Fun with Geography

I've mentioned in prior posts this school year, that I've really been working on defining community at my new school, with my new 5th grade students. We've had many great community moments this past week, especially when it comes to our reading workshop time, and the opportunity to get comfy somewhere in our classroom and snuggle up with a book.

But, this past Friday, I realized something very important: my students all really love humor. I was introducing the notion of having to locate where all 50 states are, and I had my class in the palm of my hand. Impossible, you think? Not if you're reading aloud The Scrambled States of America by Laurie Keller.

The premise of this very humorous book is that the 50 states are getting a little bored of where they've been, and they want to mix things up a bit. The state of Kansas gets things rolling, and pretty soon, all the states desire the opportunity to locate themselves somewhere else. Not only are the situations the states get into hilarious, but their dialogue will keep the reader in stitches. Add to that, Keller's fun illustrations of the states, giving each one a distinct personality, and you've got a lot of "funny".

My students were mesmerized as I read The Scrambled States to them, only taking a breath for some deep belly laughs. Reading this book to them was truly a community moment. While not everything we do will be a laugh-fest, I will remember this moment for a long time to come.

I recently heard our district's superintendent say that the number of times a student laughs during a typical school day drops dramatically (he had the actual numbers) from the time they are in kindergarten until they are in high school. Here's hoping that more students can be exposed to books like Laurie Keller's, The Scrambled States of America, and we can start to hear more laughter in our schools and classrooms.

This geography lesson was a great opportunity for me to find something that helped our community "click", but better yet, it was just plain fun!!

** If you don't already know, there is a sequel to this great book that my students are dying to get their hands on: The Scrambled States of America Talent Show.

The Scrambled States of America Are Back!

Laurie Keller, the author of the new The Scrambled States of America: Talent Show, is a genius when it comes to amusing me and making learning fun for my students! Her use of word play and puns is delightful. And it's not just the words in her book that are amusing; the pictures and illustrations are so clever. They are not to be overlooked when reading one of her books. Some of my favorite books (and my students) by Keller are Do Unto Otters: A Book About Manners and Open Wide: Tooth School Inside. The latter is one of the most popular choices for my students on nonfiction Tuesday and Thursday.

All that being said, when I saw that Keller had a new book out, The Scrambled States of America: Talent Show, I just had to have it!! So, when I was at Cover to Cover last weekend, I picked up The Scrambled States of America, and when Sally Oddi (owner of CTC) told me there was a new version of the Scrambled States, I just had to order it.

Both books will work amazingly well in my classroom. I teach 5th grade, and one of our state indicators is to be able to locate all 50 states on a map. My students literally started learning the 50 states this past week. How perfect to share these funny books about states. They laughed out loud when I read aloud The Scrambled States of America, and now, they all want to be the first person in the room on nonfiction Tuesday or Thursday, so they can "snag" this book to read for themselves.

In my opinion, however, the newest Scrambled States book is better than the first!! It's full of all sorts of hidden "funny"! Since all the states got to know each other better in The Scrambled States of America, in the second book, it is only natural now that they might want to do things together. So, when New York wakes up in the middle of the night, and says, "Let's have a talent show!" every state wants to jump into the action with their new state friends.

10 funny reasons to read this book:
1) Idaho getting ready for the talent show, and asking, "Does this grass skirt make my BUTTE look big?"
2) When Georgia can't stop shaking during her peach juggling performance, she goes to see the doctor to try and find out what's wrong with her. Dr. Globe gives her some tests, and checks her square miles, temperature, and average yearly rainfall. In addition, he xrays her to look at her cities and counties.
3) Michigan doing a ventriloquist act with the lower peninsula being the talker, and the upper peninsula being the dummy.
4) New York, New Jersey, New Mexico, and New Hampshire singing as "The New States on the Block" while the crowd (the other states) go crazy!!
5) The intermission picture where the girls' bathroom has a humongous line, and the guys are getting right in to take care of business (any female can relate to this scenario).
6) Pennsylvania playing a tune on the Liberty Bell.
7) Wisconsin doing cheesy sculptures.
8) Iowa telling corny jokes.
9) Florida and Colorado joining themselves together to do an impersonation of Idaho. Also, Wyoming and Tennessee doing the same to impersonate Oklahoma.
10) After the talent show, when the states all go home, the page where they chat with each other, is a hoot!

Scrambled States of America: Talent Show is not just a funny book; kids will be learning the states as they read. The states have distinctive shapes rather they're connected on a map or performing in a talent show. I'll be sharing this gem of a book with my class on Monday, and I'm sure it will be as wildly popular as the first one.