Armadilly Chili

After the students listened to the book, they worked individually to create a theme for the story and to tell about a time when they had a memorable experience in the desert. This could include unique animals they had seen or had as pets; it could include favorite desert plants or trees or things that even frighten them.

 

KaLee: Theme-"Help friends and each other." KaLee said, "Every time I go to a desert I see a cactus." She has drawn a very nice desert scene with cacti that are blossoming.	Devante: Theme-"He wants us to share and never fight." Devante says, "I went on a hike; I saw a armadillo and a hawk."
Breanna: Theme-"Everyone should do work hard…she shared chili with her friends." Breanna's short narrative reads, "I walked and I saw a cactus; I cut a cactus called prickly pear; we made nopales."	Emily: Theme-"Help your friends and share." Emily said, "I have a tiny bit of desert experience because I own a baby Texas tortoise."
Jessica: Theme-"She let them have chili." There is a beautiful picture of Jessica amidst prickly pear cacti."	Elliot: Theme-"Share with your friends." Elliot says he "has four legs of a javalina, and they are cool.
Steven: Theme-"Help out or you won't get what you want." Steven drew what he claimed to have been the most unusual looking desert bean pod. There is an image of him finding the bean pod in the desert and exclaiming "wow". He adds that "I went on a hike and saw a weird plant…I think it was called a bean pod, and I saw a plant that blew-up!
Teachers' Note: All the children afforded us a unique experience in sharing their work. In general terms, the themes were wonderfully childlike (profoundly simplistic and to the point), as we had supposed they would be. Development of such an abstract notion as theme begins with a more elemental and literal connection to text, as Dr. Moreillon has suggested, and expands to more abstracted and universal ideas associated (through growing literacy experience) with multiple texts.

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