Title: That’s Like Me! Stories About Amazing People With Learning Differences
Author: Jill Lauren
Publisher: Star Bright Books, Inc.
Genre: Children’s nonfiction, special needs
Age level: 5-8
Themes: Children and adults with disabilities, facing challenges, pursuing goals, success stories
Synopsis: What could a trapeze artist, an Arctic explorer, and a soccer player possibly have in common? Met the fifteen kids and adults profiles in That’s Like me!, a collection of first-person accounts of successful people who learn differently. Whether it was reading, math, writing, or speech problems, each person shares his or her inspiring story of facing the challenge of school, while pursuing important goals. An invaluable resource list for adults and students is included, as well as a place for kids to write their own success stories.
Synopsis: What could a trapeze artist, an Arctic explorer, and a soccer player possibly have in common? Met the fifteen kids and adults profiles in That’s Like me!, a collection of first-person accounts of successful people who learn differently. Whether it was reading, math, writing, or speech problems, each person shares his or her inspiring story of facing the challenge of school, while pursuing important goals. An invaluable resource list for adults and students is included, as well as a place for kids to write their own success stories.
About the author: Jill Lauren has been teaching amazing kids and adults for over twenty-five years. Known as an expert in the area of reading and writing, Jill has trained teachers around the country. She has also worked with various schools to implement successful reading programs. As a result of her book, Succeeding with LD, she speaks to children and adults about the important lessons learned from success stories. Jill currently conducts a private practice for learning disabled students in New York City. Teaching people to read is one of Jill’s favorite things to do. She also enjoys meeting people who have found a way to feel proud and happy in spite of their struggles in school.
Pre-reading activities: When showing the students the cover of the book, ask the students if any of the pictures of the people relate to them and why. There is a picture of a ballerina, and a student may like to dance. There is a picture of a boy doing a science experiment, and the student might like to experiment with different things and try to find the answer a different way.
Post-reading activities: Each student will pick a person in the book who has done extraordinary things in their life. The students won’t just pick any person; they will choose the person who they have the most in common with. The student will then compare their life with the person from the book who they chose. They will write a paragraph about the person they chose, explaining why they chose that person and what makes their lives similar. The student will also write about why the person chosen from the book inspires them to be a better person, learning disability or not.
Reflection: I liked how this book had personal accounts of many different people, both children and adults alike. It would inspire people to do great things, with or without a learning disability.
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I am really interested in purchasing this book, it sounds awesome! So I like the theme of using students who are all different kinds of learners, and allowing children or students to relate to their individual stories..how cool. I love your idea for the post activity, and I think it would help students feel more comfortable in the classroom with their own know-how of their strengths and their weaknesses. Great pick!
ReplyDeleteI liked this book mainly because each student could probably relate to some of the situations in this book.
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