1607: A New Look at Jamestown, written by Karen E. Lange with photographs by Ira Block, is a National Geographic children’s book that promotes the rediscovery of Jamestown beyond the common misconceptions that have prevailed through the years. Lange captures the essence of what life was like in Jamestown by covering the strengths and weaknesses of the settlers in Jamestown and their interaction with the Native Americans and their environment.
“Life in the brand-new Jamestown colony in 1607 wasn’t easy. The settlers arrived full of hope–then hard times brought despair.”
Curriculum Connections
1607: A New Look at Jamestown would be a great resource for teaching students about the first permanent English settlement in America and what life was like during this time (VS.3/VS.4). Teachers may integrate aspects of the English curriculum by having students write from the perspective of a settler about their experiences in Jamestown in 1607.
Additional Resources
Book: 1607 A New Looka t Jamestown
Author: Karen E. Lange
Photographs by: Ira Block
Publisher: National Geographic Children’s Books
Publication Date: 2007
Pages:48
Grade Range: 3-5
ISBN: 1426300123
Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse, written and illustrated by Kevin Henkes, is a story about a little mouse who loves going to school and always follows the rules. She even wants to be a teacher when she grows up! One day, Lilly comes to school with a purple purse, cute sunglasses, and shiny quarters, and when she is unable to hold in her enthusiasm a few consequences follow her actions.
“Throughout the rest of the day, Lilly’s purse and quarters and sunglasses were tucked safely inside her desk. She peeked at them often but did not disturb a soul.”
Curriculum Connections
Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse would be a great book to introduce the importance for having and following rules. Teachers can also emphasize other English concepts such as oral and writing skills by having students write or speak about a time when they did something that resulted in a bad consequence, or something which they regretted. Students should recognize that breaking these rules will have consequences. Teachers can also integrate math skills such as coin recognition into a lesson using this story.
Additional Resources
- Story recall activity: Students must color and cut out the items that Lilly had in her purse and glue them on the purse template.
- Students should write about a time when they did something that they regretted. What were the consequences of their actions?
- Read the story with your students the first week of school. Then, hand out the assignment for your students to create their own “purse” (bookbags for boys). Inside the purse should be a few selected items that reflect their uniqueness. Have students present their purses and bookbags to the class.
- Counting worksheet using items found in the book
- Coin recognition and value worksheet (also includes story recall)
Book: Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse
Author: Kevin Henkes
Illustrator: Kevin Henkes
Publisher: Greenwillow Books; 1st edition
Publication Date: 1996
Pages:32
Grade Range: K-3
ISBN: 0688128971
My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States, selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins and illustrated by Stephen Alcorn, is a collection of 50 poems combined with beautiful art that together create a portrait of the United States. The states are broken down according to their specific region, and a map and facts about each state precede the poems that describe them. The beautiful illustrations and fun poems are sure to keep the attention of students!
“It’s here our U.S. Presidents
are sworn into command;
where the courtly U.S. Capitol
and the stately White House stand.”
(excerpt from Washington D.C. by Rebecca Kai Dotlich)
Curriculum Connections
My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States is a great book for teaching the different states and regions of the United States. It covers the Virginia Social Studies SOL 1.4d, which involves the identification of the United States and Virginia on maps and globes. Teachers can also integrate English into a geography lesson plan by asking students to create their own poems about where they live.
Additional Resources
- This is an excellent 10-day unit map skills lesson plan. Essential knowledge includes:
Symbols and cardinal directions are used to show where objects and places are located on maps and globes.
The United States and Virginia can be identified by their physical shapes on maps and globes.
The locations of the capital cities of Washington, D.C. and Richmond, Virginia are identified by specific symbols.
- Using this worksheet, students can practice their map-making skills as well as the identification and usage of the cardinal directions.
- ThisPowerPoint is a great teaching resource for identifying the United States and Virginia on maps and globes.
- Watch the My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States Reading Rainbow episode, and have students compare and contrast the girl from rural Montana and the boy from New York City. As a class, complete a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting the lives of the two children.
Book: My America
Author: Lee Bennett Hopkins
Illustrator: Stephen Alcorn
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing
Publication Date: 2000
Pages:96
Grade Range: 1-5
ISBN: 0-689-81247-7
If you give a mouse a cookie, written by Laura Joffe Numeroff and illustrated by Felicia Bond, is a cute story about a little mouse whose wants and needs change as he performs various tasks throughout the day. The author takes the reader on a circular path beginning with “if you give a mouse a cookie, he’s going to ask for a glass of milk…” and ending with, “chances are if he asks for a glass of milk, he’s going to want a cookie to go with it.”
Curriculum Connections
This book would be great for introducing the economic concepts of wants, needs, goods, and services. Students may identify different examples of these concepts within the story as well as in their everyday lives. It can also be used for the literary concepts of cause and effect, sequencing, and recall.
Additional Resources
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Bake cookies! Create a poll as to what kinds of cookies the children prefer. Graph the responses for the children to see.
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Literacy Activity: Story Sequencing
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Interactive Activity: Learn numbers with mouse, letters with pig, and shapes with moose!
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Cross curricular lesson plan-Economics and Language Arts: Introduce the concept of wants and needs while also covering cause and effect, sequencing, and predictions.
Book: If You Give A Mouse A Cookie
Author: Laura Joffe Numeroff
Illustrator: Felicia Bond
Publisher: Balzer + Bray; 1 edition
Publication Date: 1985
Pages: 40
Grade Range: K-2
ISBN: 0060245867
What Makes a Shadow, written by Clyde Robert Bulla and illustrated by June Otani, is a part of the Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science book series that explains the simple and easily observable scientific concept of shadows for young children. The book begins by identifying and defining shadows and broadens by explaining what makes shadows, why some shadows are different than others, and where we see shadows everyday without even realizing it.
“The sun…shines on you. But the sun does not shine through you. There is a dark place behind you where the sun does not shine. The darness is your shadow.”
“Sometimes the sky is dark with clouds…The shadows make the day dark. We say, “This is a cloudy day.”
“Watch the sun go down. Watch the night come. Night is a shadow.”
Curriculum Connections
What Makes a Shadow? is a great book for introducing the concept of shadows for the kindergarten curriculum (Virginia SOL K.7a). The book broadens from the simple observation of a child’s shadow following behind him or her on a sunny day to more abstract observations such as the darkness of the sky on a cloudy day and the darkness of night. Not only are readers presented with a definition of shadows, but they also are given the opportunity to observe how shadows change based upon the distance of the object from the light as well as the amount of light that shines through the object.
Additional Resources
- This is a fun, live performance of a hand puppet artist creating different images on a large screen accompanied by the music of Louis Armstrong.
- This is a simple, interactive poem about shadows. Students can either read it themselves or listen as the computer reads it to them.
- This is an interactive java applet with shadows. Move the images and/or the light bulb and see how the shadow changes.
- This interactive day and night webquest teaches students how day and night are created as the Earth turns. Students can read the text or have it read to them as they follow the directions of the text.
Book: What Makes a Shadow?
Author: Clyde Robert Bulla
Illustrator: June Otani
Publisher: Collins, Rev Sub edition
Publication Date: 1994
Pages: 32
Grade Range: K-3
ISBN: 0060229160
Bear Snores On, written by Karma Wilson and illustrated by Jane Chapman, is an adorable story about a big brown bear hibernating through the winter. As he sleeps, a tiny mouse “creep-crawls”, a hare “hops”, a badger “scuttles”, and several other animals enter the cave, but the bear continues to “snore on.” He finally awakes in sadness as he realized that he has missed the party; however, now that winter is over they have all of spring, summer, and fall to enjoy each other’s company.
Curriculum Connections
This would be a great book for introducing the concept of hibernation. It corresponds with the Virginia Science SOL 3.4 focusing on the behavioral and physical adaptations that allow animals to respond to life needs.
Additional Resources
- This powerpoint is a great source for first introducing hibernation. It can be used to encourage dialogue about what hibernation is, which animals hibernate, how they prepare for hibernation, and why it is an essential life process.
- This lesson plan combines objectives of both English and Science. While asking students to both read and write the concepts of hibernation are introduced. It also includes several hands on crafts and activities to reinforce the learned material.
- This website features several songs that sum up the basic concepts of hibernation as well as links to other websites for more hibernation themed activities.
Book: Bear Snores On
Author: Karma Wilson
Illustrator: Jane Chapman
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
Publication Date: 2002
Pages: 40
Grade Range: K-3
ISBN: 0689831870
I Fall Down, written by Vicki Cobb and illustrated by Julia Gorton, is an interactive picture book that allows students to make important discoveries about the force of gravity. Throughout the book, students are asked to perform various tasks as they read, helping them to retain information both through literature and experimentation.
I Fall Down introduces the concept of gravity by encouraging students to observe what occurs when different objects fall. Where do they go? They always fall down! Whether it is a “spoonfool of molasses” dripping into a jar or a little boy who trips on the playground, all objects fall down. After explaining this phenomenon as being merely the ever-present force of gravity, the book then expands upon the concept of gravity by showing that gravity pulls objects at the same speed. If an apple and a paper clip are dropped at the same time, they both reach the ground at the same time. Scientific concepts that are often unrecognized though strongly affect our everyday lives are explored in this book. Students will more easily retain this information through the experimentation and real life connections that it provides.
Curriculum Connections
This would be a great book for first grade students learning about force and motion. Gravity can be introduced as an example of a naturally occuring force that is everpresent within our daily lives.
Additional Resources
- This powerpoint can serve as a useful introduction to the concepts of force and motion. It introduces basic and essential vocabulary that needs to be understood before expanding upon this topic by introducing heavier topics such as gravity.
- General Pre/Post-Assessment: This allows teachers to assess what students know about gravity before the lesson, as well as what take away from the lesson. The post-assessment asks students to dig deeper from what they have learned and hypothesize what they think the world would look like if gravity did not exist.
- Experiment: Students can work in small groups to complete this activity which asks them to hypothesize which item will hit the ground first if dropped at the same time as another item. Not only does this evoke class discussion about why the results turned out as they did, but it also allows students to practice their writing skills.
- Interactive Website: This is a fun, interactive online activity that creatively explains and illustrates the force of gravity. It is sure to catch and keep the attention of students.
Book: I Fall Down
Author: Vicki Cobb
Illustrator: Julia Gorton
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: 2004
Pages: 40
Grade Range: 1-3
ISBN: 068817843X
Millions to Measure, written by David M. Schwartz and illustrated by Steven Kellogg, is an interactive picture book that is sure to keep the attention of school-aged children as they go on a journey toward understanding measurment.
Summary: In this book, Marvelosissimo the Mathematical Magician takes four children on a journey to see how people measured many years ago and how measurement has evolved over time. The ways that people measured distance, size, weight, and volume were inefficient because there was not a constant source of measurement that could be applied to all people and things around the world. Eventually, standards of measurement were created so that everything could be measured using the same source of measurement. Marvelosissimo the Mathematical Magician introduces the way that people measure length, distance, weight and volume, as well as the differences between the metric system and standard English system.
“Many people believe that the United States will eventually join the rest of the world and measure only in the metric system. But you don’t have to wait until then, because you already know how!”
The usage and understanding of the metric system is promoted in this book, which is beneficial as the entire world becomes more scientifically and mathematically driven.
Curriculum Connections: This would be a great book for grade two studying SOL 2.1: Scientific Investigation, Reasoning, and Logic. Within this SOL students should understand the usage and terminology of both the metric and standard systems of measurement. This book could be used as an introduction to a lesson involving the observation and investigation of various items using the two systems of measurement. This will allow practice with the terminology and sources of measurement that will be used throughout the year during scientific activities and experiments.
Additional Resources:
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Create a Measuring Lab where you create separate areas for students to measure items for Distance, Weight, and Volume. Students can work in teams of two: one can measure and the other can record the measurement.
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This worksheet asks students to record the temperature shown in the drawing of a given thermometer. They then are to draw a red line at a temperature of their choice and draw something that they would do at this temperature.
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Interactive bulletin board idea: students are to find items that are one inch in length to be displayed on a bulletin board; the board will also display a question of the day and prize can be given to those students who answer correctly. There is also a corresponding worksheet for students to measure seven of their favorite items in their rooms.
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This worksheet is based on the book Millions to Measure and allows students to use their own innovative source of measurement to measure various items. They are then asked how they would measure other various items using the units of measurement.
General Information:
Book: Millions to Measure
Author: David M. Schwartz
Illustrator: Steven Kellogg
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: 2003
Pages: 40
Grade Range: K-3 (ages 4-8)
ISBN: 0688129161
