lizardWhat is in a Parallel Book?

 

Parallel learning describes our system for presenting four to five levels in one book.  See the example, The  Spider’s Story, which is one of the collections in our series.  This book is appropriate for the average third or fourth grade student. 

All collections include socio-emotional learning.  Each version in this collection offers different perspective on how to handle betrayal caused by a friend and ideas on how to handle enemies. All versions are designed to help the learner solve problems as he examines the consequences of each decision when presented with situations that may incite the need for revenge.

 

Five Different Versions to Support Parallel Learning:

The first version, of “Where the Air Is Hot” is a story based on the original Ghanaian folktale. The original folktale is a “tell-me-why” story that explains why lizards bob their heads.  The first version is designed to reflect the original intention.  It reviews phonetic sounds taught in previous collections. It emphasizes simple “r”-controlled sounds.
The second version is a poem. The rap that is repeated throughout the second and third versions reinforces the simple sounds of “r”-controlled words that are taught in the first version and introduces the variant sounds for the “r”-controlled words.
The third version is an adaptation of the poem, which is told as a rhyming play. It uses a style of poetry that is different from the poem. Underlined words in the play are defined directly to the left in the poem. The definitions are drilled repeatedly, as they help some students to read phrases by sight and others to remember definitions in the more difficult play. Repeated exposure to the underlined words also helps students summarize events in the story.
The fourth version explains the background of Anansi tales and the real-life habits of spiders. Care and deliberation are given in distinguishing the facts from the fiction. This version has a map; scientific drawings and illustrations; and photographs of spiders in their habitats that differ from the drawings on the fictional side. Anansi’s behaviors are understood better as one reads this scientific account.
Difficult words are reserved for the fifth account, which is also scientific. This version, too, has underlined words that are explained in the version to the left. The events in the fictional versions, especially those that are explained in the definitions, act as pneumonic devices that help students remember the real-life habits of spiders. The definitions therefore have four purposes: They help students read by sight, recall definitions and summarize events; they further aid the memory as they provide pneumonic triggers to the memory.