The One and Only Ivan Blog Post #4

In our final discussion for The One and Only Ivan, our group was prompted to discuss activity ideas with the book. I enjoyed this activity both to think on my own and also to hear great ideas from other students who work with different grade levels.

Some of the ideas we discussed were

• Drawing responses (especially as it relates to the main character's identity as an artist): Students could be asked to draw Ivan after each quarter of the book, and how his expressions, body language, etc. might change. Another way to incorporate drawing / art would be to ask students how they would communicate to Julia if they were Ivan. Would they draw a different picture? 
• Perspectives: Students would be asked to write a piece of the story from a different perspective (e.g. Bob when Ivan and Ruby are taken away, or Mack really at any point in the story). 
• Write about difficult choices: There were several times in the book that characters were faced with difficult choices. While elementary students likely can't relate to George and his need to care for his family by working, students can be asked to write about a time they had to make a difficult choice and relate it to the characters in the story. 

I really enjoyed this book and some of the activities that stem from it will hopefully be used in the future.