Somewhere Today

Oh boy was I happy when Katie and Angie from Columbus Metropolitan Library found this great book to match my Peace Theme! Somewhere Today A Book of Peace written by Shelly Moore Thomas is a great book that get children to do some deep thinking about the world around them. In this book, the pattern is kept very simple, very real...

"Somewhere Today...someone is teaching his little sister to ride a bike.

 Somewhere Today...someone is visiting a friend who is old"

And the book goes on listing different things small or big that might be happening around the globe today. After reading this book aloud to my fifth grade class, I invited them to write their own poems inspired by Shelly Moore Thomas. After reading Love That Dog by Sharon Creech in literature circles last year, these group of students learned that you can write your own variation to a poem as long as you give full credit to the author who" inspired" you to write such a poem (Just like Jack does in the book Love That Dog after reading a poem by Walter Dean Myers). After having that conversation and understanding, the students embarked on a journey of writing their own poems about what could be going on Somewhere Today...

And let me just share this with you, there was no way I could've read their poems without a tissue. Even my very beginner English language learner found a way to communicate his message. I was very proud of their poems, and very thankful that I read this book. I know it is not a brand new book (it was published in 1998) but it was new to me and my students. But most important, this kind of book is what make students write from their hearts. I highly recommend it.