Imagine a Place

I chose this picture book to read because of the illustrations in this book. The illustrations are phenomenal and really would get students to think. There are so many other crafts of writing that can be taught through this picture book. In this book, the phrase, “Imagine a place,” is repeated to draw attention and importance to what was going to be said next. It also uses descriptive language that describes the pictures. This is an important concept for students to get a better understanding on. Lastly, I really like this picture book because it can be used for any grades in elementary school. Being a future teacher, I would love to see how older and younger elementary students interpret this picture book differently.

For a lesson with students, I would start by placing one of these illustrations on the whiteboard or SMART board in the front of the class. I would say nothing except repeat what my students say about the illustration. When looking at any of these illustrations in the book, there are a multitude of things going on in each picture. As a class, I would want them to decide what they think is going on in the illustration. This will be done two more times. Once the students have completed this activity, I will read the book to the students. I would ask my students if they see any similarities between the pictures and words that go along with it. When the read aloud is complete, I will give each of my students a piece of paper. In their writer’s notebook they will draft and complete this sentence, “Imagine a place….” Then they will take the piece of paper and draw a picture that goes along with their sentence. This will turn into the class’s very own “Imagine a place….” book. This book will be placed in our classroom library so all the students can take a turn in reading.

Imagine a Place

Author: Sarah L. Thomson

Illustrator: Rob Gonsalves

Year Published: 2008