Flotsam: 1

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Talk about the idea of ‘six degrees of separation’. How many countries are your children connected with, via holidays or links with family and friends? How might you present this information in charts or diagrams? The underwater camera has a film inside. Can you find out how these cameras work? How are they different from digital cameras? Flotsam” is a 2007 Caldecott Award winning book by David Wiesner, author of the popular books, “Tuesday” and “The Three Pigs.” In this story, a young boy discovers a mysterious camera from the sea that eventually shows him another world under the sea. “Flotsam” is surely one classic that cannot be beat. Pair them, asking them to mirror each other’s movements, then progress to a ‘conversation’, where one child makes a movement answered by a different movement from their partner.

Children will enjoy getting an overview of the story as a class, then exploring the book individually afterwards. Create your own incredible pictures that show images that might have been taken by the underwater camera.Take the initial sequence of images where the boy is swamped by the wave and finds the camera, and the sequence at the end, where the boy is again splashed by the wave (which reclaims his pictures). Talk about the images with your class. How would it feel to be experiencing these events? Encourage speculation about what the pictures might show, then get the film developed (maybe a local shop will allow your class to see the process?). One of the reasons I love Wiesner’s work is that he comes up with ideas I would never think about. A mysterious camera would be something a child would want to keep so the lesson here is to see if the boy understands the long-term goal of the obviously amazing camera. An enjoyable read.

Flotsam is a short and beautiful picture book, bound to delight both children and adults alike. It is a great book for children (of all ages) to read on their own and to read together with their older companions.

International

I would recommend this book for just about any age group. The purpose for using it will vary, but it fosters our creative side, whether you are 5 or 15. Older students could use it for a writing activity in which they have to create words to go with each image. Make a collection of old photographic portraits – the sort available cheaply in postcard form from antique markets work well. The book is completely devoid of any dialogue - which is its great advantage: although a few English words on its cards they are not essential to understanding and enjoying the story. This allows for Flotsam to be enjoyed by all as it is not bound by any language, like classical music. Identify the geographical features of beaches and coastlines. Can you create a report about some of them? At the Rhode Island School of Design, Wiesner was able to commit himself to the full-time study of art and to explore further his passion for wordless storytelling. There he met two people who would figure prominently in his life: Tom Sgouros, to whom Tuesday is dedicated, and David Macaulay, to whom The Three Pigs is dedicated. These two men not only taught Wiesner the fundamentals of drawing and painting but also fostered his imaginative spirit and helped him comprehend the world around him. Sgouros's and Macaulay's artistic influences were vital to Wiesner's development into the acclaimed picture-book author he is today.

This book is another winner, all about a child on a beach day with his parents. Other children may scream and run into the waves, but this boy has his microscope with him as he inspects the various forms of life in sand and water. Then he finds a curious looking camera, old but strange. Inside is a roll of film, so he runs to the one-hour photo place down the street and has it developed. When he eagerly gets the finished prints, he is astonished at what he finds. The camera has captured life under the waves as never seen before. Then give the children Post-it notes and ask them to supply answers to the questions generated by others.They should be as imaginative as possible. The illustrations are drawn in the horizontal format - they are wider than they are tall - and in beautiful watercolors. The story is delightful and universal, full of wonderful detail and whimsical invention: how many of us have often dreamed of finding something which would be special and unique just by chance, to feel the joy of discovery? The juxtaposition of imagination and reality is truly delightful, and so is the uplifting mood of the book and it's message -the perserverance of wonder in an never ending chain. Again, use the images (and messages, if there are any) to generate ideas about who these people could have been.What are these creatures called? What are their habitats and life cycles? Ask children to draw and write about them, creating entries for an encyclopedia about newly discovered underwater life. The story begins with a curious boy who is visiting the beach. He has an interest in beach life and brings a multitude of exploration tools with him. As he’s exploring, a wave comes, and brings with it a strange looking camera. It resembles an underwater camera. He takes out the film and decides to have the film developed at the one hour photo department. The pictures he gets from the camera are amazing and show pictures of underwater sea life, including some strange mechanical fish. Within the photos he notices something strange and uses his microscope to figure it out. What he sees is surprising. Follow along in the story to see what he decides to do with it. Later, you can focus on single illustrations or sequences of images as the starting point for other activities.

This is a three-week Writing Root for Flotsam by David Wiesner in which children dicsover a range of ‘Flotsam’ items (either after a visit to the seaside, or that have appeared in the classroom). One item is a camera that contains mysterious photographs that the children must investigate. These photos come from the book Flotsam by David Wiesner. Children go on to read and reflect on the book, making predictions and retelling orally and in writing. Later in the sequence of learning, the children have the opportunity to create their own sequel to the story, called Jetsam, where they write the story of the child who next finds the camera. As an optional additional study, this could also link to a study of the history of cameras and report writing about this and could include a historical link about the way cameras have changed the way history is recorded. Synopsis of Text:

Take the topic outdoors

Themes include imaginative undersea worlds; invented creatures; light and cameras; microscopes and collections of natural specimens; floating and sinking; biodegradability and rubbish; geography and ocean currents; historical timelines and community cohesion; as well as numerous opportunities for writing, drama, music, art and dance. 1 | Plot synopsis Look at a map and find your closest beach. How far away is it? How could you travel there? How long might the journey take? Each question can be answered many times by different children. Share the questions and answers, discussing each picture as you go. Look at the items of flotsam shown on the inside cover. Could you choose one and write your own story about it? Create some captions, speech and thought bubbles to accompany the beautiful illustrations in the book.