Atheneum, 1992
Summary: Details the life and writings of popular author E. B. White. This book has photographs and anecdotes, including the origins of the animal protagonists in White's classic fiction for young readers.
LEVEL: RL: 5; IL: grades 5-8
Themes:
Writing process
Authorship
Activities:
1A. When E.B. White was a child, he wrote stories. Often he would send them to magazines for publication. Select a piece of your writing (a short story, poem or theme) that you feel is your best. Research which magazines or other sources would be willing to publish student work. (Ask your school librarian or public librarian for help in finding these resources.) Create a computer database of these magazine and their addresses. If a computer is not available, use note cards. Make this database available for other students by placing it in your library.
B. Research the process used to submit a piece of writing for publication. Send your piece and wait for a reply. Select an appropriate method for presenting your findings to the class. Possible methods might include a poster, a Hypercard stack, or an oral report.
2. E.B. White's father was a great fan of the soft drink "Moxie;" "he insisted that it would continue to be more popular than that new Coca-Cola" (p.18). You can find Moxie in most supermarkets in Maine. Ask your teacher or librarian if they will buy some (or fund-raise for the project). Have a taste test of Moxie vs. Coca-Cola. Record the results and student comments; report them in some fashion (chart, graph, etc.) to your class. Hypothesize about the possible reasons that Coca-Cola did become more popular than Moxie. Hypothesize also about ways that advertisers could encourage people to drink Moxie instead of Coca-Cola. Using research, check out your hypothesis.
Create a new product to advertise. Give it a catchy name and devise a logo for it. Next research the types of motive appeals (e.g. appeals to patriotism or security, sex appeal) used in advertising. Devise a sales campaign for your product. Include a design for a magazine ad, a script for a radio commercial, and a story board for a television commercial. Record your radio ad and/or videotape your television commercial. Share the marketing strategies with your class.
3. During the time that E.B. and his friend Cush traveled across country, the connecting highway system had not yet been built (p. 33). Using clues from the book to get you started, research when
and why the interstate highway system was developed. Hypothesize about what our life would have been like without the highway. Also, project into the future--what might our transportation system(s) be like in 50 or 100 years? Justify your conclusions based on your research.
4. E.B. White wrote in many styles of prose and poetry. Explore some of the different styles of poetry. Write a poem in the style(s) of your choice. What made you choose this particular style? Does this style fit the subject of your poem? Think about some of the reasons a writer would choose poetry to express a feeling or a subject instead of choosing a story format.
5A. E. B. White was a strong believer in individual rights and justice (pgs. 84-85 and 106-107). He felt passion for many issues, often writing letters to newspaper and magazine editors or to individuals. Think about a topic or concern that makes you worried or angry or pleased. Compose a letter to the editor of the school newspaper or the local or regional newspaper about this topic or issue.
B. What makes an effective letter to the editor? Have your class divide into groups of three or four students. Have each group skim the opinion page of several newspapers. Find three letters to the editor stating opinions on similar topics. Compare and contrast the letters. What are the writers' goals in writing? To explain? To change a rule? To change people's behavior? To thank? To point out something positive? Which letter presents the most effective argument? the least effective? Justify your choices. Create a criteria for judging a letter to the editor. Compare and contrast your ideas with the criteria developed by other groups. If necessary, go back and revise yours. Now use your criteria to evaluate the letter you wrote for activity 5A. How can you improve the content and style of your letter? Revise and send your letter.
6a. "Booktalking" can be a motivating, exciting and challenging way for students to pass their interest in books to their peers. Read any of Joni Bodart's book introductions for techniques on giving book talks. Synthesize what you feel are the main points before explaining the concept to students. Present a series of Booktalks developed by your students to another class of their age group. Or have students select books that they enjoyed at a younger age and have them give a presentation to appropriate students. As students become more adept at critique books, have them make a box of index cards with book teasers on them for use in the class room. Students could rate books with 1-5 "P and Q" scales as suggested by Voice of Youth Advocates and reprinted in The New BookTalker. (P = popularity; Q = quality.)
6b. Each of E.B. White's three books for children are discussed in this biography. Read at least two of them and think about whether you agree about what E.B. White thought about them. If
you were to describe them to your friends, what would you say? Prepare a booktalk for one of the books -- your goal is to make your friends want to read this book, if they hadn't already. What could you do to pique your friend's interest in this book. (Ask your school or public librarian how to do a booktalk if you are unfamiliar with them.)
7. Students can learn about the craft of writing by talking with authors who reflect on their muses and writing strategies. Invite students to read autobiographies of famous authors (see resource list). Encourage the bridge between books the students read and their own writing. Your class may wish to specifically share tips for writing. In their reading logs, they might "discuss" techniques from famous authors. A sheet could be stapled to the students' writing portfolios with authoring strategies he or she wishes to try.
Resources:
White, E.B. Charlotte's Web. Harper & Row, 1952.
Stuart Little. Harper & Row, 1945.
Trumpet of the Swan. Harper & Row, 1970.
Bodart, Joni Richards. The New BookTalker. Libraries, Unlimited, 1992.
Garthwait, Abigail. "Helping to Make Reading-Writing Connections: Young Adult Characters and their Authors Talk about the Craft of Writing. Journal: New England Reading Association. Vol. 29: 2, 1993.
Bruce, Harry. The Life of L. M. Montgomery. Seal Bantam, 1992.\
Byars, Betsy. The Moon and I. Messer, 1992.
Cleary, Beverly. A Girl from Yamhill: A Memoir. Morrow, 1988.
Kerr, M. E. Me Me Me Me Me: Not a Novel. Harper, 1983.
Little, Jean. Stars Come Out Within. Viking, 1990.
Zindel, Paul. The Pigman and Me. HarperCollins, 1991.
Prepared by Diane Hilchey-Chandler, Nevins Memorial Library Methuen, MA (with Marilyn Joyce, Brewer High School)
