Responses to Literature
Under the book report genres, Realistic Fiction includes most Heartwood books, which are generally about people, not animals or supernatural beings. Some exceptions include Historical Fiction such as Teammates and Folk Tales such as The Two Brothers.

Heartwood books can serve for the 25-books-read-independently requirement. Students can write a brief response to one of the discussion questions, to be placed in their portfolios to document that the books were read. Heartwood Journals can also serve for documentation, but students should be permitted to keep the original. Note: It is very important to take issues of confidentiality into consideration if the portfolios will be read by others. For example, personal material may be covered with paper and tape.

When children are writing Responses to Literature, explain that they must go beyond giving a summary of the story (what happened, what happened next, who and where). Concrete suggestions for how they can go deeper in discussing a story:

1. Relate or compare what happened in the story to something in your own life.
2. Relate or compare a major character to a character in another book or story.
3. Point out Heartwood attributes that you see in the story, such as people who show caring and love, or respect for the world/earth. Ask that book reports include any Heartwood attributes the characters show (add to your rubric).

These ideas can be applied to stories from the basal reader or, for Response to Literature Not in the Basal Reader, to Heartwood stories. These often overlap, for example, fourth graders read Teammates, Mufaro’s Daughter, The Gold Coin—in which case, grab the Heartwood lesson card from the kit for questions, writing ideas and activities.

Examples

1. Write about Tiblo and Tonkshi, “Dream Wolf” (in basal reader) or Alemayu and his sister in Fire on the Mountain (HW), and then about a time you have done something loyal or courageous for a sister, brother, or other family member.
2. a) How was The Boy Who Held Back the Sea like Blue Bonnet (both HW)?

   b) Compare what characters did in Miss Rumphius to The Great Kapok Tree or The People Who Hugged the Trees (all Respect books from various HW kits). How do these actions relate to the information about rescuing animals from oil spills in the basal reader section “Up to Us”?

   c) Relate "The Streets are Free" (basal reader) to Chicken Sunday, Fly Away Home, Angel Child, Dragon Child, Sam and the Lucky Money, or We Be Warm (all HW) on the theme of taking action to make hopes come true.

Heartwood books from different kits can be related under various themes. For example, if you are teaching Angel Child, Dragon Child and talking about immigration and the courage to leave one place for another, then read Grandfather’s Journey, Follow the Drinking Gourd, How My Parents Learned to Eat, and The Wall (also about Vietnam). You could also look into the underground railroad, and whether your area lies on one of the routes of the “railroad.” On weather, relate Thundercake to Kapiti Plain. On animals, or the idea of not hurting living things, read Tale of the Mandarin Ducks.

You can borrow related books dealing with each attribute from different Heartwood kits, or find them in the library or order them. Check the bibliographies in your kit’s Teachers’ Guide.