Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Owl Moon Book Reflection Week 2

Yolen, J., Schoenherr, J., Stevenson, N., Philomel Books., & South China Printing Co. (1987). Owl moon. New York: Philomel Books.

Summary: On a winter night, a father and daughter walk into the woods to search for owls.  As the daughter describes their late night adventure, it is evident that her father has experience owling, but it is her first opportunity.  I wonder if she will be scared?  Or, will she be brave?  As they continue, she takes in all the surroundings, including sights, smells, noises, and feelings.  Animals thriving in the woods watch as the pairmake footprints in the snow.  Deep in the woods, the young girl’s father calls out, “Whoo-whoo-who-who-whooooooo.”  I wonder if an owl will answer?

Literary Terms:
Jane Yolen uses different forms of figurative language such as a simile.  “The trees stood still as giant statues” is an example of a simile used.   Yolen also uses a metaphor, which is an implied comparison without a signal word. “The snow below it was whiter than the milk in a cereal bowl,” is an example of a metaphor used.
Jane Yolen also created a great deal of sense imagery by playing on the five senses in descriptive language.  It also helps young children make connections to previous experiences of their own. The phrase, “our feet crunched over the crisp snow” stimulates the reader’s senses and a reminder of a time their feet made a matching sound in the snow.  The phrases, “the owl pumped its great wings and lifted off the branch” and “a train whistle blew, long and low, like a sad, sad song” both awakens the reader’s senses, imagination, and memory while reading or listening.

Curriculum Activity:
-Students can draw and write about their favorite part in the story. W.K.1
-Students can write a narrative story about a first-time experience they have had such as sledding, fishing, riding a bike, eating something new, or swimming. W.K.3
-Students can investigate similarities and differences in “Owl Moon” by Jane Yolen and “Good Night, Owl” by Pat Hutchinson.  Using charts or diagrams, lead students to make text-to-text connections. RL.K.9
-Students can study about owls such as the Great Horned Owl.  Students can listen to different kinds of owls.  Students can make a K-W-L chart about owls. Students can work in pairs or small groups and present information about owls to the class. W.K.7
-In grades 3 through 5, students can identify literary devices such as metaphors and similes used by the author throughout the story.

Big Questions:
How did the young girl feel when her dad took her owling?  How did her feelings change when she got deeper into the woods?  Why do you think she felt that way?  How would you feel?

1 comment:

  1. Very nice reflection! APA citation does not need the publishing info in the author section.

    ReplyDelete