THE BOOK WORM

01

Title and author: What If You Had Animal Hair? By Sandra Markle and Howard McWilliam

Grade level recommended: 1st grade  

Narrative or Expository: Expository

Summary:

            This book goes through a variety of animals and the different type of hair that is one their bodies and how                they utilize it.

3 ways to use the book:

1. Students could do a compare and contrast on all types of different animal hairs and what the purpose of their hair is.

2. Students could do a write up on “If you could have animal hair, what kind would you like to have and why?” For this activity students, in addition to their writing, can also draw themselves with the type of hair the choose, just to make it silly and more enjoyable.

3. There are many series of this book which include “What if you had animal teeth?” instead of reading the other books first ask the students to predict, “if you have animal hair now what if you also had animal teeth?” and then read the other books.

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02

Title and author: Stellaluna by Janell Cannon

Grade level recommended: 1st grade

Narrative or Expository: Expository and Narrative

Summary:

           This book is about a baby bat, Stellaluna, who is separated from her mother when an owl attacks them as                    they are out looking for food. The young bat ends up in a bird’s nest where she must adapt to her new                        family habits in order but when she becomes separated from her new family she finds her way back to her              mother bat. In the process of finding her way back home Stellaluna realizes that there are many similarities              among her bird family and bat family.

3 ways to use the book:

1. This book could be used to do a compare and contrast between the bird families that adopts Stellaluna to her bat family. The students can look at the pictures in the book to notice the physical similarities and differences but they can also read the clues that the story gives about the similarities and differences. I would create a Venn diagram where as a group we call fill out together.

2. We could, as a class, create a KWL to learn more about bats. The book offers some information on bats, but this would be a good way to see what else the students are curious about. As a teacher I would have other types of book, more informative books, which the students can look at to find the answer to their wonderings.  

3. Stellaluna may not be a very long and elaborate story but the amount of powerful vocabulary is extensive. Those words such as dodging or grasping would be interesting words to pull out and work on their definitions. This book also has figurative language which would be great to pull out and have a conversation with the students on.

 

03

Title and author: Actual Size by Steve Jenkins

Grade level recommended: 1st grade

Narrative or Expository: Expository

Summary:

         This book is a rather large book that has items that are of actual size such as the actual hand of a Gorilla and             other smaller or larger items to look at in actual size. The book incorporates pullouts to be able to make some           of the objects as large as they are. This book has probing questions that are followed with answers and                       explanations along with the pictures making it fun for students to explore.   

3 ways to use the book:

1. Students can use this book as a predictive book. The teacher before reading the book with the students can take some of the objects being compared in the book and ask the students “which do you think is larger, which is smaller, or are they the same?” Students can write down their predictions and then after the book is read, look over their answers and compare their predictions to the actual.  

2. After reading the book students can pick one item in the book and imagine if they had “hands as large as the gorilla, or wings as colorful as the butterfly… I would or it would feel….” Then write about this in their writing journal.

3. I would have the students pick one of the items in the book that they are interested in knowing more about and do a short research paper to then present to the class. (teacher to provide additional resources to help students do the project)

 

04

Title and author: The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires

Grade level recommended: 1st grade

Narrative or Expository: Narrative

Summary:

       This is the story of a little girl and her dog, which is her best friend. The little girl had the idea to make the                  most magnificent thing ever. In her head she knows everything thing about this invention she is about to                  make, how it looks, how it should be made and how it will work. She makes things all the time, so she believes          this will be just as easy just much more magnificent. Then realizes that this magnificent thing she is trying to            make is actually not as easy as she thought it would be and becomes very frustrated. Seeing that she is so                  frustrated her best friend encourages her to take a walk. At the start of her walk she is still very frustrated but          her spirit is lifted as her walk continues and she returns to her invention only to realize that it is the most                  magnificent thing ever! It may not have worked for her initial intention but it worked in many other ways                and that made her happy to see.

3 ways to use the book:

1. I would have the students reflect and then write about a time where they had an idea in their head and when they attempted the idea it didn't appear as they had imagined it. Write about what that felt like and did you give up or kept going and what happened.

2. This book could be used to teach a lesson on fixed vs. growth mindset. I would explain to the students what both of those meant and throughout the story we would stop and have a conversation on if we think the girl had a fixed or growth mindset during that part of the story and what evidence we have of that.

3. This book is also a great book to simply have students retell what happened at the beginning of the book, middle and at the end. The book does a good job of breaking the 3 parts up which I think would make it relatively easy for students to pull them out of the story.

 

05

Title and author: We’re All Wonders by R.J. Palacio

Grade level recommended: 1st grade

Narrative or Expository: Narrative

Summary:

       This book is a wonderful extension from “Wonder” but it is created for the younger reader. This book tells the         story of August, Auggie, from wonder but it a very simple form that is easy to read and understand. Auggie               starts by comparing self to other children by listing things that he also enjoys doing and then mentions the                 difference between him and other is that he looks different. He continues to narrate his story and the reader             sees how even though Auggie may look different he is still very much like any other child. It is a wonderful               inspiring book that demonstrates that we should all pick kindness because we are similar in more ways than            we think.

3 ways to use the book in the classroom: 

1. One activity that could be done after reading this book would go back to one of the first pages where Auggie mentions that he looks different than the rest of his peers. I would ask the students would you say the rest of the students in the class look the same or is everyone a little different? And then I would have them do a self-portrait for us to create our own class of self-portraits just as the example in the book. After creating their self-portraits and we put them up, I would have the students look at them and write about what differences and similarities they notices in the self-portrait of their classroom.

2. A lesson on being unique could also be derived by using this book. We would have a discussion on what it means to be unique. After that conversation I would have the students go back to their desk to write about how they are unique. Is it the activities the do? Certain family traits?  Is it a talent they have?

3. I think this book would be appropriate to be able to do an uplifting activity where students would wear a piece of paper on their backs and their peers would go around and write one word, a positive word, on the piece of paper that they believe makes that individual person unique. I would have to explain to students that it is possible to have the same word on many peers’ pieces of paper but it is also likely to have words that no everyone would have. Before student start the activity we would have a conversation on what are positive and appropriate words. The examples would be written on the board for those who may need extra assistance.

 

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