One of the things I do almost every day to keep myself happy is to read. Sometimes it is an audio book, sometimes my kindle, sometimes an actual book (my fave), and sometimes it is reading countless children books to my kids. But my most recent read was Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt. This book is for children 9-12 and I WISH more kids read this book in school. Let's review!
Quick summary. Fish in a Tree is about a 6th grader named Ally who struggles in school. She is confused on why she can't read like her classmates and how she attempts to fake it continues to get her in trouble. Her dad is in the military (or army? I forgot) and she has moved a few times, which has also made learning very challenging.
When her teacher goes on maternity leave, after a very uncomfortable farewell party, their substitute, Mr. Daniels. You quickly learn that he is studying Special Education and is the first to spot Ally's dyslexia.
Now what I loved about this book, is that it was written in first person. We get to hear Ally's thoughts. Teachers, her mom, and the principal would ask her clarifying questions and Ally would explain why she is answering short, or what seems like attitude, when really it is her feel discouraged and dumb.
I also loved Mr. Daniel's subtle examples in the book that have him supporting other students in the classroom. At the beginning, he had a quick ear pull to remind a student to stop talking when they would go off on tangents. One of my favorite situations that Mr. Daniel's executed beautifully was when the classroom bully and another peer had an argument because the bully stepped on an ant and the other peer was devastated and verbally lashed out at her.
Mr. Daniel's had both kids reflect on the other person's response, apologize for the unacceptable behavior, and then continued to walk them through what is next. While also supporting the student preparing for an ant funeral by telling him what a big heart he has.
This feels like a conversation I am constantly having with educators and parents about behavior in the classroom. Of course it is important that EVERYONE feels safe in the classroom. But we can't get to that level of safety if we don't take the time to understand where the behavior is coming from.
When you see a behavior that is not something you were expecting, pull out your handy dandy ABC chart and figure out what the student is trying to communicate. They might be mad or frustrated or bored and have never had an adult model the appropriate ways to ask for support or a break.
To punish a child for a behavior and then not figure out why the behavior happened, doesn't help anyone and leads to more behaviors.
At the beginning of the book, Ally picks out a yellow card with flowers for her teacher going on maternity leave. She is so proud of her card because they are the flowers her teacher likes. But when the teacher got to it, Ally got in trouble and sent to the principal's office. They continued to get mad at her and tell her how mean she was being and Ally, lacking any sort of self-confidence or advocacy skills/not wanting to admit she can't read, became quiet and continued to feel bad about herself. What she later learned was that she gave her pregnant teacher a sympathy card.
This book is a good reminder that behaviors all communicate something and it is our jobs as adults, parents, and educators to read between the lines and show the child healthy ways to communicate, feel feelings, and advocate for their needs.
If you are looking for an ABC chart, feel free to use mine below. Click on it to be redirected to a downloadable page. And message me if you have any questions.
Reading this book aloud in class can also be very beneficial for kids to have proper discussions about these topics too. I love teaching empathy and talking about the characters and how they communicate with each other is so good! At the very end of the book, Ally overhears the bully talking to her mom and being put down for not winning class president. Because of this, we also got to see why bullies might act how they do. Really, a great read for talking about learning differences, empathy, and community.
Need more support on how to talk about bullies? Check out the February Issue of the digital digest by clicking the image to the right. And if I don't make it clear enough, disabilities and learning differences don't OK behavior but it can be a reason for it. We as adults can still have appropriate consequences and continue to support and care for our kids and students.
What did you think of the book? Adding it to your TBR list? What book with disability representation should I review next?
Till next time :)
Kayla Co