In the past, I’ve written a #SibertSmackdown Wrap-up
post with tidbits from some of the classes and schools who participated. But
this year, I decided to try something a little bit different.I
invited some of the participating teachers to share a reflection of their
class’s experience with the activity, and it was a great decision. It’s
exciting to find out exactly how they integrated it into their curriculum and
how they modified my suggestions to meet the specific needs of their
students.Today’s
post comes from fourth grade teacher Galiah Morgenstern. Thanks so much
for sharing, Galiah!When my co-teacher, Liz Lapidus, and I started our nonfiction reading unit
with our students, we had the typical goals in mind—introduce our students to a
variety of nonfiction topics and reinforce skills and strategies like main
idea/ supporting details, summarizing, using text features, etc. We set up book
bins on each table, and students eagerly dove in.What was missing from our instruction? A purpose.
Then I came across Melissa Stewart’s post on Twitter about the Sibert Smackdown, a Mock Sibert award unit. We would read 12 nonfiction books
published in 2021, discuss them, deliberate their merits, and narrow the list
down to one book—our class “winner.”
I was intrigued—as an avid reader of youth literature, I planned on
watching the ALA Youth Media Awards live on January 24. Here was a way to make
it real for our students, while tapping into what we were already doing with
our nonfiction unit. Since the Sibert Medal is given to the most distinguished
informational book, this would give our students the “drive” we were looking
for.After reading Melissa’s suggested books, I decided to swap out four of
them with books I thought would resonate strongly with our students. This kind
of self-selection is a practice that Melissa encourages.
I was blown away by the results. When we presented the books as class
read-alouds under our document camera (which projected the images and text of
each page on the SmartBoard) our students were riveted.We Are Still Here.
The Beak Book.
13 Ways to Eat a Fly.
Unspeakable.
Each book, so different from the others, piqued student interest with information
that was novel, engaging, authentic, intriguing.Next, students shared their observations, insights, questions,
connections. The books made them think. They drank up the ideas and grew even
bigger ones. It was book magic at its best.We discussed the idea of choosing The Best Book, asking questions like:
What criteria should we use? What makes a book great? Then students paired up
to develop criteria much like the ones Melissa Stewart provided in a Sibert Smackdown worksheet, which offers a student-friendly version of the actual
Sibert criteria. Our students’ criteria included interest level, how well the
author presented facts, and how well the illustrations helped to convey ideas
and bring the text to life.We created a Jamboard to consolidate the students’ comments for each of
the twelve books we had read. It was helpful for them to see all the opinions
side by side.
Then students argued the merits of “their” picks, and soon it was time
for The Vote. So many books got lots of love—Nina (“I like music, too”);
13 Ways to Eat a Fly (“Nasty and gross”); Unspeakable (“good
message”). Ultimately, the book that got the most votes was The Boy Whose
Head Was Filled with Stars.To further enrich the experience, we connected virtually with a 4th
grade class in Upstate New York that also did the Sibert Smackdown and
discussed our favorite picks. The joy was palpable as both sets of students
showed each other their “matching” books and extolled their merits. We gave
each other a few recommendations as well!During the ALA Youth Media Awards, which we watched live in its
entirety, it was fascinating to observe our students as they took in each award
presented. Yes, they clapped for each winner, but most telling of all was as
soon as one of “our” books won in any of the categories, the class immediately
erupted in cheers! They felt a connection, a kinship, an ownership—and that
made it all the more meaningful.In teaching, of course we want our students to learn all the necessary
skills, but most of all, we want them to develop a love of reading, a hunger
for learning, a curiosity. We all learned something important through this unit—how
valuable such experiences are, how deep our students’ thinking can be—if only
we give them the opportunity. Connecting with books means something; and now,
it means everything.Galiah
Morgenstern has been working in the field of
special education for 25 years; the last 19 years have been at PS 174 in
Queens, NY. She currently co-teaches in an integrated 4th grade class with her
long-time partner-in-crime, Liz Lapidus. An avid reader, especially of middle
grade books, Galiah loves to find ways to help young readers connect with books
and spread “book joy.” She is a member of #BookAllies, an ARC review
group.
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