Whales and Dolphins by Anton Ericson

 

This Eyes on Nature book provides the reader with a look into the world of whales and dolphins.  Each page provides facts on these wonderful mammals, such as: “The majority of whales, including all dolphins and porpoises, have teeth.  But they don’t chew.  They swallow their food whole.” This book also has great pictures throughout the whole book.

You could use this book in a unit on animals- especially a unit on mammals.  Many students have misconceptions on whales and dolphins and believe that because they live in water, they are fish.  You could confront these misconceptions and have these students see how whales and dolphins are mammals, and not fish. 

 

Woolly Mammoth by Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom

 

 The Woolly Mammoth is a great nonfiction picture book that helps the reader find out what Woolly Mammoths really are.  In this book, there are facts on the left and right sides of the page, while there is an actual story going on in the book.  The facts on the sides of the page explain what is being told in the story in the center of the page.  

You could use this book in the classroom when discussing the Animal Life unit.  Have your students research an animal and write a story about it.  Then, have them put facts on the side of the pages to explain certain things they have talked about in their story.  

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett

 

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs is a great fantasy book for students.  The town of Chewandswallow was just like a regular town- except it didn't rain rain and it didn't snow snow.  The weather provided the townspeople of Chewandswallow their meals- breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Whatever the weather served, that is what they ate.  Everyone loved this, until the portions started getting bigger and so did the food.  Something had to be done! 

I would want to read this book to my students while doing a weather unit.  We could talk about how this book IS a fantasy and how this could never really happen in our lives.  We would talk about what does happen with the weather.  I created this PowerPoint presentation based on the book, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.  I created a breakfast and a lunch page.  I would show this PowerPoint presentation to my students and then have them create a page for dinner. 

The Boxcar Children- Graphic Novels created by Gertrude Chandler Warner

 

This is the first graphic novel that highlights on The Boxcar Children series.  Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden are brothers and sisters.  They are also orphans.  Their parents died and they had a grandfather that they had never met before- that they didn't think would like them.  One night, there was a storm and the children found a red boxcar that they would make their home. 

A really neat activity to do with your students would be to read The Boxcar children series and the graphic novel series.  Have your student compare/contrast the different texts.  Another activity would be to have your students read a book and use this website to create their own comic strip (graphic novel). 

The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein

 

The Man Who Walked Between the Towers is a nonfiction book about a man who walked between the Twin Towers.  It is about a man named Philippe Petit who was a tightrope walker.  One day, after much practice, Petit walked between the Twin Towers on a tight rope.  

This book could be used in the classroom at any time, but I feel like it would be especially useful around September 11.  Most of your students will know about the Twin Towers and what they used to be- and this book could really instill what the Twin Towers were.  It could create a lot of discussion about 9-11 and introduce some of the younger students (2nd grade) to nonfiction texts. 

Rules by Cynthia Lord

 

Catherine is twelve years old and just wants a normal life.  Her brother, David, is autistic, so having a normal life is pretty much impossible.  Catherine tries to teach David rules, such as: "Not everything worth keeping has to be useful," and "If you don't have the words you need, borrow someone else's." One day during the summer, Catherine meets Jason- a boy who goes to the same clinic as David, who teaches her so much about herself and what it means to be normal. 

After reading this book, I would want my students to look back and discuss the character development throughout the book.  I would want them to ask themselves, "How did Catherine change as a person?" and "What influenced this change?" Students could answer these questions on a Glog.  Here is the one I created and I would want my students to do.   I would also use this book with students who have siblings that are disabled.  I feel like it would really shed a light into their lives and hopefully help them deal with the normalcy of life. 

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

Charlotte's Web is a fantasy novel that tells the story of Fern and her pig, Wilbur's, life.  Wilbur teams up with Charlotte, a spider that tells Wilbur that his life will end as bacon on someone's plate and Templeton, a rat, who only focuses on himself, to escape Wilbur's death.  

A really neat thing to do in the classroom would be to have students pick out what could and could not happen in this book.  You could read this book at the beginning of a Fantasy Novel unit.  Have your students really examine this book and see what fantasy means.