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The Scarecrow (off link) by Beth Ferry is a beautiful fall story of an unusual friendship that will pull at your heartstrings with language that equally matches the beauty of the artwork. A must have for every bookshelf!

Themes: fall, friendship

Here are a few ways to maximize the use of this text as a read aloud to support a variety of literacy-based skills.

BEFORE READING

Activate prior knowledge. What do you know about scarecrows? What do they look like? What are they made of? Where do you find them? What is their purpose?
Looking at the cover, what are the first thoughts that come to mind? Make an observation. Ask a question.

DURING READING

Notice the rhythm of the writing.
What feelings are evoked as you read about Scarecrow?
Scarecrow just stands there; he scares away any life nearby. But what does it mean if he dreams of “buds and blooms and things that sing”? Is there more to him than we might first assume?
Why is Scarecrow’s behavior “strange” when the scared crow shows up?
Why do Scarecrow and the crow make the “oddest” friends and forget about who they really are?
How does Scarecrow feel when crow is able to fly again?
How do the cold, dark days of winter mirror the Scarecrow’s demeanor / feelings / body language?
Discuss the significance of the rainbow when Scarecrow and crow reunite. What do rainbows represent? When do we see them? How do they mirror the events on this page?
What does it mean that the baby crows will “grow up in his heart”?

AFTER READING

The Scarecrow was the one who first helped the crow, but in the end, they helped each other. How?
How does Scarecrow’s character transform from the beginning to the end of the story?
Turn to the last page of the book. Carefully look at the picture and write your own last page.
What does this story teach us about assumptions and the ability to change?
Map the story using one of these story maps.

To purchase this book, you can find it (affiliate link) here.

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SHOP RESOURCES

After sending out my last newsletter discussing the flaws of the 3 cueing system and how to implement change, I received a number of emails asking about the role of pictures. Aren’t they important? How are they important? How can they bring meaning to the text?

Pictures should never be used to guess a word. That’s what explicit phonics instruction is for. But pictures have the ability to support reading in other powerful ways. In this post, I’m going to discuss three ways pictures are a powerful part of the reading experience.

Pictures enhance comprehension. Once a word is decoded, the picture can elevate the meaning of the word. In my last newsletter I wrote about a student who couldn’t figure out the word “ferry” in a leveled reader because a) he didn’t have the phonics knowledge to do so, and b) had never been exposed to that word before, so looking at the picture didn’t even help him. Once he was given the tools to efficiently decode the word, he was able to use the picture of the ferry in the text to gain a better idea of this word’s meaning. In addition to supporting vocabulary comprehension, pictures can support other areas of comprehension, such as visualizing the story’s flow and plot structure, better understanding a character’s emotional states and reactions, and referencing inferences and predictions.
Pictures add to the storyline. In some stories, pictures provide clues and information that aren’t in the text. They may show another perspective that isn’t narrated. They act as hidden features that add to the storyline.
Pictures tap into readers’ imaginations. Detailed illustrations allow readers’ minds to roam — to wonder and wander, and to wish. They invite readers to exercise their imaginations. They encourage readers to ask questions that they might not have had without the visual images, and explore places they never could have imagined before.
Pictures evoke emotional connections, responses, and reactions. Have you ever been pulled in by the illustrations of a book, or experienced an emotional reaction or response because of its pictures? Pictures can add a certain mood to the story.

Readers should be encouraged to interpret the pictures alongside the text - to examine, observe, notice, and question — to use the pictures as a tool to deepen their understanding and experience of the story and its characters. Next time you are introducing a reader to a picture book, make sure to save extra time for exploring the role of the pictures. Here are a few topics to discuss when reflecting on the role of pictures in books.

Patterns or common themes incorporated by the illustrator
New information that is represented in the pictures that is not conveyed in the writing
How the reading of the book might have been different without the pictures - would you have missed out on important information offered only through the visual component?
The ways in which the pictures help bring deeper understanding of the elements of the story: characters, setting, plot, etc…
Emotional responses or moods drawn out by the pictures

What are some of your favorite picture books, and how do their illustrations enhance the story?

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