature, contemporary realistic fiction is very popular. Children  are interested in their own lives, and this genre is about “my life.” This is my world. This is how I live. This story is about a girl like me.

Here’s a short list of realistic fiction books that feature fourth- grade kids facing everyday situations.

Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing (series) by Judy Blume

Lexile: 470

Peter finds his demanding two-year-old brother an ever-increasing problem.  

Winners Take All by Fred Bowen

Lexile: 560

When Kyle fakes a catch, his baseball team goes on to win the league championship but

Kyle doesn't feel good about winning by cheating.

Because of Winn-Dixie  by Kate DiCamillo

Lexile: 610

10-year-old India Opal Buloni describes her first summer in the town of Naomi, Florida, and

all the good things that happen to her because of her big ugly dog Winn-Dixie

Eggs by Jerry Spinelli

Lexile: 610

Mourning the loss of his mother, 9-year-old David forms an unlikely friendship with

independent, quirky 13-year-old Primrose, as the two help each other deal with what is

missing in their lives.

Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies

Lexile: 630

Evan and his younger sister, Jesse, react very differently to the news that they will be in the

same class for 4th grade and as summer's end approaches, they battle it out through

lemonade stands, each trying to be the first to earn 100 dollars.

STAT #1: Home Court (series)

Lexile: 650

When an older group of boys start bullying his friends on the basketball court, Amar'e is

forced to step in and use his athletic ability and intelligence to save the day.

Almost all readers want to find at least an occasional title that reflects and confirms their lives. The lack of books dealing with specific cultures can draw protest from members of a group who desire to read about something close to home.  Because realistic fiction helps confirm our own membership in the human race, children’s publishers and authors continue to represent the spectrum of minorities present in the United States—racial groups, religions, stories from specific regions of the country—but not all bases have yet been covered.  It is important for teachers to make sure that we have a diversity of books in our classrooms to ensure all students feel represented.

The Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak

Thought this was an interesting video to share.  Hope you like it!

Deepen Comprehension Through Storytelling

Deepening Comprehension Through Storytelling

The following post is based from research and ideas presented in the article below by Dr. Jane Gangi

While the read-aloud is standard practice in most literacy classrooms, storytelling is not.  Research has shown that students will deepen the comprehension when they are engaged in storytelling.  When Dr. Gangi asked a fifth grade class how storytelling differs from the read - aloud experience, students had the following responses:

Storytelling makes visualizing images easier and makes one’s own creativity more possible; it also fosters a deeper relationship between the teller and the listener.

Dr. Gangi shared her Storytelling Workshop in the above article.  She stated that from day one of the workshop, she wanted her students to see themselves as storytellers.  Dr. Gangi suggested that the below activities serve as prewriting activities as well.  I have selected a few strategies from Dr. Gangi’s article that I would like to use in my fourth grade classroom to strengthen my students storytelling skills.  

After reading all the activities, I thought the above activity would be a great one to introduce storytelling!  I believe the students will have a lot of fun sharing stories and especially coming up with made- up stories!  The activity below requires a little more time and work, but I believe students will also enjoy this one.  This activity would be a good one to use in the beginning of the school year, so that students can get to know each other better.

The above activity is a great quick activity.  It can be used in any grades, but thought it was simple enough to use even in kindergarten and first grade.

I do a similar activity as the one above but I am excited to try this version.  

Fantasy

The Fantasy Genre

Fast Facts

1. Events occur outside the ordinary laws that operate within the universe.
2. Magic is central to the fantasy genre.
3. Fantasy stories often involve journeys and quests

Types of Fantasy

There are three different ways that writers set up their worlds.

1. Some novels begin and end in a fantasy world.  An example would be the book The Hobbit.
2. Others start in the real world and move into a fantasy world.  An example of this type would be Alice in Wonderland.
3. A third type of fantasy is set in the real world, but elements of magic intrude upon it like in Mary Poppins.

A few of my favorite fantasy books that I like to read aloud to my fourth graders are:

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

The moment when Lucy Pevensie pushes her way past those old fur coats and through the wardrobe into Narnia is ground zero for modern fantasy: instead of splitting the atom Lewis splits the world, into dreary ration-book wartime England and the fresh, exciting, enchanted world of Narnia. Lewis’s books teem with psychological insight and writerly craft: he wrote fantasy using the tools of realism, concretely and precisely, and with a kind of frank honesty barely ever seen in books for children. His blind spots were many—his treatment of women characters is, in places, beyond unfortunate—but what he saw, he saw with the power and clarity of a true visionary.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

In this timeless classic, Willy Wonka, a crazy chocolatier, opens his chocolate factory doors for the first time to five lucky children who have randomly purchased the coveted chocolate bars containing the golden ticket. Besides a lifetime supply of chocolate, the children get a chance to tour the mysterious factory with their guide, Willy Wonka. Throughout their journey in Wonka's factory the children encounter all sorts of silliness, as well as ethical dilemmas.

The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary    

The Mouse and the Motorcycle is about a mouse named Ralph who lives in a hotel in California with his family. They enjoy messy people because they leave crumbs and food for him and his family to eat. Ralph is an adventurous mouse who wants to go out and see his world, the hotel, but he can’t because he is kept in check by the housekeepers who want to keep the place clean and mice free. Then Keith and his family arrive. Keith has many fun toys but most importantly he has a motorcycle, beautiful shiny and red.   Soon, the headstrong mouse finds himself in a pickle, when all he wanted was to ride a motorcycle. Lucky for him, the boy understands how it is. When he discovers Ralph in his thwarted attempt to abscond with the toy bike, Keith generously encourages the rodent to ride. He even teaches him the simple trick of starting the motorcycle: "You have to make a noise... pb-pb-b-b-b." The subsequent situations Ralph motors into require quick thinking and grownup-sized courage.(less)