Exploring Countries – Mexico

Author:   Colleen Sexton

About the Author:
Colleen Sexton has written countless books, including many non-fiction books and biographies of well known people such as J.K. Rowling. 

Genre: Non-Fiction
Grade Level: 3-5

Synopsis:

This book shows Mexico in many different ways.  It shows where Mexico is geographically in relation to other countries, what their land is like; wetlands, plateaus, etc.  It shows what animals live in Mexico, and gives fun facts about the country.  One important part of the book is showing what the people living there do; school, work, fun activities, foods they eat, holidays they celebrate, and places that are well known.

Pre Reading Activity:

Questions:
What do we know about Mexico? 

Activity:

Show the cover of the book to the students and create a KWL chart with them.

Post Reading Activity:
Questions:

What did we learn about Mexico?

Activity:
Complete the L on the KWL chart together, and have the students write two paragraphs about what they have learned about Mexico and name one thing they found interesting about the country or its people.

Reflection:

I think this is a great book to use to show students about another country/culture.  It shows what Mexico looks like, and what someone’s life there could be like.  I think students could relate to this book and its informative information. 

Encylopedia Prehistorica, Dinosaurs

Author:  Robert Sabuda and Mattew Reinhart                              
http://www.matthewreinhart.com
http://www.robertsabuda.com

About the Author:

Robert Sabuda is a talented pop up book artist.  From a very young age he was a talented artist.  He attended Pratt Institution in New York City, where he met Mattew Reinhart.

Mattew Reinhart always loved drawing, he would draw anywhere and everywhere.  After high school he studied biology in preparation to attend medical school.  Before going to medical school he went to New York City for a year, there he met Robert Sabuda. 

Genre: Non-Fiction
Grade Level: 1-4

Synopsis:
This is a book that has many pictures and facts about dinosaurs.  It has pop outs to look at that show details of the dinosaurs.   It describes characteristics of different types of dinosaurs.  The main idea of the book is for the reader to discover the world of dinosaurs.  Making the children interested in the pictures and pop outs, to learn fascinating facts and information about dinosaurs.  

Pre Reading Activity:

Questions:
What are dinosaurs?  Where do dinosaurs live?  How big are dinosaurs?

Activity:
Have the students each draw a picture of their favorite dinosaur.

Post Reading Activity:
Questions:

What is the name of 3 dinosaurs? Do dinosaurs all eat plants?  Do dinosaurs fly?

Activity:

After reading the story, have the students write a few sentences describing their favorite dinosaur that they drew before reading the story.  Using some facts they learned from the book.

Reflection:
This book is a great book for dinosaur lovers!  It has amazing detailed pop outs of dinosaurs.  Kids will want to spend hours looking at the pictures from this book to learn about their favorite dinosaur.

Penguins

 

Author:  Sally Morgan                                                    

About the Author:

Genre: Non-Fiction
Grade Level: 1-4

Synopsis:

This is a book that describes what a penguin is, what some types of penguins are, where they live, how they grow and learn. It describes what they eat, the dangers they face, and how they live in freezing conditions.

Pre Reading Activity:

Questions:
Who has seen a penguin?  What do penguins eat?  Where do penguins live?

Activity:

Have the class make a list of all the things they know about penguins, and what they want to learn about penguins, using a K-W-L chart

Post Reading Activity:

Questions:

What is one type of penguin?  Do penguins go to kindergarten?  What is kindergarten for penguins?

Activity:

After reading the story, watch a movie about penguins.  The march of the Penguins is a good documentary about penguins.  Have the students write two similarities about penguins between the book and movie.

Reflection:
I think this book is a great way to introduce animals to students.  When students can take a journey into the life from the animals perspective it builds great background knowledge for the students, giving them a deeper understanding and appreciation for the animals they learn about.

If You Grow Up With Abraham Lincoln

Author:  Ann McGovern                                                               

About the Author:

Ann McGovern grew up in New York City, and still lives there today.  She developed a love for reading and writing at an early age.  She had a speech imepidament and used writing and poetry to express her feelings.

Illustrator: George Ulrich

Genre: Non-Fiction
Grade Level: 3-6

Synopsis:
This is a story about when Abraham Lincoln was a boy growing up in Kentucky and Indiana.  When he was a young man he lived on a prairie in the town of New Salem, Illinois.  He lived later in the city of Springfield, Illinois, he then later moved to Washington, D.C., where he was the President of the United States.

This story tells about how the towns were where Abraham Lincoln grew up.   It shows how his towns could be related to by kids.  The woods were full of birds and animals, just like the woods today.

Pre Reading Activity:

Questions:
Who is Abe Lincoln? What things would you do if you were Abe Lincoln growing up? What kind of house did he live in?

Activity:

Have the class draw a picture of what they think Abe Lincoln’s house and yard would look like.

Post Reading Activity:

Questions:

What did Abe Lincoln do for fun? What kind of school did he go to?  What did he learn about in school?

Activity:

After reading the story, have the students write a paragraph about one thing they learned about Abraham Lincoln when he was growing up.

Reflection:
I think this is a great story that portrays Abraham Lincoln's life as a child that children can relate to and can see Abraham Lincoln in a different light than President of the United States.  I think it is important to see where all people come from and their life story.

If You Traveled on The Underground Railroad

Author:  Ellen Levine                                                    
www.ellenlevineauthor.com/

Illustrator: Larry Johnson

About the Author:

Ellen Levine grew up and still lives in New York City.  She grew up in a house that was filled with books.  Her mother wrote reviews for books and theatre before she had children.  Her mother always took her to the library to pick out books to read.  She was always surrounded by literature and conversations with her parents about events happening around the world and home. 

Genre: Non-Fiction
Grade Level: 3-6

Synopsis:
This is a story about what the Underground Railroad was, and what is meant to be a slave.  What dangers slaves faced if they ran away, and what dangers there were if you helped a slave move through the Underground Railroad. 
The Underground Railroad was a system for runaway slaves to move from the South and slavery to the North and freedom.  It was a secret way to move North with special hiding places throughout the South and North.  People would help slaves with food, water, help with any medical issues and find hiding places until they could move on. 

Pre Reading Activity:

Questions:
What is a railroad used for?  What were slaves? What do you think an Underground Railroad was and what was it used for?

Activity:

Create a K-W-L chart with the class, what they know and want to know about an Underground Railroad

Post Reading Activity:

Questions:

What was the Underground Railroad?  What did it mean to be a slave?  When did the Underground Railroad end and why? 

Activity:

Have students write two paragraphs describing if they were living in the north, would they have helped slaves through the underground railroad or not and why.  
  

Reflection:

I think this is a good book for teaching about slavery and how people tried to move away from the harsh conditions they were in.  It also is a book that could be used for teaching tolerance.  I think teachers can talk about how awful slavery was, but with this book can show what some people in the north did for people from the south, it shows compassion in people, and demonstrates tolerance and acceptance of differences in all people.

The Hershey's Milk Chocolate Fractions Book

Author/ Illustrator:  Jerry Pallotta

http://jerrypallotta.com/

About the Author:
Jerry Pallotta was born in Boston, Massachusetts, he was from a very large family.   When he was growing up he had 72 first cousins.  He never wrote anything for school, no journals, or newspapers, it wasn't until he was married and had children of his own, when he began to read his children stories he thought he could write ABC and counting books. 

 

Genre: Non-Fiction
Grade Level: 3-5

Synopsis:

 

This is a story about fractions and using a Hershey chocolate bar to show the relationship to a whole bar and breaking it up into its small pieces.  When you break a Hershey chocolate bar into 12 equal pieces, you can show what it looks like to have 1/12 of the chocolate bar or 1/4 or 1/2, etc. 

Pre Reading Activity:

Questions:
Who has ever eaten a Hershey’s bar? How could you divide it up equally to share? Would it be easy to divide a Hershey’s bar into equal pieces?

Activity:

Have the class get in to groups with two students in each group. Give each group a Hershey bar, and ask them to divide it up so each person in the group gets the same amount of the chocolate bar.  Continue using the chocolate bar having students show how many other ratios or fractions they can come up with between the students. Example: 1/2, 3/4, etc.

Post Reading Activity:

Questions:

Did you know that when you divided up the chocolate bar you were using fractions? What other things can you think of that would be easy to make fractions with? How could you use a pizza to show fractions?

Activity:

After reading the story, use another hands on lesson by having a pizza party to show fractions by using the slices of pizza.  Have students take a slice of pizza, record the fraction for each student as they take their slice of pizza.   

Reflection:

I love how this story can be used in the classroom.  Children learn best when teachers create has for them.  This book allows teachers to incorporate Hershey bars into their classroom, something the students can relate to.  When students can make connections to their lives, they will often gain a deeper understanding of the content being taught.

Subtraction Action

  

Author/ Illustrator:  Loreen Leedy                    
http://www.loreenleedy.com/

About the Author:

Loreen Leedy was born in Wilmington, Delaware in 1959. She majored in art in college but didn't know what kind of artist to be, instead she made polymer clay jewelry and chess sets and sold them at craft shows. The pins, earrings, and chess pieces were whimsical pigs, cats, dragons, and other animals. At age 25 she began turning her jewelry into book characters.  She has written and illustrated about 40 picture books.

Genre: Non-Fiction
Grade Level: 1-3

                                                                                                                                                     
Synopsis:

This is a story about a teacher, Miss Prime who takes her class to the school fair, to solve problems using subtraction.  Some of the students subtract seconds to figure out if the obstacle course record had been broken.  Miss Prime used subtraction as magic and the kids loved it.

When kids use something they can relate to in their own lives, they understand it better.  Kids can learn the basis of subtraction and use it in real life situations.  They learn that subtraction really does make a difference.

Pre Reading Activity:

Questions:

What do you do if you are sharing a snack with the class and you give someone an extra snack?  How do you fix the problem of someone having an extra one? What do you call it when you take away something from something else?

Activity:

Pass out same amount of pipe cleaners to each student, give some extras to some students, then ask a student to make sure each student has the same number of pipe cleaners. If there are some students who have more they have to go to the front of the room.  Have students decide how to make everyone have the same amount using subtraction. 

Post Reading Activity:

Questions:

How did Miss Prime and her class solve some problems at the school fair?  How many students have been in an obstacle course? Is it easier to understand subtraction when it is real life examples?

Activity:

Have the students enter a race in the classroom, the teams start out with the same number of pipe cleaners,  teams must make their way through the obstacle course by stopping at each station and subtracting the number at the station from their total.  The first team to complete the obstacle course and has the correct number of cleaners left, wins!

Reflection:

I love this book for teaching children not only subtraction but that it has real life uses.  So often teachers present information to students and they do not teach the relevancy as well.  When children can see the use of what they are learning, it stays with them longer, and they get a deeper meaning.  I like the way this book introduces terms without students knowing, like the teacher's name; Miss Prime.  Prime being a math term, and vocabulary that students need to be familiar with.  The more students hear and use vocabulary, the more they will understand it.

Westward with Columbus

Author:   John Dyson


About the Author:


Genre:     Non- Fiction
Grade Level:    4-7


Synopsis:

Christopher Columbus has a dream for years to sail across the sea, to find gold, and to have power and riches and glory.  He got to fulfill his dream.  Five hundred years later another dream for John Dylan was to sail across the Atlantic just as Columbus did, with no engine or modern comforts.  He and his crew got to relive that moment in history when people from two different branches of the human race came face to face.

Pre Reading Activity:

Questions: Who is Christopher Columbus? Why do we celebrate Columbus Day? What year did Columbus sail on his voyage? How many ships did he have? What are the names of his ships?

Activity: Discuss with the class how hard it must have been for Columbus to sail across the ocean with no engine.  Then talk about and discuss what things he could have used from today that would have helped him during his voyage.  List them and talk about why the items would be good to have now on a voyage across the ocean.

Post Reading Activity:

Questions: What was interesting about this story?  What was a challenge in this story?  Why did John Dyson want to set sail on a voyage just like Columbus did?  What was the name of the ship he had a replica of?

Activity: After the reading, the students will have a class project. They will get into groups and pretend they are the captains of one Columbus’s ships sailing today.  They will write an essay describing what they would have on their boat for the voyage and why they are choosing the items, and what each item will do for them on their voyage.

Reflection:
This book is a great way to create relevancy to Columbus's voyages for students.  Sometimes it is hard for students to picture what life was like for Columbus and his crew.  Westward with Columbus shows students they can bring history to their lives now.