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December 19
Author Eve Bunting was born in Ireland in 1928.
Grades | 3 – 10 |
Calendar Activity Type | Author & Text |
Now a resident of the United States, Eve Bunting is an acclaimed author of picture books and novels. Bunting's picture books have tackled sensitive issues such as homelessness, death, aging, and war. Her books have won numerous awards, including the Golden Kite Award and a Caldecott Medal in 1995 for Smoky Night.
One trademark of Bunting's picture books is her ability to see events through the eyes of a child. Smoky Night deals with the Los Angeles race riots as seen from the perspective of a young boy watching the fires and the looters. His reactions to this event are, understandably, different from those of his mother and neighbors. Before reading this picture book aloud to students, read them a news article that relates the details of the events in Los Angeles. Ask students how a younger observer might be affected by these events and might see the events differently than an adult. After reading Smoky Night, assess the accuracy of students' perceptions.
As an alternative or follow-up activity, have students locate and read two different accounts of the events of September 11, 2001, one written by an adult and one written by a child. Ask them to compare the two accounts.
- Video Interviews: Eve Bunting
This page from the Reading Rockets website includes the text of an interview with author Eve Bunting, several audio clips of the interview, and an annotated list of some of her most popular books.
- Eve Bunting
Kidsreads.com offers a brief biography of Bunting and links to information about a few of her books. The biography is written simply, so it is an excellent resource for younger students to obtain biographical information on Bunting.
- Eve Bunting
This feature from Scholastic includes a brief biography of Bunting, the transcript of an interview with her, and a bibliography of her books.
- A Teacher's Guide to Books by Eve Bunting
Houghton Mifflin offers this collection of classroom activities for use with several of Bunting's books, including Train to Somewhere, The Wednesday Surprise, and The Memory String.
Grades 3 – 5 | Lesson Plan | Standard Lesson
Creating Family Timelines: Graphing Family Memories and Significant Events
Students interview family members, and then create graphic family timelines based on important and memorable family events.
Grades 6 – 8 | Lesson Plan | Unit
Fighting Injustice by Studying Lessons of the Past
Social injustice occurs every day all over the world. In this lesson, students research a few historical examples of social injustice, including the Holocaust, the Trail of Tears, and Japanese internment.
Grades 3 – 5 | Lesson Plan | Unit
Peace Poems and Picasso Doves: Literature, Art, Technology, and Poetry
Students apply think-aloud strategies to reading and to composition of artwork and poetry. They research symbols of peace as they prewrite, compose, and publish their poetry.
Grades 3 – 5 | Lesson Plan | Standard Lesson
Authoring an Epilogue That Helps Our Characters Live On
This lesson uses One Green Apple by Eve Bunting to teach how characters change across a text. It will also guide students through writing an epilogue to accompany their independent book.