FeedTodd’s TV by James Proimos
April 7, 2011 in Art activities, Creative Writing activities, Elementary Educators, Making Personal Connections, Personal Connections, Picture Book, Preschool to 1st grade teachers, Proimos James, Reading Skills, Shared Writing, six traits of writing Tags: picture books about TV, Screen Free Week, six plus one traits of writing, Turn off the TV week
*Picture book for preschoolers through second graders
*Young boy as main character
*Rating: Todd’s TV is a satire for young kids. They will think it’s silly, and it is–but it sends a powerful message. The message might be more for adults than kids. This is a great book to share during Screen-Free Week (Turn off the TV Week), which is April 18 to 24, 2011.
Short, short summary: Todd spends a lot of time in front of the TV. Parents are busy, right? So, when it comes time for Todd’s parent/teacher conference, the TV volunteers to take him. Todd’s parents think this is a marvelous idea. But then the TV starts taking over every aspect of Todd’s life–even taking him on vacations. Soon, the TV decides he’ll adopt Todd since he is taking care of him anyway, and this is where Mom and Dad draw the line. The family decides to turn the TV off and figure out what to do from there. They are pleasantly surprised!
So, what do I do with this book?
1. Check out the activities at the Screen-Free Week website. Although the official week is April 18 to 24, you can challenge your child or your class to do it ANY TIME!
2. Make a class book about alternatives to TV. Each child gets a piece of paper to write a sentence or paragraph and draw an illustration. Laminate them and bind them together.
3. What do kids think about the ending of this story? Discuss with them the irony of the prize. What would have been a better prize?
April 8th, 2011 at 12:20 pm
Todd’s TV sounds like such a fun read for kids. I’m sure it will have them giggling. Your proposed activities sound great to me! I didn’t even know about Screen free week. Maybe that’s because I don’t have television. :p