Teachable Text Tuesday (If I Built a Car)

This book by Chris Van Dusen reminds me so much of If I Ran the Zoo by Dr. Seuss.  It has something magical in it when the boy's imagination takes over and brainstorms all the ideas he has to make a car better than the one he was currently riding in. Here is the short synopsis that accompanies the book.

"If I built a car, it'd be totally new!  Here are a few of the things that I'd do..."  Jack has designed the ultimate fantasy car.  Inspired by zeppelins and trains, Cadillacs and old planes, with brilliant colors and lots of shiny chrome, this far-out vision is ready to cruise!  There's a fireplace, a pool, and even a snack bar!  After a tour of the ritzy interior, Robert the robot starts up the motor...and Jack and his dad set off on the wildest test drive ever!

As I was thinking about the things that came to mind with this story I immediately went to our summer break.  Summer can be difficult time to find fun ways to incorporate learning and creating.  It is much easier to allow the iPads and television to rule our "I'm tired of the sun, I'm hot, and I need a break" days.

1.  I think for us in our home we may use this book to help us create something new.  In my classroom we use the ICE model, so why not let my own little ones experience it also.  The first step in the ICE model is to imagine.  For my people at home (and your people at your home) this could be as simple as giving them a blank piece of paper and having them list their first ideas and thoughts.  Before they begin sketching, give them a family to design their car for; tell them who would be driving, who would be riding, etc.  They would sketch out or list (with my help) as many ideas as they could think of that would work for them as they begin to create a new car for their make believe family.  The next step is to create.  I would allow them to choose an idea or two from their imagine paper to create their new car.  We would gather supplies and materials and give them a chance to make something keeping in mind who they are building their new car for as they complete each step.  The last step of the ICE model is to evaluate.  This is where they can share what they have created with me.  They will share and then I will give them feedback based on the strengths of their creation.  We will then decide if there is anything that could be better or needs to be changed.  The first iteration is complete.  It is easy enough to now continue on with this pattern to create a worthwhile design for the imaginary family.

2. Aside from a small dip of the toe into project based learning you could always provide journal prompts for writing.  You cannot go wrong with a blank journal to start your summer or school year.  These are some of my favorite things in my classroom because kids can take a prompt in any direction they desire.  I would get them started by asking one of the following questions and depending on their age ask them to either draw a picture, write a few words, or write a paragraph about their thoughts on that specific topic.
"What did the boy think of the car he was riding in and how did he make it better?"
"How did his dad feel about his idea and what do you think your parents would think of a new car like that?"
"What cool gadgets or different things would you include if you could build a new car?"
"Who would you want to share your new car with?"

3. Lastly, depending on the age of the child you could discover rhyming words together.  Choose a word family and make a list of words with that same ending sound.  You could also research online varying lists of rhyming words.  Encouraging them to create their own few lines that rhyme possibly using the word family lists they created is also an effective way to help them store that piece of information in their schema.  Rhyming is an important part of learning to read and hearing the sounds in words. It can be a lot of fun too and make children feel successful.  

If you want to purchase this book you can find it here!  Happy "Teachable Text Tuesday!"