Reference
Danielle Fox
Falk Laboratory School K-5
The book, A Single Shard, would be best used in grades 3,4,5 or 6. (It could be used in 7th and 8th as well) It would be a perfect read aloud book because of the beautiful language and imagery used throughout the story. Students in grades 5 and 6 could handle reading this as a novel unit and discussing the themes in greater detail.
The story is about a young, orphan boy named Tree- Ear who is growing up under a bridge in 12th century Korea. He is being raised by an older gentleman, Crane-Man, nicknamed this for having only one leg. Crane-Man teaches Tree-Ear about “rights” and “wrongs” and how to be an honorable person even though they are poor and homeless.
During this time Korean celadon pottery was coveted around the world, and Tree-Ear longed to be like one of the master potters in his well known village. Tree-Ear had spied regularly on Min, the most skilled potter in the village, known for his perfection and low turn-out due to always taking his time. One day Tree-Ear accidently breaks one of Min’s un-fired pieces and ends up working for Min to repay his debt. Tree-Ear sees his opportunity to fulfill his dream and stays on as Min’s assistant. Throughout the story Tree-Ear becomes a part of Min’s life, making sacrifices to further his goal of learning to throw a pot and Min’s destiny of becoming a commissioned potter for the Royal Court.
There are so many discussion/lesson topics that could arise from reading this book with a class. The story is well written and full of great vocabulary words that could be used to segue into deeper discussion of Korea n culture. For instance the book talks about Tree-Ear eating delicious kimchee, a typical Korean dish. Through this, Korean cuisine could be discussed or sampled. This could also be used to catapult a geography lesson about the Korean peninsula; the class could track Tree-Ear’s journey from Ch’ulp’o to Songdo, or trade between Korea, China and Japan. A history lesson could be taught from Crane-Man’s story about the T’ang Chinese invading the castle at Puyo. Many cultural issues like Confucianism, filial piety and the five relationships, respect for elders, and reverence of the natural world could be addressed. Students could compare and contrast the way of life in 12th century Korea and present day by looking at transportation, jobs, housing, and other luxuries or lack there of. The most obvious discussion topic is pottery, the work surrounding the creation of pieces, and how it has changed since then.
I whole heartedly recommend this book to any teacher or student.
