Balloons Over Broadway

Balloons Over Broadway


Written and Illustrated by Melissa Sweet


Published by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children in 2011

Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal Winner in 2012

Educational, Fascinating, Informative, Insightful, Inspiring

Summary:
This book is about Tony Sarg and how he invented the balloons that fly over Broadway every year during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Tony had always been good at making inventions and marionettes. This was the perfect combination and he was just the person to call when Macy's had the idea for a parade. Throughout the years, Tony improved his inventions until he came up with the balloons we still see today. This book is inspiring. It shows students to never give up and improvements can always be made.

Reading Level:
Lexile Measure: 1000L
Grade Level Equivalent: 5.4
Interest Level: Grades 1-4

Electronic Resources:
Interview with Melissa Sweet
This link leads to an interview with the author of the story. The interviewer asks her questions such as why she was interested in Tony Sarg and how did she make the illustrations for her book.

Photographs of Early Balloons
This link leads to some photographs of the first balloons created by Tony Sarg. One of these pictures are in the book, but the others are not.

Teaching Suggestions:
Teachers can use this story for social studies as a history lesson about the Macy's Thanksgivig Day Parade.

Suggested Delivery:
Students will read in small groups because there is some difficult vocabulary in the story. Students will understand the concepts of the vocabulary words by looking at the pictures. The students in the groups can help each other to understand the concepts and talk through what they are learning from the pictures.

Key Vocabulary:
Marionette, Department Store, Pulleys, Immigrants, Helium

Reading Strategies:

Before Reading:
Have students complete the K and W sections of a KWL chart about the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. This will help students to relate what they are about to learn to their prior knowledge. It will also get students to think about what they do not already know, but would like to know.

During Reading:
Students will look at the pictures for a better understanding of the text. They will discuss the pictures and how it relates to the text throughout the reading.

After Reading:
Students will complete the L of their KWL charts. This will help students to recall what they have learned from the reading. Their L should answer questions they had in their W. Have them correct any information that they thought they knew in their K, but was actually a misconception.

Writing Activity:
Students will write about a time when they did not give up and they kept trying to improve what they were working on just like Tony Sarg did. They will relate their story to Tony Sarg. How did they feel throughout the process of improving their work? How do they think Tony Sarg felt?