Roxaboxen

Welcome to the third year of Learning through Literature’s Homeschool Co-op Curriculum. If this is your first time here, this book: Roxaboxen, is the fourth of 13 books that will be covered as part of our homeschool co-op year, Learning through Literature: Exploring the United States. The class has been created for 1st – 4th graders and is the culmination of three years of Learning through Literature together. If this is your first time looking around, please check out our first year, Learning the ABC’s through Literature. Or the second year, Learning through Literature for Homeschool Co-op.

Each year was inspired by Jane Lambert’s Five in a Row Curriculum and uses many of the same books, but with lessons, discussion questions, and printables reworked to be more useful for a homeschool co-op.

For this third year, Learning through Literature: Exploring the United States, we will take TWO classes to cover each book. If you are using this for a co-op, you will find “Class One” and further down the page, “Class Two”.

Thanks for stopping by!

Roxaboxen

by Alice McLerran

If you’re not familiar with this book, you can find a great read-aloud preview of it here:

Class

Things I Need:

Roxaboxen Book
Map of the United States, especially showing the Southwestern States*
Learning the USA through Lit Journal – Roxaboxen Class 1 Add-In Pages

Before the class: set out the new journal pages and the Roxaboxen copywork page on their desk as you are setting up the class and hang up a map of the USA on the wall if one is not already in the class.

Homework:

Make sure Southwest and Midwest states are fully memorized (oral class review next week)
In class, we talked about our own special play areas. But people played a little bit differently several years back. Just like Alice McLerran is telling the story of her mother’s favorite play area, you are going to tell the story of your mom or dad’s favorite play area. What was their “Roxaboxen”? Interview your parents to find out where they went to play? What did they do there? Have you seen it? Or can they describe it to you? Draw a picture in the space below and then write a paragraph explaining their favorite childhood play area.

As the class is arriving:

Encourage them to begin the copywork on their desk, taken from a quote in the book.

A helper can punch the sheets to go into their binder, immediately following their last homework sheet from The Gullywasher.

Begin with a quick review:

Who remembers the name of the book we read last week?
What area of the country are we talking about this month? (The Southwest)
What is the Southwest like? (hot, dry, desert, etc)
Who can name the 4 states in this region? (Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma)

Point to the states in the Southwest Region, and say them together as a class. If you have time, take a moment and review the Midwest states as well.

Continue with a Homework Review:

Have the class take out their homework. They should have

A memorized Bible verse (Proverbs 17:22)
A short paragraph or something to share about one of the Southwest states

Go around the room, allowing each student to share about the state they chose and the things they learned. As they share, affirm and bring out the significant things. This should give the class a broad overview of the Southwest without you having to say anything 🙂

Encourage the students to look at the class as they share, and to speak clearly.

After you finish the homework, introduce the new book:

You can segue into this by wrapping up the sharings and mentioning that we have another book from the Southwest. This one takes place in Arizona and is a true story, as told to the author by her mother.

Point to Arizona on the map, and perhaps bring out a few of the things shared in the homework sharing time that may add to the story.

Read the Story & Points for Discussion

As you read, it is so neat to note that this is a true story. The place of Roxaboxen really existed, and even today, if you go to Yuma, Arizona, they have made a little park of stones for kids to play in the actual location.
Some other things to note (this is mentioned in the back of the book) … when Barbara Cooney was trying to decide how to draw the pictures for the story she went to visit Roxaboxen with Alice McLerran’s aunt Frances, who had grown up playing in Roxaboxen. When Barbara Cooney drew Frances’ Roxaboxen “house”, how did she know what it looked like? (Frances took her there, and probably thoroughly described it)
What do you think about the Roxaboxen homes?
If you lived in Yuma, Arizona, would you have gone out in the hot heat to play in Roxaboxen? (remind the class of hot weather, desert, unsheltered area … and yet, in a time before TV’s – what would they have done)
What about them? Do they have their own “Roxaboxen?” Do they have a play area, a tree fort, a corner of a bedroom … where they can imagine freely? What do they imagine?

Add the Roxoboxen Book Picture to their Journals:

At the back of the binder, have the class cut out the Roxoboxen book picture (on the page with all the other books) and

Together, find the state where Roxoboxen took place (Arizona) and glue the book to the large map of the United States (in the back of the journal) with the other books.

If there is extra time …

Go through the Southwest and Midwest states again. Challenge the class to learn the capitals as well, or play one of these YouTube videos to review:

Go over the Homework:

Make sure Southwest and Midwest states are fully memorized (oral class review next week)
In class, we talked about our own special play areas. But people played a little bit differently. (You may need to discuss the word “generation”). Just like Alice McLerran is telling the story of her mother’s favorite play area, you are going to tell the story of your mom or dad’s favorite play area. What was their “Roxaboxen”? Interview your parents to find out where they went to play? What did they do there? Have you seen it? Or can they describe it to you? Draw a picture in the space below and then write a paragraph explaining their favorite childhood play area.