How I Learned Geography - Online Resource

This book is written by Uri Shulevitz. It was published in 2008 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux Book.

Lexile Level: AD660L     Ages: 5-10

Website: http://www.storylineonline.net/how-i-learned-geography/

Summary:

     How I Learned Geography is a story about a family driven from their home by a "war that devastated the land" the family flees. One day, the father returns from the market not with the bread for supper but a wall-filling map of the world. "No supper tonight" mother said bitterly. The map helps Uri escape from poverty and misery and into a world of wondrous fruit groves, deserts, and mountains. 

Evaluation and illustrations:

      How I learned Geography is beautifully illustrated picture book that introduces students to ten real locations in the world such as Egypt, Indonesia, and Venezuela. The illustrations, in this book, recreate memories of those places he has visited with just a map and imagination. While reading the book the students can try and guess the different places the illustrations are showing and it helps them understand where Uri is traveling and what these locations look like. Uri Shulevitz uses watercolor and ink illustrations to add further depth as he switches from monochromes palettes to a chorus of colors spotlighting how the map stirred his imagination.

     Not only are the illustrations beautifully done there is also a wonderful message. The message is about hope that one day Uri will get to travel the world and get away from poverty and war. This book has a few difficult words throughout, Shulevitz manages to tell the story of this important time on his life with simple effective sentences.

Literary elements:

     On occasion How I learned Geography has similes. For example one of the similes is "He chewed a small crust of bread as if it were the most delicious morsel in the world". The setting of this story started in Poland and as the story continued they moved to a country east of Poland where they lived with a "rich" couple for shelter. The tone of the story starts sad with dull colors because it focuses on the families poverty. The tone shifts into bright fun colors that focuses on imagination and creativity.

 1. Simile: "He chewed a small crust of food as if it were the most delicious morsel in the world"

2. Setting: Poland and then a country east of Poland

3.  Tone: Sad to happy.

In the Classroom:

     The lesson I could do with my class is have the students create mental maps of the world. This would be a great lesson for a geography unit about countries and locations. For a lesson focused on the craft of writing I would have students extend their learning by creating rhymes with exotic place names they find on maps, like the boy in the story.


How I Learned Geography. (2016, December 07). Retrieved January 19, 2017, from http://www.storylineonline.net/how-i-learned-geography/