Presentation of writing includes a variety of aspects. For example, I might show my students samples of e.e. cummings poetry in which he writes exclusively in lower case letters. I also show them examples of concrete poetry in which the presentation of the poem adds a major level of meaning to the poem. But my favorite example of presentation comes from a beautiful picture book written by Barbara Joose and illustrated with evocative watercolors by Mary Whyte. The book, I Love You the Purplest tells the story of two brothers who throughout an afternoon spent with their Mama constantly compete to be her favorite son. The heart of the story is how Mama tells her two boys that she loves each one exactly for who they are. By the story's end, it becomse apparent that while they are brothers close in age, they are of vastly different temperments. But that's ok, since she loves her fiery "red" son for his outgoing and engaging personality and loves her quieter "blue" son for his deep thinking and reserved personality. Together, red and blue make the color purple, explaining the title.
As I read the story, I frequently refer to the paintings and the colors used in the story. I ask the students about the emotions the illustrations create and how the colors used affect their understanding of the story.
After we finish, the class generally engages is a good discussion about how the story was illustrated and why that made such a difference in their understanding of the story. In other words, the way the story was presented made as much of a difference as the words themselves. Typically I will refer to another book in which the presentation makes such a huge difference, Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann.
Oops! I forgot to mention the Writing Standard for Fifth Graders:
ReplyDelete"Prepare for publication (e.g., for display or for sharing with others) writing that follows a format appropriate to the purpose, using techniques such as electronic resources and graphics to enhance the final product."