Using picture story books in the classroom increases engagement with a subject. The students are able to immerse themselves in the story and you are able to teach to a certain subject with the support of the pictures and storyline.
I use children’s story books a lot in my teaching. The story allows the students to become engaged with subjects and creates interest, dialogue, and breathing space in a busy classroom. I have a final lesson in mind when choosing a book title, but I am open to the lesson taking a different direction if student’s want to explore something else related to the story.
Enemy Pie cleverly explores relationships between children, and how an adult can divert a negative action into a positive one. It looks at how a friendship can turn sour due to misunderstandings and how it can be rescued with a delicious recipe and a day filled with activities. This is an example of conflict resolution in a positive and fun way.
Enemy Pie tells the story of a boy who decides he doesn’t like his new neighbour, in fact he thinks his new neighbour is his enemy. The boy talks to his dad and they come up with a strategy to seek revenge, but it doesn’t turn out as expected.
I use a graphic organizer to look at how the character traits of the main character in the story change from the beginning to the end of the story. This can be extended into an individual or a classroom project.
In this activity you get to look at the character traits of the main character. How does he feel and behave in the beginning and how does he change at the end of the story. You can explore why he changes and see if your students can relate to this story and the feelings involved when friendships have challenges. You can discuss different strategies for conflict resolution. Read through the examples of character traits and discuss the meanings of any unknown words. You can use this graphic organizer to explore other story book characters and traits and how they change throughout a story.