Sharlene Lien

SLIS 5960.005

 

 

Multicultural Literature Activities

 

 

Picture Book Activity

 

About the Book:

·      Moses Goes to a Concert. Millman, Isaac. Farrar, Straus and Giroux; New York, 1998.  ISBN 0374350671 (Hardcover).  40 pages.

Interest level: K-3.

Reviewed by:  Rockman, Hazel.  Booklist (starred), 4/15/98, Vol. 94 Issue 16, p.1439.

 

About the Story:

Moses and his friends are deaf.  They use sign language in order to communicate.  In this story, the students attend a concert where the percussionist is deaf, yet plays with the orchestra by feeling the vibrations with her feet.  The students ‘hear’ the concert by holding balloons and feeling the vibrations.  Included in this story, are sign language words and illustrations.  At the end, there are two full conversations and the sign language alphabet.

 

About the Illustrations:

The illustrations are a combination of double and single spread pages    made up of watercolor drawings.  Inserted on some of the pages are pictures of Moses demonstrating how to sign various words.  The students illustrated in this story represent various ethnic backgrounds.

 

About the Author:

Isaac Millman was born in France.  His parents were Polish-Jewish immigrants.  In 1948, as a teenager, he came to the United States where he eventually became a citizen and served in the Armed Forces.  He graduated from Pratt University and is currently employed as a Senior Art Director.  Mr. Millman and his wife live in New York City.  They have two grown sons.

 

Isaac has been quoted as saying, “Real life is my best inspiration for my stories.  I enjoy writing and drawing for children because I can really let my imagination go.”

If you enjoy “Moses Goes to a Concert”, you may also enjoy Mr. Millman’s newest book, “Moses Goes to School”.

 

Objectives:

·      Students will be able to understand that some people cannot hear, yet lead very productive and rewarding lives.

·      Students will understand there is more than one way to communicate with one another such as through signing or writing.

·      Students will understand that goals are attainable and you can become anything you want if you set your heart on it and work hard.

·      Students will have a little better understanding for those that cannot hear.

 

Materials Needed:

     Overheads of sign language stories.

     Copies of sign language alphabet and any additional words that will be

     taught.

 

Before Activity:

·      As a group, we will discuss whether we know anyone that is deaf or hard of hearing.  We will discuss how someone that is deaf can communicate with others (such as through signing and writing). 

·      For a few minutes, we will try to communicate with each other without using words.  We can only use our hands or expressions.

·      I will explain to students that we are going to read a story about a young boy and his friends that are deaf and go to a concert.

 

After Activity:

·      After the story is read, we will discuss the way the students are able to ‘hear’ the vibrations and practice some of the sign language in the story.

·      Using an overhead of some of the signs, we will practice some basic sign language.

·      Students will be given a copy of the alphabet to take with them.

 

 

Evaluation:

Students will be evaluated by observation of participation in both the discussion and practice of sign language.

 

 

 

Activity Extension:

Depending on the grade level of students, this activity could be extended in a number of ways.  I have a few sign language stories that I teach to 2nd and 3rd graders.  One of the stories I teach is “The Great Big Enormous Turnip”.  It is easy to teach because it has a lot of repetition.  For older students, I have made my own sign language book of “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?”  I though it would be fun to teach them and have them perform for younger students.

It would also be neat to have students learn some sign language and set up some sort of activity with the students at the School of the Deaf located in our town.

     It would also be fun if students could learn a signing song.

 

Additional Reading:

 

     Moses Goes to School.  Millman, Isaac.

 

    Signing for Kids. Flodin, Mickey. Berkley Publishing. New York, 1991.

 

    A great sign language site/dictionary:

    http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/browser.htm