When I Was Eight is part of our Starts With a Story Collection, which includes more than 550 picture book companions based on high quality children’s literature that support you in delivering highly-engaging interactive read alouds with follow up activities. Learn more about this children’s book below! - Jodi and the Starts With a Story Team
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SUMMARY
"When I Was Eight" by Christy Jordan-Fenton is a poignant memoir-style picture book based on the true story of Margaret Pokiak-Fenton. The book follows the author's grandmother, Olemaun, as a young Inuit girl growing up in Canada's Arctic in the 1940s. Determined to learn to read despite the cultural prejudices and challenges she faces, Olemaun sets off on a journey to attend a residential school far from her home. Through evocative storytelling and captivating illustrations, the book sheds light on the experiences of Indigenous children in the face of assimilation policies. "When I Was Eight" explores themes of resilience, cultural identity, and the power of education. The story serves as a reminder of the importance of preserving one's heritage and the strength that can be found in pursuing one's dreams, even in the face of adversity.
 USE THIS BOOK TO TEACH:
Our read aloud lesson plans for this picture book come with reading comprehension questions (with sample student responses), 30 writing prompts, teaching ideas for grammar skills, social emotional learning discussion ideas, and more. Check out our list below to get a sneak peek at some of the skills this resource teaches.
- Practice making predictions throughout the book. Encourage students to check and see if their predictions were correct.
- Teach a lesson on making connections to enhance comprehension.
- Discuss the different characters in the story and analyze their thoughts and actions.
- Cause and effect can be a difficult skill for students. This book is a perfect mentor text for teaching this skill.
- Have students identify the point of view and discuss the benefits of the narrator.
- Use examples of possessive nouns from the book to teach a lesson.
- Discuss what it means to persevere and why it is important.
NO-PREP PRINTABLE ACTIVITIES:
If you are looking for “ready to go” activities for the first day of school, 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
- 30Â 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
This book is a must have for your school or classroom library. Your students are going to love completing these activities for the book and you will be impressed with how much they learn. You will want to read this book to your class every year.
GET THE PRINTABLE ACTIVITIES
ADDITIONAL BOOK SUGGESTIONS
You and your students will love the similar books listed below, which can all be found in our free picture book list.
- When We Were Alone by David A. Robertson
- Bowwow Powwow by Brenda J. Child
- Thunder Boy Jr. by Sherman Alexie
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!
