There are never enough hours in the school day when you’re a teacher. Mundane days are rare since school calendars are filled with field trips, special guests, celebrations, or assemblies. While these enrich our students’ learning, it is often hard to schedule multiple read alouds during the school day. When I was a classroom teacher I tried to read aloud texts that could do double- and triple-duty. Whenever I consult with teachers about using children’s literature in the classroom, I often suggest reading aloud books that be used as a minilesson demonstration text in reading and/or writing workshop. Bonus points if you can use it in a content area as well!
The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig and Patrice Barton is the kind of book that serves multiple purposes in an elementary school classroom. Here are three ways I would use it (though I’m sure there are additional uses):
- Use it in a social issue curriculum that focuses on bullying and/or isolation.
- There are discussion questions in the back of the book, as well as a recommended reading list for kids.
- Incorporate it into an interactive read aloud cycle about voice/silence.
- Talking about positive classroom behaviors.
- Vocabulary building
- Demonstration text for writing workshop minilessons
- Mentor text for strategy lessons and conferences
Here are some craft moves you can teach kids to make using The Invisible Boy as a mentor:
- Lead: Opens with a question
- Ending: Satisfying; weaves-in the big idea of the book; very conversational
- Characters: Ludwig creates a realistic main character, Brian, and a believable secondary character, Justin. She uses a variety of details to make them feel like real kids. In addition, Barton’s illustrations enhance Ludwig’s words in a way that’s pure genius. Initially, Brian is represented in black and white. As he becomes noticed by Justin, he is illustrated in partial color. By the end of the book Brian is illustrated in full color, which represents him being noticed by his teacher and gaining acceptance by his peers.
- Dialogue: Sometimes traditional dialogue (i.e., quotation marks and dialogue tags) and other times speech bubbles are utilized.
- Elaboration: The story combines a variety of details (e.g., action, dialogue) to help it flow.
- Internal vs. External Story: Ludwig and Barton work in sync to tell the story and to show what’s happening with Brian (e.g., he is left “waiting and hoping” when he is the last one to be picked for a kickball team; Brian doesn’t mock Justin’s Korean lunch and wonders what’s worse “being laughed at or feeling invisible.”).
- Precise Language: This book is rich in specific nouns and vivid verbs.
- Punctuation: Whether you need to how to artfully use points of ellipses or help them understand when to use commas in an introductory phrase, you can show kids a variety of examples from this book.
If you’re like me, you’re sick of turning on the news and hearing about another teen who took his/her life because of bullying or because they felt isolated. Books like The Invisible Boy can help us start discussions about the importance of reaching out to all people in positive ways. Therefore, I hope you’ll add this book to your classroom library. It can be used as a mentor text in writing workshop and, as mentioned above, can be a springboard to teach students about social dynamics and choosing to be kind.
Click here to view a comprehensive educator guide for The Invisible Boy.
Look inside this book:
GIVEAWAY INFORMATION
This giveaway is for one copy of The Invisible Boy written by Trudy Ludwig and illustrated by Patrice Barton. Many thanks to Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers for sponsoring this giveaway.To enter for a chance to win a copy of The Invisible Boy, please leave a comment about ways you would use this book in your classroom, how you help quiet kids in your classroom, or National Bullying Prevention Month.All comments left on or before Monday, November 4th at 11:59 p.m. will be entered into a random drawing giveaway using a random number generator. The winner of The Invisible Boy will be announced at the bottom of this post by Thursday, November 7th.Please be sure to leave a valid e-mail address when you post your comment so I can obtain your mailing address if you win.
Comments are now closed. Thank you to everyone who left a comment about The Invisible Boy. I used a random number generator and Amina Bradford’s commenter number was selected so she’ll win a copy of Ludwig and Barton’s book. Here’s what Amina said:
I have a few quiet kiddos this year. I try to make them comfortable with me by not pushing so hard for them to speak, but give them opportunities to get comfortable first. I often times look at what they’ve written and share an idea of theirs without saying who did it. I joke round with them in the morning before they come in, just to get a smile. They’re really coming around, and we’re only in our 11th week of school.
TWO WRITING TEACHERS 
Thanks for sharing this book. I could definitely use this to add something to the mandatory curriculum we have.
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Thank you for sharing this book. It sounds like one I need in my library!
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I agree with Suzanne Gibbs. I would love to use this as part of our realistic fiction unit.
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Looks like one to add to our collection. Thank you!
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What a wonderful book! I would love a copy.
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I would definitely use this book to discuss bullying and the importance of positive classroom behaviors. I would also incorporate grammar lessons and turn it into a writer’s workshop activity. We could even create a class book.
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Thanks so much for sharing this book. I cannot wait to share it with our guidance counselor and add it to my mentor text collection.
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We are always on the lookout for those triple duty picture books! This one sounds like a winner!
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One of the goals of our School Improvement Plan is to reduce bullying. This would be a great resource to use as a mentor text to help me fulfill this goal within my Language Arts classroom.
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Understanding the quiet child takes practice. It’s wonderful to see a book about this sensitive subject.
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I could use this boom over and over the way a mentor text is supposed to be used!!!!
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We are always looking for mentor text at our school. This book would be a wonderful to use in my classroom.
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Wow! What a great book! My students are currently working on the trait of organization, so we would definitely study the use of a question as an opening, the “satisfying ending,” and the way the author chose to organize the events of the story. But more importantly, we would use it to learn about bullying and hopefully to help our students learn to recognize bullying and learn how they can help be the solution instead of the problem.
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What an amazing book with such potential “power”!
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Wow, this sounds like a text that all teachers could use in their classrooms. I have been teaching for 35 years and each year there is always at least one invisible child in my classroom. What a great mentor text that I could use in so many ways…..thanks for sharing this title.
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This book would be put to use right away! Sounds like it could change some noticed patterns of behavior in class! Hope I win!
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This book looks like a great mentor text for the teachers in my school. Our 5th graders will soon be embarking on a Social Issues unit that this would be perfect for!
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Students will connect with this book. It can used in so many ways. First, I would use it as a read aloud and a springboard for discussion on treating people kindly (and so much more). Then I would move into craft lessons. There are so many possobilities in just one book! Thank you for sharing!
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This text appears to show students that they have a voice with their writing. They can express how they feel. Make themselves known. Sounds like a great lesson, writing idea & mentor text for various elements in writing. A wonderful addition to any classroom. Thank you for sharing.
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This information was very helpful. I teach Special Education students. All of my students can identify with “The Invisible Boy”. Thanks f
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I would give the book to my kids Elementary School. The school have had problems with bullying.
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I have been sharing the practice of using mentor text with my new teachers. This book can be used to teach so many traits of writing. I cannot wait to read it to them! JR
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What a great book! I work with multiple classes, and there are a couple of “invisible” students in each class. What a wonderful way to let them know they are seen, and valued.
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I just started as a literacy coach and am always hunting those books that will serve double or triple duty for my teachers trying to have a more seamless literacy block. I can think of so many classrooms that this would be a perfect fit for!!
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I work with struggling and reluctant learners. This sounds like another, must have text both as a mentor text but also as a bit of bibliotherapy!
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Just finished Wonder and reading Out of My Mind. Would be great to add into the mix. Thank you for the recommendation.
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I have a child who is so quiet and shy I feel like few of us know her well. I’d love the chance to use a book to draw her out.
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The counselor and I just started a monthly grade level group for our high ability and high achieving kids. Some of these kids already feel different and trend to blend into the woodwork as they hate feeling different. I would love to have this book for these grade level groups.
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I am working hard this year to incorporate kindness and random acts of kindness into the classroom. This book would start a great discussion on this. Also, great reminder that those quiet kids need our attention too!
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I love learning about new books! Thanks for all the suggestions for how to use it in the classroom. We’re reading Wonder in our 6th grade classroom, but love picture books that connect to our read alouds .
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How wonderful to have a mentor text that offers so many opportunities! I will definitely add it to our library.
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The book sounds wonderful and would be a perfect mentor text for me right now! Thanks for sharing!
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I just checked this book out last week from my local library because it was mentioned on Twitter — and it does not disappoint. I loved how the illustrations played such an important role in telling Brian’s story. So powerful–and so true to how a child would feel. Thanks for sharing so many other ideas for using this book! One I will for sure be adding to my classroom library!
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I would use this book as a read aloud and then have great conversations develop from it and/or have journal entries/writing prompts inspired from the book
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What amazing illustrations to pair with wonderful messages. A nice reminder to recognize even the invisible students who walk among us in our classrooms. I love the cover!
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We’ve been looking for a book to use as a whole school read that also would tie into our PBIS program – this book sounds like it would be perfect!
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This book seems to have a wonderful message and as we can all relate….multitasking!!
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I have a few quiet kiddos this year. I try to make them comfortable with me by not pushing so hard for them to speak, but give them opportunities to get comfortable first. I often times look at what they’ve written and share an idea of theirs without saying who did it. I joke round with them in the morning before they come in, just to get a smile. They’re really coming around, and we’re only in our 11th week of school. 😉
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Yep, Wonder here too, but even more, I love the lack of color/color symbolism. Love things that can be shared and enjoyed/noticed on many levels. this has it and I would love to share the layers with students.
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Love, love, love a book that can I use over and over for different purposes! Been studying close reading and it sounds perfect!
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We just featured our first annual bullying prevention month of character education assemblies. It was wildly popular with both students and parents. I used Trudy’s book My Secret Bully for those Assemblies and it really hit a chord with many people. I think Invisible Boy would be a great resource for parents and important for children to hear, also.
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We are using PBIS in our school and Second Steps – Empathy training… We were discussing how we could choose a few books like this for our Read aloud/mentor text for reading, writing and PBIS! This would certainly fit into our plans!
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Seems like a book that would lead to a lot of good discussion with my 4th grade class.
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I would use this book to talk about making everyone feel included. Thanks for sharing!
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I too am reading wonder to my class.. This would be a great follow up for highlighting another way kids can be bullied.. In 6 th grade you can never reinforce it enough!
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I would use this book as a character analysis lesson. Prose the question “Why would the character act that way?” Discuss bullying, what they could have done instead. Use signposts contrast and contradictions.
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This book is going to be a great addition to our anti-bullying program through Project Cornerstone.
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We are implementing the ABC program through Project Cornerstone this year. The program is an anti-bullying program using literature. Parents are trained monthly on the book of the month vand are provided lesson plans. once a month they go into classrooms read the story. This book would be a great addition to our collection. I hope I win!!!!
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I would use this book for Character Counts lessons and then challenge the kids to perform a random act of kindness for someone they don’t usually talk to often.
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I like the idea of introducing a different type of bullying and discussing what being invisible means and helping students learn to identify these type of children and prevent others from bullying them.
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Our school just loved Wonder. This would be fantastic for a read aloud. It would be great for literature discussion groups.
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The Invisible Boy is a powerful story. Although I have recently retired from teaching, I continue to work with children and write for them as well. I have begun to purchase books for children on my own to donate to schools, hospitals, drives, etc. It would be very nice if I could get a copy of The Invisible Boy to donate as well.
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I would use this as a mentor text for all of those great writing lesson opportunities, for sure. More importantly, bough, I would use it to grow my list of character role models for all of my students! The thought of any child feeling like there is nobody they can relate to through books is so absurd to me, and I want to build a library where EVERY reader finds a friend in a book!!!
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It’s on my list already, but I love seeing the page examples, Stacey. Looks and sounds like a beautiful book/story. For so many of the things you mention, but I’d love to have conversations using it during the first week of school, or when a new student arrives after school begins. It would help a lot! Thanks for the opportunity!
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THis sounds like a wonderful book to look at bullying from another angle. I can’t wait to read it to my class, thanks for highlighting this and the many ways it could be used in class both as a writing mentor text and as an entry into speaking about larger social issues. Thanks for highlighting this!
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WoW! What a powerful book. We’ve all seen a child like Brian. What a wonderful way to bring it to the children so they can ‘see’ the Brian’s in their world. I just love the illustrations and the message.
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this is so so so so wonderful. I love books that leave us in a better place for having begun them. xo
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This would be a great book to use at the beginning of the year when creating class norms and building a classroom community. I like the examples of positive behavior that are demonstrated by some characters, and I love the illustrations.
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I love your suggestions for looking at the book in mulitiple ways…those are the best books to invest in. I love the speech bubbles and so will the kids. xo
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I would use this book in so many different ways! I’d absolutely use it to open the discussion for bullying and bully prevention. I’d also use it during Writer’s Workshop to notice the use of commas. This book is wonderful and I hope I get a chance to have this in my classroom.
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This sounds like a wonderful book, Stacey. Thanks for sharing all the teaching ideas, too.
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I agree with Karen, the interplay of text and images is an area I have been discussing with my students. Also, the whole topic of bullying is on the minds of so many. There are endless ways to use this as a mentor text.
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As a school social worker that does push in lessons into classrooms- this is a great Tier 1 book to start a conversation about how everyone is different and treating people how you want to be treated!
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I teach special education and I DO have those students that are very good at flying under the radar. They find it easier to be invisible then to take risks. They don’t feel included in the process of learning in the general classroom. I’m excited about this book. Thanks for sharing!
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This looks loke one of the richest books for multiple uses in writing. And such a timely topic with all that’s been in the news. I work with special education students who are in general education. I think some of them feel that way sometimes. I’d love a copy to share with my students and their teachers. Thank you for the inspiration and the support.
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Love this book. The illustrations are wonderful, too. I just did a chalk talk protocol with my students about problem solving. I used some bullying references for the students to respond to. This book is perfect for having the discussion of inclusion. Thanks for sharing.
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I’d love to use this book as a jumping off point for my friends and bullying unit. I like how open it is to interpretations.
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This book would be wonderful to introduce to my teachers. I am a Literacy Coach running a study group on Mentor texts in writing. I would love this book! Thanks for sharing this book!
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This would be a wonderful book to use with any child who feels like they are invisible. What an amazing book. The bullying article is wonderful as well. So many great activities.
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I have been working with kindergarteners who are just starting to add letters to text. We have been labeling what items in the picture are, but this would be a great book to introduce characters speaking. There are many shy kindergarteners so I think the topic would be a great readaloud before writing as well.
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I’m in the middle of an illustration unit of study – the interplay of text and images. This sounds like a wonderful book that will provide interesting decisions on many, many levels! Can’t wait to use it! Thank you!
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We are in the middle of our realistic fiction unit and I would use the book as the mentor text for that unit.
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This sounds like a great pairing with WONDER, which has obvious differences. The illustrations are stunning! Thanks for sharing!
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