Oh this one is good! When Floyd’s kite gets stuck in a tree, he throws a variety of increasingly ridiculous items into the tree, trying to knock each one down in turn (Unsuccessfully, I may add!). By the time there’s an unfortunate whale up there, you’re sure to think the whole situation is getting ridiculous, and you’d be right! But it doesn’t end there. I love books built for laughter, and this is one of them! Jeffers’ illustrations only add to the fun. I’ll be the first to say I want to read this one again!
Use It In the Classroom…
(RL.1.1, RL.2.1, RL.2.3, SL.1.1., SL.2.1, SL.2.2, W.1.3, W.2.3)
- Make predictions. When we met, my husband was terrible at making predictions when we watched movies or read books together. It wasn’t that he couldn’t ask “What might happen?” He just didn’t! Read Stuck to your class and practice asking questions like “What do you think Floyd might do now?” and “What do you think will happen next?” The beauty and humor of this book is that what Floyd doesn’t do what we’d expect someone to do with his tools… As a bonus, the ending provides a great springboard for further predictions about what might happen next!
(Note: You may want to cover certain pictures in advance so that you can “surprise” students with what Floyd actually does next. For example, when he brings out a saw, cover the picture on the right side of the page where he throws the saw into the tree.)
- Discuss problem solving. After reading, retell the story as a class or small group. Ask questions like “What problem was Floyd trying to solve?” and “What did Floyd do to solve his problem?” and “What did Floyd do after he solved his problem?” Then, make it personal. Ask questions like “If you were Floyd, what would you do to rescue your kite?” *Bonus: Ask your students to think of a time when they made a problem bigger because of the way (or ways!) they tried to solve it…
- Write! Use the following prompt: “Write about a time when you had a problem. What was the problem? What steps did you take to solve the problem? What happened in the end? Did you solve the problem?”
Use It At Home…
- Read it and laugh! First things first. Enjoy this one with your kids. Laughter is social, after all! So laugh and laugh and laugh together!
- Talk about humor. Ask: “Why do you think some things are funny?” There are different theories on what makes something funny to an individual. Jeffers capitalizes on at least one of these. People laugh when something happens differently than they expect! Talk about what different family members find funny and why. Even though they probably won’t be able to explain the “why”, just talking about those ha-ha things might get you all laughing together!
- Laugh some more…Tell each other your favorite jokes. Check out a joke book from the library and take turns reading them. Watch a movie together (Pixar, anyone? Remind me to tell you about that time when I was literally doubled over in my seat watching Finding Nemo…).
Your turn! Have you read Stuck? What did you think of it? How would you use it?
P.S. Celebrate life!
P.P.S. Here are a few *bonus* videos!
Fantastic! I love this book