Wing Nut

 

Wing Nut Student Project Possibilities:

Verbal/Linguistic

Symbolism Bookmark
(Idea combined from Creative Educator Volume 1, number 4 and Ten National Poetry Month Activities)

"Throughout literature and poetry, authors use symbolism to create various effects and to evoke emotion.  Symbolism helps us visualize events in a story and understand a character’s feelings."

Task
Choose one part of the book that best represents the use of symbolism.  Write an explanation of what the symbolism means and how it affects the work.

A question that might get you started:
Why does Charlie name one favorite purple martin “Marie?”

Indicators
The front of the bookmark should include:
* a pictorial representation fo the symbol or symbolism
* the title of the work
* the author’s name
* a quote from the work

The back of the bookmark should include an explanation of what the symbolism means and how it affects the work.

Evaluate the Bookmark: 
Appropriateness and effectiveness of the pictorial representations of the symbol
Appropriateness of their quotes as a representation of the symbolism
Explanation of how the symbolism is used in the work.

Link to Sample

Visual/Spatial

(See Celebrate Urban Birds) 

Logical/Mathematical

Migration Map
Use the book "Wing Nut" to find out about the migration of the purple martins.  Use additional resources to create a map of their migration route. Find out about birds that migrate through the Grand Island area.  Map their routes until you can draw your own conclusion of the significance of tracking birds or other animals.  Write your conclusion at the bottom of your map.

Naturalist 

Celebrate Urban Birds
Visit the website and describe how you think that Charlie celebrated urban birds.
Then go into action to create a way to celebrate urban birds in your own area.  There are plenty of ideas to get you started on the website.  It includes musical ideas in the form of a Bird Sounds Podcast to artistic ideas with a unique Foam Core Bird project.

Musical  

Movie Trailer
Analyze movie trailers, then create a trailer for the book "Wingnut".  Incorporate music and pictures through GarageBand Podcasting or iMovie.
(See Celebrate Urban Birds for other ways to utilize your musical interest or talent.)

Bodily/Kinesthetic 

A Different Approach to Learning
Take a look at the website Activity TV.  How does Activity TV's approach to learning something new, remind you of how Grady learns to fix cars.  After you write your reflection, choose one project from activity TV and see if you can teach yourself how to do something.  Now write about your own experience.

Intrapersonal 

Activity 1:  "The House Sparrow" 
Grady and Charlie each have a different opinion of the house sparrow.  Write the two points of view and then describe which way you feel about the house sparrow and why.  Include information that you learned from the book and additional information you find online or in a different source.
Then come up with a way Grady and Charlie could have resolved these differences of opinion rather than the way they did in the book.

Activity 2:  "Connecting to Books"
Write down the book that Grady connected to and why.  To expand on your description, you may need to find a copy of "his book".
Now think of a book that has made a difference in your life in some way.  Explain. 
You might consider using the format for your writing from this site:  Letters about Literature

Interpersonal 

Blog
Be sure to visit the Blog to share in conversation with others who have read "Wing Nut".

Additional Resources of Interest:

Author Site: MJ Auch
When you go to the author's site, see if you get an "aha".  How does the author's background influence what she writes?

Student Resources:

The resources that you will need for each activity are embedded in the activity descriptions.