My Dream of Martin Luther King



Author: Faith Ringgold

Illustrator: Faith Ringgold

Theme: This story focuses on the treatment of African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement. The young girl sees in her dream the exact same thing that actually happened to African Americans during the Civil Rights Movements. The children will focus on the treatment of African Americans during the story and try to find a solution on how they could try to gain equal rights.

Subject: Social Studies

Genre: Historical Fiction

Grade Level: Sixth through Eighth

Pre-Reading Strategies: Before reading the story, the children will go over a quick timeline of Martin Luther King Jr.’s life. They will highlight his accomplishments, as well as the hardships he had to face as a peaceful Civil Rights leader during the Jim Crow Period. Since Martin Luther King Jr. is the main focus of the story, the children will ask any questions regarding what Martin Luther King Jr. did during his time on Earth. After the timeline is complete, I will read the story aloud to the students.

Summary: This book is about a young girl who had a dream about Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement. In her dream, history repeats itself.  African Americans were treated with prejudice, hate, and were being discriminated against. A young black boy was told to go to a “white’s only” school, as well as sitting in the back of the bus. African Americans would protest the treatment they were receiving from the white folks. However, the young boy met Martin Luther King Jr. who greatly protested against the Civil Rights Movement. The young boy sat through Dr. King’s speech and went to his mourning the day he was shot. The young girl wakes up from her dream right before Martin Luther King’s famous “I Had a Dream” speech.

Post-Reading Strategies: After reading the story, the children will get into groups and discuss the importance of Martin Luther King Jr.’s peaceful movement to get African Americans freedom. They will also write down three ways in which they would protest the unfair treatment the African Americans received during the early and mid-20^th Century. This activity will focus the strong influence Martin Luther King Jr. had on black history and the rights they received after his death.

Assessment: Reflection question for the students...how would you have handled your situation if you were MLK?

Reflection: Another excellent story highlighting the struggles African Americans had to go through during the Civil Rights Movement.

Ringgold, Faith. (1995). My Dream of Martin Luther King. New York: Crown Publishers Inc. Grades K-1.

How Many Days to America?



Author: Eve Bunting

Illustrator: Beth Peck

Grade Level: Second Grade

Genre: Historical Fiction

Theme: Thanksgiving is a very special holiday that is celebrated by all Americans. Characters in the book, as well as families today give thanks to their families and living in the land of the free. This short story emphasizes the importance of the holiday of Thanksgiving and that families need to be thankful for having one another.
Subject Area: History, Social Studies

Pre-Reading Strategies:

What do you know about Thanksgiving?

 

Where do you and your parents go when you are celebrating this holiday?

 

What foods do you eat?

 

How did the holiday of Thanksgiving start?

Before the reading, the children will brainstorm the things they do on Thanksgiving. After that list is made, the children will discuss amongst one another the things they eat on Thanksgiving. This will get the student’s brains thinking about this amazing holiday before the story begins.

Post-Reading Strategies: After the story, the children will all answer some post-reading discussion questions regarding the short story independently. After the post-reading questions are completed, the children and I will all get into a circle and discuss what we are all thankful for. I will keep track of each student’s responses and we will keep a tally of the most common option. After this activity, we will all do some arts and crafts. The students would draw a hand turkey and color it. All these turkeys will be hung around the room, with the thing that they are most thankful for written on their own individual turkeys.

A turkey-traced hand--students will write five things they are thankful for on each finger.

Summary: This story involves a family who is forced to leave their home and travel to America. A bunch of families were forced to leave their homes and start their pilgrimage to America. The young boy in the story did not understand why his family was forced to leave, but he kept quiet and followed his family on their journey to America. When they finally reached America, they gave her thanks by having a feast and celebrating their quest to America.

Assessment: Students should be able to write five things that they are thankful for and color effectively at the second grade level. Students should be able to discuss what they are thankful, while their partners show good listening skills.

Reflection: Excellent story showing the history of the Thanksgiving tradition.

Bunting, Eve. (1988). How Many Days to America? New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. Grades 1-3.

Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice



Author: Philip Hoose

Awards:  Jane Addams Children’s Book Award Honor
Robert F. Sibert Award Honor

Genre: Non-Fiction

Subject Area: History

Grade Level: Middle School

Themes: The importance of this book is to illustrate the hardships that African Americans had to suffer through because of their differences. They had many privileges taken away from them that we automatically hold today because the color of their skin was different.

Pre-Reading Strategies:

Questions: Class, from what you know using prior knowledge with this subject, and with the main character being African American in this book, how do you think she will be treated by the rest of the white community? How do you think she will respond to the harshness and unfair treatment by the community? Do you think she will respond at all? Will she respond violently like Malcolm X or will she respond in a peaceful manner, like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.?

Activity: Since this book is lengthy and a good read, the teacher will go over important vocabulary terms and important concepts before the book is being read. Important concepts such as: Jim Crow Laws, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, etc. will be introduced in detail and why it’s important to learn about before reading this book. The class will also brainstorm ideas of what the main character in the book will do and how she will handle the torment of being an African American during that time period.

Post-Reading Strategies: Post-reading questions

What famous African American can you compare Claudette Colvin to and why? How do you think Claudette Colvin’s act of bravery will influence African American history forever? Why do you think she was not subordinate like most of the other African Americans in moving to the back of the bus?

Assessment: After reading, the students will have an independent activity of what they would have done if they were put in Claudette Colvin’s shoes. They would write about how they would handle the situation and why they would handle it that way. This activity builds creativity and reflects their understanding of reading this challenging, but significant history novel.

Quick Summary: This story is about the civil rights era back in the early to mid 1940’s. African Americans were treated very unfairly and harshly because of the color of their skin. On March 2, 1955, an impassioned teenager, named Claudette Colvin, was fed up with the daily injustices of Jim Crow segregation. She angrily refused to give up her seat to a white woman on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Instead of being celebrated as Rosa Parks would be just nine months later, fifteen-year-old Claudette Colvin found herself shunned by her classmates and dismissed by community leaders.

Reflection: Excellent story in the point of view of an African American trying to survive during the Civil Rights Movement where African Americans were treated very poorly.

Hoose, Philip M. (2009). Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. Grades 6-8.

All the World



Author: Liz Garton Scanlon

Award: Caldecott Honor Book

Genre: Poetry

Subject Area: Multicultural

Grade Level: First to Third

Theme: The book helps illustrate that every moment spent with friends and family should be savored and remembered. We tend to take some things for granted such as seeing family members and hanging with friends, but we should take every moment spent with these people very seriously.

Pre-Reading Strategies:

Questions:

 

What can you predict this book will be about?

 

Can the title give us a hint about what maybe will be the main idea of the story?

 

What do you notice about the cover of the story?

 

Do you notice that there is a strong bond between the two characters on the book cover?

Activity: Have the students make a list of what they do with their family and friends during the weekend. How do they spend their time with their loved family members during the weekends or after school? Record all the students’ answers on a white board. Make a chart and have the students categorize the activities that cost money and that don’t cost money. Which list is longer? Discuss with the students why some of the most fun activities are the activities that have no expenses involved.

Post-Reading Strategies:

Questions: What are the children building at the beach? What does the girl find? What things are made or grown at the farmer’s market? What experiences or lessons did you learn from reading the story that you did not know before?

Activity: After reading the story, the students will practice the skill of making and using a Venn diagram for compare and contrast reasons. I will draw a very large Venn diagram and have the general topic be the many differences and similarities between a farmer’s market and a supermarket. The students previously learned what a farmer’s market is from listening to the story and they already know what a supermarket is. Each student (if it’s a small class size) will come up to the white board and add either a difference or similarity between a supermarket and farmer’s market. This will help test their previous understanding of the short story All the World, as well as practice the skill of using a Venn diagram successfully.

Summary: As humans, we tend to be very busy every day and tend to miss the small and importance aspects of everyday life. This story is about a circle of family and friends who help show and understand the importance of all things, whether they are great or small. This story emphasizes that every moment is to be savored and is special. The story follows a family and group of friends from morning until dawn showing their daily routines and highlighting importance aspects of their lives that we would tend to miss as busy Americans today.

Assessment: Understanding a compare and contrast activity.

Reflection: This book is an excellent view of how since we are very busy with our daily lives, we miss the finer things in life. This story tries to highlight the small things that we miss.

Scanlon, Liz Garton. (2009). All the World. New York: Beach Lane Books. Grades 1-3.

Little Red Riding Hood



Author: James Marshall

Illustrator: James Marshall

Genre: Folklore

Subject Area: English Literature

Grade Level: Kindergarten to First

Pre-Reading Strategies: Discuss with the students a time when they disobeyed their parents at home. What was the consequence of this incident? How did their parents seem to resolve the incident? Tell the students that it is very important to obey your parents because they have made many mistakes in their lives and do not want to see their children make the same mistakes that they may have made.

Quick Summary: Mother always told Little Red Riding Hood not to talk to strangers. But when the mother had her daughter deliver some medicine to Granny, she was approached by a charming and intelligent wolf. She wolf intelligently followed Little Red Riding Hood to her Grandmother’s house. He forcefully ate both Little Red Riding Hood and the Grandmother. But having enormously pleased himself with such a good meal, he enjoyed a nice snooze. Then, a brave hunter jumped in the window and killed the sleeping wolf. He cut open the wolf’s belly and out came Little Red Riding Hood and the Grandmother. Little Red Riding Hood learned her lesson about never talking to strangers.

Post-Reading Strategies: After the reading, the students may want to act out the play while a few other students read the play aloud. This project will require communication amongst all members of the play, as well as the readers not reading too fast. While some of the students are reading the play aloud, the actors and actresses will act out the part being read silently. This will help the students build teamwork, work ethic, and retell them the story.

Assessment: Monitoring how well the students work together reading the story with a partner.

Reflection: This is an excellet story that can provide a life lesson about listening to your parents or caregiver.

Marshall, James. (1942). Little Red Riding Hood. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers. Grades K-3.

The Three Pigs



Author: David Wiesner

Award: The Caldecott Medal

Genre: English Literature, Folklore

Grade Level: First Grade

Theme:

The three pigs try to build a house made out of different material so they wolf cannot blow their houses down. However, the wolf blows the first two houses down relatively easily. However, he fails to blow the third pig’s house down which was made of bricks.

Can students identify and describe what the houses were made of and why the final house was able to stay standing?

Pre-Reading Strategies: Discuss the importance of the different materials used in the book. Have the students observe and handle a piece of hay, a stick, and a brick. Ask them to visualize blowing a full house made of these three different materials. From partaking in this hands-on activity, the students should figure out which house would hold up the best.

Post-Reading Strategies: After the reading, the children in the class will try to retell the story from memory. This shows who really paid attention to the short story to the fullest. If the students cannot retell the story successfully, the story will be read in groups and the activity will begin all over again. This is an interesting activity because the Three Little Pigs is a very common story and also can be retold differently the second time around. The groups can also incorporate their own versions of this story. This helps build imagination and creative thinking.

Also, I could incorporate a Readers' Theatre activity since this story is very common and redundant.

Assessment: Sequencing of Events worksheet

Summary: This is a classic story retold by author David Wiesner. Three pigs are being tormented by a big, bad wolf who wants to eat them. The wolf blows the first two houses down because they are made of hay and sticks. However, the third pig learns from the past two pig’s mistakes and builds a house out of bricks. The wolf cannot blow the house of bricks down. The pig ended up tricking the wolf by putting a pot of hot water by the edge of the chimney. The wolf declared that he would jump down from the chimney to eat the little pig. Bur instead, he jumped into a pot of hot water. The third little pig enjoyed wolf stew and the wolf never was able to bother him again.

Reflection: This is an excellent retelling of the many tails of the Three Little Pigs. It is fascinating to hear the many versions of the story and how they cna change.

Wiesner, David. (2001). The Three Pigs. New York: Clarion Books. Grades K-2.

Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present



Author: Charlotte Zolotow

Illustrator: Maurice Sendak

Genre: Language Arts

Grade Level: First Grade

Award: Caldecott Honor Award

Pre-Reading Strategies: 
In what ways do you choose a present for a member of your family?

What is the importance of giving gifts to members of your family whom you love?

Do you think it is a good idea to ask someone who may know the family member better than you for help? If so, why do you think this?

Have the children discuss what presents they got for their parents. Have them discuss where and how they got that present, and who helped them. Discuss the importance of giving and receiving shifts and which one most people get pleasure out of doing more of. Talk about what type of present the little girl gives to her Mother in the story and why they think the Mother will receive that present.


Post-Reading Strategies: After the reading, students will then go over comprehension questions after the book was read to them. These comprehension questions are designed to make the young students develop analytical reading skills, as well as help them make future predictions in other stories. The questions will be designed to make the children think and make predictions. For example, if “Mr. Rabbit did not help the little girl find a present, what do you think would have happened?” These type of questions are very important in helping the reader find cause and effect relationships. This assignment will be very important in the development of more difficult reading tasks.

Assessment:

What was your favorite part of the short story? What did the little girl get her Mother for a present? Why was this present considered special? Why do you think Mr. Rabbit decided to help the little girl get a present for her Mother?

Reflection: I enjoyed this story. I think it is a great story to read before the holidays. The young children will learn the meaning of giving presents and that it is just as important as receiving them.

Zolotow, Charlotte. (1962). Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present. New York: Harper Collins Publishers. Grades K-2.

Teammates



Author: Peter Golenbock

Illustrator: Paul Bacon

Genre: American History/Non-fiction

Award: Redbook Children's Picture Book Award

Grade Levels: Fifth Grade

Subject Area: Social Studies, Civil Rights Period

African Americans were treated very harsh by white Americans back in the 1940’s and 1950’s. They were often tormented for the color of their skin and were not given a chance to exploit their athletic ability in sporting events. African Americans were treated very unfairly because of their differences. Although many whites knew that what they were doing was wrong, no one really spoke out against the majority. Jackie Robinson was an American hero who helped break the color barrier in American’s favorite pastime.

Quick Summary: This is a true story based on one of the greatest historic baseball players of all time, Jackie Robinson. Jackie Robinson was the first African American to play in the Major Leagues. He broke the color barrier as well. Jackie Robinson lived in a difficult time period for African Americans. There were no laws against segregation and blacks and whites each had their own bathrooms and drinking fountains. Jackie was often humiliated because of his color, but was considered an extraordinary ballplayer. His teammate, Pee Wee Reese was the first to openly stand up for Jackie and support him through his tough career.

Pre-Reading Strategies:  Discuss with the class why African Americans were treated very differently back during the Jim Crow period. Discuss how African American civil rights activists like Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, and Jackie Robinson helped change history forever. Inform the students that every individual should be treated with respect regardless of the color of their skin or other differences.


Post-Reading Strategies:  After the reading, each student in the classroom will be assigned a famous African American who helped change history forever. Many examples include: Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Jackie Robinson, Rosa Parks, Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, etc. The students will then make a small poster describing the highlights that their famous person did and how they helped transform history forever.


Assessment: Their poster assignment will highlight what they learned about their famous person during the Civil Rights Era.

Reflection: I really enjoyed this book. It highlighted how Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball.


Golenbock, Peter. (1990). Teammates. Florida: Voyager Books. Grades 1-3.

First the Egg




Author: Laura Vaccaro Seeger

Genre: Science/English Literature

Award: Caldecott Honor Book 2008,  Theodore Seuss Geisel Honor Award

Grade Levels: First Grade

Theme: Many transformations take place in our daily lives, but we are sometimes too busy to notice them. Chickens lay eggs on a farm, and they eventually turn into adult chickens. A seed is planted, and then eventually sprouts into a beautiful flower. In general, transformations are happening everyday and it is sometimes important to take notice of these drastic changes.

Quick Summary: Laura Vaccaro Seeger’s short story is about the everyday transformations we observe in everyday life. Although these transformations are very significant, we tend to take them for granted without actually observing how and why they happen. This is a book about transformations—from an egg to a chicken, from a seed to a flower, and from a caterpillar to a butterfly.

Pre-reading Strategies:

Discuss with the class the many changes that take place in everyday life. Inform them that the sun rises everyday and gets at its brightest point in the sky around the early afternoon, and then sets at night. Ask the students what other transformations they notice throughout the day. Talk about how an egg gets laid by a chicken and will hatch into a baby chicken in a matter of months. Discuss how the weather changes and how there are four seasons each year, causing a transformation with the clothes we wear.   

Post-Reading Strategies:

After the reading, the students will observe a seed being planted in a flowerpot which will be left by the window sill. Each day, the students will observe the seed and keep track of what they observed for that day. Each day, the students will take on a responsibility of watering the seed. This will help the students develop responsibility for watering the seed as well as keeping track of any visible observations that they observe. Eventually the seed will sprout into a beautiful flower and the students will see the transformation take place in front of their own very eyes.

Assessment: My little second graders will keep track each day of the growth of the plant and draw a quick sketch of what they see.

Reflection: Along with reading the book, the students will get to record scientific observations in their journals.

Seeger, Laura Vaccaro. (2007). First the Egg. New York: Roaring Book Press. Grades K-1.

Freedom River



Author: Doreen Rappaport

Illustrator: Bryan Collier

Genre: Social Studies, English Language Arts

Award: Coretta Scott King Award

Grade Levels: Third Grade/Fourth Grade

Theme: Many African Americans were treated very poorly in early American history. African Americans were treated as slaves and had to work long and hard for other people without any freedom and without their families. Some people risked their lives in order to save some slaves. These types of people went against the majority of people during that time to save these slaves.

Pre-Reading Strategies:

Have any of you heard of the Underground Railroad?

What was it, and how did it help save enslaved African Americans?

Can anyone name any courageous slave helpers during this time period?

What war was fought over the issue of slavery and who won?

Discuss with the class that slavery was a very important and serious issue during the Civil War period from 1861-1865. Discuss why the South succeeded away from the North during that time period. Explain the differences between the North and the South. Discuss any important heroes that the students can recall from prior history knowledge who helped save enslaved Americans.

Post-Reading Strategies: After the reading, the students will discuss the post-reading questions. They will then draw a poster signed map of what they think the Underground Railroad looked like, and the journey that John Parker had to take to rescue the slaves. The students will decorate and illustrate the Underground Railroad and John Parkers journey into the “slave state” and then present what they illustrated to the class.

Assessment: Post-reading questions

Why did John Parker risk his life to help Isaac, Sarah, and their baby? How did he help enslaved Americans reach the “free state?” What did you learn about the Underground Railroad? What kind of state was John Parker from? Was it a “free state” or “slave state?”

Reflection: This is a very interesting historical book that can inform children what history was like for slaves and how they formed a bond and tried to escape together.

Rappaport, Doreen. (2000). Freedom River. New York: Hyperion Books for Children.

Grades 1-4.

My Brother Sammy


Author: Becky Edwards

Author: David Armitage

Genre: English Literature

Award: Newberry Medal Honor

Theme: Not everyone in this world is similar. Each individual is considered very unique in our society today. Some people are born with advantages that others do not have and unfortunately, some people are born with great disadvantages in life. Sammy’s brother could be considered “autistic” in this story. He does not have the same abilities that his brother has or the same privileges that his brother has.

Grade Level: Second and Third Grade

Pre-Reading Strategies:

What do you think this story will be about?

Do you think one brother will be considered “more normal” than the other brother?

What makes each one of you students different from one another?

Discuss with the class the importance of diversity in the classroom as well as in the real world. Discuss various cultures with students and how each share some similarities, but also have many differences. Talk about how everyone should be treated the same regardless of their cultural or ethnic differences. I will stress the importance of being different and that just because everyone is different, we are all to be considered equal. No one shall make fun of anyone for being different.


Post-Reading Strategies: After the reading, the students will pair up with another student in the classroom. They will then make a Venn diagram of the similarities and differences that they have with their partner. After finishing this paired assignment, the students will then share their similarities and differences with the rest of the class. Each class member will not judge another student because of their differences. This paired assignment is very important because it shows that every individual shares some kind of similarities with another person, but they also have their differences as well.

Assessment: Going over the Venn Diagram as a class.

Reflection: This book goes directly with my graduate Multicultural Literacy class. It shows students that even though everyone is different, we all can be liked and enjoyed because of our differences.

Edwards, Becky and Armitage David. (1999). My Brother Sammy. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. Grades 2-3.

The Gingerbread Man


Author: Eric A. Kimmel

Illustrator: Megan Lloyd

Genre: Folklore

Theme: Provides rhyme and rhythm in a fun, common tale

Grade Levels: Pre-K/Kindergarten/Elementary Grade Lesson Below

Quick Summary: An old man and an old lady make a gingerbread man for desert. He leaped out of the oven and took off running. The old lady and the old man chase after the gingerbread man, but to no prevail they cannot catch up. The gingerbread continues to run past other animals as they try to catch him so they can enjoy him as a tasty treat.

Pre-Assessment Strategies: Discuss with the class the importance of this story and how it is a classic loved by all. I will point out that the gingerbread becomes too confident in the story that no one will catch him and sometimes too much confidence can backfire on you. I will then point out how gingerbread are made and when they are typically enjoyed by humans everywhere.

Post-Assessment Strategies: After the reading, the students will discuss the post-reading questions I will assign them. I will allow them to work in groups to work on these post-reading questions. This type of group work helps build teamwork, communication, and the share of the workload amongst each member in the group. After going over the post-reading questions of the gingerbread man, the students and I will go to the cafeteria and make some gingerbread. This activity will get the students to get out of the classroom environment and enjoy this amazing desert. Making the gingerbread will once again build a sense of teamwork and the importance of following directions. As the teacher, I will strictly supervise everything, as well as handle most of the work. However, I would plan on letting the students take a very minor role in cooking the gingerbread. After all the students hard work from listening to the story and partaking in the post-reading questions, they can finally enjoy this delicious treat! This lesson will be incorporated at the lower to mid grade levels.


Assessment: Post-reading questions

Reflection: I loved gingerbread growing up and having my parents read this story to me was the best. It was even better because making gingerbread with my mother was always a yearly tradition.

Kimmel, Eric A. (1993) The Gingerbread Man. New York: Holiday House. Grades K-1.

Dolphins



Author:  Seymour Simon

Genre: Non-fiction

Grade Level: Second grade through fourth grade

Theme: Provides a non-fiction informational story about dolphins.

Quick Summary: This is an informational short story about the life of dolphins and is very interesting. This short story is a good pre-requisite for a project, or used as a source for a book project. Dolphins use different sounds to communicate with each other; these sounds include: whistles, clicks, barks, squawks, and rasps. Dolphins can produce a series of 2,000 high-pitched clicks per second that go through the water, hit an object, and then bounce back to the sender. In general, this short story gives true and factual information about dolphins. Despite their beauty and playfulness, dolphins face serious dangers from commercial fishing and human activity. It's vital that people support governmental laws to protect these wonderful creatures.

Dolphins are considered very beautiful and upbeat mammals that are very interesting and playful. They have many interesting facts about them. Dolphins swim up to speeds of over thirty miles per hour, and often ride in the bow waves of boats. Dolphins are very playful with humans and are easily trainable. Dolphins put on shows for general audiences because of their playful and energetic personalities. Despite all this, dolphins are a threat to pollution and careless commercial net fishing.
(Simon, Seymour. (2009). Dolphins. New York: Harper Collins Publishing).

Pre-Reading Strategies:

Have you ever seen dolphins before in real life?

What did you like about them if you have seen them?

Why do you think dolphins are one of the most favorite animals among humans?

What advantages do you think dolphins have over other mammals?

Discuss with the students what dolphins eat and where they are found. Show them a quick PowerPoint presentation about the different types of dolphins, what they eat, where they are found, etc. Then discuss the harms and threats that are posed on dolphins and why they happen. Ask the students what can be done to stop the threats of killing these innocent creatures.

Post-Reading Strategies: After reading the story, I would have the students come up to the chalkboard and write one interesting fact that they learned from this short non-fiction story. If they walked up to the chalkboard and got stuck, they could use a lifeline and ask another student who volunteers him or herself for help. Once a broad list is made, I would go over the facts that the students wrote and we would discuss them. Next, I would show a short video on dolphins. This video would show their fascination and enthusiasm as creates in the real world. This video would be for entertainment purposes, and would demonstrate the excitement dolphins can bring to humans.

Assessment: Check the facts that the students write. If their answer makes sense, then they understood and learned one important piece of information from the story.

Reflection: This was a very informational story about facts about dolphins. Students who enjoy the fascination with dolphins will enjoy this story, as well as students who do not know much about dolphins; they will learn to appreciate these fun-loving creatures when they open this book!

Simon, Seymour. (2009). Dolphins. New York: Harper Collins Publishing. Grades 2-4.

Quack and Count



Author: Keith Baker

Genre: Mathematics/E.L.A.

Grades: Kindergarten

Theme: Building math facts and repetition of math facts. This is also a social

Quick Summary:  This story is about the counting principle and counting ducks. This story uses fun rhyming schemes as well as the practice of addition. Quack and Count also builds factorial knowledge and shows the many ways two numbers can add together to form the same answer. For example, three ducks plus four ducks equals seven ducks; five ducks plus two ducks equals seven ducks as well. This story builds repetition with math facts using addition in a fun-filled way so the students can learn and build their math facts for addition.


Pre-Reading Strategies: Discuss with the students the importance of math facts and why they need to be learned. Discuss the characteristics that ducks have and why they have the characteristics they do. Before reading the story, practice some math facts with the students, as well as practice rhyming different words together. Before reading the story, I will quickly practice addition math facts to give the students a quick review.

Post-Reading Strategies: Using this book at a model, I want the students to illustrate their own addition story using their own animal being used. This will help the students understanding of animals, as well as their math facts. The students can then either share their math picture book to the class or hand it in to the teacher. This activity will help demonstrate the students’ knowledge with their math facts, as well as incorporate English literature into the lesson. This helps build creativiy into the lesson, as well as students writing their own short story on math facts. It ties in the common core, with the addition of English and Mathematics into the lesson.

Assessment: Students will share their short stories with the class.

Baker, Keith. (1999). Quack and Count. New York: Harcourt Brace and Company. Grades K-1.

Reflection: This is a quick story that will get the class involved. It is a "social story" that builds math facts, as well as help my students build fluency in reading and math.

The Three Billy Goats Gruff



Author: Paul Galdone

Genre: Folklore/Fable

Subject Area: Language Arts

Focusing Event:  This story focuses on a moral that three heads are better than one. Each Billy Goat makes the troll wait for the next Billy Goat to pass because they say that he is bigger and taAnstier than him. The troll continues to fall into the trap of letting the smaller goat pass for the larger goat. Unfortunately, the third Billy Goat is the strongest of the Billy Goats and knocks the troll off the bridge using his sharp horns. The students learn a lesson in this moral tale that teamwork and communication and hard work can increase one’s chance of accomplishing a difficult task.


Pre-Reading Strategies: Discuss with the class how teamwork is very important in achieving a goal. Tell them that teamwork and communication are very important and it helps build character. Also, inform the students that there is always a lesson to be learned when dealing with a story with a moral. Tell the students to pay attention to each individual goat in the story and what happens to each of them.

Post-Reading Strategies: After reading this story and because it is such an easy story to follow, the students will act out this short story in front of the class. This will make the students demonstrate teamwork, communication, and work ethic in trying to act out the short story in front of the class. It will also get the students to practice public speaking and acting in front of their peers in front of the class. Acting out this short story will help the students remember this classic tale, as well as build familiarity with each other in a group setting. With the incorporation of Reader's Theatre, students will be able to retell the story and the order of sequence of events which helps build comprehension.

Assessment: A worksheet detailing the key compenents of a short story--Characterization, conflict, solution, etc.

Reflection: Overall, this book is a childhood favorite. It is in comparison to The Three Little Pigs. At the end of the story, the final character defeats the "villain" in the story and makes a happy ending for the reader.

Galdone, Paul.  (1973). The Three Billy Goats Gruff. New York: Clarion Books and a Haughton Mifflin Company imprint. Grades K-2.

The Snowy Day




Author: Ezra Jack Keats

Award: Caldecott Award

Genre: Fiction (but brings in ties to American History...since this book was written in the Civil Rights Era, this book is highly recognized for the time period it was written.)

Grades: Kindergarten/First Grade

Subject: Science (I'd incorporate a states of matter lesson with this literature)

Theme: An African American boy is pictured throughout the course of the short story. This is very crucial since this book was written in the mid-20th Century, when African Americans were fighting for equal rights and equality.

Quick Summary: This is a very short story that involves a young boy’s experience on a snowy day. The book emphasizes the many activities that a young child can experience on a snowy day. The story illustrates the magic and wonder of a lovely snowfall, as seen through the eyes of a child, as we see through the eyes of a young child named Peter. This story helps bring back childhood memories of playing in the snow and enjoying the magical time of the winter months.

Pre-Reading Activities:

Have any of you played out in the snow before?

What did you do and why did you seem to enjoy/not enjoy it?

How does the snow stay on the ground and why does it sometime disappear?

How does snow melt?

Discuss with the class what they like to do during the snowy season and why they like to play in the snow. Also discuss with the students that snow has the ability to melt when it is kept in higher substances and it can freeze again when kept in below freezing temperatures. Students will be encouraged to ask questions on why snow melts and any other parts of the story they do not understand.

Post-Reading Activities: After reading, introduce the topics of melting and freezing into a science and English based lesson. Reading the short story to the class in an English-based lesson, but then I would incorporate the idea of melting as a science-based lesson for the students. I would take a Popsicle out of the cafeteria freezer and show the students that the Popsicle, like a snowball, is frozen. I would keep the Popsicle out of the freezer, and the students would check on the Popsicle every twenty minutes. After a few hours, the students and I would discuss what happened to the Popsicle that was once frozen and is now a liquid. The children learned that any substance that is kept in abnormal conditions will cause the object to change. The students learned that when the frozen Popsicle was kept near the window and in a room with a higher temperature than the freezer, the Popsicle melted. We would discuss why this happened and move into a science lesson next.

Assessment: Have the students be able to describe why the popsicle melted and what phase it started in (solid) and ended in (liquid).

Overall, I enjoyed this story. It's a simple story about a young little boy enjoying his day in the snow. This story brings back childhood memories about enjoying a snow day off from school making snow angels, sledding, and loving the winter beauty.

Keats, Ezra Jack. (1962). The Snowy Day. New York: The Viking Press. Grades 1-2.

The Fox and the Hen

Author: Eric Battut

Genre: Folklore/Fiction

Subject Area: English, a tale that tells a moral, Science

Grades: Kindergarten/First Grade

Theme: Children will be prompted with the importance of little eggs to a mother animal. In nature, wild hens (and other animals) lay many eggs and wait several weeks until their eggs hatch. Sadly, other animals in the wild want these eggs for food. Mother hens need to protect these eggs because they may hatch into little baby hens. Hens lay their eggs and soon they hatch and a family develops.

The young audience will also learn the importance of not being careless and to think about the positives and negatives before going through with a decision. This will help guide young students to learn the value of making good decisions, while bad decisions warrant consequences.

Quick Summary: Henrietta Hen, the main character in the story, lays her first egg in the beginning of the story. As she lays her first egg, she is very curious to what it may be. She accepts Red Fox’s offer to trade it for a tasty worm. Six farm animals explain to Henrietta what she has done and offer to help her get the egg back. One by one, they accompany her to the fox, who disdains their offers to swap it for the other animals' valuables. However, long before Henrietta’s seventh visit to the fox, the repetitive nature of the text’s phrasing and the illustrations’ composition slip over the line from predicable into monotonous. This book explains the importance of cherishing the little things in life and to think twice before going through with an action. (http://www.amazon.com/Fox-Hen-Eric-Battut/dp/1907152024/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1353813790&sr=1-1&keywords=the+fox+and+the+hen).

Pre-Reading Activities:
Have any of you ever been to a farm and have seen a chicken egg before?

Where do little baby hens come from?

Why do you think their eggs are so important to them and why do you think they need to protect their eggs in the wild?

Discuss with the class about nature and how some mother animals lay eggs because when they hatch, babies come from these eggs. Discuss with the children that other animals need food to survive and will try to take a mother hen’s eggs to eat. Discuss with the children that there is a food chain and each animal relies on the animal below it for food. Students will be encouraged to learn a valuable lesson after reading the story.

Post-Reading Activities:

Discuss with the class about nature and how some mother animals lay eggs because when they hatch, babies come from these eggs. Discuss with the children that other animals need food to survive and will try to take a mother hen’s eggs to eat. Discuss with the children that there is a food chain and each animal relies on the animal below it for food. Students will be encouraged to learn a valuable lesson after reading the story.

Assessment: Students will be asked to recap these pre and post-reading objectives to see what they learned from the class discussion and the story.

Battut, Eric. (2010). The Fox and the Hen. China: Sterling Publishing. Grades K-2.