Galdone, P. (1984). The elves and the shoemaker.
New York: Houghton Mifflin.
ISBN - 13: 978 – 0 – 89919 0 422 -6
PARAGRAPH DESCRIBING THE BOOK CONTENT:
This is a story about a shoemaker and his wife who worked very hard, but became so poor they had only enough leather left to make one pair of shoes. Before the shoemaker went to sleep, he cut this leather and left it at his workplace. The next morning the shoemaker was surprised. A pair of shoes that were well-stitched and designed were already made. A customer came in and bought these shoes spending more money than was usual at this shoe shop. The shoemaker now had enough money to buy leather to make two more pair of shoes. The same thing happened as the night before but this time two pairs of shoes were made and this continued to happen every day and the shoemaker became rich.
One night the shoemaker and his wife decided to stay awake to find out who was helping them, so they lit a candle and then hid. After midnight, two elves came from seemingly nowhere. They worked quickly and made beautiful shoes and then left. The next morning, the wife told the shoemaker to make clothes and shoes for these two elves and that evening, they left these offerings on the table for the elves instead of the leather. After midnight, the two elves came and found the clothes and shoes for them on the table. They were so happy to wear them that they danced and sang before they left. They never came back to the shoemaker’s house; however, the shoemaker and his wife lived happily ever after.
Vocabulary:
Conscience – sense of right and wrong
Astonished – surprised, amazed
Spirit – will
Peeked out – look, glance
Scarcely – barely, hardly, not quite
Breeches – knee-length pants, trousers
Consented – agree
Spruce – elegant
Cobblers – someone whose job is to repair shoes
Prospered – succeed financially
Why would you use The ELVES and the SHOEMAKER for three to five – year olds?
I think that this would be suitable for 3 to 5-years old because this story is very simple and easy to read. There are not many characters that appear in this book, so children can remember each character. Also this story is kind of like a Christmas story. I believe that most parents have told their children if they do good things such as helping others, being nice to friends, etc., Santa Clause will bring them a gift on Christmas day. The shoemaker worked very hard and so two elves helped them. This story would be a good example to apply to daily life where we can switch the elves role to be children and the shoemaker and his wife as their mother, father or other adults. We can share personal stories asking some questions such as what you would do if people need help, how you have helped people before, etc. (Of course, children would most likely not be helping others at night; however, they learn they can help people at any time.) Also there are lots of possibilities to explore questions in this book such as wondering why the elves helped the shoemaker, why the elves did not come back after they got their present from the shoemaker and his wife, and why the elves only came at night.
A comment on the illustrations
This book was very unique in that the illustrations were mainly pencil-drawn. Most parts of the drawing were black and white but some of the drawing; especially the elves’ tuques, clothes, and shoes, were illustrated using very bright colors. It was a paper book; however, the outside of the book was made using glossy paper.
The book of the elves and the shoemaker was written by the Grimm Brothers. I chose the ‘Paul Galdone’ version of the elves and the shoemaker. Some of the words he used were not familiar and easy to understand for younger children (and even myself); however, most parts were easy to understand.
I feel children will sense and feel the happiness from the elves who love helping the shoemaker. Also, they may sense happiness and gratefulness from the shoemaker, who was helped by the elves, and made enough money to make more shoes, and buy food and supplies for daily life. I think that children can enjoy this book because both the shoemaker and the elves are happy in the end: the poor shoemaker becomes happy in the end and the elves also become happy because they are rewarded and get their own clothes. The book has a happy ending.
I was drawn to this book because I personally believe in miracles. It is up to people whether they recognize or believe in miracles or not. If we look closer at daily life, we can find a lot of miracles around us. For example, a few days ago I was almost late for work and needed to catch the sky train. Before I arrived at the station, the sky train was already at the station; however, I was still at the bottom of the escalator. I thought it was too late to catch this train, so I stopped running. When I started walking up the escalator, I could hear the sky train was still there for longer than usual for some reason and it stayed until I went up and I just made it on. I also arrived at work 5 minutes early! I was so happy that day. For me, it was a small miracle. I know how long it takes to get from my home to work and I knew that day, it was really impossible to make it on time, but I did!
Additionally, I read this book when I was in kindergarten and really enjoyed it. Then, a few years ago, I found out that one of my nieces, who was attending a daycare centre in Japan, played a role in a play of The Elves and the Shoemaker for the parents. I feel that the story in this book has lots of meaning and good lessons so that educators are still introducing this book to children and finding value in teaching today.
How would you build background knowledge or provoke interest for the children in the book before your present it?
Building background Knowledge:
First, I am going to put out pictures and toy elves on the floor and table. Elves are sometimes recognized by children because of movies, TV commercials, cartoons, etc. I will ask children some questions such as whether they know or recognize elves, and where we can see or expect to find an elf, etc.
Second, I am going to show a picture of the shoemaker and ask children what kind of job he has. If they could not guess or come up with the answer, I will show pictures of shoes. Then I will ask some questions such as: whether the children know how to make shoes, or show them or talk to them about the process of how to make shoes by hand.
Lastly, I will explain some of the words which may not be familiar to 3 -5 year-old children.
Also, the children and I can wonder and talk about a lot of things, such as why the illustrations in the books are mainly black and white, why only the elves have color, what is the connection between the elves and the shoemaker, etc., and share their own ideas.
Provide a detailed description of at least four ways I might present the book.
1. Felt Story
I bought a felt story of The Elves and the Shoemaker and felt board from 3H Craftworks Society*. I will use this to introduce the story to the children. Before I start the felt story, I will introduce the characters first, so that the children can be familiar with each character.
Information of 3H Craft Works Society:
2208 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver, BC V6K 1N8 Tel: 604-736-2113
Store Hours: M – F 11:00 am – 6:00 pm, Sat & Sun: 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Web: http://www.3hcraftworks.com
The Elves and the Shoemaker costs $21.95 + Tax (Total is $23.05).
Felt board costs $7.50 + Tax (Total is $8.40)
There are varieties of selections; however, some of them are sold out. Special orders take a month.
2. Lamination
I will make color copies of all characters and laminate them first. Then I can put magnets on the bottom of each character and use a can as a stage to move them on. Or I can put sand paper behind on each character and attach them to a felt board.
3. DVD
I have the DVD which shows my niece and her classmates playing roles in the Elves and the Shoemaker when she was attending daycare. The dialogue is in Japanese; however, I will show it to the children so that they can understand what the story is like visually. Also the children can see Japanese children in the play.
4. Play The Elves and the Shoemaker. Before playing this, we will decide who will be which character first and I will ask their parents to bring some things they need to play their roles. For example, if a child’s role is a customer, I will ask him/her to bring a favourite pair of their own shoes. If a child’s role is the shoemaker, I will ask him/her to bring their own apron. If a child’s role is one of the elves, I will ask him/her to bring their own trousers, socks, shoes, and a vest or a jacket. I will also prepare lists as below.
Two red tuques, felts or shoe insole (as leather), yarn (as string), chopstick (as needle), wood hammer, scissors, light (as candle), coins, and any other materials needed.
A detailed list of three possible extensions for learning
1. I will prepare materials such as paper, pencils, coloured pencils, crayons, ink etc. and ask the children to draw what kind of elves they would like to meet if they are the shoemaker. Each child can share their drawing and talk about their elves; for example, if they have names or gender, why they would like to see these elves, etc.
2. After drawing their own elves, I will ask the children if the elves can help them; for example: what he/she would like them to help with. Also I will share one of my personal experiences with a child who helped me at work – One day I was hanging clothes using hangers and one of my customers came with her daughter. There were two leather sofas beside my workstation, and she was sitting there while her mother was looking around the store. She was watching me for awhile and then asked if she could help me. I accepted her offer and she started helping me hang the clothes. Her mother came after and I thanked both of them and explained what had happened. Her mother told me that her daughter loved helping people. She often helped her at home and she helped people outside of the home as well. I was really amazed as she was just 4 years old.
After this story or any other stories, I will ask the children if they would like to share some of their own personal stories or if the children were the elves and their mother, father, or any adults needed their help, what would they do?
3. I will use children’s shoes to introduce numeracy to children. The children can learn how to count shoes and also they become familiar with numbers. Once the children are comfortable with simple numbers, we can learn
No comments:
Post a Comment