SLIS 5960.005
May 2002 Minimester
Elementary Activity
Grades K-3
Moses
goes to a Concert
written and illustrated by Isaac Millman. Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 1998.
About the book:
Moses and his classmates, who are all deaf, go on a school field trip to the symphony. There are also many hearing children attending. The percussionist attracts their attention because she is not wearing shoes. They find out she is deaf, and that she feels the vibrations of the music through the soles of her feet. Their teacher gives them inflated balloons to hold during the performance, so they can feel the vibrations. After the performance the children visit with the percussionist. That evening Moses tells his parents he can become anything he wants when he grows up, if he sets his mind to it.
The illustrations are very clear. The children appear to come from many nations. The illustrations also show how to use some ASL, American Sign Language. An author’s note at the beginning of the book talks about ASL and gives some hints on how to read the ASL illustrations in the book.
Reviews: Horn Book 01/01/98
Publishers Weekly 02/23/98
School Library Journal 04/01/98
About the author and illustrator:
Isaac Millman was born in France, although his parents were Jewish immigrants from Poland. He came to America as a teenager in 1948. He became a United States citizen, and served in the US military.
He graduated from the Pratt Institute with a degree in Fine Arts and is currently a senior art director for a large sales promotion agency.
He is married and has two grown sons. He lives in New York City with his wife.
He has written and illustrated another book about Moses called Moses goes to School. He has also illustrated Howie Bowles, secret agent, written by Kate Banks.
http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hmr/mtai/millman.html (May 22, 2002)
This book is especially appropriate for one of my schools for several reasons. Our school is located in the same city as the state school for the deaf; one of the local colleges has a sign language major, so there are lots of resources; one of the yearly school projects is raising a puppy with the hopes that it will pass the tests and go on to become a seeing eye dog; and the third grade teacher does a yearly unit on disabilities.
Before reading activity:
Teachers may choose from among these ideas to find activities most suitable for the students in their classrooms.
Talk about our five senses. Teachers may choose writing, drawing, cutting, and pasting activities from pages 47-54 of the June/July 2001 issue of Teacher’s Helper magazine for Kindergarten.
Listen to the sounds made by various symphony orchestra instruments and learn to recognize them. They should also learn to recognize them by sight. (This may be coordinated with the music teacher.) Students may be asked to close their eyes and again identify them. Play recorded music and have the students try to pick out the sounds of the various instruments. Have them place their hands on the sound system speakers and feel the vibrations.
Have the students close their eyes and list all the sounds they can hear. Ask them, or have them write down, in general, what is their favorite sound to hear? What sound would they miss the most if they never heard it again? What sound would they like to never hear again?
After reading activities:
Teachers may choose from among these ideas to find activities most suitable for the students in their classrooms.
Have the students repeat the musical activity with an inflated balloon in their laps.
Talk about what are percussion instruments. What other kinds of instruments are there?
Talk about percussion instruments from other countries. See the site: http://www.mmhschool.com/student/reading/mhreading/activity.php3?story=104
(May 22, 2002)
The Burnt Earth Gallery, Traditional African Art, Evelyn Glennie Home Page, and PlayMusic.org are all possibilities for expanded percussion and orchestra activities. The link for Ludwig van Beethoven is also an interesting area to explore, if time and interest permit.
Learn to sign a song using ASL.
Schedule a classroom visit with student CK’s mother, who is deaf. She cannot speak with her voice, but uses sign language. Ask her to demonstrate some of her special equipment she uses in her everyday life. She may explain how she uses the telephone, and what it means when the TV schedule and screen say “close captioned for hard of hearing”.
Look for information on Ludwig van Beethoven.
Read Moses goes to School written and illustrated by Isaac Millman. (See below.)
Discuss the advantages to talking with your fingers instead of your voice. (The teacher can’t hear you so you won’t get in trouble for talking out loud. Do you think you’ll still get in trouble for talking when you shouldn’t?)
In library/media class, search the school library catalog
for Moses goes to a concert.
Then learn how to find similar books by clicking on the subject
headings, find more books the same author by clicking on the author’s name, and
how to find the book on the shelf.
Additional readings:
Using the automated card catalog, search the school’s collection for more titles found in our school collection:
Moses goes to School written and illustrated by Isaac Millman. Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 2000.
In this second book about Moses and his classmates, Moses is shown attending his special public school where all his classmates and his male teacher are deaf or hard of hearing. They talk to each other using ASL, American Sign Language. Their day includes all the things found in a regular school, including music class and using computers with email. The signs for the entire song Take me out to the Ballgame is shown in ASL, as well as other phrases and groups of words. A short author’s note at the beginning talks about how deaf children are really like all other children. It also gives some hints on how to read the ASL illustrations in the book.
Reviews: Booklist
08/01/00
Kirkus Review 07/01/00
School Library Journal 08/01/00
(Coming in March, 2003, Moses goes to the Circus.)
Silent Lotus written and illustrated by Jeanne M. Lee. Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 1991.
Although she cannot speak or hear, Lotus trains as a Khmer court dancer, and excels in dancing out the legends. The thousand-year-old tradition of the Cambodian court ballet is shown. The illustrations are not cluttered. The colors are vivid, and delicate. The artist was inspired by the decorations of the twelfth-century temple at Angkor Wat.
Handtalk School by Mary Beth Miller and George Ancona. Four Winds Press, 1991.
Handtalk Zoo by Mary Beth Miller and George Ancona. Four Winds Press, 1989.
Handtalk Birthday by Mary Beth Miller and George Ancona. Four Winds Press, 1987. All use brightly colored sequential photographs showing people finger spelling and signing various letters, numbers, words, and phrases. Mary Beth Miller graduated from Kentucky School for the Deaf and Gallaudet University. She was born to deaf parents. She was a founding member of the National Theater of the Deaf. George Ancona is an award-winning photographer who has illustrated over 50 children’s books.
Claire and Emma by Diana Peter, photos by Jeremy Finlay. John Day Company, 1976.
The girls in the title are sisters who wear hearing aids, and are the daughters of the author. Ms. Peter is a committee of the National Deaf Children’s Society. The girls are preschool aged. The story shows what their typical days are like, interacting with their brother and mom, as well as attending classes.
A Picture Book of Helen Keller by David A. Adler, illustrated by John and Alexandra Wallner. Holiday House, 1990.
This is one of a series of biographies for children ages 7-11. The life story of Helen Keller is clearly told. The illustrations are dark pastels and accurately depict the clothing and furnishings of the times. The book ends with a list of important dates in Keller’s life.
Adler has authored over a dozen of these popular biographies, and the illustrators have drawn the pictures for most of them.
Additional resources:
Search the site of the Sioux Falls Public Library for additional resources available in the city.
http://www.siouxland.lib.sd.us/