Howie Helps Himself

Howie Helps Himself

By Joan Fassler

Grade 3

REALISTIC FICTION

This story is a very simple story but the application in the classroom could be huge. This story is about a little boy who is physically handicapped. He can't do a lot with his hands, legs, and can't really even hold himself up very well. He depends on his mother, grandmother, and other people a lot to provide his entertainment. The issue is he gets upset when they don't have the time to play with him. One thing that Howie wants more than anything is to be able to roll his wheelchair all by himself without the help of anyone! He practices and practices to gain strength in his arms and hands to be able to maneuver the wheelchair by himself. He does eventually gain the strength to wheel his wheelchair right up to his dad to pick him up. It was such an amazing and inspiring moment. I know one specific application in the classroom that I have done before is have the students pick a specific problem in the book and find a way to create something to fix the problem. Out of this book I chose the issue of Howie always needing his mom and grandmother to give the ball back to him while he is playing. I noticed that he got upset when they didn't have the time to play with him. I made up a lesson asking the students to find a way to solve this problem. I created a box with wheels that he can roll the ball in to and then pull it up and the ball roll back to him. This is great for students to be able to problem solve and use strategies for that. This all helps to create great group work also. It is taking this book to the next level. Also students can also be asked to make a text to self connection. They could possibly think about a time in their lives when there was something they couldn't do but with a lot of hard work and determination they were able to complete what they wanted to. They could do a write up on this and turn this in for a grade.