{"id":1572,"date":"2009-08-31T14:36:20","date_gmt":"2009-08-31T19:36:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/openwidelookinside\/archives\/1572"},"modified":"2009-08-31T14:36:20","modified_gmt":"2009-08-31T19:36:20","slug":"teaching-process-skills-with-childrens-literature-seven-blind-mice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/openwidelookinside\/2009\/08\/31\/teaching-process-skills-with-childrens-literature-seven-blind-mice\/","title":{"rendered":"Teaching Process Skills with Children’s Literature: Seven Blind Mice"},"content":{"rendered":"

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<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>Students learning about their five senses for the first time will love\u00a0Seven Blind Mice<\/a>, written and illustrated by Ed Young. \u00a0This colorful picture book employs a simple storyline to show readers how important our senses are to our everyday lives.<\/p>\n

The story begins when seven blind mice are surprised to find a new object by their home. \u00a0One by one, the mice use their other senses in an attempt to identify this new object, and each mouse becomes convinced that he has solved the mystery correctly. \u00a0“One day,” Young writes, “seven blind mice were surprised to find a strange Something by their pond. \u00a0‘What is it?’ they cried, and they all ran home. \u00a0On Monday, Red Mouse went first to find out. \u00a0‘It’s a pillar,’ he said. \u00a0No one believed him.” \u00a0The text continues in a similar fashion until each mouse has guessed what this new Something is. \u00a0Only readers are able to tell why the mice have different opinions, but the wonderful illustrations do a great job of camoflauging the actual object (an elephant!) until the end of the story.<\/p>\n

Curriculum Connections<\/strong>
\nSeven Blind Mice is a great book for initiating discussion about the five senses in a kindergarten classroom. \u00a0 \u00a0Children must stop and think about how being blind would affect their perception and must also consider the lesson on the last page of the book: “Knowing in part may make a fine tale, but wisdom comes from seeing the whole.” \u00a0The mice learn that perception is dependent on many things, and students should think about how each of their senses allows them to learn different things about the world around them. \u00a0The book might be used to satisfy SOL K.2 by encouraging students to think about how using their senses can help them to identify objects in their environment.<\/p>\n

Additional Resources<\/strong><\/p>\n