Teaching Guide for Ada’s Ideas: The Story of Ada Lovelace, the World’s First Computer Programmer by Fiona Robinson

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Nonfiction Wednesday

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday is hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy and was started to help promote the reading of nonfiction texts. Most Wednesdays, we will be participating and will review a nonfiction text (though it may not always be a picture book).
Be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy and see what other nonfiction books are shared this week!

Ada’s Ideas: The Story of Ada Lovelace, the World’s First Computer Programmer
Author and Illustrator: Fiona Robinson
Published August 2nd, 2016 by Abrams Books

Summary: Ada Lovelace (1815–1852) was the daughter of Lord Byron, a poet, and Anna Isabella Milbanke, a mathematician. Her parents separated when she was young, and her mother insisted on a logic-focused education, rejecting Byron’s “mad” love of poetry. But Ada remained fascinated with her father and considered mathematics “poetical science.” Via her friendship with inventor Charles Babbage, she became involved in “programming” his Analytical Engine, a precursor to the computer, thus becoming the world’s first computer programmer. This picture book biography of Ada Lovelace is a portrait of a woman who saw the potential for numbers to make art.

Teaching Guide with Discussion Questions and Activities: 

Ada’s Ideas: The Story of ADA LOVELACE, the World’s First Computer Programmer

Ada Lovelace (1815–1852) was the daughter of Lord Byron, a poet, and Anna Isabella Milbanke, a mathematician. Her parents separated when she was young, and her mother insisted on a logic-focused education, rejecting Byron’s “mad” love of poetry. But Ada remained fascinated with her father and considered mathematics “poetical science.” Via her friendship with inventor Charles Babbage, she became involved in “programming” his Analytical Engine, a precursor to the computer, thus becoming the world’s first computer programmer. This picture book biography of Ada Lovelace is a portrait of a woman who saw the potential for numbers to make art.

Note about this guide and Ada’s Ideas

Ada Lovelace was a mathematician far ahead of her time. Because of this, much of the math included in Ada’s Ideas are quite complex. Because of this, Ada’s Ideas could be used for a wide range of students from early-elementary, focusing on Ada’s impact on math, to college, focusing on her use of complex math to write the first computer programs. Within this guide, you will find activities and discussion questions that primarily focus on its use in elementary and middle classrooms, but this does not limit it to these grade levels.

Vocabulary

These vocabulary words can be found throughout the book (in the order they are listed). Use these words as a starting point for a vocabulary study with Ada’s Ideas. Research shows that reading and discussing vocabulary within the context of reading is one of the most effective ways to learn vocabulary.

Despaired     |     Era     |    Defy     |    Reckless     |    Parallelogram     |    Influence     |    Steady     |    Whirred     |    Clanked     |    Newly Harnessed     |    Mechanical     |    Affectionate     |    Carrier Pigeon     |    Confined     |    Poetical expression     |    Aside     |    Eligible     |    Thrust     |     Regimented     |    Re-ignited     |    Potential     |    Orient     |    Corresponding     |    Loom     |    Thereby     |    Algorithm     |    Compute     |    Potential     |    Foresaw     |    Impact     |    Stunned     |    Envision

Activities: Use these activities to extend student learning with Ada’s Ideas.

Ana’s Parents

  • Ana’s parents are both well-renowned and intelligent; however, they are both very different.
  • Get to know George Byron
    • Have your students read the first stanza of “She Walks in Beauty” by Lord Byron. Analyze the stanza with them and discuss: How is Lord Byron describing the subject of his poem? Does it fit your idea of “Romantic” as Lord Byron was considered a leading figure in the Romantic Movement of poetry.
      • She walks in beauty, like the night
        Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
        And all that’s best of dark and bright
        Meet in her aspect and her eyes;
        Thus mellowed to that tender light
        Which heaven to gaudy day denies.
  • Get to know Anne Isabella Byron
    • Lady Byron was wealthy and educated. She was tutored by a Cambridge University professor as a child and found she excelled at mathematics. Discuss with your students: How did Lady Byron’s fascination of mathematics influence Ana’s life? Do you think her life would have been the same if her mother had not been a mathematician herself?

Nature vs. Nurture

  • Discuss with your students the idea of nature vs. nurture.
  • Lord and Lady Byron worked hard to separate Lord Byron from Ada to try and limit her poetical and imaginative behavior; however, Ada still ended up with quite the imagination. What does this show us about nature vs. nurture? Was Ada’s mother able to change how she was going to grow up by separating her from her father, or did it not matter since she is biologically his daughter?
  • Have your students break into two sides and research the ideas of nature vs. nurture then debate whether a person’s DNA decides their development or if experiences and environment can change the development.
    • Extension: Move the debate to Ada’s situation instead of a generic debate about the idea.

Industrial Revolution

  • The Industrial Revolution was possible because of the engineers, scientists, and mathematicians who put theory into practice. These new exciting feats of engineering and science included the first reliable steam engine, the cotton gin, telegraph, dynamite, vaccines, telephone, light bulb, airplane, and automobile.
  • Individually, in partners, or in groups, assign a different Industrial Revolution invention and look at how it was created, how it changed the world, and how it changed science/math/engineering then present their findings to the class.
  • After learning more about the Industrial Revolution, tie it back to Ada Lovelace’s life by discussing if the class believes that Ada’s accomplishments could have happened during a different time in history.

Influence

  • Ada Lovelace’s findings are largely said to be the first computer program. Her programs, in conjunction with Babbage’s hardware, were a theory over a century before the first computers were invented in the United States and England. Even though she was not part of the actual invention and start of computer science, she influenced much of modern computer science. Use the information below as the starting point for a research paper/project or discussion.
  • Some of the ways Ada has influenced computer science are:
    • Mill made by Babbage’s son
      • Charles Babbage’s son made the part of the analytical engine called the mill which carried out numerical operations.
    • Alan Turing
      • Babbage and Lovelace’s analytical engine was the original “drum” computer though Turing is often portrayed as the inventor of the idea.
    • John Graham-Cumming
      • Graham-Cumming is a British programmer who is working to bring the analytical engine, known as Plan 28, to realization.
    • Some ways Ada has been commemorated:
      • ADA: a standardized computer language used by the US Department of Defense
        • A computer language that appeared for the first time in 1980 and is still used today.
      • Ada Lovelace Day
        • Ada Lovelace Day was founded in 2011 and aims to share female pioneers in STEM fields. Ada Lovelace Day is the second Tuesday of October.

Discussion Questions: Use these questions as whole class discussions, reading check-ins, or as writing prompts with Ada’s Ideas. The discussion questions are written as if they are being asked to a student.

  • Ada’s schedule as an 8-year-old was very intense. Compare and contrast your current schooling schedule to what Ada was expected to do daily.
    • How many hours did she spend on each subject? How long do you spend?
    • Do you feel like what was expected of her was too high of expectations or fair?
  • How did Ada’s contraction of measles change her life?
  • Why did the author choose to cover Ada’s comforter in geometric shapes on the page when she is suffering with measles?
  • Ada surrounded herself with some very intelligent and influential people including Mary Fairfax Somerville, nominated to be jointly the first female member of the Royal Astronomical Society; Charles Dickens, one of the greatest novelist of the Victorian era; Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing; and Charles Babbage. How do you think having these historical figures as her friends helped influence her focus and trajectory in life?
  • The mentorship of Charles Babbage changed Ada’s life as well as the trajectory of computer science. How did Ada influence Charles’s work and vice versa? Do you think either could have accomplished what they did without each other?
    • Compare their work to modern technologies: Ada’s work ended up influencing the creations of ____, and Mr. Babbage’s work ended up influencing the creations of ____.
  • How did Joseph-Marie Jacquard’s loom influence Ada’s idea of the program for the Analytical Engine?
  • The author’s note about Bernoulli Numbers states that Ada chose them as “beautiful examples” of the complexity of the Analytical Engine. Elaborate on this statement: Why would Ada choose something so complicated as the first program she wrote for the Analytical Engine?
  • The illustrations of Ada’s Ideas are Japanese watercolor pieces cut out and rearranged at different depths to achieve 3-D artwork then photographed. How does this artwork fit Ada’s story? Would another type of illustrations have been able to capture Ada’s ideas and personality as well?

Common Core Standards: English Language Arts

Examples of English Language Arts Common Core Anchor Standards that can be met by extending Ada’s Ideas with the above discussion questions/activities.

  • ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.1
    Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
  • ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.2
    Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.
  • ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.3
    Analyze how and why individuals, events, or ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.
  • ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.4
    Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.
  • ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.5
    Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole.
  • ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.7
    Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
  • ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.9
    Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

Computer Science Teachers Association Standards

  • Computational Thinking: Grades K-3, #4: The student will be able to recognize that software is created to control computer operations.
  • Computational Thinking: Grades K-6, #6: The student will be able to understand the connections between computer science and other fields.
  • Computational Thinking: Grades 6-9, #3: The student will be able to define an algorithm as a sequence of instructions that can be processed by a computer.
  • Computing Practice and Programming: Grades K-3, #5: The student will be able to identify jobs that use computing and technology.
  • Computing Practice and Programming: Grades 6-9, #7: The student will be able to identify interdisciplinary careers that are enhanced by computer science.
  • Computers and Communication Devices: Grades 6-9, #3: The student will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between hardware and software.
  • Computers and Communication Devices: Grade 6-9, #4: The student will be able to use developmentally appropriate, accurate terminology when communicating about technology.
  • Community, Global, and Ethical Impacts: Grade 6-9, #2: The student will be able to demonstrate the knowledge of changes in information technologies over time and the effects those changes have had on education, the workplace, and society.

Author/Illustrator

Fiona Robinson is originally from the north of England she now lives in Brooklyn, New York. She is an author and illustrator of books for children including Whale Shines, What Animals Really Look Like, and Ada’s Ideas. What Animals Really Like received the 2012 Irma Black Award, and Bank Street named it one of the 2012 Best Children’s Books. She has been praised by Publishers Weekly for her “humor tinged with heart,” and her work has been honored by the Royal Academy of Arts in London. Her favorite things include drawing, reading, drinking tea and telling her stories to children. She doesn’t like loud noises or clapping and often reads newspapers and magazines back to front. When she was in elementary school her teachers called her Little Leonardo, and she’s forever thankful for their support and that of her fabulous family in England too.

Resources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ada_Lovelace

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/11285007/Ada-Lovelace-paved-the-way-for-Alan-Turings-more-celebrated-codebreaking-a-century-before-he-was-born.html

http://findingada.com/

https://plus.maths.org/content/ada-lovelace-visions-today

The teaching guide can also be viewed at: https://www.scribd.com/document/341092371/Ada-s-Ideas-Teaching-Guide# or http://www.abramsbooks.com/academic-resources/teaching-guides/

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Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea

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Because of Mr. Terupt
Author: Rob Buyea
Published October 12, 2010 by Delacorte

A Guest Review by Julia Kipphut

Summary: Mr. Terupt’s fifth grade class at Snow Hill School is comprised of various types of students, some including: a new student, a popular girl, a bully, and a troublemaker. Their teacher, Mr. Terupt who is passionate and energetic, strives to engage his students and instill a sense of community amongst his class. Unfortunately, one day, a snowball fight goes awry and leaves Mr. Terupt in a coma. His class is rattled and must learn to work together, be kind, and hope for Mr. Terupt’s recovery.

Review: This book includes a variety of characters, each owning their own identity and personality. Each chapter is written from a different character’s perspective, making for a fluid and interesting read. They are relatable for children and allow them to recognize themselves in each character. Each character evolves in the story and shows tremendous growth, proving the rich development of the people in this book. The message of community and forgiveness is nicely intertwined in the story and proves that it is always better to choose kindness. The theme of this book is positive and motivational. 

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Because of Mr. Terupt serves as a great reader aloud for upper elementary school students. 4th and 5th graders who are struggling with their identity and place in a classroom community can learn the importance of compassion. Students can learn to embrace individual differences for a common goal or outcome, mirroring the characters in this book. Additionally, this book allows students to study character development throughout the story; each character evolves- allowing for effective classroom discussion.

Because of each character of this book is written from a different character’s perspective, students are able to study point of view and consider the influence each chapter has on the story as a whole. Students are able to learn about each character in depth and can even use literature circles to each study a character for analysis.

Discussion Questions: How might the story be different if the snowball accident did not happen?; What do you think the author’s purpose or message was for this story?; Why do you think the author chose to write this story from different characters points of views? Do you think this was effective?

Book Trailer: 

Read This If You Loved: Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper; Wonder by R. J. Palacio

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Thank you, Julia!

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An Alphabet in Bloom by Nathalie Trovato

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An Alphabet in Bloom
Author: Nathalie Trovato
Expected Publication May 16th, 2017 by Home Grown Books

Summary: In this wordless alphabet book, children will explore the many places that plants grow, from the familiar to the fantastical. Readers will be enchanted by the colorful cut paper illustrations of Nathalie Trovato along their journey from A to Z.

About the Artist: Nathalie Trovato is a French artist, educator and polyglot who lives in Brooklyn with her inspirational family. She considers herself a visual translator and through her minimalist approach she creates poetic connections between words and images.

About Home Grown Books: Home Grown Books develops books that support its core values – organic learning, creativity, sustainability and giving back. They reject a one-size-fits-all educational model, and are committed to treating all children as unique, creative individuals. The books honor children’s innate intelligence with compelling content that will spark their curiosity. As the books engage the imagination, little readers are drawn back to the books, effortlessly strengthening their reading habits and fostering confidence in themselves as a reader.  Believing in the power of art to engage a little reader’s mind, their books feature artwork by emerging and established artists that will capture the imaginations of your little one. The language is simple and the artwork is complex, leaving room beyond the words for a child’s imagination to explore. As part of their Mini Museum Series, they partnered with high profile artists such as Wangechi Mutu & Katherine Bradford, to produce visually stimulating board books. Home Grown Books are the only independent publisher that manufactures all their books in the US with eco-friendly practices. The NYC board books are printed with 100% recycled (min 35% post consumer) CCNB paperboard with an aqueous coating. The paperback books are printed on 50% post consumer paper using low-VOC vegetable inks, and renewable wind-powered energy and the book pack packaging is printed in New York on paper from managed forest using low-VOC vegetable inks and renewable wind-powered energy. More info and news can be viewed here: homegrownbooksnyc.com/blogs/news

About the Founder: Kyla Ryman saw a need for creative and compelling reading content for children. In 2012, she founded Home Grown Books to develop resources that empowered parents and inspired little readers. Kyla is a mother of two boys and an advocate of organic learning. She embraces thinking, playing, and creating as the building blocks for learning. More info here: homegrownbooksnyc.com/pages/about-us#founder.

Review: I am so impressed with all of the beautiful books I’ve seen from Home Grown Books so far. First, I read two books from the Mini Museum series which highlights artists for young children, and now Trovato’s piece of art alphabet book that is unlike any other alphabet book I’ve seen. Each page is filled with cut paper illustrations of objects that start with each sequential letter. T (for Trent!) includes three, tree, trunk, tulips, twigs, and two; G includes garden, gardener, giant, glove, grab, grass, grasshopper, green, and grow; and  V includes venus flytrap, vicious, and and violet ground beetle.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: After viewing these beautiful illustrations and discussing each page and the words they represent, readers can make their own pieces of alphabet art.

Discussion Questions: What words do you see represented for each letter?; What other words could the artist have included?

Flagged Passages: 

C: caterpillar, chlorophyll, crawl, creeping                                    D: daffodil, dawn, dew, dragonfly, droop, droplets, dusk

Read This If You Love: Art, Alphabet books

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Sea Otter Heroes: The Predators That Saved an Ecosystem by Patricia Newman

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Nonfiction Wednesday

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday is hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy and was started to help promote the reading of nonfiction texts. Most Wednesdays, we will be participating and will review a nonfiction text (though it may not always be a picture book).
Be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy and see what other nonfiction books are shared this week!

Sea Otter Heroes: The Predators That Saved an Ecosystem
Author: Patricia Newman
Published by January 1st, 2017 by Millbrook Press

Summary: Marine biologist Brent Hughes didn’t think sea otters and sea grass had much in common. But his research at Elkhorn Slough, an estuary on Monterey Bay in northern California, revealed a new and surprising connection between the two. The scientist expected this estuary to be overrun with algae due to the fertilizer runoff from surrounding fields. But it wasn’t. Why?

Review: As someone who struggled with biology when in school, I love narrative nonfiction about nature because it helps me fill in education gaps. Sea Otter Heroes looks at trophic cascade (cause and effect relationships within a food chain) and how it affects an ecosystem–so interesting! This information along with the beautiful photographs make this book a scientific journey.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Patricia Newman’s books (Plastics, Ahoy! and Ebola included) are made for classrooms. This text includes not only the cause-effect relationship between otters and sea grass, but also has experiments, information about careers, a glossary, and an afterword about rethinking our relationship with nature giving the reader real ways they can make a difference. This book would be perfect to use in a life science unit or class.

Discussion Questions: What is the “critical link between” sea otters and flowering sea grass?; Finding the link was an accident, what was Brent Hughes studying when he found the connection? What was the proof that the connection existed?; How does the Elkhorn Slough exist?; What are Hughes’s 7 steps to think like a scientist? Observe nature and go through the 7 steps yourself.; What part did sea hares play in Brett Hughes’s experiment?; What is a trophic cascade?; How are what was discovered about the otters similar to the situations with wolves and sperm whales Newman shared?

Flagged Passages: 

Read This If You Love: Scientists in the Field books, National Geographic and Animal Planet books about animals 

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**Thank you to Lerner and Patricia for providing a copy for review!**

Exclusive Reveal!: Teaching Guide for Barkus by Patricia MacLachlan

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Barkus
Author: Patricia MacLachlan
Illustrator: Marc Boutavant
Expected Publication June 6th, 2017 by Chronicle Books
http://www.chroniclebooks.com/barkus.html

Today we are happy to be able to be able to exclusively reveal the teaching guide for Barkus by Patricia MacLachlan. This is an early chapter book that is a must-get for all of our early elementary friends.

About the Book: Meet Barkus. Barkus is loyal. Barkus is generous. Barkus is sometimes a little too energetic! But in the end, Barkus is family. The exuberant Barkus and his lucky young owner jump, whirl, and twirl across this delightful early chapter book series from two award-winning book creators.

About the Author: Patricia MacLachlan is the celebrated author of many timeless books for young readers, including Sarah, Plain and Tall, winner of the Newbery Medal. Her novels for young readers include: Arthur, For the Very First Time; The Facts and Fiction of Minna Pratt; Skylark; Caleb’s Story; More Perfect than the Moon; Grandfather’s Dance; Word After Word After Word; Kindred Souls; and The Truth of Me. She is also the author of countless beloved picture books, a number of which she co-wrote with her daughter, Emily.

About the Illustrator: Marc Boutavant is an illustrator, graphic artist, and comic strip author. He lives in Paris.

About the Guide: This guide consists of discussion opportunities and classroom extension activities designed for use by Pre-K through second grade students in classroom, small group, or individual assignments.

You can also access the teaching guide here.

Recommended For: 

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Don’t miss out on this one!

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Teaching Guide for The Hat Trilogy by Jon Klassen

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Happy book birthday to We Found a Hat by Jon Klassen!

we found a hat

We Found a Hat
Published October 11, 2016 by Candlewick Press

i-want-my-hat-back  this is not my hat

I Want My Hat Back
Published September 27th, 2011 by Candlewick Press

This Is Not My Hat
Published October 9th, 2012 by Candlewick Press

The first two books of The Hat Trilogy have enthralled readers for years. They have been read in many classrooms and in many bedrooms delighting millions of children (and adults!). Today we get to celebrate the final installment of the trilogy.

Summary of We Found a HatTwo turtles find one hat – and it happens to look great on both of them.

Q&A With Jon Klassen: 

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation and Discussion Questions: 

I am happy to share the teaching guide for the books that I had the honor of writing!

The guide can also be found here.

Happy reading!

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Precepts: Analyzing and Reflecting Within the Middle School Classroom

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In Wonder by R.J. Palacio, Mr. Browne assigns his students a precept monthly that they will discuss and write an essay about. He defines precepts as “rules about really important things.” Mr. Browne truly inspired me. He is one of those teachers in books that you read and wish you could work with them. Ever since I’d finished Wonder, I’ve wanted to do a precept activity in my class, so this year, I jumped in and do a (mostly) weekly precept.

On most Fridays, students enter my classroom to a precept projected on the board. They read the precept and immediately begin writing. What is the theme of the precept? Why did the author say/write it? What does the precept mean to your life? Does it make you want to change anything? I let them write for about ten minutes and then we begin discussing.

I love many different things about tackling precepts with my students.

First, it gives them time to think about life. Too often during the school day the curriculum is just that: curriculum. Students don’t often get to reflect and think about their own life.

Second, it hits on reading and writing! Students are thinking about theme, author’s point of view, author’s perspective, inferences, and more then are writing a reflection sharing these using evidence and specific examples.

Third, we have some amazing discussions after they read, reflect, and write. Anyone who is worried about the future hasn’t had a really good conversation with a 12-year-old.

Blog20160208_160558 Blog20160208_160614 Blog20160208_160625

Although I have used Mr. Browne’s precepts as an inspiration, I’ve gone a bit rogue from the 365 Days of Wonder book and even include picture books as part of our precept activity. I’ve tried to tie the precepts to our units and also to what is going on in the world like a quote from a 9/11 widow. Here are the precepts we did during the first semester with some students responses.

Picture Books

Each Kindness by Jacqueline Wilson
“Each kindness makes the whole world a little bit better.”

Students made vows of kindness that are posted around the precept.

The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds
“Just make a mark and see where it takes you.” 

Student response: I feel like this book means a lot. First it means that you might think that your not good enough and that doesn’t mean that your bad it just means you need practice and practice makes perfect. Then I feel like when someone inspires you and gives you kindness you should pass it on. Lastly I feel like if you start little and then you practice and become big don’t forget how you started who inspired you and cut the kindness, you should be big and kind to the little ones or the ones who are just starting because you never know when you can be the cause of something big. I think that this book can help a lot of people even though it was a picture book and that’s why you shouldn’t judge a book by how big it is or its cover because a little amount of words can change someone’s life.

Red: A Crayon’s Story by Michael Hall
“He was blue. And everyone was talking…He’s really reaching for the sky. And he really was!”

Student response: “Don’t  tell someone to be something they’re not. Let them discover who they are on their own.”

Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña
“He wondered how his nana always found beautiful where he never even though to look. He looked all around them again at the…broken streetlamps still lit up…”

Student response: Even if you are broken you can still shine brighter than others.

Poetry

I’m Nobody! Who Are You?” (260) by Emily Dickinson

Student response: I think the theme of the poem is that being a person that tries to be in the pinnacle of attention is not how you will achieve happiness. To me this poem means that being yourself is the easiest source of happiness of life.

Precepts

“When given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind.” 
-Dr. Wayne Dyer, but found in Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Student response: We as people face choices everyday. Sometimes there easy, sometimes we don’t even realize we’re making one! This precept can be taken many different ways and all are correct. To me, this precept means love over opinion.

We Need Diverse Books

Student response: We need diverse books because when you read read the book and see all these races you think to yourself that its true,you look around you and you see the truth about the world. This is important because we need to be aware that all the people are different but they are all equal.

“If we learn nothing else form this tragedy, we learn that life is short and there is no time for hate.” 
Sandy Dahl, wife of Flight 93 pilot, Jason Dahl

Student response: This precept means that life is shorter than you think and if you live your life hated someone, you will live your life with hate. Most of the time, when you hate, you are angry, that is why you will live your life filled with hatred for another person. I think the author meant that she has partially forgiven the terrorists because she does not want to love her life with hatred. Mrs. Dahl doesn’t want you to live a terrible life just because of some people. You want to live your life to the fullest. This precept means to me that you should not live a short life filled with hate, but a short life living joyfully, which will seem longer than it is. This precept makes me think of many things: the people that have done wrong to me, the terrorists, and 9/11.

“Having the freedom to read and the freedom to choose is one of the best gifts my parents ever gave me.” 
Judy Blume

Student response: I think that this precept means that when you are given the freedom to choose which books you like it is really good because you can maybe relate to the book or learn from it. If you are deprived from books that you really enjoy, you might not even want to read at all because you want to read a certain type of book so much that any other book might not be fun to read. This is kind of like a movie you would want to watch. If you want to watch a movie for the right reasons, such as wanting to learn things or if it seems interesting, and you parents say you cannot watch it, other movies may not be that enjoyable because you are so set on watching a certain movie. You can also learn to be street smart smart from a book ahead of time so if you are in a situation, you have an idea of what to do. I think the author is happy that she was allowed to choose any book that she wanted because she might have learned something from books or maybe she gets very emotionally attached to certain books and she enjoys them very much. Maybe some people just read to go into a different world in their head because their family might be fighting or something. So, all in all the freedom of choosing whatever book you want to read is very important.

“Don’t strive for love, be it.”
Hugh Prather

Student response: I think the precept means that you should be the person to love not wait for someone to love you. Because if you wait you might never have love. And if you love you might get someone to love you back for who you are. Never be in the corner or in your room, always be out there to explore life and what it has to offer. Never give up who you like or what good qualities they have. Always stay true to yourself.

Precepts have given me a way to talk to my students about some tough subjects and get to know them better. Thank you R.J. Palacio and Mr. Browne for the inspiration!

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Check out R.J. Palacios Nerdy Book Club post about Mr. Browne’s first precept
and her Tumblr post for a list of the Mr. Browne’s monthly precepts