Publishing: Barron's Education Series. May 1st, 2001.
Synopsis: Unlike most books about the Constitution, this book does not talk about the history of the document itself. Instead, this book teaches students about the actual document itself. It explains what the document actually does and how it protects and affects people today. Kids will find out how the Constitution allows for the three branches of our federal government: executive, judicial and and legislative. The book then goes on to discuss the different rights that Americans have because of the document, including the right to vote and the freedom of speech and press. The book concludes by explaining to readers that some rights are not controlled by the federal government, but are actually left up to the States themselves.
This book is set up as an informational text and the author uses clear and simple language so that the reader has no difficulty with understanding. The pictures are red white and blue in color and mimic that of a cartoon, making this informational text more exciting for more readers.
I really enjoyed this book because I could see my future students enjoying it. This book does an excellent job of putting information in a clear and concise way that is not only easy to read but a lot of fun. I think having informational books that are easy to read while also being fun to read is very important and this book knocks it out of the park.
I would definitely use this book in my future classroom for a lesson on the constitution. I would also add some projects along to go with it, such as having my students work together as a class to create a classroom constitution that I would laminate and have all of my students sign. I would also like to have my students work in groups to makeup a song to remember what rights the constitution gives us. I would then have each group present their song to the class.
In searching for additional web links to help, I found an awesome webpage that talks all about the constitution including activities as well as coloring pages and it is even set up by age group. To view this webpage, click here: http://www.usconstitution.net/constkids4.html
I also found this fun U.S. Constitution map that can be a fun way to help teach the constitution and the video can be viewed below:
Publishing: Bantam, Reprint Edition. June 1st, 1993.
Synopsis: The diary of Anne Frank begins when a little girl named Anne received a diary from her parents on her 13th birthday. She names her diary Kitty and at first writes things that normal 13 year old girls would write about even today: daily events, thoughts school grades, and boys. But within a months time all of that changes. Anne Frank lived during Hitler's rule, a time when when living in Germany-occupied Holland as a Jew meant living in constant fear. When Anne's older sister Margo got called before authorities, meaning almost certainly that she would be sent to a concentration camp, Anne's family decided to go into hiding in a small hidden section of Anne's father's workplace they called the secret annex. This secret annex was hidden by a movable staircase, and would be the Frank family's home for the next two years, as well as home to another family called the van Daans and their son Peter as well as an old dentist by the name of Mr. Dussell. They are forced to live in a cramped space being silent almost all the time, and being shocked by the gun fire at night. While in the annex, Anne continues her education by reading and listening to the radio. Her one friend proves to be her trusted diary. Throughout her diary entries, Anne discusses the things she is learning as well as a budding friendship between herself and Peter van Daan. Eventually her tone changes to excitement when she hears that the war is almost over. She then loses this sense of optimism as the war rolls on. Anne Frank begins to feel more and more lonely in the annex and she feels as though no one likes her in the annex. She begins to feel angry toward her family and the other members of the annex only to feel guilty about her angry feelings. This is where the diary ends, shortly after which Anne's family is discovered by the Nazis and sent to concentration camps.
This book is very interesting in that it is an autobiography in the form of a diary. The author Anne writes in a way in which her tone always comes out clear. It is interesting to see her tone progression throughout the diary starting from a happy content tone, to a fearful nervous tone, to an optimistic tone and finally to a sad and angry tone. The rollercoaster of emotion that comes through in Anne's writing makes this story unique and interesting to read.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I am interested in history in general but particularly interested in the holocaust. I think its amazing in the most terrible way possible that the murder of six million people could be allowed to go on for the amount of time that it did. Reading Anne Frank's diary gives amazingly invaluable insight into what life was like as a jewish person during the holocaust and Anne's writing is so eloquent and revealing that it makes for an insightful and riveting read.
In using this book to teach, I would definitely use this book along with a unit on the holocaust and what it meant to be a Jewish person during this time. I would also definitely do a novel study with this book and I found a sample one on another teacher's blog that can be found here: http://annefranknovelstudy.blogspot.com
I also found a well done book trailer for Anne Frank's diary that can be viewed below:
Publishing: Holiday House, Reprint Edition. March 1st, 2012.
Synopsis: This is an informational book for small children all about lady bugs. The author Gail Gibbons provides facts about the life of a lady bug, including facts about where they live, what they eat, and how they benefit humans. At the end of the book the author also provides a list of websites from which the reader can go to to learn more information about ladybugs.
The language in this book is very simple and is written in a way that children can understand. In addition, the illustrations in this book are very large and vibrant in color making the information of the ladybug much more exciting and fun to read.
After flipping through this book, I of course knew it would be an excellent idea to do a lesson on lady bugs. I also thought as an interdisciplinary activity I could discuss with my students the difference between fact and opinion. I could write two sentences on the boar about lady bugs, the first being a fact from the book and a second being one that I made up. Then I could continue with this pattern and ask my students to come up and circle the fact and put a start next to the opinion. Also, I was thinking it would be a cute activity if I used construction paper to have my students assemble their own lady bugs. I would then have them work on their typing skills by taking them to the computer lab so that they could type out a list of new facts that they learned about ladybugs. I then would have them glue their fact sheet to the bottom of the lady bug and I would then hang the lady bugs up in the hallway on a bulletin board.
In searching for supplementary resources to add to my potential lesson, I found a really cute webpage done by National Geographic Kids with everything you would ever want to know about ladybugs including interesting facts. This page can be accessed here: http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/ladybug/
Publishing: Guinness World Records. September 9th, 2014.
Synopsis: This book is a list of hundreds of world records from all different sorts of categories, including records about animals, technology, the human body, transportation speed, and almost anything you can think of. Each record comes with statistics about the winning record holder as well as a picture of it as well.
This book is special in that each page has a different record held that is discussed in a bullet point statistical fashion. This book has a scientific feel and comes with beautiful clear pictures that really enhance the information on each page.
I really enjoy the Guinness World Records book and have grown up reading them. I really enjoy learning new strange and interesting facts and this book never fails to amaze me with all of it's crazy records. I think this book would be perfect for a student in one of the older elementary grades to browse because children are so curious and love to learn new and out there things and this book truly delivers.
In general I was thinking of simply having a book like this in my classroom so that I have a sure fire way to get a student excited about reading if they are reluctant at first. However, while flipping through the facts, I thought of a potential way to use this book directly in the classroom. I could have students pick a number out of a hat. Whichever number they pick out, they will have to create a World Record poster with information all about whichever record holder is on the page number they drew. It will be their job to put their information in a concise and attractive format as well as to search the internet for additional information on the record holder. Then my class would have a world record holder day in which my students would each present their posters to the class.
In addition, while browsing the Guinness Book of World Records page, I found a spot where you can read about setting a record. I think it would be fun to try and get my students to find an obscure record and try to break it to get our name in the next record book.
In order to learn more about the Guinness Book of World Records, you can visit their website located here: http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com
Synopsis: Shorty and his family, along with thousands of Japanese Americans, are sent to an internment
camp after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Fighting the heat and dust of the desert, Shorty and his
father decide to build a baseball diamond and form a league in order to boost the spirits of the
internees. Shorty quickly learns that he is playing not only to win, but to gain dignity and
self-respect as well.
The illustrations done in Baseball Saved Us are done in dark colors that make the reader get the idea that the pictures are from a long time ago. This is probably a good strategy used by the illustrator because this is a historically based book. The distinct colors make the book stand out from others.
I thought this book was an excellent book in that it incorporated history in a way that would keep students interested and engaged, which can sometimes be difficult to do. I also really enjoyed this book because the topic is very unique from any other I have heard before.
I would definitely use this book as an introduction into a lesson on life for Japanese Americans during World War II as well as a discussion on internment camps. I also found a website with a lesson plan complete with various creative writing prompts, vocabulary activities, as well as interdisciplinary connections with social studies and math. This website is awesome and I would definitely use it when creating a lesson using this book. The website can be accessed here: https://www.leeandlow.com/images/pdfs/baseball.pdf
To learn more about the author, you can look at his website located here: http://kenmochizuki.com
Publishing: Amistad, Reprint Edition. December 27th, 2011.
Synopsis: The story of One Crazy Summer begins when one summer, three sisters from New York travel to Oakland, California to live with their mother who abandoned them as babies. Delphine is the oldest sister who acts as the mother to her younger sisters Vonetta and Fern. They arrive in California only to realize their mother is nothing like they could have ever imagined. Instead of doing fun mother daughter activities all summer their mother sends them to a day camp run by a radical group called the Black Panthers. The girls learn from a woman names Sister Mukumbu about all of the positive things that The Black Panthers do for the community such as feeding hungry children. After one of The Black Panther members gets shot by the police, the girls are told that they will be participating in a rally to get the founder Huey Newton out of prison. After returning from a day trip to San Francisco, the girls come home to find their mother being arrested. Cecile says she has no daughters to the police officer so the girls pretend to be neighbors. The time comes for the rally and the sisters read one of their mothers poems that they found in the kitchen. The sisters see their mother has been released from jail at the rally and they go home with her. Their mother reveals to them that she lost her mother at age 11 and that she has had a rough life ever since, trying to explain why she left them as babies. The next day the girls return home to New York after finally getting a hug from their mother.
The author Rita Williams-Garcia writes in a way that is clear, concise and direct in a way that is easy to follow. The author also has a way of writing that is subtle yet impactful and therefore sets her apart from other authors from whose works I have read.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book because I love any sort of story about discovery. Over the course of this One Crazy Summer, the girls learn so much not only about who their mom is, but also about whats going on in the world as well as who they are as people. I find books like this to be extremely interesting because I love to watch the transformation from the characters in the beginning to the characters at the end of the book.
While reading this book, I thought a lot about using this story to introduce a lesson on African American's fight for civil rights during the 1960s. I would definitely use this book to start a conversation and then a lesson on this topic and what was going on during this time. I would then have my students work in groups to present on different popular names that played a major role during this time period, such as The Black Panthers or Rosa Parks. I would then have them create a power point presentation to share with the class. Another activity to go along with this story that I thought of was using poetry like Cecile did in the book to share knowledge gained on the African American Civil Rights movement. I would then have my students create a "poetry café" in which each student would present their poem and the class would snap their approval afterwards.
Title: My Secret War: The World War II Diary of Madeline Beck
Author: Mary Pope Osborne
Publishing: Findaway World. August 1st, 2009.
Synopsis: This book tells the story of a young girl named Madeline Beck who is living with her mother in a Long Island boarding house until her father; a Lieutenant- commander returns home from war. Madeline has a hard time adjusting to her new surroundings without her dad around and making friends until her classmate and crush Johnny Vecchio learns that Maddie's father is in the Navy. The two then decide to make a a student club to support the war effort by selling war bonds, gathering scrap metal and used books, and making first aid kits. One night Maddie decides to take a walk on the beach and sees and overhears two men discussing something in hushed tones with very heavy accents. This causes Maddie to become suspicious enough to contact the FBI and in turn leads to the arrest of four Nazi agents. Just when things are going well from young Maddie, her mother receives a telegram stating that her father has been injured. The mother daughter duo pack up and move to San Francisco where he will be hospitalized. The book ends on a happy note when Maddie is reunited with her father.
This book is written in a unique way in that it is written from the perspective of a young girl during the times of World War II. In addition, the book is written in a series of diary entries that make reading it feel like you get real insight into the fictitious character that is Madeline Beck. This diary format approach to writing makes this book unique from others in the historical fiction genre.
This was my absolute favorite book growing up and I have read this book atlas ten times. I fell in love with the character and remember thinking how cool it was that even though we come from different times and circumstances, I still could relate to how she was feeling. This book does an excellent job of giving the reader an excellent feel of what is was like to grow up as a young girl during World War II and I believe that it makes this an excellent book.
I could definitely see myself using this book in my future classroom as a supplement to learning about World War II as well as a segway into creative writing. I could use this book to bring up lessons about ways that children were able to help in the war effort, as well as what occurred during World War II and why. I also thought it would be cool if while the students were reading Madeline Beck's journal, the students kept their own journal of their daily lives for a whole month. That way the students could connect with Madeline Beck and practice their writing skills.
In looking online for further resources, I discovered a unit plan with various lesson and activity ideas that would go along with the book. The website for this unit plan can be accessed here: http://www.homeschoolhelperonline.com/units/my_secret_war.shtml
In using this book to create a World War II lesson, I found a website which had all the information you need to know about World War II written specifically for students, which would be helpful for lessons. You can find the website here: http://www.primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/war/
To learn more about the author, you can go to her website by following this link: http://marypopeosborne.com
Publishing: Signet, Rei Cen Edition. July 1st, 2003.
Synopsis: This story follows the life of nine year old Mary Lennox living in a British colony of India being raised by a slew of nannies. Her parents barely have the time to raise her so she is very self-centered and spoiled. In a tragic turn of events, her parents both die of cholera and Mary is left in the care of her uncle Archibald. He doesn't care much for her and basically moves her into his mansion in England and leaves her there. Her maid Martha does not put up with her temper tantrums. She also tells her about the secret garden that her Uncle Archibald had closed off after his wife's death and about her little brother who loves gardening and the outdoors. Mary discovers the garden and opens it up with a key that was discovered with the help of a robin. She also makes a discovery as to who the person is that she hears crying at night. She figures out that it is her Uncle Archibald's son who like her is very self absorbed. He believes himself to be ill even though he is not because he has been told so his entire life. His father does not like to be around him because it reminds him of his mother and he also fears that he will have the same physical difficulties that he does and therefore he is always in Europe away from his son. Mary, Dickon and Collin work on the garden together and Collin begins to think less and less of himself and more about the wonderful world around him. With this he gathers more and more strength and eventually begins to walk. When his father Archibald returns home, he is able to show him the garden while standing on his own to feet. This in turn creates a new and beautiful father son relationship that they have never had.
The story of this book is told in 3rd person by a narrator who has a completely objective perspective. The language written in this book is dark due to the heaviness of some of the concepts but is also very flowery and descriptive which makes this book stand out from others of the same genre.
I love this book and have loved it ever since my mom read it to me when I was little. Not only is this book beautiful written, but I have always loved the story of transformation when Mary and Collin both change from spoiled self centered children, to children who are kind and considerate and more aware of those around them. I feel that the message that everyone can change for the better is a powerful one and that this message is eloquently shown in this book.
While reading this book, I could think of many different fun activities to supplement with the reading. The first idea I thought of would be hard to do but so cool if it were to work out. I was thinking it would be amazing to create our own little secret garden in which we could plant flowers and tend to them and watch them grow. We could also add some science mini lessons into the mix by discussing the different parts of the plant and how it grows. Another idea I had was that after the book I could have my students watch the movie and take notes on the difference between the two stories. Once we are done watching, I would have my students pretend to be movie critics and rate the movie based on how closely it stuck to the original book. I would then have them present to the class their rating and why they gave it, which would be a great way to sum up the book in a fun way.
Synopsis: This story revolves around the life of a Mexican girl names Esperanza. Esperanza lives a charmed life on her family's beautiful ranch home with servants and anything Esperanza could ever want or need. But suddenly, when tragedy strikes, Esperanza is forced to flee from her wonderful home and everything she's ever known for a new life in California during the Great Depression whereto will live in a camp for Mexican farm workers. This of course is a far cry from her wonderful life back home in Mexico, and Esperanza does not feel prepared in the slightest for the physical labor she must do, financial situation she is in as well as the new discrimination she now faces. To make matters worse, Esperanza's mother becomes ill and she must now work to pay for her mother's care as well as both of their survival.
The author Pam Munoz Ryan does an excellent job of creating an element of suspense in her writing that kept me hanging on until the very end. Ryan's writing also contains so much emotion that sets her writing apart from the works of others.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book because of the message of the importance of rising to the occasion and the many teachable moments throughout the story. Not only did I enjoy the many lessons folded into Esperanza Rising, but I enjoyed the drama and suspense that made me feel very involved in the plot. I enjoy books that can pull at my emotions and make me feel truly invested in the main character and this book did just that.
While reading this book, some very obvious lesson ideas popped into my head, such as using this book to discuss life as immigrants and immigration, discussing labor rights and working conditions during the great depression, and also just in general using this book during a unit on the Great Depression. I found a lesson plan to go along with an Esperanza Rising unit that included many of these ideas and the website can be found here: http://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plan/esperanza-rising-learning-not-be-afraid-start-over#sect-objectives
I also stumbled upon a few fun activities to incorporate after reading this book including making posters with some of the Mexican Proverbs written in the book before chapter one and students draw pictures to make the posters pop. I could also have my students create acrostic poems with the name of a character and a word to describe them for each word. That way they could analyze the characters in this book in a fun way. These activities were found on a website that can be found here: http://www.bookrags.com/lessonplan/esperanza-rising/funactivities.html#gsc.tab=0
I also found a well done book trailer that ban be found here:
If you would like to read more information about the author, you can visit her website by clicking on the link here: http://www.pammunozryan.com
Synopsis: Alice is sitting outdoors when she spies a white rabbit. She follows the rabbit down the hole. She falls for a long time, and finds herself in a long hallway full of doors. There is also a key on the table, which unlocks a tiny door; through this door, she spies a beautiful garden, but the door is too small. Soon, she finds a drink with a note that asks her to drink it. There is later a cake with a note that tells her to eat; Alice uses both, but she cannot seem to get to the right size to enter the door. While she is tiny, she slips and falls into a pool of water. She realizes that this little sea is made of tears she cried while a giant. She swims to shore with a number of animals, most notably a sensitive mouse, but manages to offend everyone by talking about her cat's ability to catch birds and mice. Left alone, she goes on through the wood and runs into the White Rabbit. He mistakes her for his maid and sends her to fetch some things from his house. While in the White Rabbit's home, she drinks another potion and becomes too huge to get out through the door. She eventually finds a little cake which, when eaten, makes her small again. In the wood again, she comes across a caterpillarsitting on a mushroom. He gives her advice, as well as a valuable tool: the two sides of the mushroom, which can make Alice grow larger and smaller. The first time she uses them, she stretches her body out tremendously. While stretched out, she pokes her head into the branches of a tree and meets a Pigeon. The pigeonis convinced that Alice is a serpent and tells her to be off.Alice gets herself down to normal proportions and continues on through the woods. In a clearing she comes across a little house. It is the house of the Duchess; the Duchess and the cook are battling fiercely, and they seem unconcerned about the safety of the baby that the Duchess is nursing. Alice takes the baby with her, but the child turns into a pig and trots off into the woods. Alice next meets the Cheshire cat. The Cheshire cat helps her to find her way through the woods, but he warns her that everyone she meets will be mad. Alice goes to the March Hare's house, where she is treated to a Mad Tea Party. Ever since Time stopped working for the Hatter, it has always been six o'clock; it is therefore always teatime. Alice leaves them and finds a tree with a door in it: when she looks through the door, she spies the door-lined hallway from the beginning of her adventures. This time, she is prepared, and she manages to get to the lovely garden that she saw earlier. She walks on through, and finds herself in the garden of the Queen of Hearts. There, three gardeners are painting the roses red. If the Queen finds out that they planted white roses, she'll have them beheaded. The Queen herself soon arrives and orders their execution; Alice hides them in a large flowerpot. The Queen invites Alice to play croquet where the balls and mallets are animals. The game is interrupted by the appearance of the Cheshire cat, whom the King of Hearts immediately dislikes. The Queen takes Alice to the Gryphon, who in turn takes Alice to the Mock Turtle. The Mock Turtles sings a sad song about turtle soup, and soon afterward the Gryphon drags Alice off to trial of the Knave of Hearts. The Knave of Hearts has been accused of stealing the tarts of the Queen of Hearts, but the evidence against him is very bad. Alice is appalled by the ridiculous proceedings. She refuses to be intimidated by the bad logic of the court and the bluster of the King and Queen of Hearts. Suddenly, the cards all rise up and attack her, at which point she wakes up. Her adventures in Wonderland have all been a fantastic dream.
This story is told with the work of the narrator with excellent imagery throughout that makes the reader feel as though they are actually in wonderland too. The illustrations on the cover by give a dream like feeling that greatly complements the dream like theme of the story.
I really enjoyed this book because it is a story that truly has stood the test of time and will always be a classic. I really enjoy the detailed description of every place and eery event that happens to Alice in Wonderland because it really helps the reader to feel involved in the book and while reading I felt like I was there with Alice on each step of her journey.
While reading I thought of a number of ways to incorporate this book into lesson plans. The first way I thought of would be to use this book to do a sequencing activity. One way to do this would be to have different events written on strips of paper and then ask students to form a line in order of how the events happened and then read off their strips in order to see if they are all in the correct place. Another way would be to have the class sit in a circle and retell the story with each student taking turns being the narrator. For more activities on sequencing, you can click here: http://www.internet4classrooms.com/skill_builders/sequencing_language_arts_third_3rd_grade.htm
Another idea I had was to have a class Mad Hatter Tea Party as a fun activity when when we celebrate finishing the book. I would bring in tea and cookies and we would reenact the tea party which I think would be fun for the students.
Publishing: Puffin Books, Reprint Edition. August 3rd, 2004.
Synopsis: In the story of Adelita, there lived a merchant names Francisco and he was married to a lovely woman named Adela. Adela announced one day that she was going to have a baby and Francisco was so happy. Sadly, Adela died shortly after the baby was born and this caused much grief on Francisco and a family friend Esperanza. Adela's daughter Adelita grew up to be a beautiful woman and Francisco loved her so. One day, Francisco announced that he was getting married to a woman named Señora Micaela. This seemed to be good news, until Francisco suddenly died and Adelita was left with Doña Micaela and her daughters Valentina and Dulce who were all very cruel to her. One day, Doña Micaela received an invitation from Señor and Señora Gordillo to attend a party for the purpose of finding their son Javier a wife. Adelita was not allowed to go to the party and had to stay home. Suddenly, the family friend Esperanza takes on the role of the fairy godmother. With her help, Adelita had something beautiful to wear and was disguised in her mother's beautiful shawl. Adelita arrives at the party and Javier falls madly in love with her. At midnight, Adelita vanishes into the night with only the memory for Javier of the beautiful shawl. The next day, Javier spies the beautiful shawl in Adelita's window and the two live happily ever after.
This books is unique and special in that although the book is mostly written in english, there are a few words throughout the story written in Spanish including character names. The illustrations in the story are very distinct of Tomie dePaola with many colors and geometric shapes found everywhere that make the book distinct.
I think this book is a wonderful retelling of the classic Cinderella with a twist to include Mexican heritage. I thoroughly enjoy stories that take a twist on a classic and this book would be a great one to use in the classroom when you want to include some multicultural literature.
While reading this book the most obvious activity I thought of to do with my students would be to use a compare and contrast Venn Diagram with my students to compare the traditional Cinderella with Adelita. I feel that this would be a good activity because it would not only help to improve children's comprehension and reasoning skills, but it would also help them to recall details of the story. I would also teach a mini lesson on the different Spanish words used in the story and have my students create Spanish word flash cards with the word from the story printed on one side and the english translation and a picture of the word on the other. That way the students can practice their new vocabulary that they learned from the book.
Online I found a video of an actual reading of Adelita that students could access to hear the story again at home. The YouTube link can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn0oELfvIYs
I would also like to do a mini lesson on the creative process of Tomie de Paola's unique illustrations. Luckily on his website, he goes into detail on his creative process from which I would have my students create works of art in the same process as a fun activity. There is a link to Tomie dipole's website here: http://www.tomie.com
Synopsis: The tale of The Ugly Duckling begins when a mother duck gives birth to baby ducklings. One of these ducklings is decided to be a homely little creature who gets made fun of by all the other little ducklings for his appearance. The duckling wanders off sad and lonely and decides to live with an old woman, however he is taunted by her cat and hen for his ugly appearance so he leaves. The ugly duckling sees a beautiful flock of flying swans but is unable to join them because he cannot yet fly. Winter soon arrives and a nice farmer takes the freezing bird in, however the farmer's noisy children scare him off so again the ugly duckling is on his own. Finally spring arrives again and the ugly duckling again sees the flock of swans. The duckling flings himself at them because he no longer wants to live life as an ugly ducking but is surprised when the swans take him as one of their own. The duckling looks down and sees his reflection in the water, realizing that he is no longer an ugly duckling, but a beautiful swan.
The illustrations in this book, by Robert Ingpen are very unique in that in each picture there are what appears to be either visible brush strokes or what looks like paper mache. This form of illustration makes this book unique and the feathery appearance ties in nicely, since the book is about a duckling.
I love this book and its theme of transformation. I enjoy how although the little duckling is harassed over and over again by his fellow ducklings and then the hen and the cat, he eventually triumphs in the end proving to everyone that he is a beautiful swan. In my opinion this book gives the message of never giving up and to never stop believing, and I think this book is a classic that should be cherished.
I could definitely see myself using this in the classroom with younger kids as a comfortable segway into discussing bullying and how saying mean words towards someone else is hurtful .I think I would start by reading the story and then asking some thought provoking questions such as how would you feel if you were the duckling being told that he was ugly? I then would ask another question like would you have stood up for the ugly duckling if you had been a character in the story? I then would have asked my students to brainstorm ideas about what they should do if they see a situation occurring in which someone is being bullied. I would then write the list on the board, decide which ones are important, and then make a classroom agreement. I would take a large poster board that would say "If I ever see someone being a bully, I promise to..." and then include the ideas that we came up with as a class. I would then have my students sign it and then it would be posted somewhere in the front of the classroom.
I found an animated disney version of The Ugly Duckling on YouTube that may be a fun extension to reading the book. The link to the video can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qafXdmFsTbE
I found a website that has potential lesson plans that would go along with the story as well as fun activities including a jigsaw puzzle and an Ugly Duckling coloring page. The website can be found here: http://www.first-school.ws/activities/fairytales/ugly-duckling.htm
To learn more about Hans Christian Andersen's other works, click on this link: http://hca.gilead.org.il
Synopsis: The Real Mother Goose is a collection of children's nursery rhymes that has been passed down from generation to generation. The collection contains over 100 different nursery rhymes including popular favorites like Humpty Dumpty, Patty Cake, and One, Two, Buckle my Shoe.
This book is unique in that it is a collection of many different traditional nursery rhymes for children. The illustrations have a dated appearance adding to the traditional passed down feel of the collection book.
I really enjoyed this book because it contains many different nursery rhymes that I was read when I was little. It is so nice and convenient to be able to have so many wonderful nursery rhymes in one handy book. I also like this book because it is so easy to pick up and just read a few of your favorites which are easily located. Books such as this one make it easy to carry on the tradition of nursery rhymes which I feel are meant to be cherished by generations to come.
When going through the nursery rhymes in this book, I could definitely see myself reading a few of these at a time to a kindergarten class. They would be perfect to read to a child right before or after lunch or just for a quick break during the day. In flipping through the rhymes, I realized that I could also do a lesson on word families with this book. All I would have to do is present one of the nursery rhymes to my students, have them say what word family is part of the rhyme and tell them if they are correct. I could then follow up this learning activity by having my students create their own nursery rhyme using two words from the same word family. I would then have them illustrate their nursery rhyme and then I would bind all of them together to create a classroom nursery rhyme book.
I also found this excellent YouTube video in which traditional nursery rhymes are put to music and acted out. I feel that this would be a fun way to introduce the concept of nursery rhymes to young children. The video can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_OO11QYrPg
Publishing: HarperCollins, Reprint Edition. April 19th, 2011.
Synopsis: The story of Ella Enchanted begins when at birth, the main character Ella is given the gift of obedience by her fairy godmother Lucinda. Lucinda means well but doesn't realize how terrible this gift could be for Ella. Ella's mother realizes this and tells Ella to never tell anyone about the spell. Tragically, Ella's mother dies and at her funeral Ella meets Dame Olga and her horrid daughters Hattie and Olive. Ella is sent to finishing school with Hattie and Olive and Hattie finds out about the spell cast on Olive. Ella's father runs out of money and is forced to marry Dame Olga for survival and Hattie and Olive become Ella's step sisters. Dame Olga is furious when she finds out that Ella's father has no money and forces Ella to be her servant. Ella is asked to marry Prince Charming who she loves but she says no for fear of being used as a weapon against him. Prince Charming hold a ball looking for a wife which Ella and her stepsisters attend. Ella's stepsisters rip off her mask and Ella runs losing a glass slipper on the way. Prince Charming comes to Ella's house, puts the slipper on Ella's foot and demands she marry him. Ella disobeys, breaking the spell and making her free to explain everything, marry Prince Charming, and live happily ever after.
The author writes the story from the perspective of a narrator, in a creative and clever style that demands the reader to be constantly engaged for fear of missing something. This clever way of keeping the reader on their toes makes the writing style of author Gail Carson Levine unique.
I love this book because it takes the theme of the power of love and weaves it into a modern twist of Cinderella. I love the clever writing style of the author and I feel that this book is also great because it is relatable to young girls. Not of course due to the spells and prince charming, but of sometimes feeling like you must always do as your told as children often get that from their parents. I think this is an excellent book that is perfect for anyone who loves books about magic, make believe and prince charming.
In thinking of fun ways to incorporate Ella Enchanted into the classroom, I stumbled upon a list of three awesome activities that could go along with reading the book. The first activity was one that had to do with writing in which the student takes a common fairytale and adds their own twist to it making it their own. I could have students submit them to me for editing and multiple drafts before creating their own fairytale book which I could laminate and put on display either in my classroom or in the hallway. Another fun activity that I found was having the students pretend to be Ella Enchanted for an hour, therefore having to do anything someone says for you to do. I love this idea in general, however I would do it different by cutting the time down to ten minutes in which all of the students would participate as Ella and only I would give demands so that i could control what demands students have to do, avoiding a lot of problems. This way the students can put themselves in the main character Ella's shoes and have to experience what she went through in the book. A full description of these activities and one more can be found in the link here: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/ella-enchanted-extension-activities
Synopsis: The book Tuck Everlasting is a story that revolves around the Tuck family who stumbles upon a magical spring in the a wood that has the power to give eternal life to whoever drinks from it. Unknowingly, the Tucks drink from the spring and don't realize until later on when they don't age and nothing can harm them that they are now immortal. Once realizing this, the family travels throughout the countryside, never staying in one place for too long for fear of being found out. The family continues this way until a ten year old girl in search of freedom named Winnie Foster comes along and discovers their secret. Soon Winnie falls in love with the family and will do anything to protect them from harm. This becomes important when a a man begins to try to find the spring to market the water for his own gain.
Natalie Babbitt uses tons of figurative language and a generally descriptive writing style that makes it unique from other books. She also tells the story using a narrator who is a completely objective outsider to the story which makes the story feel real even though it is clearly fantasy.
I remember reading this book in elementary school and then watching the movie and having my first experience of being disappointed by a movie because it didn't even hold a candle to the book. This book is so well written with great descriptive writing that makes you feel almost as if you are there with the characters in the story. I also love the message of sticking to your morals and the evil that is greed that play a constant theme in this book.
While reading this book I felt it would be a great idea to teach the concept of theme in books. The theme is so pronounced in this story that I feel having a lesson on theme using this story would be a great introduction. I would teach the concept of of theme and what the theme of a story is and then I would have my students brainstorm in groups as to what they think the major themes of Tuck Everlasting are. I would then write down their ideas on the board and then create a classroom poster listing all of the major themes of the book. I would also use this story to get the students to do some creative writing by prompting them by asking them what they would do if they came across a spring that was rumored to give them everlasting life. Would you drink from it or not? Why did you choose whichever one? This creative writing prompt would be great way to have the students think critically about a major part of the novel and put themselves into the authors shoes.
In going along with my theme lesson plan for Tuck Everlasting, I found a great teacher blog in which the blogger discusses strategy for teaching theme as well as a worksheet to help students reign in their ideas about the concept. The blog and the worksheet can be found here: http://teachingwithblondeambition.blogspot.com/2014/09/theme-and-main-idea.html
Publishing: Puffin Books, Reprint Edition. August 16, 2007.
Synopsis: The story of James and the Giant Peach begins when James' parents are tragically eaten by a rhinoceros and he is forced to live with with his terribly mean aunt Spiker and aunt Sponge. Life there is very horrible and lonely for James until one day he is given magic crystals which create a gigantic peach. James climbs inside the peach to discover a group of oversized bugs which become his friends and they sail on the sea in their peach on a whirlwind adventure. Each time the group finds themselves in trouble on their journey, James always seems to save the day. In the end, the new friends make a dramatic landing in New York City where James realizes the power of friendship and how lucky he is to have had them while on his adventure in the giant peach.
The author wrote this story as an epic with many different trials and tribulations while on a journey of a lifetime. The author also uses a unique style in his writing where he occasionally adds in a song written in verse like a poem said by a character that adds a nice change of pace and a unique style to his writing. The illustrations in the book are drawn in a kid like manner that adds to the fun feel of the book.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it had me excited to read on the whole way through. In this book especially I fell in love with the characters and the special bond that they had in the story. Their unique and well developed personalities all made the story that much more exciting to read. I loved how the author found a way to tell the message of the importance of friendship as an unbreakable bond through the hilarious trials of a bunch of bugs and a boy in a giant peach. James and the Giant Peach is so unique and well written that it has definitely earned a place among my favorite books.
Last semester in one of my education classes I wrote a unit intended for 2nd grade about this story so I have already thought in depth about how to use this book in the classroom. However, I have thought of a number of ways in which I could add to my unit in mini lessons. While reading the book again, I realized just how much figurative language there is throughout the whole story and I thought it would be a great idea to include a mini lesson on similes. I would teach the concept of a simile and discuss a few examples of how similes were used in the book, I would then have students make groups and go on a simile scavenger hunt in which they would scour the book for atlas five different examples of similes. I would then have them pick one, write it down, and then draw a picture of it which then I would hang around our classroom during the book unit. I would also add to my unit a cause and effect mini lesson because there are various instances throughout the book where something happens and then James does something because of it. This would be a great way to test comprehension and work on our understanding of cause and effect. I found a great cause and effect worksheet from teacherpayteachers.com that can be located here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Graphic-Organizer-for-Cause-and-Effect-421589
Roald Dahl, the author has a very well done website that I have discussed in a different blog post and his website can be located here: https://www.roalddahl.com
Synopsis:
This book is a chapter book intended for middle
school students and beyond. The main character in this story Odilia and her
four sisters discover a dead body in a swimming, which marks the beginning of a
long journey to return this body back to it’s family in Mexico. This Mexican
American retelling of The Odyssey seems
to be rivaled by the girl’s return trip back to Texas. The girls embark on
their journey of trial and tribulation to their long lost grandmother’s house in search of information on their missing father with the help of ghost La Llorona. Along the way the sisters must outsmart a
witch, a warlock, half-human owls, and bloodthirsty chupacabras. However, the
real challenge that faces the girls is returning to the real world where the
help of the supernatural doesn’t exist.
This book is interesting and unique in that it is a story modeled after a classic but told in modern times. In addition. this story includes some references from both mythology and Spanish literature and also contains words from both English and Spanish language.
I found this book to be very interesting. Not
only is it very well written, but also it retells an old classic while
inserting a Mexican American perspective, which I found to be truly special. I thought this story flowed seamlessly and I even found myself to be enjoying it more than The Odyssey from which it is based off of. Any book that can successfully retell a classic in a modern setting with a multicultural twist is an excellent choice and Summer of the Mariposas is one of those books.
While reading, I thought it would be awesome to read The Odyssey and then Summer of the Mariposas with a 5th grade class and then compare and contrast the two versions of the story. Through an activity like that, I could test comprehension as well as expose my students to both a classic work of literature as well as a multicultural version.
I was also thinking that it would be really fun and beneficial for my class to act out some of the pages of Summer of the Mariposas in a reader's theatre day. I would allow students to practice lines together create minimal costumes and perform for their classmates. This way I could test their comprehension through how well they portray important scenes from the novel.
While reading the whole original Odyssey would be too much for my students, as I read it in high school, I found a site that focuses on history for kids that has an excellent retelling that is easy for children to understand that can be found here: http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/literature/odyssey.htm#!
An excellent book trailer for Summer of the Mariposas can be found here:
