Author Archive for Cory

Teaching Civics with Children’s Literature: So You Want to Be President?

Published by Cory on November 16, 2009 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

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So You Want to Be President? is a humorous look at the responsibilities of the President of the United States.  This story can be used to describe what the President does, along with some information on some of our past presidents.

“One thing is certain, if you want to be President - and stay President - be honest.  Harry Truman paid for his own postage stamps.  Grover Cleveland was famous for his motto:  ‘Tell the truth’.  Other Presidents weren’t so honest.  Democrat Bill Clinton was impeached for lying under oath.”

This story also talks about some everyday activities that Presidents do, or don’t do, that would relate to student’s every day lives.

“Some Presidents knew how to dance and some didn’t.  Our first President did a mean minuet.  At his inaugural ball George Washington danced with every lady but his wife.  (Mrs. W had stayed home!)”

This story should be used with an extension about President Obama as it mentions that:

“Every President was different from every other and yet no woman has been president.  No person of color has been President.  No person who wasn’t a Protestant or a Roman Catholic has been President.  But if you care enough, anything is possible.”

Curriculum Connections:

This story aligns with VA Civics SOL K.9, expressing that Kindergarteners should understand that the President is the leader of the United States.  This story however can easily be used with older students to introduce learning about biographies of individual presidents.

Additional Resources:

Scholastic’s website has an audio recording of the story along with expansion questions about the story, and a connection to President Obama.

Eduscape’s website has a plethora of resources relating to Presidents, connecting them to the story for older students.

Apples4theteacher.com provides activities for President’s Day for a wide age range of students.

General Information:
Book:  So You Want to Be President?
Author:  Judith St. George
Illustrator:  David Small
Publisher:  Philomel
Publication Date:  August 21, 2000
ISBN-13: 978-0399234071

Teaching Geography with Children’s Literature: The Scrambled States of America

Published by Cory on November 1, 2009 in geography, book review, social studies and Uncategorized. 0 Comments

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 The Scrambled States of America is a hilarious and adorable book about the fifty states, and their desire for exploring other areas of the United States.  The states have gotten tired of their neighbors and monotonous daily routine, and want to meet other states.  Kansas and Nebraska decide to have a party and invite all of the states.

“So, with a little help from their neighbors, Missouri and Iowa, those wacky little midwestern states planned the biggest party ever… At last the big day came, and little by little the states arrived at the party… Within minutes after their arrival the states began making friends with each other.”

At the party, Virginia and Idaho decide they would like to change places to see other parts of the US.

” ‘ Yes,’ Virginia chimed in. ‘Then we thought maybe all of you might want to try it, too.’  A wave of excitement swept through the room.  They could hardly wait.  Immediately the states made their plans to switch places.  They said their good-byes, and went directly home to pack.”

While the switch and new places were exciting at first, it didn’t take long for the states to miss home.

“Alaska, who had been wanting a little more interaction with the other states, was irritated by Oklahoma’s handle jabbing into his left side and Michigan’s thumb tickling his right.”

Soon enough the states decided they wanted to switch back, and packed their bags and made their way home.

“That night, all the states in the country went to bed feeling happy about the new friends they had made but, most of all, feeling very thankful to be home.”

Curriculum Connections:

 This story is a cute way to introduce the VA Geography SOL 1.4, 1.5, and 1.6 to students, as it will familiarize them with the proper placement of the fifty states on the US Map, as well as some of the characteristics of and products of those states.

Additional Resources:

This lesson plan for sixth graders is a way to incorporate this book into a secondary classroom looking for an interactive way to study the 50 states in depth.

This teacher blog is full of many ideas for teaching the states to your students.

Use this video and song to teach the 50 states to your students!

General Information:
Book:  The Scrambled States of America
Author/Illustrator:  Laurie Keller
Publisher:  Henry Holt and Co.
Publication Date:  October 15, 1998
Pages:  32 pages
Grade Range:  K-2 Grade
ISBN-13:  978-0805058024

Teaching Economics with Children’s Literature: Little Nino’s Pizzeria

Published by Cory on October 25, 2009 in economics, book review and Uncategorized. 0 Comments

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Little Nino’s Pizzeria, written by Karen Barbour is a story about a little boy named Tony, and his father, Nino, who own and operate a pizzeria.  Little Nino’s Pizzeria is a small, but popular restaurant, run by Tony’s father, who is the chef.  It is a family run restaurant, where Tony is able to assist with many of the tasks, such as stirring pizza sauce and collecting dirty dishes.  Tony and his father also give extra pizzas to homeless people so that they aren’t hungry.

“People come from all over town to eat at Little Nino’s.  They wait in long lines because our restaurant is so small. One night a man came to see my dad after the last pizza.  What did he want?  That night my dad told my mom we would be making lots more money now.  The next day, my dad locked up Little Nino’s.  Soon he opened a big, fancy, expensive restaurant.  He called it Big Nino.”

At the new big restaurant, Tony gets in the way and is not allowed to help his father run the restaurant.  After trying to help in many ways, Tony gives up and goes home.  One night, his father came home tired from work.  He said…

” ‘I miss cutting tomatoes, and chopping onions, and kneading dough’…’I'm tired of so much paperwork and money talk’ he shouted.  ‘I want…I WANT TO MAKE PIZZA!’ “

The next day Nino told the man with the money that he needed to find a new person to run Big Nino, and Nino and Tony reopen Little Nino’s.  At the end of the story, Nino renames the restaurant “Little Tony’s Pizzeria” in honor of his best helper, his son Tony.

Curriculum Connections:

Tony’s father has to make some difficult decisions about his restaurant.  The decision to reopen his small restaurant goes along with VA Economics SOL 1.8, which teaches children that they can’t have everything that they want.  This story also can be used to help teach VA Economics SOL 1.7, which describes goods, services, sellers, and buyers.

Additional Resources:

The Powell Center for Economic Literacy provides a short lesson plan that gets parents involved while reviewing the terms goods, producer, and consumer.

Kid’s Econ Posters provides a set of good questions to ask children after reading the book to expand the lesson.

Extend this story into snack time for a quick and easy treat for your students, an English Muffin Pizza!

General Information:
Book:  Little Nino’s Pizzeria
Author:  Karen Barbour
Publisher:  Voyager Books
Publication Date:  March 15, 1990
Pages:  32 pages
Grade Range: 1-2 grade
ISBN-13: 978-0152463212

Teaching Earth Science with Children’s Literature: Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain.

Published by Cory on September 20, 2009 in environment, earth science, book review, poetry, science and Uncategorized. 0 Comments

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Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain, written by Verna Aardema, is story that tells of an African legend about what makes the sky rain.  This story is a long, repetitive, rhyming poem, much like “In the House that Jack Built”.

A herdsman name Ki-pat stands watching his cows, as well as the other animals of the Serengeti, begin to go hungry as the fields and pastures dried from lack of rain.

“These are the cows, all hungry and dry,
Who mooed for the rain to fall from the sky;
To green-up the grass, all brown and dead,
That needed the rain from the cloud overhead -
The big black cloud, all heavy with rain,
That shadowed the ground on Kapiti Plain.”

Ki-pat worries about the pastures and animals drying up and becoming ill, and wants to make the rain fall out of the cloud.  A feather falls from an eagle soaring above, and gives Ki-pat an idea - he will shoot the cloud to make the rain pour out!

“This was the shot that pierced the could
And loosed the rain with thunder LOUD!
A shot from the bow, so long and strong,
And strung with a string, a leather thong;
A bow for the arrow Ki-pat put together
With a slender stick and an eagle feather;
From the eagle who happened to drop a feather,
A feather that helped to change the weather.”

The rain finally falls on Ki-pat’s field, which greens the grass, helping to feed and water his starving animals.

“So the grass grew green, and the cattle fat!
And Ki-pat got a wife and a little Ki-pat -
Who tends the cows now, and shoots down the rain,
When black clouds shadow Kapiti Plain.”

Curriculum Connections:

 This book will help teach children the relationship of seasonal change and weather patterns to life processes of plants and animals, as well as the importance of the water cycle for the life of living things, as suggested by VA Science SOLs 1.7abc, as well as 3.9c.

Additional Resources:

Teacherlink has an extension geography lesson for this book that highlights the different regions and wildlife of Africa, as well as point out that people who live far away from each other can be similar, as well as have big differences in the way they live.

Scholastic’s website provides guided reading questions to help children make predictions and tell their feelings about the story, as well as gives a guide for “choral reading” of the repetitious sections of the poem.

Kids Econ Posters provides an economics lesson plan for this book highlighting the topic of scarcity.

General Information:

Book:  Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain
Author:  Verna Aardema
Illustrator:  Beatriz Vidal
Publisher:  Scholastic
Publication Date:  2001
Pages:  32 pages
Grade Range:  1-3
ISBN-13: 978-0140546163

Teaching Life Science with Children’s Literature: Animals Robert Scott Saw: An Adventure in Antarctica

Published by Cory on September 14, 2009 in nonfiction, history, life science, environment, geography, science, biography and Uncategorized. 0 Comments

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Animals Robert Scott Saw: An Adventure in Antarctica, written by Sandra Markle, is a book that goes into detail about the first exploration of the South Pole.  Much of what was experienced in Antarctica was influenced by the animals the explorers were surrounded with.

Robert Scott was an explorer from Scotland who wanted to learn more about the South Pole.  He found other researchers to travel with him on his expedition, got together a group of sled dogs, and traveled south.  Throughout this book, different animals that Scott and his friends saw in the wildlife, as well as used to aid their travels, either as guides, food, or for warmth.  It also discusses the dangers their research several animals affected.

“Why Hunt Whales and Seals? In the 1800s, whale oil for lamps was in great demand.  Lightweight, bendable whalebone was used to make womens clothing, such as hoops skirts, which were fashionable at the time.  Seals were hunted for their fur.  Years of hunting and greatly decreased the numbers of whales and seals in much of the world, so hunters had to search for them in more remote places - even as far away as Antarctica.”

The book also provides children with tidbits of information about the animals the researchers saw in little additional bubbles next to the animal’s pictures.

“Daddy Duty.  After mating, female Emporer penguins each lay one egg in May or early June, during the Antarctic winter.  Having used up a lot of energy to produce the eff, the female then heads for the sea to fee.  The male balances the egg on its feet and overs it with a fold of skin on its belly.  That way, the egg is kept warm for three to four months while the chick inside develops.”

An added bonus to this book, apart from its nice illustrations are the inclusion of real photographs from the expedition of some of the explorers, and even Robert Scott’s dog Scamp.  This helps the story of the explorer seem more real to life, and also gives students a good idea of what kind of environment they were living in, as well as what the explorers has to do to adapt to their new environment.

Curriculum Connections:

This book can be read as an extension resource for the VA Science SOL 4.5d which discusses how plants and animals interact with each other and their environment to survive in their habitat.  It also highlights 4.5f which discusses how humans can interfere with their environment and potentially cause damages.  By highlighting the different animals the explorers saw, and the way the animals reacted to the humans in their environment, and the changes the sled dogs had to go through, children will be able to see that animals survive very differently depending on their surroundings and how humans treat them.

Additional Resources:

The Laboratory for Ecophysiological Cryobiology has a great page with lesson plans for students to either plan their own expedition to Antarctica, as well as  lesson plan for an Antarctica Webquest.

The College of William and Mary website has a unit plan about Antarctica including science, math and reading lessons that could be used as an extension after students have read this book.

The National Geographic Website has a lesson idea for children to do a web search to research animals in Antarctica, and the use their drawings and research to hypothesis about and create a giant food web of Antarctic creatures.

General Information:

Book: Animals Robert Scott Saw
Author: Sandra Markle
Publisher: Chronicle Books LLC
Publication Date: March 2008
Pages: 48
Grade Range: 4-5 grade
ISBN-13: 9780811849180

Teaching Physical Science with Children’s Literature: Who Sank the Boat?

Published by Cory on September 7, 2009 in physical science, book review, poetry, science and Uncategorized. 0 Comments

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Who Sank the Boat? by Pamela Allen is a short, repetitive, and slightly rhyming story that helps children learn about sinking and floating, as well as making assumptions and hypotheses.  Who Sank the Boat? begins with several barnyard animals who decide that they would like to go for a short row in a boat, and follows them as they try to fit all the animals in the boat without it tipping over.

“Was it the cow who almost fell in, when she tilted the boat and made such a din?  No, it wasn’t the cow who almost fell in.  Do you know who sank the boat?

The story continues as the smaller animals begin to enter the boat, and the it gets lower in the water.

“Was it the pig as fat as butter, who stepped in at the side and caused a great flutter?  No, it wasn’t the pig as fat as butter.  Do you know who sank the boat?

The end has a surprise twist, that very few readers are likely to predict.

“Was it the little mouse, the last to get in, who was the lightest of all?  Could it be him? You DO know who sank the boat.”

This book teaches that something’s ability to float or sink can depend on the removal or addition of even a very small item, such as a mouse, as well as where items are placed inside a boat to keep the weight evenly distributed to help balance the boat.

Curriculum Connections:

This book can help children become familiar with water and its properties, and is able to support some materials, ie: allowing them to float, and its inability to support others, ie: sinking.  Through follow up lessons and assignments this book also assists students in understanding that water and its properties can be observed, tested, and recorded, as is reflected in VA Science SOL K.5c.

Additional Resources:

The Science NetLinks site has a good lesson plan involving an online sinking and floating activity as well as using aluminum foil to make miniature boats to practice making them float and sink.

The Athens State University website reccommends using this book to connect to measuring scales and units such as a pound, and figuring out which things are likely to weigh more and less than a pound.

The SEDL website has a good lesson plan for helping students make predictions about which objects will float or sink, as well as help them record data in graphic organizers.

General Resources:
Book: Who Sank the Boat?
Author/Illustrator: Pamela Allen
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Publication Date: April 16, 1996
Pages: 32 pages
Grade Range: Kindergarten-1st
ISBN: 978-0698113732

Teaching Process Skills with Children’s Literature: Starry Messenger

Published by Cory on August 31, 2009 in space science, process skills and biography. 0 Comments

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Starry Messenger, written by Peter Sís is an extremely child friendly biography of the famous philosopher and astronomist Galileo Galilee.  This book could be used with a wide variety of children of different ages and reading levels.

The main story line is easily followed by younger children, and is accompanied with extra information and quotes written in cursive for older students.  The illustrations, also done by Peter Sís, are interesting, yet very complex and filled with extra information for older students to pick out using the knowledge they acquire from the extra facts.

Starry Messenger begins by describing the world that Galileo lived in, giving more information about beliefs and traditions of the time:

“For hundreds of years, most people thought the earth was the center of the universe, and the sun and the moon and all the other planets revolved around it.  they did not doubt or wonder if this was true.  They just followed tradition… In those days, Italy was a country where many great artists, writers, musicians and scholars lived…In the city of Pisa a little boy was born with stars in eyes.  His parents named him Galileo.”

Some of the extra information provides more fact filled tidbits for older children to consider when reading the story:

“Italy was a quilt of city-states, each with its own laws and government.  A common religion, the Catholic faith, was one thing they all shared, and the Church was a powerful influence…Until the age of eleven, Galileo was taught at home by his father.  Then he was sent to the Benedictine Monastery of Santa Maria di Vallonbiosa where he studied Latin, Greek, religion and music.”

Starry Messenger also helps explain to children an important aspect that is often glossed over:  the importance of the traditions of the ancient world, and that those traditions were so important to the leaders of the country, i.e. the Church, that Galileo was disowned for his beliefs because they were different.

“Galileo was afraid.  He knew that people had suffered terrible torture and punishment for not following tradition.  It could happen to him… Galileo was condemned to spend the rest of his life locked in his house under guard.  But he still had stars on his mind and no one could keep him from thinking about the wonders of the skies and the mysteries of the universe.”

Curriculum Connections 

VA SOL Science 1.1b and 1.1f: The student will conduct investigations in which b.) simple tools are used to enhance observations and f.) predictions are based on patterns of observation rather than random guesses

VA SOL Science 2.1a, 2.1g and 2.1h: The student will conduct investigations in which a.) observation is differentiated from personal interpretation, and conclusions are drawn based on observations and g.) unexpected or unusual quantitative data are recognized and h.) simple physical models are constructed.

Additional Resources

  • Peter Sís’ own website provides multiple lesson extension ideas and lesson ideas for many standards of learning in subject areas such as geography and history.
  • TeacherVision provides a lesson plan for older students, grades 6-8, including measuring with scales and using pendulums like Galileo used in his studies.
  • 400 Years of the Telescope expands upon the biography of Galileo, as well as gives extra information about the telescope.

Book: Starry Messenger
Author/Illustrator: Peter Sís
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication Date: September  2000
Pages: 40 pages
Age Range: 4-8
ISBN-13: 978-0374470272