Read alouds can be used to teach and integrate social studies in the classroom. Eve Bunting's book, The Wall, makes a great mentor text for Memorial Day. Student will learn about the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. We love how this story is told through a child's point of view making it engaging for students. - Jodi and the Starts With a Story Team
SUMMARY
A young boy and his father have taken a long trip to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. They are looking for the name of the boy’s grandfather. While they walk along the wall, the young boy notices all of the things that have been left at the wall to honor the names: Flags, stuffed bears, letters and roses. He also notices all the different people visiting the wall, including a veteran in a wheelchair.
When the boy and his father finally find the name of his grandfather, they both take turns rubbing the name on the wall. The boy’s father even uses paper and a pencil to rub the name onto the paper. They leave the boy’s school picture in front of the wall. The boy learns that while it might be sad at the wall, it is a place of honor. He and his father are proud that his grandfather’s name is on such an important wall.
USE THIS BOOK TO TEACH:
The Wall lends itself to teaching so many different skills in addition to a lesson on Memorial Day. Check out just some of the skills our book companion covers:
- Help students to analyze what the author’s purpose for writing the book might be.
- Practice asking and answering questions before, during, and after reading.
- Integrate letter writing by having students write letters to veterans.
- Engage students in descriptive writing activities.
- Teach students about possessive nouns and irregular verbs.
- Practice contractions
- Lead a class discussion on taking being respectful and showing respect to service members.
NO-PREP PRINTABLE ACTIVITIES:
If you are looking for “ready to go” activities, be sure to check out the book companion. With it you’ll receive all of the following resources to align with this specific book:
- comprehension questions
- 30 writing prompts with themed paper
- vocabulary activities
- word study print & go activities
- ideas for grammar lessons with focus sentence printables
- social emotional learning discussion topics
- graphic organizers to target specific comprehension skills and strategies
If you are looking for a resource to teach The Wall in your classroom, you will want our Starts With a Story Book Companion. Our goal with these book companions is to help make planning read alouds easier for teachers!
GET THE PRINTABLE ACTIVITIES
ADDITIONAL BOOK SUGGESTIONS
You and your students will also love these similar books:
- America's White Table by Margot Raven
- Martin's Big Words by Doreen Rappaport
- The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein
- Akiak by Robert J. Blake
TRY OUT A SAMPLE COMPANION
It's hard to explain how amazing the Starts with a Story book companions are because there is just so much goodness included in each one. It's best if you experience using one for yourself. Sign up below & we'll send you an entire book companion to try out for FREE!
