The Tombs of the Pharaohs: A Three-Dimensional Discovery

Author/Illustrator: Sue Clarke

About the Author:
Clarke is a published author and an illustrator of children's books. Some of her published works include Scottish Fairy Tales, Hanukkah!: A Three-Dimensional Celebration, All About All of You - Boxed Set of 4, and The Tombs of the Pharaohs: A Three-Dimensional Discovery.

Genre: Social Studies

Grade Level: 4-6
Theme: Egypt Tombs and Pharaohs


Synopsis:
This book is about the mysterious tombs of the ancient Egyptians and the pharaohs buried inside of them.  Each page, shaped like a pyramid, has pop-ups where you can life the flaps of the book, explore hidden pockets, and fold outs to discover all kinds of information on King Tut's undisurbed tomb.  This book includes the investigation of the Great Pyramid, the Valley of the Kings, the tomb of King Tutankhamen, and the hieroglyphics.

Pre Reading Activity:

Activity:
Have students do a think-pair-share activity about what they know about the Ancient Egyptians and their pyramids!

Post Reading Activity:

Activity:
After reading the story, have the students research the ancient pyramids and about King Tutankhamen, also known as King Tut and the story of his tomb's marvelous discovery. Set up a pyramid center in the classroom as well as other centers focused on the ancient Egyptians to have the students learn more about the pyramids and the interesting life the ancient Egyptians led!

Reflection:

I think this book is a great book to use in the classroom because it offers detailed information about different things the ancient Egyptians did with their dead to preserve and protect them.  I always found Egypt to be an interesting topic to work with and the pyramids were ALWAYS my favorite topic about them.  I was always fascinated in the mystery that is the pyramids and I think that in presenting the Egyptians to a class would be an experience they will remember and want to learn more about!

The Magic School Bus In the Rainforest

 

 

Author/Illustrator: Joanna Cole/Bruce Degen

About the Author:
http://www.scholastic.com/magicschoolbus/books/cole.htm
Cole has worked as an elementary school teacher, a librarian, and a children's book editor.  She has written more than 90 nonfiction and fiction books for children. She is also the winner of the 1991 Washington Post /Children's Book Guild Nonfiction award.  Being able to write the Magic School Bus books allows her to involve her two favorite things into one science and her sense of humor!

Genre: Science

Grade Level: 2-5
Theme: Rainforest

Synopsis:
This book is about Ms. Frizzle taking her students on a wild ride to the rainforest to figure out why her cocoa tree is not producing cocoa beans.  The students get in the bus and experience a bunch of rain, bugs, trees, animals, and they work together to solve the problem of the cocoa bean producing problem. They learn about different information about the rainforests and enjoy another exhilarating field trip with the Frizz!


Pre Reading Activity:

Activity:
Have students brainstorm and write down,with a partner, what a rainforest is and what kind of animals can be found in the rainforest.

Post Reading Activity:

Activity:
After reading the story, have the students become reporters and look up information on the computer about rainforests around the world.  Have them report their findings of how much of the rainforest is left and what some people can do to help save the rainforests.  You can also have students create posters to Save the Rainforest!

Reflection:

I think that not only this book, but all of the Magic School Bus books are wonderful books to use because they all have detailed information about the topics at hand.  This book is filled with information on every page about rainforests.  The books also always have the students coming up with the solution to the problem at hand which is important for students to understand. This is because the students are the ones that need to be involved in learning about the subject in a hands-on way.  It is not possible for a bus to transform into different things and have the students explore different places all over the world in a school day's time, but students will enjoy the wild ride that Ms. Frizzle takes each time they read a Magic School Bus book!

Different Just Like Me

Author/Illustrator: Lori Mitchell

About the Author:
http://www.differentjustlikeme.cc/families_text.html
Mitchell grew up in Redondo Beach, California and her older sisters are also artists. She’s been teaching art since 1996 at elementary schools, high school, college and private school. She teaches students from age 8 to past 80. She graduated from Art Center College of Design with a BA in Illustration which she has used to illustrate 9 books including Different Just Like Me.

Genre: Fiction

Grade Level: K-2
Theme: Differences

Synopsis:
This book is about this little girl who does different things during the week with her mother while waiting to see her Grammie at the end of the week. She sees two kids her age that used sign language to communicate with each other, she saw people in the market, a woman who used braille to figure out where to go, a man who enjoyed eating the same lunch as her, a person in a wheelchair, and many others who do things JUST LIKE HER.  Finally she gets to her Grammie's house and sees all the flowers she has around.  Each one of them is different and she cannot decide which one she likes best.  Her Grammie tells her that it is okay to like them all and not have a favorite.  Before she leaves her Grammie's house, her Grammie gives her a bunch of flowers to take with her. The flowers made her think of all the people she had seen that week and how even though the flowers are all different from each other, they are all great and that goes with people in the world. Everyone is different...just like her!


Pre Reading Activity:

Activity:
Have students brainstorm how people are different. Explain to the students what sign language and Braille are.

Post Reading Activity:

Activity:
After reading the story, let the students get to feel the numbers in Braille in the story and teach them the letters in sign language that are in the book as well.  This will help the students understand that some people communicate differently than others.  Some may not be able to talk but others may not be able to see and each needs different things to help them!

Reflection:

I think this is a great book to use because it allows students to see how all people are different just like them.  They may do the same things as them but in a way people need help with different things or speak different languages.  It also allows them to see the letters in sign language as well as the numbers one to five and how they look and feel using Braille. I think that is a great idea to get students familiar with what other people use so they know when they see it again in the community!

Together

Author/Illustrator: George Ella Lyon/Vera Rosenberry

About the Author:
http://www.georgeellalyon.com/
Lyon grew up in Kentucky.  She loved  words, climbing trees, bike riding, singing, her family, stories, and school. She lived with her parents and older brother.  She started writing poems in third grade, and also took piano and voice lessons and played flute in the junior band.  But in eighth grade she decided she wanted to play the guitar. She attended Centre College of Kentucky, ands studied music and English. It was there she met musician and writer, Steve Lyon. whom she married and has to children, Benn and Joey.  After she went to graduate school and began a life of teaching, writing, and raising a family.

Genre: Fiction

Grade Level: K-2
Theme: Working together


Synopsis:
This book is about how people can work together to get things done.  It talks about how two people can work together to play a game of ball by one person getting the ball and the other getting the team together.  It discusses how two people can sail a boat by one person painting the boat and the other setting the sail.  In the end if they put their heads together they can dream the same dream!


Pre Reading Activity:

Activity:
Ask the students what they like to do with other people.  Have them draw a picture of something they like to do with a friend.

Post Reading Activity:

Activity:
After reading the story, have students tell you what their dreams are.  Have them illustrate their dreams on cut out clouds provided by the teacher and then hang the clouds in the hallway next to each other to make one big thought bubble with tiny bubbles leading to the giant thought bubble of dreams!

Reflection:

I think this is a great book to use because it allows students to see how people work together and that they can do the same.  Everyone has different dreams and some may be similar to others but in order to fulfill our dreams, sometimes we have to work together with other people!

Pumpkin Pumpkin

  

Author/Illustrator: Jeanne Titherington

About the Author:
http://www.harpercollins.com/authors/18814/Jeanne_Titherington/index.aspx?authorID=18814
Titherington grew up in Maine.  She still summers there, but she now lives and works in Houston,Texas, with her daughter, Anna, and son, John Gabriel.  She loves what she does because of her interests in art, language, fairytales, and the world of the child.  She said the world of the child because she thinks, in a way, she has never grown up and hopes she never will!

Genre: Science

Grade Level: K-2
Theme: Pumpkins

Synopsis:
This book is about a little boy named Jamie who planted a pumpkin seed.  He watched the pumpkin go from a tiny sprout to a plant, to a flower, to a pumpkin.  When he decided to pick it, he scooped out the pumpkin pulp, carved a face and put it in the window.  However, he made sure to save 6 seeds to plant in the spring!

Pre Reading Activity:

Activity:
Ask the students what a pumpkin is and what they do with pumpkins around Halloween time!

Post Reading Activity:

Activity:
After reading the story, have students help you scoop out pumpkin seeds from a pumpkin you brought in and save the seeds to plant a pumpkin in the spring time so they can witness how a pumkpin grows!  Once they start growing the pumpkin, they can go out and see how big it is and measure it with the help of the teacher and record this information.

Reflection:

I think this is a great book to use because it is simple to follow and students will understand how a pumpkin grows.  They can then take the seeds and plant them in the spring to witness how a pumpkin grows.  This will allow them to be observers and recorders, with the help of their teacher, to see how big the pumpkin gets before they pick it!

All Sorts of Numbers

Author/Illustrator: Hannah Reidy/Emma Dodd

About the Author:
Reidy is a published author of children's books. Some of her works include All Sorts Of Shapes, All Sorts Of Numbers, All Sorts Of Clothes, and All Sorts Of Noises.

Genre: Math

Grade Level: K-1
Theme: Counting

Synopsis:
This book is about counting and looking at pictures to count different objects either asked in the book or asked by the teacher reading the book.  It shows pictures of different objects such as jump ropes, kites, children, dice, bikes, boats, and balls.  These pictures are things that students will be able to recognize and be familiar with in order to help them count

Pre Reading Activity:

Activity:
Ask the students to count to 20 to see if they can count that high.  If not, have them go to ten to see if they have an idea of how to count before reading the book.

Post Reading Activity:

Activity:
After reading the story, have students find things in the classroom that they can gather and count together as a class.  See if each student can find something different in the room they can bring to count.

Reflection:

I think this is a great book to use because it allows students to count while they read.  Math is a hard subject for many kids and using books that will get children/students excited about math is the way to go!

Alphabet Fiesta: An English/Spanish Alphabet Story

 

 

Author/Illustrator: Anne Miranda/Young schoolchildren in Spain

About the Author:
http://www.amazon.com/Anne-Miranda/e/B000APVXIS
Miranda has written a number of books inlcuding Glad Monster, and Sad Monster with Caldecott Award winning illustrator Ed Emberley. She currently lives in Spain with her husband, Saturnino, and her two sons, Evan and Tyler, that play basketball.  She likes to paint, garden, blog, go on facebook and watch her sons play basketball.  She is continuing to write and hopes to have a new book out soon.

Genre: English, Foreign Language, Science

Grade Level: K-1
Theme: Animals, Letters of Alphabet

Synopsis:

This book is about different animals that start with different letters of the alphabet preparing for a surprise party for their friend Zelda the Zebra.  This story also is told in Spanish as well as English to show students different ways of saying the animals names.

Pre Reading Activity:

Activity:
Ask the students to say the alphabet together at their seats.  Have students brainstorm different animals that start with different letters of the alphabet.  Make sure you have already read the story to be able to tell the students what some of the animals are because students may not know what a burro, emus, ibis, nightingale, gnu, quetzal, salamander, viper, or yaks, is/are.  They also may need clarification with some of the things they bring to the party as well.

Post Reading Activity:

Activity:
After reading the story, teach students some of the names of the animals in Spanish to let them teach other students or even their parents!  You can also have them make up different things that start with the letters of the alphabet to incorporate into the story. For example Dot the Dog can bring drums to Zelda's party.  They will have fun making up their own ideas that would go along with the book.

Reflection:

I think this is a great book to use because it allows students to see the different kinds of animals that there are in the world as well as practice the alphabet and learn new words in a different language.  Children will have fun guessing what animals might be in the story as well as what they might be bringing to the party!

Two Ways to Count to Ten: A Liberian Folktale

 

Author/Illustrator: Retold by Ruby Dee/Susan Meddaugh

About the Author:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_Dee
Dee is an American actress, poet, playwright, screenwriter, journalist and activist.  She is famous for her co-starring role in A Raisin in the Sun  and American Gangster.She was born Ruby Ann Wallace in Cleveland, Ohio and grew up in Harlem, NY.  She went to Hunter College High School and then went on to pursue her degrees in French and Spanish and graduated from Hunter College in 1944.

Genre: Folktale

Grade Level: K-2
Theme: Counting

Synopsis:

This book is about a animals in the jungle that live and work together in harmony.  The leopard is king and must choose a king to take his place when he dies, but he wants the cleverest of all animals to be King.  He gathered all the animals and said one must throw the spear high into the sky and count to ten before it comes down again.  Many animals tried but failed to reach the number ten before the spear hit the ground again.  Finally, an Antelope asked if he could try and all the other animals laughed.  He threw the spear into the air and counted by two's to number ten and reached ten before the spear fell to the ground and said that the King did not say which way he had to count by to reach the number ten.  Sure enough he was wise and would become King.

 

Pre Reading Activity:

Activity:
Ask the students to count to ten together at their seats.

Post Reading Activity:

Activity:
After reading the story, have students tell you some ways we can count to ten.  Have them count by one's, skip count by two's and even skip count by five's.  There is not just one way to count to ten and the students will be able to learn the different ways to count.  You can have them sit at a carpet and take off their shoes and put each pair together and count to ten or you can use individual shoes and put them in groups of fives and count to ten.  This shows students there are multiple ways to work things out.

Reflection:

I think this is a great book to use because it allows students to see how many different ways we can count.  You can have them use things in their everyday lives to help them learn to skip count.  Once you teach them to do something with objects they use everyday, they will be better able to remember something because they were shown with something practical.

My Buddy

 

Author/Illustrator: Audrey Osofsky/Ted Rand

About the Author:
Audrey Osofsky is a published author of children's books. Some published works include My Buddy and Dreamcatcher.

Genre: Nonfiction, Special Needs

Grade Level: K-3
Theme: Helping Others

Synopsis:

This book is about a boy who has muscular dystrophy and is in a wheelchair.  It talks about how he got Buddy, his working dog, and how he trained him to listen to only him.  Buddy does everything for him. He turns on and off lightswitches, gets his books, pencils if they fall, opens doors, gets the phone for him and many other helpful things.  No one is allowed to touch Buddy when he is working so he is able to stay focused.  There are times where Buddy plays tee ball with him and keeps him company.  He sleeps with him in case he needs help going to the bathroom and is just that...his Buddy!

Pre Reading Activity:

Activity:
Ask the students if they have ever seen someone in a wheelchair.  Bring a wheelchair to class and have them see what it involves.  Ask them what they would do to help someone in a wheelchair.

Post Reading Activity:

Activity:
After reading the story, have students sit in a wheelchair and use it for a few minutes around the school or classroom to let them see just how difficult it really is for someone who experiences this everyday.  Have them brainstorm to think of ways they can improve their school for someone who may need a wheelchair.  Then talk to your principal about putting these ideas in effect!

Reflection:

I think this is a great book to use because it allows students to see how difficult something can be and to not take things for granted.  It also allows students to see how beneficial a trained dog can be to someone who has a disability and cannot do everything for themselves.

Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type

Author/Illustrator: Doreen Cronin/Betsy Lewin

About the Author:
http://www.doreencronin.com/www.doreencronin.com/Home.html
Doreen was born in NY and grew up in Long Island with her parents, two brothers and sister in a red house.  Her first grade teacher introduced her to writing and she loved it.  She graduated from Penn State in 1988 and St. John's University School of Law in 1998. Her book Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type, was published when she was practicing law in Manhattan but quickly left her job as an attorney to stick to writing and thanks her first grade teacher for that!

Genre: Fiction, Caldecott Honor Book

Grade Level: K-1
Theme: Typing

Synopsis:

This book is about cows on a farm that know how to type.  They send messages to Farmer Brown about wanting electric blankets because the barn is too cold.  When the farmer tells them no they go on strike and do not produce milk.  The farmer gets angry and the next note he receives is that the hens want blankets too.  He says no again and the hens go on strike and will not give him eggs.  They reach an agreement by having the cows hand over the typewriter as long as they and the hens get electric blankets.  The farmer agrees and the cows are to send the typewriter back with the duck.  The duck in turn writes his own note to the farmer requesting a diving board for their pond because it was boring!

Pre Reading Activity:

Activity:
Ask the students if they have ever seen or used a typewriter.  Bring a typewriter in to share with the class.  Have them become familiar with it and explain how to use it.

Post Reading Activity:

Activity:
After reading the story, have students choose an animal they would want to be on Farmer Brown's farm and use the typewriter, with your help, to write their own note about something they would request from Farmer Brown! 

Reflection:

I think this is a great book to use because it is kid-friendly and funny as well.  You can have the students imagine how silly it would be for ducks to use a diving board and cows and hens to have electric blankets.  It is a cute book to share with kids because you can also introduce them to a typewriter as well as typing on a computer.