Jarrett J. Krosoczka: How a Boy Became an Artist (TED Talk)

Jarrett J. Krosoczka: How a Boy Became an Artist

http://www.ted.com/playlists/86/for_kids.html

Quantitative Reading Level:  

This video would be appropriate for grades 5 and up.

Qualitative Reading Analysis:

Although this is not a text it can still be given a qualitative score based on the content and how it is organized.  I would rate it as Middle Low on the “Text Complexity: Qualitative Measures Rubric for Informational Text”.  Jarrett J. Krosoczka is conversational and funny in his presentation.  The only thing really that would bump this up from Low would be the references to his mother’s drug abuse and his grandparent’s drinking and smoking habits.  I would say that these references would require a bit more background knowledge for the viewer.

Summary:

 

Jarrett J. Krosoczka describes how he was raised by his grandparents due to an absent father and a drug addicted mother.  He talks about the importance of art in his education and some of his early attempts at writing.  Students will be interested to hear how author Jack Gantos was inspirational to him as a young author and illustrator.  Jarrett discusses his early attempts at getting published and his initial successes.  

Content Area: Reading/ELA

Curriculum Suggestions:

Students who are familiar with Jarrett J. Krosoczka’s picture books and The Lunch Lady series will enjoy hearing this talk about how he became an author and illustrator.  A teacher could use this talk as motivation for student writers.  Mr. Krosoczka does author visits and this talk could be used prior to a visit to generate interest and background knowledge.  This talk could be used with groups of students who are reading books by Jarrett J. Krosoczka as part of an author study.

Personal Thoughts:

Students love interacting with an author and finding out how they started out.  Mr. Krosoczka’s story is inspirational not only in the fact that he rose above humble and difficult circumstances but also in his persistence.  He is currently a very popular author with his Lunch Lady series so children would find this talk very interesting.  In my particular school I have a lot of students who have difficult home lives.  Jarrett’s story could be encouraging and inspirational for my students.

High Interest Annotation:  Learn how Jarrett J. Krosoczka became a beloved author and illustrator.