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TESTIMONIALS FROM ROTARIANS, TEACHERS,
SCHOOL OFFICIALS, LITERACY ADVOCATES, ETC.
“Andy & Elmer’s Apple Dumpling Adventure is a wonderful project tool. Every Rotary Club should consider placing copies of this book in local schools, public libraries, and even homes.”
— Richard Hattwick, Rotary International Literacy Resource Group
General Coordinator
“This book is a wonderful tool that combines ethical behaviour and literacy in a format readily accessible to young children.”
— Roger Hayward, Rotary International Literacy Resource Group
Assistant General Coordinator
“The students were so thrilled when they heard that the book and the 4-Way Test Bookmark was for them to take home and put into practice, that they could not write their name on the book fast enough. They probably don’t have many books at home, and it was so wonderful for them to be able to take such a beautiful book and story home with them.
The books were distributed to 2nd graders at Garden Hills Elementary School in Atlanta.”
— Beatrice Garner
Rotary Club of Buckhead (Georgia)
Willow Springs Rotary completed their 1st Andy & Elmer project last January 2010. We so enjoyed presenting this project to the Club and introducing this to the Willow Springs Missouri 2nd graders, that I would like to introduce this project to other Rotary Clubs in our area. We will be continuing this project again this coming year in our Club also.
— Cairn Vandenbosch, Secretary
Rotary Club of Willow Springs (Missouri)
“This delightful children’s introduction to the Four-Way Test delivers Andy’s positive lesson and his yummy recipe for Apple Dumplings!”
— Susan Bantz, PDG District 6670 (Ohio)
“First of all I want to extend a thank you from me and all my fellow Rotarians in Mechanicsburg North Rotary Club.
One of of our club members, Mrs. Marcey Whiteside (ex-principal from elementary and middle school in Mechanicsburg, Pa school district), took the Andy and Elmer’s Apple Dumpling Adventure to 2nd grade classrooms in the school year 2008-2009.
We have described this experience in our website and BLOG. It was a great success and was received VERY positively by the school district, students, teachers, parents, and above all, the students themselves.”
— Sudhakar B.
Rotary Club of Mechanicsburg North (Pennsylvania)
Bringing “Literacy and Values” to 2nd Grade Classroom – via READING!
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Here are a few more testimonials from Marcey Whiteside and the Rotarian readers who participated in this project:
“Despite the variety of ability levels in each 2nd grade class, the students could easily relate to the components of the Four-Way test. They were able to give examples of how to apply these attributes in their life. Key to this success was the following approach (strategies used by teachers when teaching a reading lesson) to the lesson:
Vocabulary development before reading the story, helped with comprehension of the story: I made this into a fun game using visuals.
While reading, the use of prediction (and letting the children know that there are no right or wrong answers) really drew the students into the story. Everyone wanted to share their thoughts.
After reading and reviewing the story, I explained the activity book to them. When they found out they each would recieve a copy, they were sooooo.... excited. Some asked several times if they really could keep it. Included in the activity book was a copy of the recipe (which is not in the activity book) from the hardback book. Many students talked about having an adult help them make the dumplings. One of the teachers actually had the class make apple dumplings following Andy and Elmer’s recipe.
The teachers assigned reading the story from the activity book with an adult for homework. I was in the school several times after I read the story and the students recognized me as the Andy and Elmer lady. Some even wanted to tell about who was and who was not following the rules in their class!”
— Marcey Whiteside
Rotary Club of Mechanicsburg North (Pennsylvania)
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“Two of my teachers had Rotarian ties: Father and Grandfather
On Trick or Treat night my neighbor, Chris, and his friend came to the door. The friends’ eyes got BIG and he said, “You read us the Andy and Elmer Story!”
Chris replied, “I told you she was my neighbor.”
— Susan Asbury
Rotary Club of Mechanicsburg North (Pennsylvania)
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“I was delighted with the enthusiasm and support of the school staff and teachers. Even in the slower class the kids ‘got it.’ I did bring in an apple corer to demonstrate. (I had to run it by the principal before doing so. Everyone is a little nervous about sharp implements. I told him I would show the corer and not let the students handle it.)
Although we did not make any dumplings in the classrooms (I still think that part is waaaaay beyond the call of duty), I did bring in one for the kids to smell and that fact was referenced in several of the thank you notes I received. In each class, there were one or two students who responded to my comment, “You can take this recipe home and maybe an adult will help you make some dumplings of your own….” With the comment, “Yeah and then we can sell them and make money too….” It is clear there are some potential entrepreneurs lurking in the second grade.”
— Carla Fisher
Rotary Club of Mechanicsburg North (Pennsylvania)
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“The kids were just great. They were all so interested in sharing answers to my questions. I had a lot of questions that I asked to engage them in the lesson.
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I asked them for examples of each of the Four-Way Test questions, and they were overflowing with answers. I tried to use questions they might encounter in school.
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How many of you have seen something unfair on the playground?
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I made up some examples of bad decisions about copying someone else’s homework, and then asked if that was fair to all concerned. Why or why not?
It was such fun and so easy to engage them in conversations. There was one little girl in each class who did not volunteer to answer any questions. One was the only girl of color, the other was educationally challenged. I made a point of asking them to answer an easy question when they didn’t volunteer. That made them smile like everyone else! Pictures on the charts and the vocabulary words on strips helped the kids remember and summarize at the end of the lesson.”
— Mary Rodman
Rotary Club of Mechanicsburg North (Pennsylvania)
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“After completing the lesson, I gave each student and teacher an apple. The kids were enthusiastic about receiving the apple and the coloring book. Both classes wrote thank you letters to me. They were very touching.”
— Dave Getz
Rotary Club of Mechanicsburg North (Pennsylvania)
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“The kids loved answering questions and just discussing the story. I was glad I allotted enough time for that. They were incredibly insightful and loved to share their thought/predictions during and after the story. The lesson plan given to us was excellent.
At our planning meeting, we discussed how ‘goodwill’ may be hard for kids to understand. When I asked my class what they though it meant, two of them brought up Goodwill stores. I was a great opportunity to discuss how the Goodwill stores operate and how they came up with the name. I found the kids had some of the best examples. I also found it helpful to look around the school for examples. When we talked about goodwill, we talked about a project where they were collecting stuffed animals and donating to Hershey Medical Center (saw a poster as I was walking the halls).”
— Lisa Chiado
Rotary Club of Mechanicsburg North (Pennsylvania)
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“I added a “Fast Hand” game recommended by my daughter who is a second grade teacher. I went through the words and definition/descriptions by playing a game with M&M’s, where I held up a card. The first person who raised a hand and could read the word and use it in a sentence got an M&M. This got everyone very involved.
Interestingly, my 2 experiences varied completely with the make-up of the classroom. My first class was with a group of students who all appeared similar in ability. This class went extremely well and my biggest challenge was making sure everyone got picked. My second class was with a mixed group of ability and was a bit more difficult to work with. However, all the students could relate to the behavioral concepts.”
— Mark Breithaupt
Rotary Club of Mechanicsburg North (Pennsylvania)
“Donating classroom copies of this wonderful book, “autographed” by our weekly speakers, has been a great way for our club to share the Four-Way Test.”
— Karen Bridgeman, Past President,
Rotary Club of Oak Ridge-Breakfast (Tennessee)
“We approached the Wayne-Westland School District Superintendent to see if Andy & Elmer would be something the district would be interested in (18,000 student k-12). Nothing worse that a gift that the recipient doesn’t want.
It was reviewed by the district media services director and he wrote a “review” that I have attached. (See below.) We made a presentation at an elementary principals’ meeting at which the Asst. Super for Curr. endorsed Rotary and our Rotary club in particular for asking if we could be of assistance and paying for everything that we supported.
In visiting all the 2nd grades in our district/area (20) we showed the A&E.wmv, explained what we and Rotary did (eradicate polio, scholarships, 50% of people fired are fired because they can’t get along with others.) We left a hard cover for each class and the school’s library, class sets of activity books, book marks, Four-Way Test poster, and club brochure. They were impressed with the .wmv and put it on the district’s web site share program so that it can be viewed again and again. This book fits in with the core democratic values and core curriculum. It does not add to the teachers’ work load but gives a useful and interesting tool to meet the requirements of the state mandated curriculum.”
— David Carpenter, PDG
Rotary District 6400 (Michigan)
“Andy & Elmer’s Apple Dumpling Adventure is a picture book suitable for early elementary students (library cataloging information recommends grades 1-4). The main character, Andy, learns about the virtues of truthfulness, fairness, goodwill, and partnerships that benefit everyone involved as he begins his own apple dumpling business. The lessons illustrated through the story of Andy’s entry into business are easily accessible. The color illustrations are well done and the characters are created in a style similar to graphic novels, which appeals to young readers. Students will enjoy the recipe for apple dumplings at the end of the book.
The book has a cross-curricular apeal with ties to several subject areas including business, economics, math, science, life skills, and English Language Arts. It is very closely aligned with the Core Democratic Values and there are numerous connections that can be made. A variety of assignments and projects could easily be prepared by creative teachers to supplement and extend the book beyond just reading it as a story. For example:
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Students could rewrite the story with an outcome they think might happen if Andy had responded differently to one of the questions posed by the voice he heard.
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Making apple dumplings would give opportunities for students to work together cooperatively in an activity that would certainly engage them.
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There are obvious connections to math in the measuring process for ingredients, ratios, fractions, addition, subtraction, sales, percentages, etc. and could be lead-ins to activities using math tools and software.
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Following a formula to cook the dumplings is a great introduction to the scientific process and could lead to a variety of science activities that require step by step procedures.
Andy & Elmer’s Apple Dumpling Adventure would be an excellent book selection to support an early elementary curriculum.”
— Bill Swartz, Director Media Services
Wayne-Westland Community School (Michigan)
“The students enjoyed the story, and also, I believe they liked hearing about Rotary, what it is, and what we do. The principal asked when we were coming back.”
— Kim Bramlage
Rotary Club of Dayton (Ohio)
“At the beginning of the year our District Governor, Wyn Spiller, gave each club in our District the objective of creating an Ethics and Literacy Project/Program for our local students. Our club took this to heart and we began searching for a way to promote an ethics and literacy program to our local students.
My wife Ann, a Rotarian also and our web-master, was looking through the RI web-site and happened upon The Apple Dumpling Adventure Book. She looked at the book and encouraged me to take a look also. After reviewing the book it became apparent to me that the Apple Dumpling Adventure Book would be perfect to not only promote literacy but to also promote ethics in our youth by promoting the Four-Way Test.
I contacted our local Principal at C. Roy Carmichael Elementary School and asked him to review the book to see if he would allow us to present the book to his entire second grade class. The Principal reviewed the book and was very impressed about the message and agreed to the presentation. On January 12, 2009 several Rotarians presented Apple Dumpling Adventure Books to forty 2nd graders (see attached picture and article).
The book was a big hit with the kids! On January 21, 2009 the article and picture appeared on the front page of our local paper, The Portola Recorder. The article and picture will also be in our local adjacent paper, The Sierra Booster later this week.
As a footnote, the local school Principal was so impressed with our dedication to the youth of our community that he joined Rotary. Another footnote. At our last Rotary meeting our program presenters were from another club in our District (the 49’er Breakfast Club of Nevada City, California). They were so impressed by our Apple Dumpling Project that they took a copy of the book back to their club to see if they wanted to do something similar.
So promoting the Apple Dumpling Book has done nothing but good for our club and maybe our district. We plan to do it every year from here on out. We are very thankful to the Fairborn Rotary Club for this great book!”
— Ralph Taylor, President 2008-2009
“I am so pleased to have been a part of this. I had severely disabled children at the school, but teachers and aides held up the book, and the students loved the attention and the story. It made a difference in my day and my life to be able to bring a little joy to the special children. I realized how blessed we are as Rotarians to care enough to do this kind of service.”
— Donna Childs
Rotary Club of Dayton (Ohio)
“I am Anna Rybak, a member of the Rotary club of Park Ridge Illinois, who has currently completed this year's literacy project, The Four-Way Test—Andy & Elmers Apple Dumpling Adventure. The literacy project involved 8 Rotarians and 2 non-Rotarians. These volunteers presented the project to all of the 2nd graders in five schools in our District 64, approximately 500 students. I believe the students understood the message on how important it is to live each day by the Four-Way Test through the things we think, say and do. The teachers also stressed to their classes the comparison between civil behavior and the Four-Way Test. During the reading of the book Andy & Elmers Apple Dumpling Adventure, the children were all attentive and enjoyed the story. They were very excited to receive the coloring/activity book and bookmark. It was a fun and rewarding project that I would consider doing again.
The most asked question from the 2nd graders was about the recipe for making an apple dumpling. Thank you for introducing this to our club.”
— Anna Rybak
Rotary Club of Park Ridge (Illinois)
“Actually, this was one of my favorite life experiences in all that I have done. The third- and fourth-graders at Kiser were awesome. The book was a big hit.”
— Steve Naas
Rotary Club of Dayton (Ohio)
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