Students Reading to Students In Nature

So I took the list of books recommended by teachers at a session I led for the "Design the Shift" professional development for Calgary Board of Teachers (previous post), and gave the list to an amazing librarian that not only ordered these books but several others that she thought would be worthwhile reading.  I read each one with my 10yr old son and he physically ordered them from most favourite to least favourite.  "Windows" and "Thunderstorm" are good books but because of their destructive truths were difficult to accept.  Much like the question when are students ready? As my Literature professor posed with the book "Hiroshima No Pika"   Here it is starting with his favourite Westlandia;

Then I ranked them, also starting with Westlandia (It's hard not to love the book that you observed your son so engaged with), however I would change Flotsam as my #2.

There are still a couple from the original list that I haven't read yet (bolded),

1.   The giving Tree, by  Shel Silverstein
2.   A Quiet Place, by Douglas Wood
3.   The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupery 
4.   If, by Sarah Perry  
5.   Matt Land, by Hazel Hutchins and Gail Herbert 
6.   Map of my Heart, by John Porcellino 
7.   How to be an Explorer of the world, by Keri Smith  
8.   Queen of the Falls, by Chris Van Allsburg  
9.   Voices in the Park, by Anthony Browne  
10.   Just a Dream, by Chris Van Allsburg
11.   Ben's Dream, by Chris Van Allsburg

I was also given "The Black Book of colors,"  by Menena Cottin & Rosana Faria, and I would rank it in the top ten.

So now what?  I am going to read "The Giving Tree" to our grade 10 OES students in Fish Creek Provincial Park in a couple of weeks, followed by our OES students selecting a book of their choice, from the following list, to read to small groups of Grade 5 students in Fish Creek Park as an opportunity to lead some nature experiential learning activities.

The mysteries of Harris Burdock, Blackout, Ten Birds, Flotsam, Westlandia, The Black Book of Colors, and The diary of a spider.

I'll share the students reflections on their storytelling experiences, with the OES students reflecting on  the following questions:
      What did you enjoy about the story?
       Was anything difficult about reading this story?

       How did you know if the students were engaged in the story?  

       What comments did the students make after/during the story?

I'll be posting this on our http://oescentennial.blogspot.ca/ blog.