Helping Children with Anxiety and Perseverance at School with After the Fall

Hi everyone! Welcome back to our month long Back to School Blog Series.  Every one knows the story of Humpty Dumpty and this is what makes this text so endearing for children and adults alike.  In this text the author Dan Santat gives Humpty many character traits that are relatable including anxiety, doubt and perseverance.   Continuing on in the story Humpty finds he has a newfound fear of heights which prevents him from enjoying his birdwatching and other simple daily tasks. While he lives each day in fear,  he still yearns for the skies. Determined not to give up Humpty goes through many trials and tribulations to build a model plane and climb a wall showing much courage and perseverance.  The ending is pretty amazing for detailing how illustrations can contribute to a text.

This text is just perfect for watching how a character changes throughout a text or reacts to different events.  You could teach with this book any time of the year.  I like to use it while teaching children to use text evidence and cite the text in their written response.  What I think this text is best for is teaching children that anxiety is normal and helping them with strategies for overcoming anxiety.  This is really important for teachers to address.  Make sure to watch the video below for additional ideas.  Don't forget to stop by tomorrow for another post full of ideas!