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.

What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?

 

 

 

Author: Steve Jenkins

 

Award: Caldecott Honor Book

 

Genre: Realistic Fiction

 

Subject Area: Science/Mathematics

 

Grades: Kindergarten through Third Grade

 

Theme:  Students and readers will understand the different body parts that make different animals unique and special in their own way. Students will also learn the importance of sizes and a teacher could incorporate a measurement lesson into ELA as well.

 

Quick Summary: This short story is about the many amazing things that animals can do using their five senses, as well as their other interesting body parts. This book illustrates how animals use their nose, mouth, ears, tails, and eyes in very different ways that make each creature very distinct. This short story helps children learn about many different animals in a fun-oriented, but educational style. Young students will learn that lizards can completely break off their tail and use it as a defense, which will grow back over time. Furthermore, they'll find out that crickets' ears are on their knees. Most fish have two eyes, but some have four, the better to see above and below the water at the same time. This book is very scientific and can be used for such a young audience. (http://www.amazon.com/What-You-Tail-Like-This/dp/061899713X).

 

Pre-Reading Activities: Discuss with the class how different animals use different parts of their body in unique ways. As a teacher, I will make sure they understand that like humans, each animal is different and each animal has unique characteristics. Before the story is read to them, ask the students if they know how elephants use their noses or how a zebra may use its neck? Students will be very enthusiastic in learning about the different aspects of each animal in the story.

 

Post-Reading Activities: After the reading, I would set up five small stations around the room and have each sense (smell, sight, touch, hear, taste) at each station. The students would go from station to station using each sense and describing what he or she came up with using that particular sense. After the stations were all completed, the students and I would discuss the things that we observed in using our five senses. Next, I would show a short film showing how other animals can use their senses, as well as their unique body characteristics, to exploit an advantage in the environment. For example, a chameleon can change colors to protect itself from predators. We would then discuss what we saw as a class and the students would tell me what they learned from the activities we practiced today.

 

Assessment: As a class, we will go over what the students came up with using their five senses. This will demonstrate that while we all have the same five senses, our senses can work in different ways sometimes because of our individual differences. (I may also incorporate a measuring lesson as well in the future).

 

-Overall, I emjoyed this book as well. It makes a difficult topic (individual differences) fun and exciting for young readers and learners. After this book, students will want to display their own unique differences and be proud of what they bring to the class.

Jenkins, Steve. (2003). What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? Boston: Houghton Mifflin            Company. Grades K-2.