Wow. This book is intense but in a good way. Polacco handles the race and class of the boys well. The dialect is enough to get a sense for the way they talk but not over the top stereotypical. I like when Pink explicitly says his master is a bad man even though he taught him to read (going against many typical slave narratives). 

Thank you, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco is about a girl named Trisha struggles to read. Her classmates make matters worse by calling her "dummy." Finally, in fifth grade, she is lucky enough to have a teacher who recognizes Trisha's incredible artistic ability, understands her problem, and takes the time to lead her to the magic of reading. Although dyslexia is never mentioned in the book, this story will provide great reassurance to children who struggle to overcome learning disabilities.

Guided Reading: Level M

Classroom Activities: 

Have students work with a partner to write "thank you" pages for a class book. Each student writes one page about an important person in his or her life, beginning with the phrase "Thank you, __________ (name of person)." You could combine these with photographs or portraits of the students as well as student drawings of the person they have selected.

Have students make a chart entitled "Things You Can Say To Make People Feel Good About Themselves" to post in the classroom. Have students add to it as they think of suggestions.

Ask students how the story would change if Trisha's family did not move. Would Trisha learn to read? What would the other characters then have to do to make her feel good about herself? Would anything happen to the bully? Give them time to talk about this in small groups and write a brief story outline.

Have students do a Readers Theater presentation of Thank You, Mr. Falker. Readers Theater is a strategy in which students take a text and interpret it in dramatic form. It develops deeper comprehension, as students summarize a piece of text, write their own script, and perform their interpretation of the story.

Thank You Mr. Falker is book based on a true story of the authors struggles with dyslexia and how a great teacher believed in her and helped her learn how to read. An activity that teachers can use in the classroom is to use it as a lesson to discuss bullying and how not everyone learns the same and is different. Students could also write about a time a teacher believed in them or helped them. Students who have dyslexia can also connect to this book and know they are not alone. This book is a level 24 on the DRA leveling system.

Trisha loves to read just like the rest of her family. When she gets into school she realizes she isn't that great of a reader. Like many students Trisha was left behind and fell many reading levels behind her class. When she moves schools Trisha gets the help she needs from her new teacher Mr. Faulker. She and Mr.Faulker would practice every day he even saved Trisha from a bully. Trisha loved to read again all thanks to Mr. Faulker. 

This could serve as an anti-bullying book during the first few days of school.

Lexile: 650L

Bully is a great book to use during the first few days of school for grades first-fifth. This book is about young students who want to be accepted in school and online bullying takes place during this adjustment of a girl moving to a new school. Online bullying occurs more than people think, so I think it is a very important topic to cover in your classrooms. An idea to go along with this book is for students to identify the theme and the message of the story. Students would enjoy acting out the book to be able to fully grasp the effect it can have on students.

Lexile Level: 630L