Music for Alice

Author: Allen Say

Illustrator: Allen Say

Genre: Historical Fiction

Say, Allen. Music For Alice. Place of Publication not Identified. Picture Window, 2013. Print.

Annotation
As a girl, Alice loved to dance, but the rhythms of her life offered little opportunity for a foxtrot or a waltz. After alice got married, WW2 erupted. Alice and her husband were forced to leave their homes and report to assembly centers around the country. Alice and her husband learned to make the most out of every circumstance. Like a pair of dancers, they sidestepped adversity to land gracefully to better opportunities. They turned a barren wasteland into a field of flowers. This required a lot of effort and sacrifice, even though Alice always thought her dancing days were long behind her.

ELA Content Standards
Key Ideas and Details- Grade 2
1.) Ask and answer questions such as who, what, where, when, why and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.

How it Connects: As a class students can discuss different questions such as: who are the characters, where does the story take place, when does the story take place, how do you think each of the characters feel as they go through difficulties in their life.

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas- Grade 2
Explain how specific images (e.g., a diagram showing how machines works) contribute to and clarify a text.

How it Connects: In the story, there were many illustrations that showed different areas around the world. If a student did not know what a certain setting that was talked about in the story looked like, they were able to see illustrations of it.

Tier 3 Vocabulary
sacrifice, adversity, rhythm

Classroom Usage
Small Groups: Students can get together talk about the character traits, and the hardships they went through. Then as a group, they can talk about a time that they felt like something was unfair or when they went through a big change.

Differentiation
This story would be good for ELL because it gives them variety or vocabulary. It also shows them different cultures and takes them back to history.