The Junkyard Wonders

Polacco, Patricia. (2010). The Junkyard Wonders. New York, New York: Philomel Books

This inspiring book of perseverance and overcoming challenges focuses on a group of students with exceptionalities including a girl with dyslexia who has trouble reading, a boy with Tourette Syndrome, a girl who doesn't speak, etc. Over the course of the book, the children's teacher tries to inspire them to think of themselves as more so they can accomplish anything. They set out to win the science fair and, in the process, learn a lot about life and overcoming hardship.

Connecting to the Standards
Grade 3 RL (1): Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers

• This story has a lot of information and students should be able to ask and answer questions about that information from the text.

Grade 3 RL (6): Distinguish their own point of view from that of the narrator or those of the characters.

• The story has a strong narrator and students should be able to understand the narrator's POV.

Grade 3 W (3): Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences. a. Establish a situation and introduce a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally. b. Use dialogue and descriptions of actions, thoughts, and feelings to develop experiences and events or show the response of characters to situations. c. Use temporal words and phrases to signal event order. d. Provide a sense of closure.

• Students will be able to write their own story about overcoming hardship.

Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to take information directly from the text and answer simple questions about it. Example question: "Who are the main characters and why were each of them 'in the Junkyard?'" Students will be able to take the POV of the narrator as her and her classmates overcome hardships and find ways to succeed. Students will then write about a time in their own life when they had to overcome hardship much like the Junkyard Wonders who overcame the death of their friend, the bullying they put up with at school, etc. Students will also explain how they overcame or how they are overcoming that hardship.

Adapted to the Classroom

Junkyard Wonders is a pretty long book to read in just one sitting and it may be more appropriate to break it up into two pieces. I would say a good time to stop on the first day of reading would be after they find the airplane. This could give the teacher the chance to ask questions like "what do you think the students will do with the airplane they found?" Students will have the chance to make logical predictions about where the story is heading.

After the read-aloud, students should have a chance to discuss the important events in the book and the issues that are raised. This book does include some difficult subjects for adults to speak about to children such as death, but if presented correctly, children should be able to handle the subject. After discussion, students will begin the writing process by writing about overcoming hardship in their own life. It may be difficult for the students to think about hardship, but even just learning how to ride a bike, being sick, or other childhood difficulties will work.

Bloom's Taxonomy
What were some of the difficult things the Junkyard Wonders had to endure? (Knowledge)
How did they succeed in becoming geniuses? (Knowledge)
Write about a hardship you've had to overcome in life. (Synthesis)

Differentiation
This book/lesson may not be sensitive to students who have recently lost someone. If this is the case in the classroom, and the subject of death needs to be approached because of the circumstances, another book that is specifically aimed at that subject may be more appropriate. Be sure to know if this is going to be a problem before you start the lesson because it may be difficult for the student to deal with the assignment. If you believe that this assignment may help relieve some of the frustration or anger around the subject by writing about it, then it may be helpful to use this lesson.

Other than that, students who may have had difficult pasts or are in the middle of something difficult may not want to do this kind of assignment. It may dredge up feelings that shouldn't be examined in the classroom through a writing assignment.