Of+Thee+I+Sing+(kriz)

Created by Sandra Kriz Retrieved July 17, 2011 from: http://www.lorenlong.com/obama/index.html

Obama, B. (2010). //Of thee I sing.// New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Summary
A moving tribute to thirteen famous Americans that helps us relate their accomplishments to qualities that we all have. The book is written as if the President is talking to his daughters but it has the feeling of being written to every child.

Online Links

 * Video of the illustrator explaining the book and his process of illustrating this book: ** http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPsJKaGV_qw
 * White House website :** http://www.whitehouse.gov/
 * Biographies for kids, Famous Leaders for Young Readers: ** http://gardenofpraise.com/leaders.htm

Discussion Questions
1. Do you think any of the heroes in this book began their lives knowing what talents they would be sharing with the world? When do you think they realized their talents? Why? 2. What kind of heroes do we need in the world right now? Defend your choices. 3. Do you think heroes are disappointed if they do not gain renown? Defend your answer. 4. Choose a hero that you believe made an incredible difference in the world. How would the world would be different if this person had never been born?

Classroom Activity
This activity involve adding Pages to the Book (Third grade and older). The students will choose a hero not written about in the book and "add pages" to the book by trying to mimic the style of the author. 1. Read and show the cover of the book to the class. Ask the following: “To whom is the author writing this story?” “What do we know about the author of this story?”

 "What clues does the title give us about the story?"

 “Why do you think the author chose this title?”

2. After reading the first six or so pages, ask the students what they notice about the author’s organization of the story. (He is writing a letter and asking a question. He gives a word and then he presents a person who is an example of the meaning of the word.) If they do not answer continuing reading until someone figures out the pattern. 3. After reading the story ask the class: What do we understand about Sitting Bull? Helen Keller? Maya Lin? What is the main idea about Jane Addams? MLK? Cesar Chavez?

 Which part do we need to reread so that we can understand the author’s message?  “What were the main ideas and themes presented in the text?”

“How did the author organize his text?”

 “Do you think President Obama was writing this book only for his daughters?” 4. As an example, after researching some famous Americans I wrote the following in the style of this book:

Have I told you that you can think outside the box? Robert Shurteff was a good and brave Revolutionary war soldier. His fellow soldiers were proud to fight with him as he volunteered for the tough and dangerous jobs. Wounded in battle, he removed the bullet from his own leg rather than risk showing his real identity as Deborah Sampson. Her years as an indentured servant taught Deborah to be quick-witted and industrious. If she could think it, she could do it.

5. Together as a class write a page together. Choose a well known person from history that they may have recently studied such as President Obama, Pocahontas, Sacajawea, Lewis and Clark, etc. and guide the class in writing a page.

6. Utilizing biographies from the library or websites about famous Americans have the students do a page on their own.