Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do you See?

I had to put at least one Eric Carl  (and Bill Martin!) book in here, and I chose Brown Bear Brown Bear, What do you See? because I have so frequently used it in the last few years where I have had the opportunity to work closely with students who  have special needs. The story is easy, and it is about a brown bear who looks to another animal asks what they see. The book goes on in this pattern for about 10 or different animals, and I like this book because you can teach sequencing, colors, animals, etc. and kids love all of the bright colors and the simplicity of the text that ends up becoming very memorable.

Since this book can be used for early pre-school to about Kindergarten leveled students, this might be a chance to create a fun group activity for the little ones. First they could complete a puzzle that goes along with the story as a pre-activity, and then after reading the story for practice, they could each draw a picture of the different animals, reciting the lines of each page until they get to the end with the children and the teacher. It may even be fun to have them make a little costume out of construction paper and have them each stand up in sequential order when it is their turn in the story to recite their lines.

the Dandelion Seed

This book actually received a Benjamin Franklin Award by the Publisher's Marketing Association. Written by Joseph Anthony, and Cris Arbo, this story tells a scientific take of a dandelion seed and it;s journey through seasons. The theme of this story could also relate to life and how people grow and change, but not to worry because in the end things have a way of working out ( or at least, we hope so). I liked how the story expressed the feelings of the dandelion seed because it makes the text more flexible to the life story, while still explaining what happens when a seed is planted by nature, and the changes it will endure in it's lifetime. There were also themes of helping, giving and taking all in a communal sense. It would be a wonderful story to introduce the concept of photosynthesis, and how life cycles reoccur.

This book could be fit for 1st through 3rd grade learners, in a Science pre- text or in a comprehension lesson. Before I would ask the students what they know about life cycles on earth, and have them draw a picture to display their knowledge. After writing the book, they could come up with another life cycle of either a plant or an animal on earth, and we could culminate the activity by making a book of life cycles to develop a respect for all living things in this world.

Oh, the Things you can Do that are Good for You

Randomhouse Publishers in unison Seussville.com created a series of Dr. Seuss-themed stories called the "The Cat in the Hat's Learning Library". Being  a Wegman's veteran, I was in the aisle one day and picked up two books from the series as the writing approach in both subject areas is usually dryer and boring, and Tish Rabe's rhyming rendition was much more appealing, and memorable as rhyming schemes seem to stick in our heads better. Oh the Things you can Do that are Good for You! covers topics of health ranging from healthy foods, to exercise, to hygiene and taking care of your body. It can sometime be difficult to incorporate themes of health into elementary lessons as everyone has become increasingly more focused on curriculum goals and we all know how limited our time is in school. This is definitely a good classroom library candidate, and again I think it could be a useful teaching tool.

As a pre-activity, we could have students evaluate their day from when they wake up to when they go to bed. They could write up a schedule, working with components of time and organizing. Later they after reading how healthy Seussville characters lead their lives, they could go through their schedules and use a high lighter to find what they do in a day that is healthy (i.e. brushing teeth before bed, eating a piece of fruit at lunch). As a post activity, they could re-write their schedules, using the already healthy things that they do, and making changes to the not-so healthy behaviors and having a guide to take home and follow for a healthier living style.

One Tiny Turtle

One Tiny Turtle describes the life cycle of a loggerhead turtle and the complexities she endures in her lifetime, starting from hatching at the sandy shore to obstacles of the ocean, and then carrying a motherly role. This story definitely focuses on non-fiction material, though in the form of a story, and with side information that is more factual. On just about each page, the author wrote the factual information about the loggerhead turtles as though it were weaved into the waves, and it was a neat way to catch the reader's eye and make them want to look at the extra text. Nicola Davies wanted to write this story because she is passionate about animals ( especially sea turtles) and she wanted to portray how we are prohibiting their natural lifestyle when turtle eggs are hunted for food, pollution destroys the water they swim in and the beaches they lay eggs in, and of course the people who build on the beaches, which takes away from the natural environment of the sea turtles. Jane Chapman, who illustrated a beloved story in the classroom I work in (One Duck Stuck), also loves turtles and was waiting for her chance to illustrate a book involving Sea turtles, and you sure can tell--the art work is gorgeous.

I would use this book to teach a sequencing activity, or teach a lesson about the natural predators of sea turtles and human predators for that matter. As a pre-activity, I would allow the students to have a discussion with what they already know about sea turtles. Later as a post-activity, I would have them sequence the story, and reflect on anything that they didn't know that they now have learned from  reading the story. I would say the reading level is at a First grade place, but it is a great book to use when teaching about different animals and reptiles.

What Will the Weather Be?

So this passed weekend I went to visit my sister in Washington D.C., and on our rainy Saturday we went the the Newseum, or the Museum of News. So cool! Basically it was all about the history of news, journalism and photography and how the world of news works around the world. So on the way downstairs we stop at this little gift shop, and you'd think I would pick up a book about news writing or journalism, or even about Washington and the government, right? As always I get distracted, and I find this book Children's book called What Will the Weather Be, because alongside my other dorky passions for geography and dogs, I love learning about weather. I also have this little quirk of needing to know what the weather will be like every day and every week!

Anyways, in my little distraction I am reading and reading, and thinking wow this book is so gently informative with cute little cartoon like pictures but so graspable in concepts for kids...I had to buy it. Luckily it was on sale, but more recently I am in this habit of needing to buy a children's book from any place that I travel to. Okay onto the book, sorry...
Page by page the book talks about different tools we use to help predict the weather, and each page sort of tells a story about the different tools that are used to measure aspects of weather. The story starts with snow in D.C. and how weather can impact our every day lives, and then it walks into different kinds of weather that we have throughout the year, while explaining which devices fit where in terms of measuring aspects of weather. I thought of Syracuse, New York towards the end of the story when they discuss the purpose of a meteorologist, and how sometimes even with all the right tools we can still get the weather forecast wrong. :)

Lynda DeWitt ( a Bethesda native!) wrote the book, and Carolyn Croll illustrated this little non-fiction powerhouse,  and it could be very useful for any student learning about Meteorology and weather. Some kids love crazy thunderstorms and other kids are hiding under the blanket in their basements ( I am cuddled with my dog in bed as I am typing this as we are both not a huge fan of thunderstorms!), but which ever they may be I think there is a safety in knowing about different aspects in weather and what precautions to take in bad weather. This book could be used in a classroom with a KWL chart as a pre-activity as there are a lot of sort of loaded terms that need to be pieced together. As a post activity, students could break off into groups and each focus on one or two terms, create a picture or a diagram to explain the term, and present it to a class as a review and a reflection. I really enjoyed this book and the pictures really emulate what the text can't always get across alone. On to more blogs!