Thursday, February 2, 2012

Mental Images

Images of a distinguished Edward
Mental Images is such a fun comprehension item to teach.  I like to start with poetry or short phrases from descriptive books.  We have made mental images of Edward Tulane, after reading his description.  "He had china arms and china legs, china paws and a china head, a china torso and a china nose. His arms and legs were jointed and joined by wire so that his china elbows and china knees could be bent, giving him much freedom of movement.
    His ears were made of real rabbit fur, and beneath the fur, there were strong, bendable wires, which allowed the ears to be arranged into poses that reflected the rabbit’s mood — jaunty, tired, full of ennui. His tail, too, was made of real rabbit fur and was fluffy and soft and well shaped.
    The rabbit’s name was Edward Tulane, and he was tall. He measured almost three feet from the tip of his ears to the tip of his feet; his eyes were painted a penetrating and intelligent blue.
    In all, Edward Tulane felt himself to be an exceptional specimen. Only his whiskers gave him pause. They were long and elegant (as they should be), but they were of uncertain origin....The china rabbit was in possession of an extraordinary wardrobe composed of handmade silk suits, custom shoes fashioned from the finest leather and designed specifically for his rabbit feet, and a wide array of hats equipped with holes so that they could easily fit over Edward’s large and expressive ears. Each pair of well-cut pants had a small pocket for Edward’s gold pocket watch. Abilene wound this watch for him each morning."


We read a funny Jack Prelutsky poem and drew our image of his words.

Love how the bottom one has the girl, just peeking over the fence!
My Neighbor's Dog is Purple
My neighbor's dog is purple,
its eyes are large and green,
its tail is almost endless,
the longest I have seen.
My neighbor's dog is quiet,
it does not bark one bit,
but when my neighbor's dog is near.
I feel afraid of it.
My neighbor's dog looks nasty,
it has a wicked smile....
before my neighbor painted it,
it was a crocodile.

-Jack Prelutsky
More images tomorrow!

Jennyfer@ Teaching in the Couv has a Top 10 list of books she uses for mental images.  I can't wait to try some of them out!
Happy Thursday,
Laurie


4 comments:

  1. I love using poetry for mental images too! Thanks for sharing Laurie.

    Tammy
    Forever in First

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  2. What a great poem for mental images! My kids love his silly poems. Thanks for sharing!

    Sara :)

    Smiling In Second Grade

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  3. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane is one of my FAVORITE read alouds! We are currently reading Mercy Watson. You've inspired me to do a little mental image work around Mercy and his buttered toast!

    Jen @ www.teachinginthecouv.blogspot.com

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    Replies
    1. I think he is the Edward we should all be loving! Kate DiCamillo is fabulous! Have you read Bink and Golly or the Louise the Adventures of a Chicken?

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