In class, after reading "The Incredible Book Eating Boy", I posed this question to the class:
Do you think that Henry from "The Incredible Book Eating Boy" and Tricia from "Thank You Mr. Falker" learn in the same way? Do you think they both chase the honey? Explain in your own words and use proof from the story.
When they finished, I read through all of their answers and built this one great answer using bits and pieces. We looked at this answer today and tried to deciper what we felt goes into a great answer. We came up with:
Juicy Words
Juicy Phrases
Organization
My Own Ideas
Proof From the Text
Different Kinds of Sentences
Take a look at this great answer!
“Thank You Mr. Falker” and “The Incredible Book Eating Boy” are both unique, enjoyable, reading experiences. They are very different from each other from the words to the beautiful illustrations. (Catherine) In these two stories, Henry and Tricia both want to learn (Philip) but they do so in different ways and have different dreams. (Claire)
Henry and Tricia were pretty much opposites. Henry was gluttonous and ate books voraciously. (Jane) He was greedy and for him it was as easy as pie, took no effort, and didn’t take very long. (Nadia)Tricia had no faith in herself. On top of that, she had dyslexia. I think this made a big difference. (Jane)
In the “Incredible Book Eating Boy”, I think Henry chases the honey but doesn’t “taste” it because he “eats” the books, in other words, he rushes. (Zach) He devours the books without chasing or tasting the honey. He did not taste the honey until the end when he read. He just ate books and got facts which is the equivalent of not absorbing the information. (Callum) Sometimes that happens to me when I read too many books at once. (Maddy)
Tricia’s journey was more uphill because she was dyslexic which made it hard for her to read and write. Tricia tasted the honey by working hard to learn how to read and write. It might not help you shout out answers like “polar bears” on a quiz show and win by 4365 point but, you get to enjoy learning. (Callum) Mr. Falker came and made her have faith in herself. At the end she felt triumphant and tasted some sweet honey. (Julia) I think that Tricia tasted the honey much more than Henry did and that she learned much more and could feel proud of what she had achieved. (?)
Does Henry really chase the honey? Or does he just walk over to the grocery store and buy some there? Is his book eating a short cut, a way to slack off? Who is really chasing the honey here, greedy Henry who gobbled books down like they were worth nothing, collecting excess information that probably made him no friends or sweet little Tricia whose goals were simple but immensely challenging for her? (Catherine)
Tricia and Henry both have different ideas of success. Tricia’s dream is to be able to read but Henry’s dream is to be the smartest boy in the world. (Claire) They do not chase their honey in the same way at all either. Tricia chased it at a slow jog, maybe even a walk while Henry sprinted as fast as he could. Both got help but took it in different ways. Tricia was allowing Mr. Falker to help lead her to the beehive after many bee stings while trying on her own. (Jane) Henry’s journey was very different from Tricia’s mainly because Tricia needed support from others to come to her destination while Henry needed about as much as a fish needs fresh air! (Jane)
There is however, maybe one similarity. Both Henry and Tricia are on a journey for knowledge. (Catherine)Henry’s journey is a lot like Tricia’s in the fact that they both wanted to learn but they took different paths because of their abilities. Their quests were the same. Neither of them could have done what they did without help from their friends and family. (William)
Henry rushed through his journey by eating the books, but Tricia tried long and hard to be able to read, but since she was dyslexic it was a lot harder for her. I think both tasted the honey because Tricia had finally achieved her life-long goal to read, and Henry was regaining his knowledge that he had when he ate books. Overall I think that both Tricia and Henry got over important issues: Tricia learned how to read and feel triumphant and Henry became less gluttonous for information. (Sage) Tricia and Henry both tasted the honey because they both chased the honey and eventually caught it. (Eric)
Have I told you how proud I am of 310? They are such a hard working bunch. In the mornings, they come in and get right to work. There are many times in our day where you can hear a pin drop! I'm thinking of allowing tours of our room so that others can bask in the glory of it all.
