Schwartz & Wade (2018) | ISBN: 978-1524769567

Today begins a series I’m calling “TOGETHER. APART. REGRET. NEW START?”

Each Monday for the next 3 weeks, I’ll share a brief lesson to accompany a picture book that invites students into a conversation about empathy, friendship, and the path from conflict to resolution.

This week’s book is I Walk With Vanessa: A Story about A Simple Act of Kindness by Kerascoët. Inspired by real events, this beautiful, wordless picture book invites student to study each ink and watercolor illustration and tell the story in their own words.

BEFORE READING

Before leading students in a modified PICTURE WALK, use a post-it note or something similar to conceal the title on both the cover and title page, leaving the illustration visible. Ask: What’s going on in the picture? What will this story be about? What do you see that makes you say that?

Continue the picture walk to the title page, and the double-page spread that follows. Allow time for students to study the illustrations but ask them to keep their predictions to themselves for the moment.

Now, flip back to the cover and remove the post-it notes. Read the title and subtitle. Does knowing the title change their predictions?

DURING

Guided by the open-ended questions (What’s going on in this picture? What do you see that makes you say that? What more can we find?) continue to encourage students to “read” the story by sharing their interpretations and thoughts about the developing art and narrative.

As Megan Dowd Lambert suggests in her book, READING PICTURE BOOKS WITH CHILDREN, “use these questions to help children dig deeper into insights that surprise or intrigue. The idea is to engage the group in ways that guide, as opposed to direct, the group’s reading.”

AFTER

Share this brief quote from the backmatter with students:

“Kindness multiplies. One small act of kindness can inspire more kind acts.”

Questions to consider …

• What do think the quote means? Do you believe it’s true? Can kindness multiply? In what ways? Can you share examples?
• Have you ever experienced a small act of kindness? How did it make you feel? Did it inspire you to “pass it on?”
• What act of kindness might you try today?

EXTENTIONS

• Make a Kindness Poster for your home or classroom
• Paint rocks with positive messages to leave around the school or neighborhood
• Decorate the playground with kindness-themed chalk art.