Reading
5 Best Free Printable Books for Early Reading: www.websiteplanet.com/blog/learn-english-free-books/
"...printable books for English-speaking kids (aged 4-8), and for people who are leaning to read English as a second language."
100 Awfully Good Examples of Oxymorons: https://www.thoughtco.com/awfully-good-examples-of-oxymorons-1691814
A New Model for Teaching High-Frequency Words: https://www.readingrockets.org/article/new-model-teaching-high-frequency-words
"Integrating high-frequency words into phonics lessons allows students to make sense of spelling patterns for these words. To do this, high-frequency words need to be categorized according to whether they are spelled entirely regularly or not. This article describes how to "rethink" teaching of high-frequency words."
Aaron Shepard's Home Page: Author Online!: http://www.aaronshep.com/index.html
Stories, Scripts, and More
A Celebration of Women Writers: http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/writers.html
Author Site's
Dav Pilkey: http://www.pilkey.com/
Ezra Jack Keats: http://www.ezra-jack-keats.org/
EJK Award Book Discussion Guides: www.ezra-jack-keats.org/ejk-award-book-discussion-guides/
Ezra Jack Keats Award: Read Aloud Tips: www.dropbox.com/s/eytrbkr1rffpp2e/EJK%20Read%20Alouds%20June%2026%20240pm.pdf
Patricia Polacco.com: http://www.patriciapolacco.com/
Robert Munsch: http://robertmunsch.com/
Roald Dahl: http://www.roalddahl.com/
Tomie dePaola: http://www.tomie.com/
Bedtime Stories for Kids: naplab.com/guides/bedtime-stories-for-kids/
Better Book Reports: 25 More Ideas: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson289.shtml
Bingo Card
Use a bingo card system to read a book a quarter. They can select across, down, etc. and read the genres in that row (animal story, historical fiction, etc.) or, if they want a challenge, they can read the four corners (mystery, biography, etc.).
Bookmark
Each student creates a bookmark about their favorite book or a book they have read. On one side is a drawing or picture (clip art or original artwork) that relates to the book and the book's title. On the other side the student writes the book's title, author, and a short (2-3 sentence) summary/recommendation. These bookmarks are punched at the top, placed on a ring, and hung on the bulletin board.
Book Report Alternatives
Ad Campaign- Your job is to design an ad campaign to promote your book. Think of ideas for a cover, inside jacket, poster, window banner and display cartoon. Sketch your ideas or put them together to form a window display. Some of you may want to present your ideas in the form of a 60-second TV or radio commercial.
Adding- Add a chapter or incident to the story. You may include new characters, new incidents or new settings.
Advertising- You work in the advertising department of a publisher. Your job is to create an advertising display for the book. This display will be set up in bookstores across the country. For your display, consider using author photos, posters, dioramas, or cardboard display cases. Aging Character- Pretend you are the major character at age sixty, tell about your life as a young person and as an adult.
Alien Encounter- Pretend you have landed on another planet, and you are going to convince them the book you just read is a good one to read. How would you do it? Remember they cannot speak the English language.
Author- Write a letter to the author about certain aspects of the book you did not like. Site the book to back up what you say. Offer suggestions for improvement.
Author Comparison- Compare this book to another written by the same author.
Author Research- Find out about the author; present a brief biography of him and tell about his book. What else has he written?
Balloon- Blow up a balloon and decorate the sides of it so it tells about the book you read.
Biography Cubes- Students make cubes using a pattern. Each side of the cube has a picture of fact (or both) about the person. Inside the cube is a little clue about the person. For example, apple seeds for Johnny Appleseed. Oral reports are given, but the name of the person was not on the cube. Each cube was given a number and students had a quiz to see how many people they could identify based on the cube and or the clue.
Book Designer- You are a book designer, and the publisher wants to come out with a new edition of the book. Design a new cover or book jacket and illustrate the first page of each chapter.
Box Design- Design a box (it can be square or 3-D). Put something about the book on all sides of it.
Cartoon Strip Book Report: Students make "cartoon strips" for the chapter being read, or a panel for each chapter, highlighting the important parts. To do this, take a sheet of paper and fold into six blocks. It will look just like the Sunday funnies. The class can make a rubric together and to let them know what is expected so that they can add on to their comic strip as you read aloud or they read a book.
CD book project -Students design a CD case for their favorite at-home reading book. The liner notes held the usual, plot, characters, etc. The front can be whatever they want, the back has a list of possible song titles (either real or made up) that would go well with the book. Put them up with Velcro tape with the title, "Heard of a Good Book Lately?"
Character Construction- Use a 2-liter plastic bottle for the body (partially filled with sand or pebbles to stay upright), a plastic foam ball for the head and poster board for the feet and clothes. Explain why.
you choose this character to design. Use lines from the book to back up your character.
Character Conversation- Choose two characters from the story and write about a conversation they might have.
Characters Meet- create a scene in which the main characters from TWO novels meet.
Chinese Restaurant- You are out with the main characters from your book at a Chinese restaurant. On this particular night, the fortune cookies are amazingly appropriate. Describe each character and tell what his/her fortune cookie said and why it is fitting. Do not forget to include yourself! Clay Characters- make clay figures that go along with your book. Collage- Use old magazines as a source for pictures which represent some event of part of your book. Make a collage to show and explain your choices to the group.
Compare/Contrast- Compare and contrast yourself with the main character of the book.
Crossword Puzzle- Select 20 difficult words from the book and look up their synonyms in a dictionary or thesaurus. Using these synonyms as well as facts about the plot and characters, design a crossword puzzle.
Cubes- Students make cubes using a pattern. Each side of the cube has a picture of fact (or both) about the biographee. Inside the cube is a little clue about the person. For example, apple seeds for Johnny Appleseed. Oral reports are given, but the name of the person is not on the cube. Each cube was given a number and students has a quiz to see how many people they can identify based on the cube and or the clue.
Draw- Draw a mural depicting the major scenes from the book.
Descriptive Words- Find as many descriptive words as you can in one chapter that are used for people or a place. Be sure to specify which.
Desert Island- Imagine you are stranded on a deserted island with an important character from your book. Which one would you choose and why?
Detective Game- Make a detective game about the book you read. Give clues. You may use page numbers, etc.
Diary- Pretend you are the main character and write several diary pages.
describing an important event in the book.
Diorama- Make a diorama of an important happening in the book.
Ending- Make up a new ending for the book.
Epilogue- Write an epilogue to the story.
Fashion Show- The students decorate a paper bag in the form of a vest on the outside, on the inside they write a summary of the book, and they write a note card to read when someone else models their vest. They tell what the objects on the front represent and the their review of the book.
Felt Board Characters- Make a set of felt board characters and tell part of the book with them. Highlight- For each chapter, pick a highlight or point that you felt made that chapter exciting. Illustrate each highlight.
Historical Background- Present the historical background for this novel.
Hundred Year Test- Explain why you think this book will or will not be read a hundred years from now. Support your opinion by stating specific events from the story.
Greeting Card- Design an original greeting card(s) that your character could send to a friend/foe/relative or someone else in the book.
Illustrations- Draw your own set of illustrations for the book.
Interior Decorator- Design a new home for the main characters in your book.
Limerick- Write a limerick about your book.
Lost and Found- Make up a lost and found as for a person or object in your book.
Main Character- Describe the main character in 150 words.
Main Character Design- Use butcher paper and make a life-size picture of the main character of your book.
Map- Make an illustrated map showing a character's travels or the area encompassed by your book. Mobile- Design and build a mobile that conveys scenes, characters, or events from the book. Monologue- Prepare a monologue from the story. Memorize it and present it to the class.
Movie Script- Write a movie script for one of the scenes in your book. Act it out in front of the class with the help of other students.
Photos- Take photos which reflect your understanding of the novel.
Pictures- Bring in pictures, drawings, posters or objects that represent some aspect of the novel. Poem- Make up a poem about your book.
Pocket Book Report
The students chose items that are representative characters or props from the books they read. They chose five items and those items had to fit in some kind of pocket. Some of the pockets might be from old jeans, quilt pieces, saddle bag. As each piece is taken from the "pocket" the student explains the significance and the reason he/she included it in the pack. They make the props that they cannot find.
Problem- Describe the problem or conflict existing for the main character in the book. Tell how the conflict was or was not resolved.
Pulitzer Prize- Pretend you are one of the judges for the Pulitzer Prize for Literature, an annual award honoring excellence in writing. Decide whether you would nominate the book you have just read for such an award. Then write a letter to the author explaining why you have accepted or rejected his book to compete for such high honors.
Puppet- Create a puppet to represent your favorite character in the story.
Puzzle- Make a put-together puzzle. Make it in the shape of a main object or character of the book. When put together it has on it the name of the book and the author.
Questions- Write 10 question which could be used to test other students understanding of the story. Make sure to include a list of answers.
Questions for book reports:
If you were *a character's name* how might you have reacted to *situations*.
What made *character* react the way he did?
Explore the relationships in the book - what circumstances led to their development or demise?
Explore the language used in the novel - choose a paragraph and rewrite it using your own words, would your paragraph fit in with the rest of the novel? Why or why not?
Compare two books (the required one, plus one of their choice).
Compare the characters in each book, saying how they are similar and how they are different.
Compare the plot from each book, (similarities and differences again).
Require that specific page numbers be quoted with examples.
Ask them to compare the characters and plots from the required book with stories from TODAY'S newspaper.
Pretend you are a character in this book and write a letter to Dear Abby asking for advice on how to handle the situation that has emerged in the book.
Roll Story- Make a roll (like those you see on a cash register) and use words and pictures to tell about their book. It will be told as they unroll this.
Scrapbook- Make a scrapbook about the book.
Seed Mosaic- Make a seed mosaic to illustrate part of the book.
Setting- Research the geography of the setting of the novel.
Shoebox Picture Scene- Make a shoebox picture scene.
Song- Write a ballad or song about the characters and events in your story. Set the words to the music of a popular song and sing it in class.
Stamp- Design a stamp that could be the crest or symbol to represent either the book or the main character.
Television commercial- Make a television commercial about your book. Act out the commercial for the class.
Summation Board- In cooperative learning groups, have each group discuss the book and create a summation board. A summation board is artistically designed by the students and may include computer generated work, handwritten work, collage type designs, etc., but the board must reflect their summary of the book. It incorporates active learning and creative thinking.
TV Talk Show- Interview a character for a TV talk show, creating questions and answers consistent with the novel.
Timeline- Make a timeline of what happens during the book.
Title- Using the title of the book, write a phrase about the book for each letter.
Travel Poster- Make a travel poster inviting tourists to visit the setting of the book.
Turning Point- Pick out what you felt was the "turning point" in the book. Write about the incidents that led the reader to that point.
Wax museum with biographies - Students read the book, prepare a report on the person and then invite parents. They come in character and stay in character for the entire presentation, which is about 45 minutes. Parents and staff members then press a "button" on their hand (round sticker) and they start off ...I am...
Word Power- Make a list of new, unusual or interesting words or phrases found in your book.
Books set to music:
A You're Adorable by Martha Alexander
Baby Beluga by Raffi
The Cat Came Back by Bill Slavin
Chicken Soup with Rice by Maurice Sendak
Clifford We Love You by Norman Bridwell
Down By the Bay by Raffi
Down By the Station by Hillerbrand
Everything Grows by Raffi
Five Little Ducks by Raffi
Frog Went a Courtin' by John Langstaff
Give the Dog a Bone by Steven Kellogg
The Hokey Pokey by Laprise, Macak, and Baker
How Much is That Doggy by Trapan
I Know an Old Lady by Nadine Westcott
I'm a Little Teapot by Iza Tripani
I've Been Working on the Railroad by Nadine Westcott
The Itsy Bitsy Spider by Iza Tripani
The Lady With the Alligator Purse by Nadine Westcott
The Little Drummer Boy by Ezra Jack Keats
Little Rabbit Foo Foo by Michael Rosen, Michael
Mary Had a Little Lamb by Iza Tripani
Mary Wore Her Red Dress by Merle Peek
My Favorite Things by Renee Graef
Oh Where, Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone? by Iza Tripani
Oh, a Hunting We Will Go by John Langstaff
On Top of Spaghetti by Katherine Tillotson
One By One: Garth Pig's Rain Song by Mary Rayner
One Light, One Sun by Raffi
Over in the Meadow by Paul Galdone
Over the River and through the Wood by Lydia Child
Peanut Butter and Jelly by Nadine Westcott
Pizza Pokey by Jeffrey Stoodt
Shake My Sillies Out by Raffi
Shoo Fly by Trapan
Skip to My Lou by Nadine Westcott
Take Me Out to the Ballgame by Jack Norworth
The Thirteen Days of Halloween by Carol Greene
The Twelve Days of Christmas: A Song Rebus Emily Bolam, illustrator
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Slimms Taback
Tingalayo by Raffi
Today is Monday by Eric Carle
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star by Iza Tripani
Wheels on the Bus by Raffi
What a Wonderful World by Bob Thiele
This Land is Your Land by Woody Guthrie
Lift Every Voice and Sing by James Weldon Johnson
BrainyQuote: http://www.brainyquote.com/
Character Read 'n Roll: www.lauracandler.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/CharacterReadRoll.pdf
Children's Book Council: http://www.cbcbooks.org/
Chocolate books
Chocolate by Hershey: a story about Milton S. Hershey by Betty Burford
Chocolate: Riches from the Rain Forest by Robert Burleigh
The Hershey's Kisses Addition Book by Jerry Pallotta
The Hershey's Kisses Subtraction Book by Jerry Pallotta
The Hershey's Milk Chocolate Multiplication Book by Jerry Pallotta
Beans to Chocolate by Inez Snyder
Choco-Louie by Jeffrey Kindley
The Chocolate Lovers: A Children's Story and Cookbook by Joan van Loon
The Chocolate-Covered Contest by Carolyn Keene
From Cocoa Bean to Chocolate (Start To Finish) by Robin Nelson
A Guide for Using Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in the Classroom by Concetta Doti Ryan - Teacher Created Materials, Westminster, CA: c1993.
Lucky Pennies and Hot Chocolate by Carol Diggory Shields
The Magic School Bus in the Rain Forest
Oh, Ducky!: A Chocolate Calamity by David Slonim
Painted Eggs and Chocolate Bunnies by Toni Trent Parker
The Secret Ingredient by George Edward Stanley
Simply Delicious! by Margaret Mahy
Wellington's Chocolatey Day by Mick Inkpen
Database of Award-Winning Children's Literature: http://www.dawcl.com/
DayByDayNY: http://daybydayny.org/
Family Literacy Calendar is a New York State Library resource. It includes excellent early learning and early literacy resources such as a daily ebook picture book, health and wellness tips in Spanish and English, arts and crafts activities, and museums throughout New York State the serve families with young children.
Details
Use four slightly different pictures, for example of a street corner taken a few minutes apart. Write a passage on the board based on one specific picture. Have the students read the passage and choose the picture that the passage describes. Often students will need to reread the passage to find details so they can identify the correct picture.
Education Northwest: http://educationnorthwest.org/
"Our mission is to improve learning by building capacity in schools, families, and communities through applied research and development."
Fairy Tale Activities:
Grow A Beanstalk: https://www.kidzone.ws/science/seeds.htm
Favorite Books for Kids with Learning and Attention Issues: www.readingrockets.org/article/favorite-books-kids-learning-and-attention-issues
Fictionary - Post an obscure word on the front board that you're sure no one has ever encountered before. Ask students to write down their best made-up definition for the term, including part of speech, on small pieces of paper and place them in a box. Students are trying to make them sound like dictionary definitions. Make sure to throw in the real definition on a similar piece of paper as well. Once everyone has submitted his or her definition, pull them out of the box one at a time and read them. Students vote on which one they think is accurate then look up the word in the dictionary to see what the word really means.
Fifth grade books to read together as a class
Baby by Patricia McLachlan
Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DeCamillo:
Love That Dog by Sharon Creech
Finding the answer to a question
Display the question to be answered about a passage on a whiteboard. Have students underline the critical words in the question and then underline the same words in their text. For example, if the question is "Where did Bob study for the test?", the words Bob, study, test would be underlined. By reading and underlining those words in the sentence, "Bob studied for the test in the kitchen before he ate supper." the student can use the questioning word "where" to answer the question. This lets students see how words in a question can literally be in the passage or the words can be inferred through other words.
First Books: https://www.firstbook.org/
"First Book is determined to see that all children, regardless of their economic conditions, can achieve more in school and in life through access to an ongoing supply of new books."
Five finger rule
The five finger rule is based on the widely accepted principle that students should know at least 95 percent of the words in any book that they are reading. Students turn to a page, or portion of a page, with approximately 100 words and make a fist. For every word they cannot read, they raise one finger. If they raise all the fingers on their hand and there are still some difficult words, then the book is too hard for them to read.
Focusing on Famous People:
1) On a piece of art paper, draw the perfect birthday gift for your person. Below your drawing, add a caption that explains why this gift is so perfect for your famous person.
2) What was your person's "recipe for success?" Draw a large recipe card on a piece of white art paper. Write your person's recipe for success on the card. Cut the card out and decorate it.
3) You've just been asked by your principal to plan a special day for students at your school to honor your famous person. What kinds of activities or special events will you plan for this day? Write a plan giving the details of this special day.
4) You've just been introduced to the world's top expert on your famous person. This expert knows everything that there is to know about your person. List ten questions about your famous person that you would ask this expert.
5) How would life be different for people today if your person had never been born? List your predictions.
6) List three ways that you and your famous person are alike. List three ways in which you are different. Do you think you are more alike than different, or more different than alike? Explain your answer.
7) You have been asked to write and direct a short film about your famous person. But you will only have time to tell about one of your famous person's accomplishments. Which accomplishment will you choose, and why? Write your answer in a letter to the president of the television network that will broadcast your film.
8) A top-notch writer has just decided to write a new book about a famous person. You want to convince this writer to write the book about your famous person. Tape-record or write a message to this writer. Explain why your famous person is the perfect topic for a new book. Suggest a title for the book as well.
Folklore and Mythology Electronic Texts: http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/folktexts.html
Folk stories
1. A fable is very short, with a moral at the end. Characters are usually talking animals.
2. A folk tale is a story, also usually with talking animal characters, which uses a pattern (numbers, repetition).
3. A fairy tale is similar to a folk tale, but the characters are people. There are obvious "good guys" and "bad guys," and magic is usually involved.
4. A myth is a magical story about how natural forces work (death, creation, weather). Sometimes myths have gods, goddesses, or heroes.
5. A legend is similar to a myth, but it is based on actual historical events or people.
6. A tall tale is a story about a heroic person who did completely outrageous, impossible things.
Fractured Fairy Tales compared to traditional fairy tales
Traditional Three Little Pigs and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka - Venn diagram comparing two, write letters to Big Bad Wolf in Jail, discuss point of view.
Traditional Cinderella and Bubba the Cowboy Prince by Ketteman
Traditional Jack and the Bean Stalk and Kate and the Beanstalk by Mary Pope Osborne
Traditional Little Red Hen and Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza by Philemon Sturges
Free Book Guides: www.birds.cornell.edu/k12/free-book-guides/
"These downloadable book guides include a variety of detailed activities that support student engagement with nature-themed kids' books ... while meeting NGSS, Math, ELA, and Art Standards." From the Cornell Lab for grades k-5.
Get Ready to Read!: http://www.getreadytoread.org/
"Get Ready to Read! is designed to support educators, parents, and young children in the development of early literacy skills in the years before kindergarten. Intended for use with all children, the resources and information provided on this site promote skill-building, communication between adults, and ways to address concerns."
Grow Up Reading!: http://www.growupreading.org/index.php
"@the West Bloomfield Township Library"
HarperCollins Publishers: http://www.harpercollins.com/
Info Search: Students often remember the bizarre or little-known information that we present in our lessons so in the days prior to beginning a unit on an author, ask each student to bring to class unique, interesting, classroom-appropriate trivia about the author. They must cite the sources used. Post several reliable Internet sources on the board to get them started. Students take turns sharing the information that they found. Next, compile an Author Trivia File for students to peruse when they have time. This information gives learners a much clearer picture of the author that one presented by the teacher or textbook. It also generates excitement about reading the author's works.
Juana Martinezz-Neal: www.colorincolorado.org/videos/meet-authors/juana-martinez-neal
"Juana Martinez-Neal is an award-winning children's author and illustrator. Her awards include the Pura Belpre Award for Illustration and a Caldecott Honor Award. In this interview with Colorin Colorado, Juana talks about growing up in Peru, her artistic influences, and some of the ideas behind her books."
Language Toolbox: http://itools.com/language
"Look up words to find out what they mean, how to spell or pronounce them. Translate words, phrases and whole texts into other languages. Solve word games with the language toolbox full of the best vocabulary reference tools"
Learning and Thinking Differences That Cause Trouble With Spelling: https://www.understood.org/en/learning-thinking-differences/child-learning-disabilities/writing-issues/learning-and-thinking-differences-that-cause-trouble-with-spelling
The Lexile Framework for Reading: https://www.lexile.com/
"Matching readers with texts"
Lily's Crossing by Patricia Reilly Giff
Patricia Reilly Giff won a Newbery Honor Book Award for Lily's Crossing. Lily Mollahan can't wait to get to Rockaway, the coastal town where she and her father and grandmother spend each summer. Little does she know that the summer of 1944 will be marked by change. Her father goes to war; her best friend, Margaret, moves to Detroit; and she meets Albert, a Hungarian refugee. As Lily and Albert become friends, they begin sharing their fears, their secrets, and their wishes. More than anything, Lily wants her father home safely and Albert wishes to be reunited with his sister, Ruth. Through her friendship with Albert, Lily starts to see life differently and pledges to stop her worst habit - lying. Patricia Reilly Giff has said, "Lily's Crossing is about my childhood. I was inspired to write the book because, for years, I thought about my childhood during World War II, in Rockaway, New York, which I loved. We went there every day in the summer and I loved the water. So I thought one day that I would write Lily, and it took me about four years to finally do it. The book is fiction, but it's based on so much that I did do. I am Lily; I am the grandmother. Albert is a composite of many boys I knew growing up. And the bakery really existed, but it was in St Albans, where I grew up. We often went to the bakery - and during the war, when the baker couldn't get eggs or sugar, the offerings were pretty slim. There were signs up, like "Loose Lips Sink Ships." When I went to bed at night, I'd look out the window and see the search lights and always worry that the German planes were coming. I was afraid a lot, and so the time period is real. The story is fiction, but the setting, the background, is true. When my sister was born, my mother put stars up on her bedroom ceiling and they were beautiful. Eventually, the dried a little and sometimes a star would float down from my sister's ceiling onto the bed or floor and we called them falling stars. We thought they were magic. So, putting the stars on the ceiling reminded me of my childhood, of that time during World War II." Patricia Reilly Giff has always been surrounded by books, and reading and writing have always been important in her life. Patricia Reilly Giff taught reading for 20 years and worked for a book publisher. She has written more than 60 books for kids. She and her husband, Jim, live in Weston, Conn. They have three children and five grandchildren.
A teachers guide for Lily's Crossing:
Before reading discuss that Lily's Crossing is set after D-Day. In 1994, the United States celebrated the 50th anniversary of D-Day. Go to the library to find articles in news magazines about this celebration. Share with the class any unusual facts or moving stories that you uncover.
As you read describe Lily and Margaret's friendship. How is Lily's friendship with Albert different? Why does Lily say that he is the best friend she ever had? Write a letter Lily might write to Poppy describing her new friend, Albert. At the end of the novel, Albert and Ruth are reunited, and Lily gets to meet Ruth. What do you think Albert has told Ruth about Lily?
Throughout the book, Lily makes a list of her problems and solutions to the problems. One of her worst problems is lying. She also has a vivid imagination. Discuss the difference between lying and imagining. Why does Lily continue to lie when she knows she's being dishonest? List all the lies that Lily tells. How does one lie lead to another? In what other ways is Lily dishonest? At what point in the novel does she finally overcome her habit of lying?
Both Lily and Albert have lost parents, but they still have the love of a family. Describe Lily's family. What is her relationship with Poppy? What is Gram's role in the family? How does Lily's relationship with Gram change at the end of the novel? How does Albert gain a sense of family from Mr. and Mrs. Orban?
Lily feels guilty because she didn't tell her father good-bye. Albert feels guilty because he didn't tell Ruth good-bye. How does each of them deal with the guilt? Lily writes an "I'm sorry" letter to her father, but we don't know what she says in it. Write the letter that Lily sends.
Lily, Margaret, and Albert must face the loss and separation of family members. Compare and contrast the way each character deals with these feelings. How do Lily and Albert help Margaret deal with her loss? How do they help each other?
Lily is a good writer. Write a journal entry that she might write on the day her father leaves for the war. Lily has a vivid imagination, she tells Margaret that her Aunt Celia is a U.S. spy in Germany; and imagines that Mr. Egan is a Nazi spy. Write a story that Lily might write about Aunt Celia or Mr. Egan.
Discuss the meaning of the title, Lily's Crossing.
During World War II, the U.S. government began rationing supplies. Find out what items were rationed. What was the purpose of a "Victory Garden"? Margaret's father goes to Detroit to make B-24 Liberator Bombers. What other jobs on the home front helped the war effort? Use reference sources and a map of Europe to trace the invasion of France by the Allies. Begin with the military's landing on Omaha Beach and follow their maneuvers through the small towns and cities that they liberated in France.
Albert comes to Rockaway from Hungary via Austria, Switzerland, France, and Canada. Ask students to calculate the approximate mileage over land and water of his trip. Check the Internet or call a travel agency and find out the flight time, including layovers, that Albert could expect if he were traveling today from Kennedy Airport in New York to Budapest, the capital of Hungary. How much would his flight cost?
Lily feels close to her mother through the stars pasted on her bedroom ceiling. Each summer she brings one star with her to Rockaway. Why are the stars so important to her? Lily makes reference to the Big Dipper, Orion's Belt, and Cassiopeia. Research these constellations and draw a diagram of each. Extend your research by locating other constellations that Lily might find in the summer skies at Rockaway.
Gram and Lily listen to "Portia Faces Life" on the radio. Write a radio script for an episode of a show entitled "Lily Faces Life." Perform your script for the entire class.
Mrs. Sherman has two war posters hanging in her shop. One says, "Loose Lips Sink ships," and the other says, "Someone Talked." Design a poster using one of these slogans.
Search for words in the novel such as convoy that specifically pertain to the war. Then, locate words such as swell and jetty that refer to the coastal setting of the book. Discuss the meaning of each word located.
Literary Frieze
Students from two classes can demonstrate their reading comprehension in a literary frieze. This can be done between two schools by using videoconferencing. Students in both classes read the same story and then groups of students create a literary frieze. In a frieze, students position their bodies and use facial expressions to show what is happening in a scene and the emotions in the scene; there is no movement and no talking. As the group from one class does a frieze, the other class tries to identify the part of the story, what characters are in the part, and what emotions are being shown. The frieze students verify if the other class is correct. Then the other class presents a frieze about another part of the story.
Matt de la Pena: mattdelapena.com/
Matt de la Pena: Childhood and Teen Years: www.colorincolorado.org/video/matt-de-la-pe%C3%B1a-childhood-and-teen-years
Matt de la Pena on Reading, Writing, and Diverse Books: www.colorincolorado.org/video/matt-de-la-pe%C3%B1a-reading-writing-and-diverse-books
Matt de la Pena Talks About His Books: www.colorincolorado.org/video/matt-de-la-pe%C3%B1a-talks-about-his-books
Ode Creation
1. Select a person, place, or thing that you want to write about.
2. Write phrases describing how your item makes you feel and why you feel this way.
3. Write many phrases telling unique qualities of your subject.
4. Now, explain why your subject is important to you and why you adore it so much!
5. Join some of your phrases into lines for your ode. Remember they don't have to rhyme!
Now revise your lines following these steps:
- take away any lines that are too similar
- add more feeling to any meaningless lines
- pick a good opening line or sentence
- order the remaining lines into their best sequence
- select a good closing line that clearly expresses your feelings about that subject
Rewrite your ode in a final draft.
Oral report suggestions
Use a clear and confident speaking voice that is loud enough for the audience to hear you. Know about your book well enough so you are able to maintain good eye content with the audience. Maintain the interest of the audience through appropriate variation of voice and body language. Have an interesting opening referring to the name of the book and the author, then explaining who your book is about. Have an orientation indicating why this person merited a book being written about them, or why they wrote a book about themselves. Have a good clear structure to your presentation: introduction/orientation, main points made clearly and elaborated on (probably in chronological order, referring to the timeline of achievements and highlights), a strong conclusion summarizing the person's achievements. Tell your opinion of the person and their activities. Share your opinion of the book and who you would recommend it to. Use your book and one note card as the only notes or prompts to your presentation. You might consider using a quote from the book to illustrate a key point. If pictures are included in the book, select one or two to share with that class that reveal something special about your subject. Encourage and respect questions from your classmates and effectively answer their questions about the book. Above all, BE PREPARED!
Publication of Archival Library & Musem Materials: http://palmm.digital.flvc.org/islandora/object/palmm%3Aroot
State University Libraries of Florida
Questions for book reports:
If you were *a characters name* how might you have reacted to *situations*.
What made *character* react the way he did?
Explore the relationships in the book - what circumstances led to their
development or demise?
Explore the language used in the novel - choose a paragraph and rewrite it using your own words, would your paragraph fit in with the rest of the novel? Why or why not?
Compare two books (the required one, plus one of their choice).
Compare the characters in each book, saying how they are similar and how they are different.
Compare the plot from each book, (similarities and differences again).
Require that specific page numbers be quoted with examples.
Ask them to compare the characters and plots from the required book with stories from TODAY'S newspaper.
Pretend you are a character in this book and write a letter to Dear Abby asking for advice on how to handle the situation that has emerged in the book.
Random house Kids: http://www.randomhousekids.com/
Readability: https://www.timetabler.com/reading/
Read aloud books for middle school classrooms
A Medieval Feast by Aliki
Cathedral and Castle by David Macaulay
Exploring the Past: The Middle Ages by Catherine Oakes
Illuminations by Jonathan Hunt
Medieval Life by Andrew Langley
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
Racinet's Full Color Pictorial of Western Costume by Racinet
Saint George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges
Skeleton Man by Joseph Bruchac
Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikelsen
A Tournament of Knights by Joe Lasker
Usborne World History: Medieval World by Jane Bingham
Walter Dragun's Town by Sheila Suncha
Readwritethink: http://www.readwritethink.org/
Reading Aloud: www.startwithabook.org/reading-aloud
Suggestions for parents and teachers from Reading Rockets
Reading Aloud to Children
In the landmark 1986 review Becoming a Nation of Readers, the Commission on Reading called reading aloud to children "the single most important activity for building the knowledge required for
success in reading." The best time to begin reading books with children is when they are infants-babies as young as six weeks old enjoy being read to & looking at pictures. By age two or three,
children begin to develop an awareness of printed letters & words. They see adults around them reading, writing, & using printed words for many purposes. Toddlers & preschoolers are especially ready to learn from adults reading to & with them.
Reading aloud to young children is important because it helps them acquire the information & skills they need to succeed in school & life, such as:
* Knowledge of printed letters & words & the relationship between sound & print.
* The meaning of many words.
* How books work & a variety of writing styles.
* The world in which they live.
* The difference between written language & everyday conversation.
* The pleasure of reading.
Here are some suggestions for reading aloud to children.
* Make reading books an enjoyable experience. Choose a comfortable place where the children can sit near you. Help them feel safe & secure. Be enthusiastic about reading. Show the children that reading is an interesting & rewarding activity. When children enjoy being read to, they will grow to love books & be eager to learn to read.
* Read to children frequently. Read to the children in your care several times a day. Establish regular times for reading during the day, & find other opportunities to read:
- Start or end the day with a book.
- Read to children after a morning play period which also helps settle them down.
- Read to them during snack time or before nap time.
* Help children to learn as you read. Offer explanations, make observations, & help the children to notice new information. Explain words that they may not know. Point out how the pictures in a book relate to the story. If the story takes place in an historic era or in an unfamiliar place, give children some background information so that they will better understand & enjoy the story. Talk about the characters' actions & feelings. Find ways to compare the book that you are reading with what the children have been doing in the classroom.
* Ask children questions as you read. Ask questions that help children connect the story with their own lives or that help them to compare the book with other books that they have read. Ask questions that help the children to notice what is in the book & ask them to predict what happens next.
* Encourage children to talk about the book. Have a conversation with the children about the book you are reading. Answer their questions. Welcome their observations, & add to what they say. Continue to talk about the book after you have read it. Invite the children to comment on the story. Ask them to talk about their favorite parts & encourage them to tell the story in their own words.
* Read many kinds of books. Children need to be read different kinds of books. Storybooks can help children to learn about times, cultures, & peoples other than their own; stories can help them understand how others think, act, & feel. Informational books can help children learn facts about the
world around them. These books also introduce children to important concepts & vocabulary that they will need for success in school. Read books that relate to the children's backgrounds: their experiences, cultures, languages & interests. Read books with characters & situations both
similar & dissimilar to those in the children's lives so they can learn about the world.
* Choose books to help you teach. Use alphabet books to help you teach the names of the letters & the sounds that each letter represents & use counting books to teach children how to count & to recognize numbers. Use poetry or rhyming books to support your teaching of phonological awareness. Use big books (oversized books that your children can easily see) to point out letters, words, & other features of print & to teach book handling. Choose stories that help children learn about social behavior, for example books about friendship to help children learn to share & cooperate. Also choose stories that show children how the world around them works for example, what is happening with the eggs that are hatching in your science area.
* Reread favorite books. Children love to hear their favorite books over & over again. Hearing books read several times helps children understand & notice new things. For example, they may figure out what an unfamiliar word means when they have heard the story several times. They may notice repeated sound patterns. If you point out some letters & words as you read the book repeatedly, children also may pick up specific words that are easily recognized & specific letter-sound relationships.
Reading Group Center: http://knopfdoubleday.com/reading-group-center/
"The Book Club Source for Book Lovers"
Reading Is Fundamental: http://www.rif.org/
Reading Logs for Primary Grades: On a page in a notebook draw 4 columns across and 20 rows down. The columns are: "Date", "Title of Book", "I read with.......", "I enjoyed......" The kids change their books each day and read with their families each night. Everyone participates. Use large Ziploc bags to go back and forth each day.
reading Rainbow Official YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/@ReadingRainbowOfficial/videos
Reading Rockets: http://www.readingrockets.org/
"Launching Young Readers"
Reading Tips for Parents (in Multiple Languages): https://www.readingrockets.org/article/reading-tips-parents-multiple-languages
Remember to Dream, Ebere by Cynthia Erivo - read by Cynthia Erivo: storylineonline.net/books/remember-to-dream-ebere/
Rhyme Zone: http://www.rhymezone.com/
"Find rhymes, synonyms, definitions, and more!"
Same story, different viewpoint
Reading the same story in newspapers form different locations is one way students can improve their analytical skills. For example, students might download an article on a nation's election from a newspaper of the country where the election is being held, from the newspaper of a different country, and from an online newspaper. Students can analyze the bias that each article presents by highlighting and bolding words or phrases in the articles. Then they can summarize the bias of each article with examples from the articles.
Scripps National Spelling Bee: http://spellingbee.com/
Sentence game
Write or print sentences on the board or use a chart story. Hand out word cards to each child These words are all contained in the story. The teacher or one of the children reads a sentence from the board. All children who have words which are in that particular sentence. The children try to arrange themselves in sentence order in front of the class.
Sight Words: Teach Your Child to Read: http://www.sightwords.com/
The Six Types of Folk Stories
1. A fable is very short, with a moral at the end. Characters are usually talking animals.
2. A folk tale is a story, also usually with talking animal characters, which uses a pattern (numbers, repetition).
3. A fairy tale is similar to a folk tale, but the characters are people. There are obvious "good guys" and "bad guys," and magic is usually involved.
4. A myth is a magical story about how natural forces work (death, creation, weather). Sometimes myths have gods, goddesses, or heroes.
5. A legend is similar to a myth, but it is based on actual historical events or people.
6. A tall tale is a story about a heroic person who did completely outrageous, impossible things.
Skinny Book
This is a book that the kids put together. The teacher chooses what goes on each page. They start with a large piece of construction paper folded in half for the cover and 7 blank sheets for the inside. Ideas for each page ranged from character traits for the main character, analyzing a quote, writing about 3 themes from the book, changing the ending, asking the author 3 questions, reading an article/short story/poem that was related to the novel and asking how it fit with the larger work. They also include art work on each page.
The Sorcerer's Stone
Prior to the writing assignment, every student selects a "sorcerer's stone", perhaps during a walk along a beach area or around the school grounds...
Pretend that your stone is the Sorcerer's Stone searched for by Harry Potter. What magic does it contain? What powers will it bestow upon you? How will you use it? This week you need to write three paragraphs for your writing assignment.
The first paragraph will be a description of your stone. Describe its color, size and shape. (You might also want to make up a place that you found it.) Use describing words that are exactly what you mean; for instance, you might want to use the thesaurus for the exact colors in your stone (there are many kinds of browns for example).
The second paragraph will be on the powers the stone will give you and how you discovered the powers. For instance, did you have to rub the stone as Aladdin did his lamp? Did you all of a sudden find yourself doing something unusual and not know how it was possible, then gradually discover that it was the stone that had given you the power? The third paragraph will be on what you do with your stone when you find out about its powers--what feats will you perform, what things will you change, whose life will you make better or worse?
Remember that each paragraph will have an opening and closing sentence!
1. You have your date and name in the corners of the paper and a title on the top line. Skip a line after the title.
2. Have margins on the left and right side of your paper.
3. Indent the first word of the paragraph.
4. The first sentence of each paragraph must be a topic sentence. These sentences must express the central thought of each paragraph that follows.
5. You have at least 3 supporting sentences in each paragraph. Use at least 2 "sense" words in each paragraph! Underline them in your rough draft.
6. You have a concluding sentence for each paragraph.
7. Begin and end each sentence correctly. Make sure each word is correctly spelled.
8. Each sentence in each paragraph must stick to the topic and relate to the topic of that paragraph.
9. Proof-read your writing, then have someone else--someone who knows their spelling and punctuation--make corrections on your paper. Have them sign this paper.
10. You have this sheet of paper turned in with your rough draft and the final copy which is done in cursive.
11. Signature of person who checked your paper
Soup by Robert Newton Peck
Living in rural 1930's, Soup and Rob didn't have Nintendo, television, or Rollerblades to entertain them. Instead the boys made games out of the common objects around them, such as sticks, apples, and a barrel. Investigate the games of the past with a fun cooperative learning activity. Assign each student the task of interviewing an older friend - a parent, grandparent, neighbor, etc. - to find out about the games that his friend played in his or her youth. After the interviews are completed, divide the class into groups. Have each group discuss its findings and choose one game to teach to the rest of the class. Schedule a Back-to-the-Past Day during which groups teach their games from "the good old days." Encourage students to dress in old-fashioned clothes. After the game session, cool off with homemade ice cream or cold lemonade.
Wherever Soup went, trouble usually wasn't far behind - much to the dismay of the often-innocent Rob. Ask students to pretend that Soup is their best friend. How would their parents feel about Soup? Would students defend Soup's antics because he was their friend. In what ways was soup a good friend to Rob? After discussing these questions, have each student fold a piece of paper in half lengthwise, unfold it, and label the tops of the two resulting columns "Soup" and "My Best Friend." In the soup column, have the student list the qualities that made Soup a good friend, citing examples from the book. In the other column, have him list his best friend's positive qualities. Are there any similarities between the two? Follow up by having students share their lists and use them to construct a class or group bar graph about friendship.
For a fun writing activity, have each student cut out a large medicine bottle from colorful construction paper. Next have the student glue a white piece of paper in the middle of the bottle to serve as the label. On the label, have the student suggest a section of the book that is sure to cure a bad case of the blues. Be sure that the student includes the chapter of the book and why he thinks that particular section will make the reader laugh out loud. Post completed bottles on bulletin board entitled "Laughter Is the Best Medicine!"
"A flame in front and a fool in back" - that's how Rob's Aunt Carrie described smoking, the very thing Rob and Soup try one day in a cornfield. Use this episode to initiate a discussion about he hazards of smoking. If your students want to investigate smoking further, try any of these activities: Invite a guest speaker from the American Cancer Society or a local physician to talk with your class about smoking; Have students create antismoking posters, buttons, or bumper stickers to display around your school; Have small groups of students discuss the following question, Why so you think people choose to smoke? What's the best way to encourage someone no to smoke? How would you answer a friend who is encouraging you to smoke?; Provide a supply of magazines. Have small groups of students cut out cigarette advertisements from magazines, then have the groups analyze the ads to determine how advertisers try to persuade people to smoke; For good literature about smoking, look for Know About Smoking by Margaret O. Hyde, Breath Of Air And A Breath of Smoke by John S. Marar, Tobacco: What It Is, What It Does by Judith S. Seizas, Smoking by Sherry Sonnett, Smoking And Health by Brian R. Ward.
Rope -- a simple object, but one that soup and rob found full of fun. They made lassos, but the most fun was tying someone up. Even when soup tied rob up and subjected him to "straw mouth" and other"tortures," the boys' friendship remained as strong as the rope that held Rob. After reading chapter 3, give each child a three-foot length of yarn. Challenge students to fill there ropes with "friendship knots." Each time a student shares a kind word or deed with another classmate, have him tie a knot in his rope. After tow or three day, have students share their ropes and tell or write about some of their "knotty experiences.
Gather copies of Robert Newton Peck's other Soup books: Soup and Me, Soup For President, Soup In The Saddle, Soup On fire, Soup On Ice, Soup On Wheels, Soup's Drum, Soup's Goat. Assign a different book to each cooperative group. After reading it, have each group create a special display of important items from its book. For example, a display on Soup might include a piece of a clothesline, an apple, Miss Kelly's note, and some brown yarn from Rob's sweater. Have each group present its display and explain each item; then set up all of the displays around the room to create your own Soup Museum.
Spirit of Tees: http://spiritoftrees.org/
"...a resource for therapists, educators, environmentalists, storytellers and tree lovers! You will find here an abundance of resources, in particular a varied collection of multicultural folktales and myths."
Starfall: https://www.starfall.com/h/ltr-classic/
Stories to Grow By with Whootie Owl: https://www.storiestogrowby.org/
"Over 100 Free Stories and Play Scripts"
Story Arts Online: www.storyarts.org/
Storyberries: www.storyberries.com/
Storyline Online: www.storylineonline.net/
Private I. Guana by Nina Laden read by Esai Morales with activity guide: www.storylineonline.net/books/private-i-guana/
Guji Guji by Chih-Yuan Chen read by Robert Guillaume with activity guide: www.storylineonline.net/books/guji-guji/
Story Shares: https://www.storyshares.org/books
"Our library is full of Relevant Reads-books that are both compelling and approachable for struggling teen and young adult readers." These books can be read for free and there is an option for teachers to sign up students in their class/school.
Student Book Talks Help Motivate Readers: www.middleweb.com/46172/student-book-talks-help-motivate-readers/
Subjective Readability Factors
1. Clarity of presentation
2. Use of illustrations
3. Number of new concepts
4. Number of new words
5. Familiarity of subject matter
6. Author's style
7. Length of book
Suessville: http://www.seussville.com/?home#/home/
Summarizing Free Websites
Rewordify.com: https://rewordify.com/
Summation Board
In cooperative learning groups, have each group discuss the book and create a summation board. A summation board is artistically designed by the students and may include computer generated work, handwritten work, collage type designs, etc., but the board must reflect their summary of the book. It incorporates active learning and creative thinking.
Tell Me Another Story: Diversity in Children's Literature: www.ezra-jack-keats.org/tell-me-another-story/
""Tell Me Another Story', a 30-minute free access documentary, presents a compelling and lively portrait of the giants, past and present, who have advanced diversity in picture books, illuminating the reality that multicultural literature is critical to our children's quality of life and the health of our society."
Produced by the EJK (Ezra Jake Keats) Foundation
Theatre Links: http://www.theatrelinks.com/
"Resources from Across the Globe"
Topical vocabulary
Show students a picture that focus on a topic and have each student list all the topical vocabulary in the picture. For example, students could be shown a restaurant picture. They would first individually list all of the words about food, the restaurant, etc. Then in groups of two or three, the students can share their lists to increase the reading vocabulary of all the students. They organize their words into categories such as food, adjectives describing foods, and what is used to serve of eat food. This activity can be followed by a passage about food or a restaurant.
True or False
Display a picture and write a true and false statements about it. Students are to look at the picture and determine if it is true or false. If they determine a statement if false, ask them to circle the part of the statement that is incorrect.
Ultimate Guide to Free Reading and Literacy Resources: www.titlemax.com/articles/ultimate-guide-to-free-reading-and-literacy-resources/
Unfold a Story
Students create fold-out books by unfolding and filling in one page at a time.
First, cover a bulletin board with craft paper and add a heading such as "Watch the Stories Unfold."
Then cut white craft paper into long strips, 10" wide by 80" long.
Draw lines every 10 inches, to create seven 10"-wide pages and a cover.
Starting at the right, fold one page over the next. Do not fold the last page - it will be the cover. Write the title of the book on the cover, then use pushpins to take the book starting from the left side to the board.
To write in the book, students remove the pushpins and unfold it to reveal one page at a time (then tack the pages in place again). The cover of the book travels to the right of the board, and the page numbers count down from left to right.
Facts Unfold - To write a nonfiction book, on each new page students write down a subject and related facts. Set up several of these Unfold a Story boards during science and social studies units to encourage children to share information on different topics within the particular curriculum.
Unusual Events Unfold - Brainstorm uncommon events (real or make-believe) and use them to start off stories. Children will be proud to see their ideas up on the board and excited to see how their ideas evolve into stories.
Fairy Tales Unfold - To get their creative juices flowing, share some unusual retellings of familiar tales, such as The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka, in which the wolf tells his side. Then have kids try their own.
Poems Unfold - Start the first line of a collaborative poem, then let the children build on it from one page to the next. Remind students that a poem can be like a tiny story and that lines don't have to rhyme.
Unit for [Your State] Authors
Students first chose a book by an author from their chosen state.
Then they read the book and kept a journal of the story by chapters, including figurative language used by the author to make their story more interesting.
They make an author card in the shape of the state with the picture, dates birth/death, and any books receiving awards.
A speaker might come in to talk to the students about book talks. The students are then videotaped having a book talk with other students that share the author.
Students research the author.
The project ends with a PowerPoint about the author.
Unite for Literacy: www.uniteforliteracy.com/
Free online picture books
Unlocking the Magic of Children's Literature: Essential Resources for Parents and Educators: octaneseating.com/blog/childrens-literature/
Using Diverse Books with ELLs: A Guide for Educators: www.colorincolorado.org/diverse-books
Using Social Stories is Beneficial for all Students: www.educationworld.com/teachers/using-social-stories-beneficial-all-students
The Very Hungry Caterpillar: thekidshouldseethis.com/post/very-hungry-caterpillar-animation
"...an animation based on the beloved children's book by writer and illustrator Eric Carle."
Visual Clues
Prepare students to answer the questions who, what, where, and when by having students look at a picture on an interactive whiteboard. Ask students to circle the visual clues that answer the question and write the questioning word next to it. For instance, a student can circle a clock in the picture and write "When" next to it. Follow this activity by having students circle and label words that tell who, what, where, and when in a written passage.
Vocabulary.com: http://www.vocabulary.com/
"Regardless of your education level or age, Vocabulary.com will help you to master the words that are essential to academic and business success."
Web English Teacher: http://www.webenglishteacher.com/index.html
The world's most mysterious book - Stephen Bax: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-world-s-most-mysterious-book-stephen-bax
There is only one copy of this book and it has been carbon dated to about 1420. However, we do not know the language and cannot read it.
"...printable books for English-speaking kids (aged 4-8), and for people who are leaning to read English as a second language."
100 Awfully Good Examples of Oxymorons: https://www.thoughtco.com/awfully-good-examples-of-oxymorons-1691814
A New Model for Teaching High-Frequency Words: https://www.readingrockets.org/article/new-model-teaching-high-frequency-words
"Integrating high-frequency words into phonics lessons allows students to make sense of spelling patterns for these words. To do this, high-frequency words need to be categorized according to whether they are spelled entirely regularly or not. This article describes how to "rethink" teaching of high-frequency words."
Aaron Shepard's Home Page: Author Online!: http://www.aaronshep.com/index.html
Stories, Scripts, and More
A Celebration of Women Writers: http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/writers.html
Author Site's
Dav Pilkey: http://www.pilkey.com/
Ezra Jack Keats: http://www.ezra-jack-keats.org/
EJK Award Book Discussion Guides: www.ezra-jack-keats.org/ejk-award-book-discussion-guides/
Ezra Jack Keats Award: Read Aloud Tips: www.dropbox.com/s/eytrbkr1rffpp2e/EJK%20Read%20Alouds%20June%2026%20240pm.pdf
Patricia Polacco.com: http://www.patriciapolacco.com/
Robert Munsch: http://robertmunsch.com/
Roald Dahl: http://www.roalddahl.com/
Tomie dePaola: http://www.tomie.com/
Bedtime Stories for Kids: naplab.com/guides/bedtime-stories-for-kids/
Better Book Reports: 25 More Ideas: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson289.shtml
Bingo Card
Use a bingo card system to read a book a quarter. They can select across, down, etc. and read the genres in that row (animal story, historical fiction, etc.) or, if they want a challenge, they can read the four corners (mystery, biography, etc.).
Bookmark
Each student creates a bookmark about their favorite book or a book they have read. On one side is a drawing or picture (clip art or original artwork) that relates to the book and the book's title. On the other side the student writes the book's title, author, and a short (2-3 sentence) summary/recommendation. These bookmarks are punched at the top, placed on a ring, and hung on the bulletin board.
Book Report Alternatives
Ad Campaign- Your job is to design an ad campaign to promote your book. Think of ideas for a cover, inside jacket, poster, window banner and display cartoon. Sketch your ideas or put them together to form a window display. Some of you may want to present your ideas in the form of a 60-second TV or radio commercial.
Adding- Add a chapter or incident to the story. You may include new characters, new incidents or new settings.
Advertising- You work in the advertising department of a publisher. Your job is to create an advertising display for the book. This display will be set up in bookstores across the country. For your display, consider using author photos, posters, dioramas, or cardboard display cases. Aging Character- Pretend you are the major character at age sixty, tell about your life as a young person and as an adult.
Alien Encounter- Pretend you have landed on another planet, and you are going to convince them the book you just read is a good one to read. How would you do it? Remember they cannot speak the English language.
Author- Write a letter to the author about certain aspects of the book you did not like. Site the book to back up what you say. Offer suggestions for improvement.
Author Comparison- Compare this book to another written by the same author.
Author Research- Find out about the author; present a brief biography of him and tell about his book. What else has he written?
Balloon- Blow up a balloon and decorate the sides of it so it tells about the book you read.
Biography Cubes- Students make cubes using a pattern. Each side of the cube has a picture of fact (or both) about the person. Inside the cube is a little clue about the person. For example, apple seeds for Johnny Appleseed. Oral reports are given, but the name of the person was not on the cube. Each cube was given a number and students had a quiz to see how many people they could identify based on the cube and or the clue.
Book Designer- You are a book designer, and the publisher wants to come out with a new edition of the book. Design a new cover or book jacket and illustrate the first page of each chapter.
Box Design- Design a box (it can be square or 3-D). Put something about the book on all sides of it.
Cartoon Strip Book Report: Students make "cartoon strips" for the chapter being read, or a panel for each chapter, highlighting the important parts. To do this, take a sheet of paper and fold into six blocks. It will look just like the Sunday funnies. The class can make a rubric together and to let them know what is expected so that they can add on to their comic strip as you read aloud or they read a book.
CD book project -Students design a CD case for their favorite at-home reading book. The liner notes held the usual, plot, characters, etc. The front can be whatever they want, the back has a list of possible song titles (either real or made up) that would go well with the book. Put them up with Velcro tape with the title, "Heard of a Good Book Lately?"
Character Construction- Use a 2-liter plastic bottle for the body (partially filled with sand or pebbles to stay upright), a plastic foam ball for the head and poster board for the feet and clothes. Explain why.
you choose this character to design. Use lines from the book to back up your character.
Character Conversation- Choose two characters from the story and write about a conversation they might have.
Characters Meet- create a scene in which the main characters from TWO novels meet.
Chinese Restaurant- You are out with the main characters from your book at a Chinese restaurant. On this particular night, the fortune cookies are amazingly appropriate. Describe each character and tell what his/her fortune cookie said and why it is fitting. Do not forget to include yourself! Clay Characters- make clay figures that go along with your book. Collage- Use old magazines as a source for pictures which represent some event of part of your book. Make a collage to show and explain your choices to the group.
Compare/Contrast- Compare and contrast yourself with the main character of the book.
Crossword Puzzle- Select 20 difficult words from the book and look up their synonyms in a dictionary or thesaurus. Using these synonyms as well as facts about the plot and characters, design a crossword puzzle.
Cubes- Students make cubes using a pattern. Each side of the cube has a picture of fact (or both) about the biographee. Inside the cube is a little clue about the person. For example, apple seeds for Johnny Appleseed. Oral reports are given, but the name of the person is not on the cube. Each cube was given a number and students has a quiz to see how many people they can identify based on the cube and or the clue.
Draw- Draw a mural depicting the major scenes from the book.
Descriptive Words- Find as many descriptive words as you can in one chapter that are used for people or a place. Be sure to specify which.
Desert Island- Imagine you are stranded on a deserted island with an important character from your book. Which one would you choose and why?
Detective Game- Make a detective game about the book you read. Give clues. You may use page numbers, etc.
Diary- Pretend you are the main character and write several diary pages.
describing an important event in the book.
Diorama- Make a diorama of an important happening in the book.
Ending- Make up a new ending for the book.
Epilogue- Write an epilogue to the story.
Fashion Show- The students decorate a paper bag in the form of a vest on the outside, on the inside they write a summary of the book, and they write a note card to read when someone else models their vest. They tell what the objects on the front represent and the their review of the book.
Felt Board Characters- Make a set of felt board characters and tell part of the book with them. Highlight- For each chapter, pick a highlight or point that you felt made that chapter exciting. Illustrate each highlight.
Historical Background- Present the historical background for this novel.
Hundred Year Test- Explain why you think this book will or will not be read a hundred years from now. Support your opinion by stating specific events from the story.
Greeting Card- Design an original greeting card(s) that your character could send to a friend/foe/relative or someone else in the book.
Illustrations- Draw your own set of illustrations for the book.
Interior Decorator- Design a new home for the main characters in your book.
Limerick- Write a limerick about your book.
Lost and Found- Make up a lost and found as for a person or object in your book.
Main Character- Describe the main character in 150 words.
Main Character Design- Use butcher paper and make a life-size picture of the main character of your book.
Map- Make an illustrated map showing a character's travels or the area encompassed by your book. Mobile- Design and build a mobile that conveys scenes, characters, or events from the book. Monologue- Prepare a monologue from the story. Memorize it and present it to the class.
Movie Script- Write a movie script for one of the scenes in your book. Act it out in front of the class with the help of other students.
Photos- Take photos which reflect your understanding of the novel.
Pictures- Bring in pictures, drawings, posters or objects that represent some aspect of the novel. Poem- Make up a poem about your book.
Pocket Book Report
The students chose items that are representative characters or props from the books they read. They chose five items and those items had to fit in some kind of pocket. Some of the pockets might be from old jeans, quilt pieces, saddle bag. As each piece is taken from the "pocket" the student explains the significance and the reason he/she included it in the pack. They make the props that they cannot find.
Problem- Describe the problem or conflict existing for the main character in the book. Tell how the conflict was or was not resolved.
Pulitzer Prize- Pretend you are one of the judges for the Pulitzer Prize for Literature, an annual award honoring excellence in writing. Decide whether you would nominate the book you have just read for such an award. Then write a letter to the author explaining why you have accepted or rejected his book to compete for such high honors.
Puppet- Create a puppet to represent your favorite character in the story.
Puzzle- Make a put-together puzzle. Make it in the shape of a main object or character of the book. When put together it has on it the name of the book and the author.
Questions- Write 10 question which could be used to test other students understanding of the story. Make sure to include a list of answers.
Questions for book reports:
If you were *a character's name* how might you have reacted to *situations*.
What made *character* react the way he did?
Explore the relationships in the book - what circumstances led to their development or demise?
Explore the language used in the novel - choose a paragraph and rewrite it using your own words, would your paragraph fit in with the rest of the novel? Why or why not?
Compare two books (the required one, plus one of their choice).
Compare the characters in each book, saying how they are similar and how they are different.
Compare the plot from each book, (similarities and differences again).
Require that specific page numbers be quoted with examples.
Ask them to compare the characters and plots from the required book with stories from TODAY'S newspaper.
Pretend you are a character in this book and write a letter to Dear Abby asking for advice on how to handle the situation that has emerged in the book.
Roll Story- Make a roll (like those you see on a cash register) and use words and pictures to tell about their book. It will be told as they unroll this.
Scrapbook- Make a scrapbook about the book.
Seed Mosaic- Make a seed mosaic to illustrate part of the book.
Setting- Research the geography of the setting of the novel.
Shoebox Picture Scene- Make a shoebox picture scene.
Song- Write a ballad or song about the characters and events in your story. Set the words to the music of a popular song and sing it in class.
Stamp- Design a stamp that could be the crest or symbol to represent either the book or the main character.
Television commercial- Make a television commercial about your book. Act out the commercial for the class.
Summation Board- In cooperative learning groups, have each group discuss the book and create a summation board. A summation board is artistically designed by the students and may include computer generated work, handwritten work, collage type designs, etc., but the board must reflect their summary of the book. It incorporates active learning and creative thinking.
TV Talk Show- Interview a character for a TV talk show, creating questions and answers consistent with the novel.
Timeline- Make a timeline of what happens during the book.
Title- Using the title of the book, write a phrase about the book for each letter.
Travel Poster- Make a travel poster inviting tourists to visit the setting of the book.
Turning Point- Pick out what you felt was the "turning point" in the book. Write about the incidents that led the reader to that point.
Wax museum with biographies - Students read the book, prepare a report on the person and then invite parents. They come in character and stay in character for the entire presentation, which is about 45 minutes. Parents and staff members then press a "button" on their hand (round sticker) and they start off ...I am...
Word Power- Make a list of new, unusual or interesting words or phrases found in your book.
Books set to music:
A You're Adorable by Martha Alexander
Baby Beluga by Raffi
The Cat Came Back by Bill Slavin
Chicken Soup with Rice by Maurice Sendak
Clifford We Love You by Norman Bridwell
Down By the Bay by Raffi
Down By the Station by Hillerbrand
Everything Grows by Raffi
Five Little Ducks by Raffi
Frog Went a Courtin' by John Langstaff
Give the Dog a Bone by Steven Kellogg
The Hokey Pokey by Laprise, Macak, and Baker
How Much is That Doggy by Trapan
I Know an Old Lady by Nadine Westcott
I'm a Little Teapot by Iza Tripani
I've Been Working on the Railroad by Nadine Westcott
The Itsy Bitsy Spider by Iza Tripani
The Lady With the Alligator Purse by Nadine Westcott
The Little Drummer Boy by Ezra Jack Keats
Little Rabbit Foo Foo by Michael Rosen, Michael
Mary Had a Little Lamb by Iza Tripani
Mary Wore Her Red Dress by Merle Peek
My Favorite Things by Renee Graef
Oh Where, Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone? by Iza Tripani
Oh, a Hunting We Will Go by John Langstaff
On Top of Spaghetti by Katherine Tillotson
One By One: Garth Pig's Rain Song by Mary Rayner
One Light, One Sun by Raffi
Over in the Meadow by Paul Galdone
Over the River and through the Wood by Lydia Child
Peanut Butter and Jelly by Nadine Westcott
Pizza Pokey by Jeffrey Stoodt
Shake My Sillies Out by Raffi
Shoo Fly by Trapan
Skip to My Lou by Nadine Westcott
Take Me Out to the Ballgame by Jack Norworth
The Thirteen Days of Halloween by Carol Greene
The Twelve Days of Christmas: A Song Rebus Emily Bolam, illustrator
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Slimms Taback
Tingalayo by Raffi
Today is Monday by Eric Carle
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star by Iza Tripani
Wheels on the Bus by Raffi
What a Wonderful World by Bob Thiele
This Land is Your Land by Woody Guthrie
Lift Every Voice and Sing by James Weldon Johnson
BrainyQuote: http://www.brainyquote.com/
Character Read 'n Roll: www.lauracandler.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/CharacterReadRoll.pdf
Children's Book Council: http://www.cbcbooks.org/
Chocolate books
Chocolate by Hershey: a story about Milton S. Hershey by Betty Burford
Chocolate: Riches from the Rain Forest by Robert Burleigh
The Hershey's Kisses Addition Book by Jerry Pallotta
The Hershey's Kisses Subtraction Book by Jerry Pallotta
The Hershey's Milk Chocolate Multiplication Book by Jerry Pallotta
Beans to Chocolate by Inez Snyder
Choco-Louie by Jeffrey Kindley
The Chocolate Lovers: A Children's Story and Cookbook by Joan van Loon
The Chocolate-Covered Contest by Carolyn Keene
From Cocoa Bean to Chocolate (Start To Finish) by Robin Nelson
A Guide for Using Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in the Classroom by Concetta Doti Ryan - Teacher Created Materials, Westminster, CA: c1993.
Lucky Pennies and Hot Chocolate by Carol Diggory Shields
The Magic School Bus in the Rain Forest
Oh, Ducky!: A Chocolate Calamity by David Slonim
Painted Eggs and Chocolate Bunnies by Toni Trent Parker
The Secret Ingredient by George Edward Stanley
Simply Delicious! by Margaret Mahy
Wellington's Chocolatey Day by Mick Inkpen
Database of Award-Winning Children's Literature: http://www.dawcl.com/
DayByDayNY: http://daybydayny.org/
Family Literacy Calendar is a New York State Library resource. It includes excellent early learning and early literacy resources such as a daily ebook picture book, health and wellness tips in Spanish and English, arts and crafts activities, and museums throughout New York State the serve families with young children.
Details
Use four slightly different pictures, for example of a street corner taken a few minutes apart. Write a passage on the board based on one specific picture. Have the students read the passage and choose the picture that the passage describes. Often students will need to reread the passage to find details so they can identify the correct picture.
Education Northwest: http://educationnorthwest.org/
"Our mission is to improve learning by building capacity in schools, families, and communities through applied research and development."
Fairy Tale Activities:
Grow A Beanstalk: https://www.kidzone.ws/science/seeds.htm
Favorite Books for Kids with Learning and Attention Issues: www.readingrockets.org/article/favorite-books-kids-learning-and-attention-issues
Fictionary - Post an obscure word on the front board that you're sure no one has ever encountered before. Ask students to write down their best made-up definition for the term, including part of speech, on small pieces of paper and place them in a box. Students are trying to make them sound like dictionary definitions. Make sure to throw in the real definition on a similar piece of paper as well. Once everyone has submitted his or her definition, pull them out of the box one at a time and read them. Students vote on which one they think is accurate then look up the word in the dictionary to see what the word really means.
Fifth grade books to read together as a class
Baby by Patricia McLachlan
Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DeCamillo:
Love That Dog by Sharon Creech
Finding the answer to a question
Display the question to be answered about a passage on a whiteboard. Have students underline the critical words in the question and then underline the same words in their text. For example, if the question is "Where did Bob study for the test?", the words Bob, study, test would be underlined. By reading and underlining those words in the sentence, "Bob studied for the test in the kitchen before he ate supper." the student can use the questioning word "where" to answer the question. This lets students see how words in a question can literally be in the passage or the words can be inferred through other words.
First Books: https://www.firstbook.org/
"First Book is determined to see that all children, regardless of their economic conditions, can achieve more in school and in life through access to an ongoing supply of new books."
Five finger rule
The five finger rule is based on the widely accepted principle that students should know at least 95 percent of the words in any book that they are reading. Students turn to a page, or portion of a page, with approximately 100 words and make a fist. For every word they cannot read, they raise one finger. If they raise all the fingers on their hand and there are still some difficult words, then the book is too hard for them to read.
Focusing on Famous People:
1) On a piece of art paper, draw the perfect birthday gift for your person. Below your drawing, add a caption that explains why this gift is so perfect for your famous person.
2) What was your person's "recipe for success?" Draw a large recipe card on a piece of white art paper. Write your person's recipe for success on the card. Cut the card out and decorate it.
3) You've just been asked by your principal to plan a special day for students at your school to honor your famous person. What kinds of activities or special events will you plan for this day? Write a plan giving the details of this special day.
4) You've just been introduced to the world's top expert on your famous person. This expert knows everything that there is to know about your person. List ten questions about your famous person that you would ask this expert.
5) How would life be different for people today if your person had never been born? List your predictions.
6) List three ways that you and your famous person are alike. List three ways in which you are different. Do you think you are more alike than different, or more different than alike? Explain your answer.
7) You have been asked to write and direct a short film about your famous person. But you will only have time to tell about one of your famous person's accomplishments. Which accomplishment will you choose, and why? Write your answer in a letter to the president of the television network that will broadcast your film.
8) A top-notch writer has just decided to write a new book about a famous person. You want to convince this writer to write the book about your famous person. Tape-record or write a message to this writer. Explain why your famous person is the perfect topic for a new book. Suggest a title for the book as well.
Folklore and Mythology Electronic Texts: http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/folktexts.html
Folk stories
1. A fable is very short, with a moral at the end. Characters are usually talking animals.
2. A folk tale is a story, also usually with talking animal characters, which uses a pattern (numbers, repetition).
3. A fairy tale is similar to a folk tale, but the characters are people. There are obvious "good guys" and "bad guys," and magic is usually involved.
4. A myth is a magical story about how natural forces work (death, creation, weather). Sometimes myths have gods, goddesses, or heroes.
5. A legend is similar to a myth, but it is based on actual historical events or people.
6. A tall tale is a story about a heroic person who did completely outrageous, impossible things.
Fractured Fairy Tales compared to traditional fairy tales
Traditional Three Little Pigs and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka - Venn diagram comparing two, write letters to Big Bad Wolf in Jail, discuss point of view.
Traditional Cinderella and Bubba the Cowboy Prince by Ketteman
Traditional Jack and the Bean Stalk and Kate and the Beanstalk by Mary Pope Osborne
Traditional Little Red Hen and Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza by Philemon Sturges
Free Book Guides: www.birds.cornell.edu/k12/free-book-guides/
"These downloadable book guides include a variety of detailed activities that support student engagement with nature-themed kids' books ... while meeting NGSS, Math, ELA, and Art Standards." From the Cornell Lab for grades k-5.
Get Ready to Read!: http://www.getreadytoread.org/
"Get Ready to Read! is designed to support educators, parents, and young children in the development of early literacy skills in the years before kindergarten. Intended for use with all children, the resources and information provided on this site promote skill-building, communication between adults, and ways to address concerns."
Grow Up Reading!: http://www.growupreading.org/index.php
"@the West Bloomfield Township Library"
HarperCollins Publishers: http://www.harpercollins.com/
Info Search: Students often remember the bizarre or little-known information that we present in our lessons so in the days prior to beginning a unit on an author, ask each student to bring to class unique, interesting, classroom-appropriate trivia about the author. They must cite the sources used. Post several reliable Internet sources on the board to get them started. Students take turns sharing the information that they found. Next, compile an Author Trivia File for students to peruse when they have time. This information gives learners a much clearer picture of the author that one presented by the teacher or textbook. It also generates excitement about reading the author's works.
Juana Martinezz-Neal: www.colorincolorado.org/videos/meet-authors/juana-martinez-neal
"Juana Martinez-Neal is an award-winning children's author and illustrator. Her awards include the Pura Belpre Award for Illustration and a Caldecott Honor Award. In this interview with Colorin Colorado, Juana talks about growing up in Peru, her artistic influences, and some of the ideas behind her books."
Language Toolbox: http://itools.com/language
"Look up words to find out what they mean, how to spell or pronounce them. Translate words, phrases and whole texts into other languages. Solve word games with the language toolbox full of the best vocabulary reference tools"
Learning and Thinking Differences That Cause Trouble With Spelling: https://www.understood.org/en/learning-thinking-differences/child-learning-disabilities/writing-issues/learning-and-thinking-differences-that-cause-trouble-with-spelling
The Lexile Framework for Reading: https://www.lexile.com/
"Matching readers with texts"
Lily's Crossing by Patricia Reilly Giff
Patricia Reilly Giff won a Newbery Honor Book Award for Lily's Crossing. Lily Mollahan can't wait to get to Rockaway, the coastal town where she and her father and grandmother spend each summer. Little does she know that the summer of 1944 will be marked by change. Her father goes to war; her best friend, Margaret, moves to Detroit; and she meets Albert, a Hungarian refugee. As Lily and Albert become friends, they begin sharing their fears, their secrets, and their wishes. More than anything, Lily wants her father home safely and Albert wishes to be reunited with his sister, Ruth. Through her friendship with Albert, Lily starts to see life differently and pledges to stop her worst habit - lying. Patricia Reilly Giff has said, "Lily's Crossing is about my childhood. I was inspired to write the book because, for years, I thought about my childhood during World War II, in Rockaway, New York, which I loved. We went there every day in the summer and I loved the water. So I thought one day that I would write Lily, and it took me about four years to finally do it. The book is fiction, but it's based on so much that I did do. I am Lily; I am the grandmother. Albert is a composite of many boys I knew growing up. And the bakery really existed, but it was in St Albans, where I grew up. We often went to the bakery - and during the war, when the baker couldn't get eggs or sugar, the offerings were pretty slim. There were signs up, like "Loose Lips Sink Ships." When I went to bed at night, I'd look out the window and see the search lights and always worry that the German planes were coming. I was afraid a lot, and so the time period is real. The story is fiction, but the setting, the background, is true. When my sister was born, my mother put stars up on her bedroom ceiling and they were beautiful. Eventually, the dried a little and sometimes a star would float down from my sister's ceiling onto the bed or floor and we called them falling stars. We thought they were magic. So, putting the stars on the ceiling reminded me of my childhood, of that time during World War II." Patricia Reilly Giff has always been surrounded by books, and reading and writing have always been important in her life. Patricia Reilly Giff taught reading for 20 years and worked for a book publisher. She has written more than 60 books for kids. She and her husband, Jim, live in Weston, Conn. They have three children and five grandchildren.
A teachers guide for Lily's Crossing:
Before reading discuss that Lily's Crossing is set after D-Day. In 1994, the United States celebrated the 50th anniversary of D-Day. Go to the library to find articles in news magazines about this celebration. Share with the class any unusual facts or moving stories that you uncover.
As you read describe Lily and Margaret's friendship. How is Lily's friendship with Albert different? Why does Lily say that he is the best friend she ever had? Write a letter Lily might write to Poppy describing her new friend, Albert. At the end of the novel, Albert and Ruth are reunited, and Lily gets to meet Ruth. What do you think Albert has told Ruth about Lily?
Throughout the book, Lily makes a list of her problems and solutions to the problems. One of her worst problems is lying. She also has a vivid imagination. Discuss the difference between lying and imagining. Why does Lily continue to lie when she knows she's being dishonest? List all the lies that Lily tells. How does one lie lead to another? In what other ways is Lily dishonest? At what point in the novel does she finally overcome her habit of lying?
Both Lily and Albert have lost parents, but they still have the love of a family. Describe Lily's family. What is her relationship with Poppy? What is Gram's role in the family? How does Lily's relationship with Gram change at the end of the novel? How does Albert gain a sense of family from Mr. and Mrs. Orban?
Lily feels guilty because she didn't tell her father good-bye. Albert feels guilty because he didn't tell Ruth good-bye. How does each of them deal with the guilt? Lily writes an "I'm sorry" letter to her father, but we don't know what she says in it. Write the letter that Lily sends.
Lily, Margaret, and Albert must face the loss and separation of family members. Compare and contrast the way each character deals with these feelings. How do Lily and Albert help Margaret deal with her loss? How do they help each other?
Lily is a good writer. Write a journal entry that she might write on the day her father leaves for the war. Lily has a vivid imagination, she tells Margaret that her Aunt Celia is a U.S. spy in Germany; and imagines that Mr. Egan is a Nazi spy. Write a story that Lily might write about Aunt Celia or Mr. Egan.
Discuss the meaning of the title, Lily's Crossing.
During World War II, the U.S. government began rationing supplies. Find out what items were rationed. What was the purpose of a "Victory Garden"? Margaret's father goes to Detroit to make B-24 Liberator Bombers. What other jobs on the home front helped the war effort? Use reference sources and a map of Europe to trace the invasion of France by the Allies. Begin with the military's landing on Omaha Beach and follow their maneuvers through the small towns and cities that they liberated in France.
Albert comes to Rockaway from Hungary via Austria, Switzerland, France, and Canada. Ask students to calculate the approximate mileage over land and water of his trip. Check the Internet or call a travel agency and find out the flight time, including layovers, that Albert could expect if he were traveling today from Kennedy Airport in New York to Budapest, the capital of Hungary. How much would his flight cost?
Lily feels close to her mother through the stars pasted on her bedroom ceiling. Each summer she brings one star with her to Rockaway. Why are the stars so important to her? Lily makes reference to the Big Dipper, Orion's Belt, and Cassiopeia. Research these constellations and draw a diagram of each. Extend your research by locating other constellations that Lily might find in the summer skies at Rockaway.
Gram and Lily listen to "Portia Faces Life" on the radio. Write a radio script for an episode of a show entitled "Lily Faces Life." Perform your script for the entire class.
Mrs. Sherman has two war posters hanging in her shop. One says, "Loose Lips Sink ships," and the other says, "Someone Talked." Design a poster using one of these slogans.
Search for words in the novel such as convoy that specifically pertain to the war. Then, locate words such as swell and jetty that refer to the coastal setting of the book. Discuss the meaning of each word located.
Literary Frieze
Students from two classes can demonstrate their reading comprehension in a literary frieze. This can be done between two schools by using videoconferencing. Students in both classes read the same story and then groups of students create a literary frieze. In a frieze, students position their bodies and use facial expressions to show what is happening in a scene and the emotions in the scene; there is no movement and no talking. As the group from one class does a frieze, the other class tries to identify the part of the story, what characters are in the part, and what emotions are being shown. The frieze students verify if the other class is correct. Then the other class presents a frieze about another part of the story.
Matt de la Pena: mattdelapena.com/
Matt de la Pena: Childhood and Teen Years: www.colorincolorado.org/video/matt-de-la-pe%C3%B1a-childhood-and-teen-years
Matt de la Pena on Reading, Writing, and Diverse Books: www.colorincolorado.org/video/matt-de-la-pe%C3%B1a-reading-writing-and-diverse-books
Matt de la Pena Talks About His Books: www.colorincolorado.org/video/matt-de-la-pe%C3%B1a-talks-about-his-books
Ode Creation
1. Select a person, place, or thing that you want to write about.
2. Write phrases describing how your item makes you feel and why you feel this way.
3. Write many phrases telling unique qualities of your subject.
4. Now, explain why your subject is important to you and why you adore it so much!
5. Join some of your phrases into lines for your ode. Remember they don't have to rhyme!
Now revise your lines following these steps:
- take away any lines that are too similar
- add more feeling to any meaningless lines
- pick a good opening line or sentence
- order the remaining lines into their best sequence
- select a good closing line that clearly expresses your feelings about that subject
Rewrite your ode in a final draft.
Oral report suggestions
Use a clear and confident speaking voice that is loud enough for the audience to hear you. Know about your book well enough so you are able to maintain good eye content with the audience. Maintain the interest of the audience through appropriate variation of voice and body language. Have an interesting opening referring to the name of the book and the author, then explaining who your book is about. Have an orientation indicating why this person merited a book being written about them, or why they wrote a book about themselves. Have a good clear structure to your presentation: introduction/orientation, main points made clearly and elaborated on (probably in chronological order, referring to the timeline of achievements and highlights), a strong conclusion summarizing the person's achievements. Tell your opinion of the person and their activities. Share your opinion of the book and who you would recommend it to. Use your book and one note card as the only notes or prompts to your presentation. You might consider using a quote from the book to illustrate a key point. If pictures are included in the book, select one or two to share with that class that reveal something special about your subject. Encourage and respect questions from your classmates and effectively answer their questions about the book. Above all, BE PREPARED!
Publication of Archival Library & Musem Materials: http://palmm.digital.flvc.org/islandora/object/palmm%3Aroot
State University Libraries of Florida
Questions for book reports:
If you were *a characters name* how might you have reacted to *situations*.
What made *character* react the way he did?
Explore the relationships in the book - what circumstances led to their
development or demise?
Explore the language used in the novel - choose a paragraph and rewrite it using your own words, would your paragraph fit in with the rest of the novel? Why or why not?
Compare two books (the required one, plus one of their choice).
Compare the characters in each book, saying how they are similar and how they are different.
Compare the plot from each book, (similarities and differences again).
Require that specific page numbers be quoted with examples.
Ask them to compare the characters and plots from the required book with stories from TODAY'S newspaper.
Pretend you are a character in this book and write a letter to Dear Abby asking for advice on how to handle the situation that has emerged in the book.
Random house Kids: http://www.randomhousekids.com/
Readability: https://www.timetabler.com/reading/
Read aloud books for middle school classrooms
A Medieval Feast by Aliki
Cathedral and Castle by David Macaulay
Exploring the Past: The Middle Ages by Catherine Oakes
Illuminations by Jonathan Hunt
Medieval Life by Andrew Langley
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
Racinet's Full Color Pictorial of Western Costume by Racinet
Saint George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges
Skeleton Man by Joseph Bruchac
Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikelsen
A Tournament of Knights by Joe Lasker
Usborne World History: Medieval World by Jane Bingham
Walter Dragun's Town by Sheila Suncha
Readwritethink: http://www.readwritethink.org/
Reading Aloud: www.startwithabook.org/reading-aloud
Suggestions for parents and teachers from Reading Rockets
Reading Aloud to Children
In the landmark 1986 review Becoming a Nation of Readers, the Commission on Reading called reading aloud to children "the single most important activity for building the knowledge required for
success in reading." The best time to begin reading books with children is when they are infants-babies as young as six weeks old enjoy being read to & looking at pictures. By age two or three,
children begin to develop an awareness of printed letters & words. They see adults around them reading, writing, & using printed words for many purposes. Toddlers & preschoolers are especially ready to learn from adults reading to & with them.
Reading aloud to young children is important because it helps them acquire the information & skills they need to succeed in school & life, such as:
* Knowledge of printed letters & words & the relationship between sound & print.
* The meaning of many words.
* How books work & a variety of writing styles.
* The world in which they live.
* The difference between written language & everyday conversation.
* The pleasure of reading.
Here are some suggestions for reading aloud to children.
* Make reading books an enjoyable experience. Choose a comfortable place where the children can sit near you. Help them feel safe & secure. Be enthusiastic about reading. Show the children that reading is an interesting & rewarding activity. When children enjoy being read to, they will grow to love books & be eager to learn to read.
* Read to children frequently. Read to the children in your care several times a day. Establish regular times for reading during the day, & find other opportunities to read:
- Start or end the day with a book.
- Read to children after a morning play period which also helps settle them down.
- Read to them during snack time or before nap time.
* Help children to learn as you read. Offer explanations, make observations, & help the children to notice new information. Explain words that they may not know. Point out how the pictures in a book relate to the story. If the story takes place in an historic era or in an unfamiliar place, give children some background information so that they will better understand & enjoy the story. Talk about the characters' actions & feelings. Find ways to compare the book that you are reading with what the children have been doing in the classroom.
* Ask children questions as you read. Ask questions that help children connect the story with their own lives or that help them to compare the book with other books that they have read. Ask questions that help the children to notice what is in the book & ask them to predict what happens next.
* Encourage children to talk about the book. Have a conversation with the children about the book you are reading. Answer their questions. Welcome their observations, & add to what they say. Continue to talk about the book after you have read it. Invite the children to comment on the story. Ask them to talk about their favorite parts & encourage them to tell the story in their own words.
* Read many kinds of books. Children need to be read different kinds of books. Storybooks can help children to learn about times, cultures, & peoples other than their own; stories can help them understand how others think, act, & feel. Informational books can help children learn facts about the
world around them. These books also introduce children to important concepts & vocabulary that they will need for success in school. Read books that relate to the children's backgrounds: their experiences, cultures, languages & interests. Read books with characters & situations both
similar & dissimilar to those in the children's lives so they can learn about the world.
* Choose books to help you teach. Use alphabet books to help you teach the names of the letters & the sounds that each letter represents & use counting books to teach children how to count & to recognize numbers. Use poetry or rhyming books to support your teaching of phonological awareness. Use big books (oversized books that your children can easily see) to point out letters, words, & other features of print & to teach book handling. Choose stories that help children learn about social behavior, for example books about friendship to help children learn to share & cooperate. Also choose stories that show children how the world around them works for example, what is happening with the eggs that are hatching in your science area.
* Reread favorite books. Children love to hear their favorite books over & over again. Hearing books read several times helps children understand & notice new things. For example, they may figure out what an unfamiliar word means when they have heard the story several times. They may notice repeated sound patterns. If you point out some letters & words as you read the book repeatedly, children also may pick up specific words that are easily recognized & specific letter-sound relationships.
Reading Group Center: http://knopfdoubleday.com/reading-group-center/
"The Book Club Source for Book Lovers"
Reading Is Fundamental: http://www.rif.org/
Reading Logs for Primary Grades: On a page in a notebook draw 4 columns across and 20 rows down. The columns are: "Date", "Title of Book", "I read with.......", "I enjoyed......" The kids change their books each day and read with their families each night. Everyone participates. Use large Ziploc bags to go back and forth each day.
reading Rainbow Official YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/@ReadingRainbowOfficial/videos
Reading Rockets: http://www.readingrockets.org/
"Launching Young Readers"
Reading Tips for Parents (in Multiple Languages): https://www.readingrockets.org/article/reading-tips-parents-multiple-languages
Remember to Dream, Ebere by Cynthia Erivo - read by Cynthia Erivo: storylineonline.net/books/remember-to-dream-ebere/
Rhyme Zone: http://www.rhymezone.com/
"Find rhymes, synonyms, definitions, and more!"
Same story, different viewpoint
Reading the same story in newspapers form different locations is one way students can improve their analytical skills. For example, students might download an article on a nation's election from a newspaper of the country where the election is being held, from the newspaper of a different country, and from an online newspaper. Students can analyze the bias that each article presents by highlighting and bolding words or phrases in the articles. Then they can summarize the bias of each article with examples from the articles.
Scripps National Spelling Bee: http://spellingbee.com/
Sentence game
Write or print sentences on the board or use a chart story. Hand out word cards to each child These words are all contained in the story. The teacher or one of the children reads a sentence from the board. All children who have words which are in that particular sentence. The children try to arrange themselves in sentence order in front of the class.
Sight Words: Teach Your Child to Read: http://www.sightwords.com/
The Six Types of Folk Stories
1. A fable is very short, with a moral at the end. Characters are usually talking animals.
2. A folk tale is a story, also usually with talking animal characters, which uses a pattern (numbers, repetition).
3. A fairy tale is similar to a folk tale, but the characters are people. There are obvious "good guys" and "bad guys," and magic is usually involved.
4. A myth is a magical story about how natural forces work (death, creation, weather). Sometimes myths have gods, goddesses, or heroes.
5. A legend is similar to a myth, but it is based on actual historical events or people.
6. A tall tale is a story about a heroic person who did completely outrageous, impossible things.
Skinny Book
This is a book that the kids put together. The teacher chooses what goes on each page. They start with a large piece of construction paper folded in half for the cover and 7 blank sheets for the inside. Ideas for each page ranged from character traits for the main character, analyzing a quote, writing about 3 themes from the book, changing the ending, asking the author 3 questions, reading an article/short story/poem that was related to the novel and asking how it fit with the larger work. They also include art work on each page.
The Sorcerer's Stone
Prior to the writing assignment, every student selects a "sorcerer's stone", perhaps during a walk along a beach area or around the school grounds...
Pretend that your stone is the Sorcerer's Stone searched for by Harry Potter. What magic does it contain? What powers will it bestow upon you? How will you use it? This week you need to write three paragraphs for your writing assignment.
The first paragraph will be a description of your stone. Describe its color, size and shape. (You might also want to make up a place that you found it.) Use describing words that are exactly what you mean; for instance, you might want to use the thesaurus for the exact colors in your stone (there are many kinds of browns for example).
The second paragraph will be on the powers the stone will give you and how you discovered the powers. For instance, did you have to rub the stone as Aladdin did his lamp? Did you all of a sudden find yourself doing something unusual and not know how it was possible, then gradually discover that it was the stone that had given you the power? The third paragraph will be on what you do with your stone when you find out about its powers--what feats will you perform, what things will you change, whose life will you make better or worse?
Remember that each paragraph will have an opening and closing sentence!
1. You have your date and name in the corners of the paper and a title on the top line. Skip a line after the title.
2. Have margins on the left and right side of your paper.
3. Indent the first word of the paragraph.
4. The first sentence of each paragraph must be a topic sentence. These sentences must express the central thought of each paragraph that follows.
5. You have at least 3 supporting sentences in each paragraph. Use at least 2 "sense" words in each paragraph! Underline them in your rough draft.
6. You have a concluding sentence for each paragraph.
7. Begin and end each sentence correctly. Make sure each word is correctly spelled.
8. Each sentence in each paragraph must stick to the topic and relate to the topic of that paragraph.
9. Proof-read your writing, then have someone else--someone who knows their spelling and punctuation--make corrections on your paper. Have them sign this paper.
10. You have this sheet of paper turned in with your rough draft and the final copy which is done in cursive.
11. Signature of person who checked your paper
Soup by Robert Newton Peck
Living in rural 1930's, Soup and Rob didn't have Nintendo, television, or Rollerblades to entertain them. Instead the boys made games out of the common objects around them, such as sticks, apples, and a barrel. Investigate the games of the past with a fun cooperative learning activity. Assign each student the task of interviewing an older friend - a parent, grandparent, neighbor, etc. - to find out about the games that his friend played in his or her youth. After the interviews are completed, divide the class into groups. Have each group discuss its findings and choose one game to teach to the rest of the class. Schedule a Back-to-the-Past Day during which groups teach their games from "the good old days." Encourage students to dress in old-fashioned clothes. After the game session, cool off with homemade ice cream or cold lemonade.
Wherever Soup went, trouble usually wasn't far behind - much to the dismay of the often-innocent Rob. Ask students to pretend that Soup is their best friend. How would their parents feel about Soup? Would students defend Soup's antics because he was their friend. In what ways was soup a good friend to Rob? After discussing these questions, have each student fold a piece of paper in half lengthwise, unfold it, and label the tops of the two resulting columns "Soup" and "My Best Friend." In the soup column, have the student list the qualities that made Soup a good friend, citing examples from the book. In the other column, have him list his best friend's positive qualities. Are there any similarities between the two? Follow up by having students share their lists and use them to construct a class or group bar graph about friendship.
For a fun writing activity, have each student cut out a large medicine bottle from colorful construction paper. Next have the student glue a white piece of paper in the middle of the bottle to serve as the label. On the label, have the student suggest a section of the book that is sure to cure a bad case of the blues. Be sure that the student includes the chapter of the book and why he thinks that particular section will make the reader laugh out loud. Post completed bottles on bulletin board entitled "Laughter Is the Best Medicine!"
"A flame in front and a fool in back" - that's how Rob's Aunt Carrie described smoking, the very thing Rob and Soup try one day in a cornfield. Use this episode to initiate a discussion about he hazards of smoking. If your students want to investigate smoking further, try any of these activities: Invite a guest speaker from the American Cancer Society or a local physician to talk with your class about smoking; Have students create antismoking posters, buttons, or bumper stickers to display around your school; Have small groups of students discuss the following question, Why so you think people choose to smoke? What's the best way to encourage someone no to smoke? How would you answer a friend who is encouraging you to smoke?; Provide a supply of magazines. Have small groups of students cut out cigarette advertisements from magazines, then have the groups analyze the ads to determine how advertisers try to persuade people to smoke; For good literature about smoking, look for Know About Smoking by Margaret O. Hyde, Breath Of Air And A Breath of Smoke by John S. Marar, Tobacco: What It Is, What It Does by Judith S. Seizas, Smoking by Sherry Sonnett, Smoking And Health by Brian R. Ward.
Rope -- a simple object, but one that soup and rob found full of fun. They made lassos, but the most fun was tying someone up. Even when soup tied rob up and subjected him to "straw mouth" and other"tortures," the boys' friendship remained as strong as the rope that held Rob. After reading chapter 3, give each child a three-foot length of yarn. Challenge students to fill there ropes with "friendship knots." Each time a student shares a kind word or deed with another classmate, have him tie a knot in his rope. After tow or three day, have students share their ropes and tell or write about some of their "knotty experiences.
Gather copies of Robert Newton Peck's other Soup books: Soup and Me, Soup For President, Soup In The Saddle, Soup On fire, Soup On Ice, Soup On Wheels, Soup's Drum, Soup's Goat. Assign a different book to each cooperative group. After reading it, have each group create a special display of important items from its book. For example, a display on Soup might include a piece of a clothesline, an apple, Miss Kelly's note, and some brown yarn from Rob's sweater. Have each group present its display and explain each item; then set up all of the displays around the room to create your own Soup Museum.
Spirit of Tees: http://spiritoftrees.org/
"...a resource for therapists, educators, environmentalists, storytellers and tree lovers! You will find here an abundance of resources, in particular a varied collection of multicultural folktales and myths."
Starfall: https://www.starfall.com/h/ltr-classic/
Stories to Grow By with Whootie Owl: https://www.storiestogrowby.org/
"Over 100 Free Stories and Play Scripts"
Story Arts Online: www.storyarts.org/
Storyberries: www.storyberries.com/
Storyline Online: www.storylineonline.net/
Private I. Guana by Nina Laden read by Esai Morales with activity guide: www.storylineonline.net/books/private-i-guana/
Guji Guji by Chih-Yuan Chen read by Robert Guillaume with activity guide: www.storylineonline.net/books/guji-guji/
Story Shares: https://www.storyshares.org/books
"Our library is full of Relevant Reads-books that are both compelling and approachable for struggling teen and young adult readers." These books can be read for free and there is an option for teachers to sign up students in their class/school.
Student Book Talks Help Motivate Readers: www.middleweb.com/46172/student-book-talks-help-motivate-readers/
Subjective Readability Factors
1. Clarity of presentation
2. Use of illustrations
3. Number of new concepts
4. Number of new words
5. Familiarity of subject matter
6. Author's style
7. Length of book
Suessville: http://www.seussville.com/?home#/home/
Summarizing Free Websites
Rewordify.com: https://rewordify.com/
Summation Board
In cooperative learning groups, have each group discuss the book and create a summation board. A summation board is artistically designed by the students and may include computer generated work, handwritten work, collage type designs, etc., but the board must reflect their summary of the book. It incorporates active learning and creative thinking.
Tell Me Another Story: Diversity in Children's Literature: www.ezra-jack-keats.org/tell-me-another-story/
""Tell Me Another Story', a 30-minute free access documentary, presents a compelling and lively portrait of the giants, past and present, who have advanced diversity in picture books, illuminating the reality that multicultural literature is critical to our children's quality of life and the health of our society."
Produced by the EJK (Ezra Jake Keats) Foundation
Theatre Links: http://www.theatrelinks.com/
"Resources from Across the Globe"
Topical vocabulary
Show students a picture that focus on a topic and have each student list all the topical vocabulary in the picture. For example, students could be shown a restaurant picture. They would first individually list all of the words about food, the restaurant, etc. Then in groups of two or three, the students can share their lists to increase the reading vocabulary of all the students. They organize their words into categories such as food, adjectives describing foods, and what is used to serve of eat food. This activity can be followed by a passage about food or a restaurant.
True or False
Display a picture and write a true and false statements about it. Students are to look at the picture and determine if it is true or false. If they determine a statement if false, ask them to circle the part of the statement that is incorrect.
Ultimate Guide to Free Reading and Literacy Resources: www.titlemax.com/articles/ultimate-guide-to-free-reading-and-literacy-resources/
Unfold a Story
Students create fold-out books by unfolding and filling in one page at a time.
First, cover a bulletin board with craft paper and add a heading such as "Watch the Stories Unfold."
Then cut white craft paper into long strips, 10" wide by 80" long.
Draw lines every 10 inches, to create seven 10"-wide pages and a cover.
Starting at the right, fold one page over the next. Do not fold the last page - it will be the cover. Write the title of the book on the cover, then use pushpins to take the book starting from the left side to the board.
To write in the book, students remove the pushpins and unfold it to reveal one page at a time (then tack the pages in place again). The cover of the book travels to the right of the board, and the page numbers count down from left to right.
Facts Unfold - To write a nonfiction book, on each new page students write down a subject and related facts. Set up several of these Unfold a Story boards during science and social studies units to encourage children to share information on different topics within the particular curriculum.
Unusual Events Unfold - Brainstorm uncommon events (real or make-believe) and use them to start off stories. Children will be proud to see their ideas up on the board and excited to see how their ideas evolve into stories.
Fairy Tales Unfold - To get their creative juices flowing, share some unusual retellings of familiar tales, such as The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka, in which the wolf tells his side. Then have kids try their own.
Poems Unfold - Start the first line of a collaborative poem, then let the children build on it from one page to the next. Remind students that a poem can be like a tiny story and that lines don't have to rhyme.
Unit for [Your State] Authors
Students first chose a book by an author from their chosen state.
Then they read the book and kept a journal of the story by chapters, including figurative language used by the author to make their story more interesting.
They make an author card in the shape of the state with the picture, dates birth/death, and any books receiving awards.
A speaker might come in to talk to the students about book talks. The students are then videotaped having a book talk with other students that share the author.
Students research the author.
The project ends with a PowerPoint about the author.
Unite for Literacy: www.uniteforliteracy.com/
Free online picture books
Unlocking the Magic of Children's Literature: Essential Resources for Parents and Educators: octaneseating.com/blog/childrens-literature/
Using Diverse Books with ELLs: A Guide for Educators: www.colorincolorado.org/diverse-books
Using Social Stories is Beneficial for all Students: www.educationworld.com/teachers/using-social-stories-beneficial-all-students
The Very Hungry Caterpillar: thekidshouldseethis.com/post/very-hungry-caterpillar-animation
"...an animation based on the beloved children's book by writer and illustrator Eric Carle."
Visual Clues
Prepare students to answer the questions who, what, where, and when by having students look at a picture on an interactive whiteboard. Ask students to circle the visual clues that answer the question and write the questioning word next to it. For instance, a student can circle a clock in the picture and write "When" next to it. Follow this activity by having students circle and label words that tell who, what, where, and when in a written passage.
Vocabulary.com: http://www.vocabulary.com/
"Regardless of your education level or age, Vocabulary.com will help you to master the words that are essential to academic and business success."
Web English Teacher: http://www.webenglishteacher.com/index.html
The world's most mysterious book - Stephen Bax: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-world-s-most-mysterious-book-stephen-bax
There is only one copy of this book and it has been carbon dated to about 1420. However, we do not know the language and cannot read it.