Pistes d'exploration

What do you think motivated the author to write this book? Discuss the reasons why it is important to spend time outdoors. Over the course of one week, track your outdoor time versus your screen time. 

On an anchor chart, list the four seasons. Under each heading, note suitable outdoor activities. Choose one and create a scene using cut-out pictures and words from magazines. Present your collage to the class.

Turn to the page “Discover the world in which you live.” How many math concepts can you find (symmetry, 2D shapes, time, pairs, arrays, etc.)? What other math concepts can you find throughout the book?

Create an anchor chart featuring outdoor activities your class members enjoy. Discuss your favourites.

Discuss the art in the book (a mixture of paint and collage with a few words). Talk about the activities pictured on the pages.

Create an outdoor activity page of your own, using the same paint and collage technique. Choose some of the sentences from the text or make up your own from the models. Tell your classmates about it in an inside-outside cooperative circle.

Max's Words, Yay, You!: Moving Out, Moving Up, Moving On

Mots-clés

Picture book , games , health , healthy living , nature , outdoor activities , second-person narration

Commentaire descriptif

“Hey you! Yes you! Unplug yourself and step outside. Dance between raindrops and dash through the mist.” So begins this poetic invitation to get moving, strengthen family bonds, generate memories and celebrate the outdoors. The use of direct address and imperative sentences immediately invites readers to take an active rather than passive role in the promotion of healthy living. Among other things, we are asked to “sleep below the stars” and “visit sounds and drift away”—all in the hopes we will be inspired to “discover the world” in which we live, motivated to choose family, fitness and fresh air over the indoors. The bright, visually pleasing layout combines spare text in artful script and full-bleed double page illustrations that blend original artwork, collage, watercolour and acrylic. The overall effect is poetic and whimsical, and each page is filled with little details that readers will want to pore over. This read-aloud will help instill an appreciation of imagery and nature, and could be extended to prompt children to think about society’s obsession with cell phones and other electronics.