Why I Picked It Up:
My youngest son is interested in music. He has been playing the guitar for a year and a half and is positive he will be a rock star when he’s older. As we were exploring Amazon’s recommendations for us, this book appeared. Rhys was automatically interested so we peeked inside. That’s when I realized this was by the same author as The Crossover! Immediately I was interested. I had never heard of Kwame Alexander prior to reading The Crossover, but it is now easily one of my favorite young adult novels, and apparently he writes picture books as well. Book bought.
Why I Finished It:
This book is fast paced and enjoyable and the best part is it requires MANY reads to catch all that is going on! One thing that made me smile were all the connections to real musicians from the past. I definitely don’t want to give them away, because it was so fun to pick up on them yourself, but one is Acoustic Rooster’s cousin, Duck Ellington, who was playing the piano on the riverbank. As I read this story to my son, he enjoyed the rhythmical sounds of the story. He didn’t make connections to real musicians, but he easily caught on to the big idea of the story and found it amusing. At the end of the book, there is a glossary of musical terms and information on the real musicians. There is even a jazz timeline in the back from the 1700s till now. After looking through the information in the back, my son enjoyed the story again!
Who I Would Give It To:
Elementary music teachers for sure! What a great way to have literature, poetry, and music all together. The young students will enjoy the information. I also think t his is a great read aloud for parents to have with their students and obviously, anyone who is interested in music.
Integration Ideas:
Music and Poetry
I would love to see the music teacher and elementary teacher come together to help students truly appreciate this book! In music, the students could be learning about famous musicians, musical terms, and historical information. They also need to appreciate the rhythm and rhyme that this book creates. The classroom teacher could easily use this picture book to teach rhyme scheme, patterns, and rhythm. Students can even write their own poetry about their favorite activities, using rhyme and rhythm. While there is not onomatopoeia in this story, students could try to add noises into the poem. Definitely worth discussing: why the author chose not to add in onomatopoeia.
Message (Big Idea), Making Connections, and Personal Narrative Prewrite
Have students really think about how Rooster felt in the end. Have them brainstorm words (proud, satisfied, etc.). Why does he feel this way even though he did not win. Relate this back to the students. Ask about when they have been proud of their own accomplishments. Have students share their stories with their partners. Then they can brainstorm these ideas to write about later.
Possible Text-to-Text Connections:
– Ish by Peter H. Reynolds
– The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires
– The Girl and The Bicycle by Mark Pett
Technology Integration
Have the students create their own sounds online. Here is a LiveBinder created by someone else with links for students to create their own music. A while back I explored one of the tools mentioned in the binder: My “Incredibox” example.
Students can also research and create timelines for their own activities online. Here are some great timeline tools:
ReadWriteThink: Timeline: great step-by-step timeline tool, allows use of images
Dipity – incorporate text, images, and video into your timeline entry
TimeToast – very simple to use, great for elementary kiddos (free version has some ads)
Prezi – yes, it’s a presentation tool, but the limitless space of Prezi lets you get creative! Timelines don’t always fit into a template, and so the ability to zoom way in or way out might be helpful! Here are a few examples for inspiration:
- http://prezi.com/deizgmylpzak/timeline-template/
- http://prezi.com/7qyxksxzakn_/student-example-presidential-key-moments/
- http://prezi.com/7fe4siee6qfp/colorado-history-timeline
- http://prezi.com/3qhqmcjq5pn5/american-history-timeline-final-project/
Links
Reading this book with my six year old granddaughter Cora was an added bonus to a fun and amazing day. Cora and I went to the public library where she made a 🐝 line for this book! We had to read it as soon as we got home. No waiting til bed or bath-time. Before we began reading the first page Cora’s instructions were, “You have to let me give you three details about each page before you read it”…and she did just that. The vivid art work served as leverage for Cora as she described in fascinated and insightful detail what she believed was happening in each scene, and what she believed could follow. She noticed the rhythm in each sentence, “grandma it’s a pattern” and rhyme of the words most of which she had to sing 🎶. She predicted Ms. Bee would indeed join the band however was so disappointed when Mules Davis placed 1st in the show. At the end when Mules complimented Rooster she said, “he’s doing good sportsmanship huh grandma?” Acoustic Rooster’s persistence despite his challenges worked in his favor and brought him the reward of a swinging Barnyard Band and me the great pleasure of an awesome reading time with my grandie.
What a beautiful story! Thank you so much for sharing this, and for bringing Acoustic Rooster to life with your granddaughter in such a wonderful way. Cora sounds like a budding storyteller herself—her attention to rhythm, patterns, and that insightful prediction about Ms. Bee joining the band is impressive! We love hearing about her excitement and the “three details” game you both played; it makes us so happy to know the book helped create such a memorable day. Thank you again for sharing this special moment with us!