"Back Home" is the story of a girl named Ernestine. Pinkney takes us through Ernestine's adventures and realizations as she, a city girl, goes back to the place where she was born, and visits her family down South. She wants so badly to be liked by her cousin, Jack Avery, but all he does is tease her. She tries to fit in and help around the farm, but nothing seems to work. One morning, after church, Ernestine and her family go and visit her grandmother's grave. This was a great bonding moment for the two cousins, and later on, Jack even decides to name his new kid goat Princess, which was Ernestine's idea. Before she heads back home, the two cousins end up being great friends, leaving the reader feeling happy for Ernestine.
As I was thinking about ways that this could be connected to the classroom, I realized that this could be a great story to help talk to students about different lifestyles, cultures, or communities. Since Ernestine is a city girl, she is experiencing a completely new atmosphere than what she is used to. There are new sights and smells, and through getting to know her family she is learning what it is like to live on a farm and the responsibilities that they have. I think that it would be fun to find a variety of stories with different community settings, like "Back Home," and read them with my students and discuss the similarities and differences of the stories.
I really enjoyed reading "Back Home" by Gloria Jean Pinkney. I would definitely recommend this story to my future students. As they read, I would tell them to put themselves and Ernestine's shoes and see how they would feel in a new place.
Until next time,
Ashley
Ashley,
ReplyDeleteI really liked the way you connected the story to the classroom. I could see that being a fun unit to do in my future classroom as well! The book you read sounds like a really cute story with a happy ending. It sounds like it can also teach students about making friends and how certain experiences bond others together. Great post!
Ashley,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! This book sounds like a great way to teach students about friendship and just developing relationships in general. I think that your idea to read this book, as well as other books that discuss different types of communities is a great idea! It would be fun to extend that learning and have students write about their own communities, or maybe even their dream communities. This sounds like a great book for elementary students!
Ashley,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! In M300 this semester, I learned many things about cultures and races and how we still have many problems in the schools regarding them. I love your mini lesson idea! I think it is very important to teach cultures that may be unfamiliar to some students. We will have diversity within the classroom, so this is just one way to include a student's background that may not be mentioned in the textbooks that are purchased by the school.
I cannot believe this semester is almost over either!