The Day-Glo Brothers: The True Story of Bob and Joe Switzer’s Bright Ideas and Brand-New Colors

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The Day-Glo Brothers: The True Story of Bob and Joe Switzer’s Bright Ideas and Brand-New Colors

Barton, C. & Persiani, T. (2009). The Day-Glo Brothers: The True Story of Bob and Joe Switzer’s Bright Ideas and Brand-New Colors. Massachusetts: Charlesbridge.

Awards: ALA Best Books for Young Adults 2010 and 2010 Sibert Honor Book

Suggested Delivery: Read Aloud or Individual

Lexile Reading Level: 990L

Age Range: 7-10 years

Grade Level: 2-5

About the Book: Two brothers, Joe and Bob Switzer, were incredibly different (one was a studious planner while the other was a magic-loving problem-solver). However, when one had an accident that left in the dark, the brothers began experimenting with fluorescent paints. They were able to create a new glowing colors that they called Day-Glo.

Keywords: Creative, Invent, Science, Light, Color

Electronic Resources:

http://charlesbridge-books.com/day-glo-brothers/day-glo-home.html

This link will allow children to see how light and fluorescent lights work with moving graphics and easy to understand scientific language.

http://www.chrisbarton.info/books/dayglo.html

Students can peruse the author’s website to find out more information about him, other books he has written, and the Day-Glo Brothers.

Vocabulary:

-Eye-Popping: astonishing or thrilling

-Illuminating: giving or casting light

-Seizures: a sudden attack, as of epilepsy or some other disease

-Fluorescence: the emission of radiation, especially of visible light, by a substance during exposure to external radiation, as light or x-rays

-Ultraviolet: beyond the violet in the spectrum

-Invention: an act or instance of creating or producing by exercise of the imagination

Reading Strategies:

-Before reading the text, students can look at the link above about how light and fluorescent lights work. This will help provide some general knowledge so the students have an idea of what the book will be about and will help them understand the science behind it.

-During the reading of the text, students can make a chart comparing and contrasting the two brothers. They have a lot of similarities and differences; doing this will help the students find evidence to support their conclusions.

-After reading the text, students can illustrate a scene from one of the character’s lives using daylight-fluorescent art materials. This will allow students to use art as a way to demonstrate their comprehension of the text.

Writing Activity:

Students can write a journal entry from the point of view of Bob or Joe about an event in the book that happened. These journal entries can be shared and combined to create a chronological diary for both characters.