Chalk by Bill Thomson was actually introduced to me when I walked down the hallway of my school this past spring, and walked by one of the kindergarten rooms. Outside the room were these huge chalk drawings the kindergartners had drawn with a copy of the title page of Chalk. I was delighted with all their imaginative creations, but I still didn't know the book.
About a month later, at a literacy event at my school, books were being sold and Chalk was one of the books available. Much to my delight, I found that Chalk is a wordless picture book. After "reading" the book finally, I could now make more sense of what those kindergartners had created.
Chalk is delightful in so many ways, but the one I appreciate the most is the nod to the imagination of young children. I love the idea of children playing in imaginative ways.
I think I will use this wordless picture book in the beginning of the year as I get to know the different personalities of my new class. The pictures will invoke conversation, they will also encourage students to remember the "pretend" things they used to do or still do, and a little bit of inferring will need to be done to make sense of the story. What great information I can learn about my class as we share Chalk together!
thanks for this - I think it sounds perfect for my kdg. room.
ReplyDeleteMy class loved "Chalk" this year. It was a hot check out each day in our classroom. The first graders were funny talking about the story. They had quite the discussion about whether the transformations were "real" in the story or imaginative. They also enjoyed speculating what they'd draw if they had such magical chalk. A great story about childhood!
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