Mechanics & Literature: November 2023
November’s Dart, Arrow, and Boomerang selections provide opportunities to see the world from different vantage points. These books deliver ideas to inspire Big Juicy Conversations as your family explores:
- writing,
- mechanics,
- and literary devices together!
This month’s Quill—Weather: Clouds—reveals enchanting discoveries high in the sky! Look up, explore cloud types, measure rainfall, and practice fine motor skills with cloud art!
Weather: Clouds
The November Quill is an invitation to look up at the sky and experience the dazzling discoveries that await you there!
In the Brave Writer Book Shop, you’ll find books about weather and clouds that we adore! These are not required (you can use any books about these topics that you have in your stacks or discover at your library), but we find it’s helpful to have a list to get you started.
In this Quill, we’ll
- have heaps of fun learning about cloud types;
- sneak up on sequencing skills;
- fine-tune fine motor skills while collecting clouds in the pages of a journal;
- make irresistible cloud art;
- collect data and hone our graphing skills; and
- undertake an engaging experiment to measure rainfall!
Get the Quill.
The Adventures of Miss Petitfour by Annie Michaels
Join the delightful Miss Petitfour and her sixteen cats for enchanting adventures and a celebration of life’s simple pleasures!
This month’s literary device focuses on Intrusive Narrators.
We’ll also:
- spy some similes;
- assess adjectives;
- observe an exclamation point in action;
- cobble together compound nouns;
- encounter appositives, useful phrases that add more information about a noun;
- happen upon some handy-dandy hyphens, and so much more!
Get the Dart.
The Game of Silence by Louise Erdrich
In this historical fiction novel, the second in the Birchbark House series, Omakayas, a young girl, continues to chronicle life with her Ojibwa family. Note: It’s not required to read the first book to understand this story.
November’s literary device is Characterization.
We’ll also:
- do a mood flip-a-roo and discover how it feels;
- say hello to introductory clauses;
- go back in time with historical fiction;
- engage with the em dash;
- spot symbolism;
- focus on foreshadowing; and so much more!
Get the Arrow.
Disability Visibility (adapted for young readers) edited by Alice Wong
You’ll have lots to talk about in the month ahead, thanks to this collection of essays by disabled writers that examines a range of issues and their impact on disabled communities.
In this Boomerang, we’ll:
- elaborate on the ellipsis;
- focus on first-person stories;
- ask about audience;
- find answers about anthologies;
- discover dangling modifiers;
- jabber about genre; and so much more.
Get the Boomerang.
For ages 15-18, check out the Slingshot.
