Those Darn Squirrels

Title:  Those Darn Squirrels

Author:  Adam Rubin
Illustrator:  Daniel Salmieri
Publisher:  Sandpiper ©2008
ISBN:  478-0-547-57681-7
Grade Level:  K-5
Book Review:  Old Man Fookwire doesn't like very many things, but he does love birds.  He feeds them, paints pictures of them and mourns every winter when they leave for a warmer place. As much as he likes his birds, he dislikes the conniving squirrels that come to live on his property.  That is until they find a very clever way to win his heart.  The story can be read on many levels.  It can be read purely for pleasure.  The reader can take away a lesson about the importance of appreciating differences and resolving conflicts.  Or the squirrels ingenuity can inspire young engineers.  Whatever the reason, it is a delightful read.

Systems Thinking Connections: 
Habits: Those Darn Squirrels offers students multiple opportunities to examine how characters in the story practice or don't practice the habits of a systems thinker, making it an ideal book for helping students understand the habits.  After reading the book aloud to a group of fourth grade students, each group of 4 to 5 students took a set of habits cards and selected one to which they could make a connection with the story.  Their connections were excellent and their understanding of the habits as applied to the scenarios in the book were very accurate and reasonable.  Students recognized how Old Man Fookwire and the squirrels learned something by changing their perspectives to increase their understanding.  Students also noted how the squirrels benefited when they took the time to consider an issue fully and resits the urge to come to a quick conclusion.
Tools:  A group of second graders in  used a Behavior Over Time Graph to track the squirrels level of frustration.  You will note from the key that these students also read the sequels to the original story. Comparing the frustration of the squirrels and Mr. Fookwire at various points in the story  produced deeper understanding and comprehension of the text.  

Another thing to note in this graph is how readers cite textual evidence by making notations on the graph itself, showing what is affecting the level of frustration.  Systems tools are powerful ways to help students make connections to a text and document those connections using evidence from the text.  
Special thanks to Christina Wamboldt, Hewlett ElementarySchool, Hewlett-Woodmere School District, for sharing this piece of student work.

Rosie Revere, Engineer

Title:  Rosie Revere Engineer

Author:  Andrea Beaty @andreabeaty
Illustrator:  David Roberts
Publisher:  Abrams Books for Young Readers
© 2013
ISBN:  978-1-4197-0845-9
Grade Level:  K-3
Book Review: Rosie the Riveter was the iconic symbol for the role of women in the war effort during World War II. Rosie Revere, Engineer captures the power of that symbol in a modern tale for young readers on the power of pursuing your dreams.  In this fictional story, Rosie has a dream of being an engineer, but when well-meaning relatives laugh at her creations, she seeks to hide her dreams. Written in clever couplets with intriguing illustrations, the book delivers a powerful message about following your dreams no matter what and learning that failure is an essential part of success.
Systems Thinking Connections:
Habits:  Rosie learns lessons in this story that mirror several habits of a systems thinker.  Rosie realizes the power of Successive Approximation.  Great-great-aunt Rose helps Rosie understand that when something doesn't work, it is not a failure, but rather an opportunity to by pay attention to what did work.  Recognizing how much she can learn from her mistakes, Rosie is well on her way to knowing how to make the next iteration even better than the first. In order to apply Successive Approximation Rosie must also practice considers an issue fully and resists the urge to come to a quick conclusion.  Whether your unit of study is focused on engineering, women in engineering or innovation, Rosie Revere, Engineer makes it easy to deepen student understanding of the habits of a systems thinker in service to the curriculum specific outcomes being learned.
Tools:  Rosie Revere, Engineer is a book about accumulations.  You could choose to label the "stock" of her lessons learned in a number of ways:  ingenuity, innovation, persistence, power of a dream, to name a few.  Whichever stock you choose the factors that increase and decrease that stock are clearly articulated in the story.  What a great conversation to have with your students to discover what truly fuels innovation.

Innovation