Friday, June 22, 2018

After the Fall

Title:  After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again
Author/Illustrator: Dan Santat
Publisher Roaring Brook Press © 2017
ISBN:  978-1-62672-682-6
Grade Level:  K-5
Book Review: Have you even considered what happened to Humpty Dumpty after the fall?  We know that our past experiences shape our beliefs and in this story Dan Santat provides rich food for thought about just how impactful the fall was to Humpty Dumpty. Santat teaches a powerful lesson about resilience as we learn that even though Humpty Dumpty took a fall, he also got back up.
Systems Thinking Connections:
Habits:  No doubt, students with any familiarity with the Habits of a Systems Thinker could generate a substantive list of the Habits that Humpty uses in this story.  He definitely changes his perspective, practices successive approximation, and he finds leverage to help his problem.
Tools: Humpty Dumpty takes actions that help him accumulate courage to try find a way to get back up. Build a stock-flow diagram with students and then ask questions to help them identify the leverage that helps Humpty move from being a broken egg to being a systems thinker.