Each Little Bird that Sings

Each Little Bird that Sings Student Project Possibilities:

Verbal/Linguistic

Comfort writes a Life Notice to be submitted to The Aurora County News each time a special person in her family dies (see page 11 for Uncle Edisto's, page 20 for Aunt Florentine's and page 217 for Dismay's life notices).  Additionally, on Deborah Wiles's web site, http://www.deborahwiles.com/aboutdeb2.html, Comfort Snowberger has written a Life Notice for the author; however , ths Life Notice is different because it has been written while Ms. Wiles is still alive.  After reading the various Life Notices that Comfort has written, including, if possible, the one for Ms. Wiles, select a person that you would like to interview about his or her life.  Create a list of questions that will be important to ask him or her.  Then conduct the interview (be sure to take notes so you can remember what he or she tells you), and compose a Life Notice for that person.

Uncle Edisto was born in Fort Robinson, Nebraska (p. 11).  Research Fort Robinson.  Use Media Blender or Keynote to create a presentation telling how Fort Robinson has been important to Nebraska, the many things that it has been used for, where it is located, and why you would want to visit there. http://www.nebraskahistory.org/sites/fortrob/history.htm  and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Robinson

Comfort created the "Top Ten Tips for First-rate Funeral Behavior" (page 47) so that everyone would know the proper etiquette when attending a funeral.  Now it's your turn.  Create a "Top Ten Tips for First-rate School Behavior".  When complete share your tips with your class.

 

Visual/Spatial

After Aunt Florentine has died, Comfort visits the graveyard to share her thoughts with Uncle Edisto.  While she is there, she describes Uncle Edisto's headstone as having a finger pointed upward with an inscription under the hand that reads, "God's finger touched him and he slept."  Then she decribes Aunt Florentine's headstone as perfect for her since it has a granite telephone with an inscsription that reads, "Jesus called her home."  ASk your parent or guardian to take you to a cemetery to look at the inscriptions and carvings on the headstones.  While you are there, make rubbings or etchings of some of the epitaphs using plain white paper and a pencil or crayon.  Try to find the oldest headstone in the cemetery.  When you get home, create your own headstone complete with a design and inscription that would represent your life up to this poit (be sure to elave the death date open).

Deborah Wiles has created a map to help you understand the setting of the story as it unfolds.  Draw a map of your classroom, then write a paragraph about the classroom so that the reader can use your map and have a better understanding of the setting.  For example, you might write about procedures for handing in homework, or how you get from your desk to the door, or where you sit and where your best friend sits.  Use the map to help you. 

Logical/Mathematical

Create a timeline using 8 events leading up to the flood in this story.  Choose one of the events and explain how changing it would have resulted in a different ending to the story.

Read the interview with the author, Deborah Wiles, at the web site, http://www.harcourtbooks.com/AuthorInterviews/bookinterview_Wiles.asp .  Using a Venn diagram, compare and contrast the author with Comfort Snowberger.  What type of summary statement could you make based on the completed Venn Diagram?

Naturalist

On page 32, Uncle Edisto has told Comfort that Listening Rock is a "smorgasbord of metamorphic marvels!"  Explore the web site Rock Creations.  Observe the three animations of how the three kinds of rock are formed:  sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous.  Pay attention to the kinds of rock that belong in each catagory.  Look at the web page called Discover Earth's Treasures.  Review the rock samples and how they were formed.  Test your stone knowledge by taking the Rock Hound Quiz.  Print out your "Rockhound Expert Award".  Use Pages to create a table to classify (show whether the rocks are sedimentary, metamorphic or igneous) the rocks seen at Discover Earth's Treasures.
 

Musical 

Song #72 from the Snowberger's Funeral Home Book of Suggested Songs for Significant Occasions is based on a real song, All Things Bright and Beautiful.  Listen to the music at http://www.northern-pine.com/songs/allthings.html .  This song was "slightly revised and lovingly updated" by Edisto Snowberger.  Revise and update it yourself to be representative of your school.

Bodily/Kinesthetic 

Mama arranges the flowers for fuenrals held at Snowberger's Funeral Home.  She grows the flowers in her garden.  After viewing the suggestions for flower arranging at the web sites below, use artificial flowers to create a flower arrangement of your own.  Keep in mind that these web sites tell you how to use real cut flowers.  Because you are using artificial flowers, just pay attention to the elements of design that are listed.    http://www.wikihow.com/Arrange-Flowers , http://home.howstuffworks.com/how-to-arrange-flowers1.htm ,  http://garden.lovetoknow.com/wiki/How_to_Arrange_Flowers .   Use the following web site and tell what the kind of flowers in your arrangement mean.  http://home.howstuffworks.com/how-to-arrange-flowers9.htm

Intrapersonal 

At the end of the book we are left not knowing what will happen next.  Does Peach come to live at the funeral home, does Dismay come back, does Comfort get a new dog?  Write a Life Notice about Comfort as if she has lived to be 80.  Create journal entries to tell us what happened in 1 year, 10 years, 50 years.  Remember to include facts about her family members, any pets, her work, etc.

Interpersonal 

Dismay was a valuable tool to the mourners at Snowberger's Funeral Home.  He was there to help them deal with their grief.  On page 45 Comfort says, "Dismay isn't just any dog.  If you would only hug him once, you'd see.  He's full of good feelings - and they sink right into you when you hug him."  Dogs today are often used as "working dogs" in a wide variety of jobs.  Go to http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04330/417263.stm and read the article about Aragon.  Decide what you think about the idea of dogs being used in this way.  After creating a list of questions, interview a funeral director and compose a statement giving both your and the funeral director's thoughts on the use of dogs in this way.

When Uncle Edisto dies, everybody cried before adjusting and carrying on with their jobs.  On page 10 Comfort says, "We gathered together.  We started cooking.  We called the relatives.  We called our friends.  We did not have to call the funeral homw.  We are the funeral home.  I wrote the obituary."  Brainstorm some ways that you could help a friend that is grieving over the loss of a loved one.  Create of list of your ideas and tell why you think that they would be helpful. 

Additional Resources of Interest:

Student Resources:

Glaciers: http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/earthglacier.html

Interview with Deborah Wiles :  http://institutechildrenslit.com/rx/tr01/wiles.shtml 

Working Dogs:  http://www.canismajor.com/dog/wkdogs.html