Mrs. Meacham’s Graphing
http://www.jmeacham.com/graph.of.the.week.htm

Graph of the Day (with printables)
http://www.kinderpond.com/graphingideas.html

Daily Sign-In Questions
http://www.proteacher.net/discussions/showthread.php?t=14153

Mathwire Resources

• Glyphs
  http://www.mathwire.com/glyphs/glyphs.html
• Morning Math Routines
  http://www.mathwire.com/routines/morning.html

Graphing in Your Classroom
http://www.teachingheart.net/graphing1.html

Kidscount1234 Resources

• Graphing
  http://www.kidscount1234.com/graphing.html
• Glyphs
  http://www.kidscount1234.com/glyphs.html
• Venn Diagrams
  http://www.kidscount1234.com/venndiagrams.html

Classroom Graphing Ideas
http://www.abc123kindergarten.com/graphmka2001.html

Mrs McGowan’s Graphs
http://www.mrsmcgowan.com/math/graphs.htm

CanTeach Math: List of Daily Math Graph Questions
http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/numbers13.html

In addition to these resources, I recommend these two books about graphing.

Tiger Math: Learning to Graph from a Baby Tiger by Ann Whitehead Nagda and Cindy Bickel - This book uses a variety of picture, circle (pie), bar, and line graphs to demonstrate how an orphaned Siberian tiger cub grows as he is raised by hand. The story of T.J.’s growth told through text, photos and graphs, with graphs appearing on the left page with explanations.

The Great Graph Contest by Loreen Leedy - What happens when a snail, toad and lizard get together? Why the snail sets up a contest between his friends to see who can make the best graph! Points will be awarded by snail for correct math, creativity, and neatness. Who do you think will win? There is much going on here that kids will love. A great deal of information is shared in word balloons. At the end of the book, the data collection and construction of each graph are carefully explained.

Let’s start with primary sources. These wonderful documents of our past make the study of history come alive for many students. The following sites will help you guide students in the use and interpretation of primary source documents.

Library of Congress: What are Primary Sources?
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/start/prim_sources.html
History Matters: Making Sense of Documents
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/browse/makesense/
Integrating OurDocuments.gov Into the Classroom
http://www.ourdocuments.gov/content.php?flash=true&page=integration

Now that you have some ideas for successfully integrating primary sources into instruction, here are a wealth of sites that make primary sources available to your students with just the click of a mouse!

Library of Congress: American Memory Project
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/
The National Archives: Charters of Freedom
http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/charters.html
Declaring Independence: Drafting the Documents
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/declara/
Primary Documents in American History
http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/PrimDocsHome.html

Once your students become comfortable with primary sources, you may want to turn them into historical detectives. Here are some terrific resources for doing just that.

History Detectives: How-To Guides
http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/diy/index.html
History Trail: How to Do History
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/lj/how_to_do_historylj/preview.shtml

Let’s move on to geography. The National Geography standards define a geographically informed person as one who knows and understands (1) the world in spatial terms; (2) places and regions; (3) physical systems; (4) human systems; (5) environment and society; and (6) the uses of geography. Whew! That’s a tall order! The best place to start is the National Geographic site for geography standards in the classroom. You will find a wealth of lesson plans, interactive activities, and maps. For more on maps, the U.S. Geological Survey has some terrific resources online.

National Geographic Xpeditions
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/
USGS Learning Web: Lesson Plans (Scroll down to geography and maps.)
http://education.usgs.gov/common/primary.htm

Do you want to know more about specific places in your home state or in the big, wide world? Here are some sites to start with.

IPL Kidspace: Stately Knowledge
http://www.ipl.org/div/kidspace/stateknow/skhome.html
FactMonster World Geography
http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0770414.html
Time for Kids: Around the World
http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/kids/hh/goplaces
United Nations Country at a Glance
http://cyberschoolbus.un.org/infonation/index.asp

If its maps you are looking for, look no further than these online collections.

Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/
Library of Congress Map Collections: 1500-2004
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/gmdhome.html
Census Bureau Map Products
http://www.census.gov/geo/www/maps/CP_MapProducts.htm
Houghton Mifflin Outline Maps
http://www.eduplace.com/ss/maps/

Let’s move on to economics. Lots of teachers are a bit uncomfortable with this topic. Here are a few sites that offer some background information that can be used by kids and teachers alike.

Social Studies for Kids: Economics
http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/subjects/economicsbasic.htm
Econopolis
http://library.thinkquest.org/3901/

Once you are familiar with economics concepts, you’ll need some ideas for the classroom. There are many wonderful resources online for teaching elementary economics concepts. Begin with the National Center for Economic Education, a site that has more than 400 lesson plan ideas for you to browse!

NCEE Online Lessons
http://www.ncee.net/resources/lessons.php
EconEdWeb
http://ecedweb.unomaha.edu/lessons/lessonsK-5.cfm
MoneyInstructor.com: Elementary Economics Lessons (Many lessons and materials are free, but you must register to access them.)
http://www.moneyinstructor.com/elementary.asp
KidsEconBooks - Literature Connections
http://kidseconbooks.com/html/title_list__alphabetical.html
Economics and Geography Lessons for 32 Children’s Books
http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/curriculum/socialstd/Econ_Geog.html

Since you’ve just visited two sites that focus on children’s literature, let’s take some time now to look for a few good books to use in your social studies lessons. Here are some great sites to help you find titles that work for different concepts in social studies. Start your search with one of these searchable databases of children’s books. Enter a keyword and see what comes up. (Be careful entering keywords in the first database, as you are limited to 10 characters!)

Children’s Picture Book Database
http://www.lib.muohio.edu/pictbks/
Database of Award Winning Children’s Literature
http://www.dawcl.com/search.asp

In addition to these sites, you can also find annotations for social studies books online. The National Council for the Social Studies, in conjunction with the Children’s Book Council, publishes a list of notable trade books each year. Also, PBS Teacher Source updates its list of social studies books monthly. Check out the new recommendations and search the archive.

Notable Trade Books for Young People
http://www.socialstudies.org/resources/notable/
PBS TeacherSource Recommended Books for Social Studies
http://www.pbs.org/teachers/bookslinks/bookspages/socialstudies.html

Let’s go back to content and think a bit about civics. This is the area of the social studies curriculum where we teach about citizenship, democracy, and how our government works. Start with Ben’s Guide to U.S. Government, a truly comprehensive site that is written at a variety of grade levels, making it appealing to kids of all ages.

Ben’s Guide to U.S. Government for Kids
http://bensguide.gpo.gov/
Congress for Kids
http://congressforkids.net/cartoonintro.htm
Kids in the House
http://clerkkids.house.gov/
infoUSA
http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/
Children’s Books and Web Sites About the U.S. Government
http://www.corzine.senate.gov/reference/bibliography/kids/kids.htm

The last big content area, and the one that first comes to mind when folks hear the words “social studies,” is history. I would need several more pages just to list all the great sites that are out there for the study of history. Since I can’t possibly do this area justice, let’s start by focusing on some comprehensive sites and those that offer quick “today in history” facts.

Kidipede: History for Kids
http://www.historyforkids.org/
Browse the World at Mr.Dowling.com
http://www.mrdowling.com/index.html
BBC History for Kids
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/forkids/
BBC Ancient History
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/
America’s Story
http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi
Freedom: A History of US
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/historyofus/index.html
The History Channel: This Day in History
http://www.historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?category=leadstory
Infoplease: This Day in History
http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory

Now that you have reviewed varied topics within the social studies, it’s probably time to find a lesson plan. Here are some sites that offer a wide range of lessons and activity ideas.

Educator’s Desk Reference: Social Studies Lesson Plans
http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/lessons.cgi/Social_Studies
Academy Curriculum Exchange: K-5 Social Studies
http://ofcn.org/cyber.serv/academy/ace/soc/elem.html
UEN Resources: K-2 Core Lesson Plans (Scroll to content to find social studies lessons.)
http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/LPview.cgi?core=1209
UEN Resources: 3-6 Social Studies Lessons
http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/LPview.cgi?core=4

So, your lessons are planned and you have all your resources ready. How are you going to assess student learning? Here are some sites with ideas for evaluating student work, developing rubrics, and more.

Social Studies: Classroom Based Assessment
http://www.k12.wa.us/assessment/WASL/socialstudies/default.aspx
Authentic Assessment of Social Studies
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/MI_Auth_12350_7.AssmtMan.pdf
Alternative Assessments in Geography
http://www.coe.ilstu.edu/iga/interact/index.htm

Are you interested in making a home-school connection? Here are some resources to involve parents.

Early Childhood: Where Learning Begins - Geography
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/Geography/index.html
Helping Your Child Become a Responsible Citizen
http://www.ed.gov/print/parents/academic/help/citizen/index.html
Helping Your Child Learn Geography
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/parents/Geography/index.html
Helping Your Child Learn History
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/parents/History/index.html
How to Help Children Become Geographically Literate
http://www.ncge.org/publications/resources/family/
Parents Helping Children Learn Social Studies
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/Parents_Helping_Students_12344_7.pdf

By now you should realize that there are so many resources on the web for social studies, that I can’t possibly include them all here. I hope this tour helped you find some resources you can use and excited you about the possibilities of using online resources for both planning and delivering instruction.

Why don’t we start with terms. Vocabulary can be a big problem for both students and teachers. Let’s look at a great site for science vocab. This site is has resources for grades 1-6. Select your grade level and check out a few terms. Don’t forget to click the speaker when you see it!

Harcourt Multimedia Science Glossary
http://www.harcourtschool.com/glossary/science/intro.html

Here are two more sites from Harcourt. First, take a look at the Science Up Close site. Click on your grade level to find a list of science movies for your students to view. Don’t forget to turn on closed captioning so that you (and later your students) can read along. After that, jump on over to the Student Activities page to find online games, biographies of scientists, and web links for grades 1-6.

Harcourt Science Up Close
http://www.harcourtschool.com/menus/science/up_close_index.html
Harcourt Student Activities
http://www.harcourtschool.com/menus/science/activities_index_nl.html

Scott Foresman is another textbook publisher that has produced many wonderful activities, many online, for students. Visit this site to search for an activity by by grade or by unit, where Unit A=Life Science, Unit B=Physical Science, Unit C=Earth Science and Unit D=Human Body.

Scott Foresman Science - Find an Activity
http://www.sfscience.com/english/toc/toc_start.htm

Science is a class that requires lots of hands on activities. Much of the work in the science classroom begins with measurement and good tools. If you want to learn how to make some of your own resources, these sites can help you get started.

Science Equipment Directions
http://www.eduplace.com/science/profdev/handbook/equipment.html
Recipes: Solutions and Materials
http://www.eduplace.com/science/profdev/handbook/solutions.html
Ooey Gooey Recipes for the Classroom
http://www.pascience.org/tips/OoeyGooey2.html
Make Homemade Science Toys and Projects
http://www.sciencetoymaker.org/
Tools for Investigation
http://www.sci.mus.mn.us/sln/tf/nav/toolscluster.html

How’s your science saavy? Feeling a bit nervous about your content knowledge? No problem! Check out some of these sites designed to help you better understand the science you will teach.

Essential Science for Teachers (K-6): Earth and Space Science
http://www.learner.org/channel/courses/essential/earthspace/
Essential Science for Teachers (K-6): Life Science
http://www.learner.org/channel/courses/essential/life/
Essential Science for Teachers (K-6): Physical Science
http://www.learner.org/channel/courses/essential/physicalsci/
The Why Files: Science Behind the News
http://whyfiles.org/
How Stuff Works: Science Channel
http://science.howstuffworks.com/
Sport Science
http://www.exploratorium.edu/sports/index.html

Are you looking for a good book to use during your science lesson? Here are some great sites to help you find titles that work for different concepts in science. Start your search with one of these searchable databases of children’s books. Enter a keyword and see what comes up. (Be careful entering keywords in the first database, as you are limited to 10 characters!)

Children’s Picture Book Database
http://www.lib.muohio.edu/pictbks/
Database of Award Winning Children’s Literature
http://www.dawcl.com/search.asp

In addition to these sites, you can also find annotations for science books online. The National Science Teachers Association, in conjunction with the Children’s Book Council, publishes a list of outstanding science trade books each year. (This appears annually in the March issue of Science and Children.) Also, PBS Teacher Source updates its list of science books monthly. Check out the new recommendations and search the archive.

NSTA’s Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12
http://www.nsta.org/publications/ostb/
PBS TeacherSource Recommended Books: Science
http://www.pbs.org/teachers/bookslinks/bookspages/sciencetech.html

Now that you have your topic and a children’s book to go with it, you probably need an activity to conduct. Here are some sites that offer a wide range of experiments and hands-on activities.

The Science Explorer
http://www.exploratorium.edu/science_explorer/index.html
Magic Schoolbus: Science Fun Activities
http://scholastic.com/magicschoolbus/games/teacher/index.htm
Exploratorium Science Snacks (by subject)
http://www.exploratorium.edu/snacks/snacksbysubject.html
Whelmers Science Activities
http://www.mcrel.org/whelmers/
Try Science Experiments
http://www.tryscience.org/experiments/experiments_home.html

If you would prefer to review fully developed lesson plans, try any one of these sites.

Science NetLinks Lesson Index
http://www.sciencenetlinks.org/matrix.cfm
Educator’s Desk Reference: Science Lesson Plans
http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/lessons.cgi/Science
Academy Curriculum Exchange: K-5 Science
http://ofcn.org/cyber.serv/academy/ace/sci/elem.html
UEN Resources: K-2 Core Lesson Plans (Scroll to content to find science lessons.)
http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/LPview.cgi?core=1209
UEN Resources: 3-6 Science Lessons
http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/LPview.cgi?core=3

So, your lessons are planned and you have all your resources ready. How are you going to assess student learning? Here are some sites with ideas for evaluating student work, developing rubrics, and more.

Assessment Ideas for the Elementary Science Classroom
http://www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/docs/elemsci/ideass.html
PALS Performance Tasks (K-4)
http://pals.sri.com/tasks/tasksk-4.html
Exemplars: Rubrics
http://www.exemplars.com/resources/rubrics/index.html

For those of you looking for resources to differentiate instruction, here are some sites you may find helpful.

Meeting the Needs of Gifted Students: Differentiating Mathematics and Science Instruction
http://www.nwrel.org/msec/images/resources/justgood/12.99.pdf
Mathematics and Science Instruction for Students With Learning Disabilities
http://www.nwrel.org/msec/images/resources/justgood/09.99.pdf
Teaching Mathematics and Science to English Language Learners
http://www.nwrel.org/msec/images/resources/justgood/11.99.pdf
Special Education in the Science Classroom
http://www.glencoe.com/sec/teachingtoday/subject/special_ed.phtml
TeachingLD: Teaching How-to’s: Content Enhancement and Adaptation
http://www.dldcec.org/teaching_how-tos/content/default.htm

Are you interested in making a home-school connection? Here are some resources to involve parents.

Engaging Families in Mathematics and Science Education
http://www.nwrel.org/msec/images/resources/justgood/06.98.pdf
Helping Your Child Learn Science
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/parents/Science/index.html

By now you should realize that there are so many resources on the web for science, that I can’t possibly include them all here. I hope this tour helped you find some resources you can use and excited you about the possibilities of using online resources for both planning and delivering instruction.

Why don’t we start with terms. Vocabulary can be a big problem for both students and teachers. Let’s look at a great site for math vocab. This site is has resources for grades K-6. Select your grade level and check out a few terms. Don’t forget to click the speaker when you see it!

Harcourt Multimedia Math Glossary
http://www.harcourtschool.com/glossary/math2/index_temp.html

While we’re looking at resources from textbook publishers, let’s visit the Houghton Mifflin site. Select your grade level and check out all the resources available to you. You will find background information, reproducible vocabulary cards, teaching tools, leveled practice materials, resources for math investigations and math at home, connections to Weekly Reader magazine, and more! DON’T MISS the Teaching Models. The overview section provides background on the topic, while the actual model is available for your kids.

Houghton Mifflin Math
http://www.eduplace.com/math/mw/

Here’s one more site from a textbook company. Take a look at the Math Advantage site by Harcourt. Click on your grade level and then click on the Parent and Teacher View link. This will take you to a page of online learning activities (dare I say games?) with annotations describing each one.

Harcourt School Publishers - The Learning Site
http://www.harcourtschool.com/menus/l_math.html

Let’s move on to manipulatives. You’ve used them in the classroom, now try them online. Here are a few sites with interfaces that allow kids to work with familiar materials like base-10 blocks, pattern blocks, tangrams, and more. These are sites that require some experimentation and patience. You need to learn HOW to use them before you plan lessons for students. Some have instructions and help menus for teachers, while others do not. Take a look at these and see what think.

National Library of Virtual Manipulatives
http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vlibrary.html
NCTM Illuminations Tool (searchable index)
http://illuminations.nctm.org/ActivitySearch.aspx
Educational JAVA Programs in Math
http://www.arcytech.org/java/
Harcourt Brace E-Lab Sample Activities (activities begin at grade 3)
http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/elab2004/index_2004.html

For those of you teaching early grades, math centers can be an efficient way to allow students to explore mathematical concepts. Here are some terrific sites with a wealth of ideas and reproducibles for math instruction that is more self-directed.

CanTeach Math: A List of Ideas for Math Centres
http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/mathcentres.html
Math Tub Fun
http://www.marcias-lesson-links.com/MathTubs.html
Math Tubs (Hubbard’s Cupboard)
http://www.hubbardscupboard.org/math_tubs.html
Math Tubs (Ms. Powell)
http://www.mspowell.com/otherwebpages/centerpics6.htm

Are you looking for a good book to use during your math lesson? Here are some great sites to help you find titles that work for different topics in math. Start your search with one of these searchable databases of children’s books. Enter a keyword and see what comes up. (Be careful entering keywords in the first database, as you are limited to 10 characters!)

Children’s Picture Book Database
http://www.lib.muohio.edu/pictbks/
Database of Award Winning Children’s Literature
http://www.dawcl.com/search.asp
Connections: Connecting Books to the Virginia SOLs
http://www.fcps.edu/cpsapps/connections/

Do you want a ready-made lesson plan to go with your book selection? Visit this site to find just that! You can select books by grade level or mathematical strand.

S.M.A.R.T. Books
http://www.k-state.edu/smartbooks/index.html

Scholastic has some terrific sites for both kids and teachers. Let’s start with the sites for students. Explore some of these great resources for your class!

Max’s Math Adventures (K-2)
http://teacher.scholastic.com/max/
Math Maven’s Mysteries (3-5)
http://teacher.scholastic.com/maven/

Now that you’ve seen some stuff for the kids, take a look at what Scholastic has for teachers!

Teacher Tools (FREE flash card factory, rubric maker, calendar, home page builder, and more!)
http://teacher.scholastic.com/tools/
Lesson Plan Database (searchable)
http://teacher.scholastic.com/lessonplans/

Here are some additional sites that offer searchable databases or extensive lists of math lesson plans.

PBS TeacherSource: Math
http://www.pbs.org/teachers/math/
NCTM Illuminations Lesson Plans
http://illuminations.nctm.org/Lessons.aspx
UEN Resources: K-2 Core Lesson Plans (Scroll to find math lessons.)
http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/LPview.cgi?core=1209
UEN Resources: 3-6 Math Lesson Plans
http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/LPview.cgi?core=2

So, your lessons are planned and you have all your resources ready. How are you going to assess student learning? Here are some sites with ideas for evaluating student work, developing rubrics, and more.

Math Performance Assessment Tasks
http://www.esd112.org/smerc/mpat_detail.html
Balance Assessment in Mathematics
http://balancedassessment.concord.org/
K-5 Mathematics Assessment
http://www.springfield.k12.il.us/resources/math/assessment.html
K-5 Performance Assessment Tasks
http://arlingtonschools.org/Curriculum/Assessment/mathassess.html

For those of you looking for resources to differentiate instruction, or for those of you working with students exhibiting forms of dyscalculia, here are some sites you may find helpful.

Meeting the Needs of Gifted Students: Differentiating Mathematics and Science Instruction
http://www.nwrel.org/msec/images/resources/justgood/12.99.pdf
Mathematics and Science Instruction for Students With Learning Disabilities
http://www.nwrel.org/msec/images/resources/justgood/09.99.pdf
Teaching Mathematics and Science to English Language Learners
http://www.nwrel.org/msec/images/resources/justgood/11.99.pdf
Math Graphic Organizers for Students with Disabilities
http://www.k8accesscenter.org/training_resources/mathgraphicorganizers.asp
MathVIDS
http://coe.jmu.edu/mathvids2/
Dyscalculia.com
http://www.dyscalculia.org/
LD Online: Math
http://www.ldonline.org/indepth/math
TeachingLD: Teaching How-to’s: Math
http://www.dldcec.org/teaching_how-tos/math/default.htm
The Resource Room - Math
http://www.resourceroom.net/math/index.asp

Are you interested in making a home-school connection? Here are some resources to involve parents.

Early Childhood: Where Learning Begins - Mathematics
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/EarlyMath/title.html
Engaging Families in Mathematics and Science Education
http://www.nwrel.org/msec/images/resources/justgood/06.98.pdf
Helping Your Child Learn Math
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/parents/Math/index.html
Math @ Home
http://educ.queensu.ca/~fmc/
Math Activities to Do With Your Children
http://www.learner.org/catalog/resources/activities/content/mact01.html
Top Ten Ways to Help Your Kids Do Well in Math
http://school.familyeducation.com/mathematics/parenting/38812.html?yf_kids

By now you should realize that there are so many resources on the web for math, that I can’t possibly include them all here. I hope this tour helped you find some resources you can use and excited you about the possibilities of using online resources for both planning and delivering instruction.

The Planet Hunter: The Story Behind What Happened to Pluto, written by Elizabeth Rusch and illustrated by Guy Francis, is a nonfiction picture book that introduces readers to Mike Brown, the astronomer whose discoveries led to the reclassification of Pluto.

We first meet Mike as a young boy. He is wearing a homemade space helmet on his head, dancing in mud puddles he created to mimic the way craters are made on the moon. (You can view an excerpt of this page.) We learn that he grew up in Hunstville, Alabama, home of the Marshall Space Flight Center, and that his fascination with astronomy carried him through childhood and into his adult career. He approached the study of the heavens systematically, as described in this excerpt.

Mike remembered how as a kid, he was always losing his sneakers. The only way he could be sure to find them was to start at one end of the house and search room by room.

“That’s the way to find a planet,” he said.

Using an old telescope, Mike began searching the sky, section by section.

Mike and a fellow astronomer made a bet, in which Mike suggested that someone would find a new planet within four years. He set about the task of searching in an effort to make sure that someone was him. The book goes on to describe how Mike searched for objects in the sky. Finally, five days after losing the bet, he found an object he hadn’t seen before. He pointed as many telescopes as he could at the object he named Eris. Ultimately, photos from the Hubble Telescope confirmed he had found something that was bigger than Pluto!

This discovery led astronomers to rethink the definition of a planet. At an international meeting of astronomers, a planet was defined as “a body that circles the sun. It is large enough to be round. And it orbits alone, far from anything else its size.” This redefinition meant that Mike’s discovery was not a planet, and now, neither was Pluto.

This is a terrifically interesting biography that provides scientific information in an accessible way for young readers. In addition to the story of Mike Brown, throughout the book there are interesting facts and informational tidbits “bubbled” into the corners of the pages. The book also contains a pull-out poster of the solar system (newly reconfigured), with information about dwarf planets, the Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud. Overall, I found this to be an informative and thoroughly engaging book. I highly recommend it.

Book: The Planet Hunter: The Story Behind What Happened to Pluto
Author: Elizabeth Rusch
Illustrator: Guy Francis
Publisher: Rising Moon
Publication Date: 2007
Pages: 32 pages
Grades: 4-8
ISBN: 978-0873589260
Source of Book: Review copy received from TEOTF.

This post was written for Nonfiction Monday. Head on over to Anastasia Suen’s blog and check out all the great posts highlighting nonfiction this week.

For those of you interested in learning more about the ideas presented in this book, check out these resources.

• Elizabeth Rusch has a page of interesting links to accompany the book, including one to Mike Brown’s home page!
• NASA’s Space Place has a page dedicated to Pluto, King of the Ice Dwarfs.
• Windows to the Universe has a page devoted to Pluto and its new status.
• Time for Kids has an article entitled Pity Poor Pluto.
• The Nine Planets site for kids has information on Pluto.

In this podcast, Kelsey Rdzanek introduces listeners to the book Counting on Frank, written and illustrated by Rod Clement.

Introduction
I selected Counting on Frank because it was very creative and included amazing facts that I thought kids would be interested in. For example, how many blue whales would fit into a house and how long a line a pen could draw until it ran out of ink. This book can be used for teaching about measurement and ratios, as well as topics like addition or subtraction.

Related Books
Actual Size by Steve Jenkins

More Information
Look at this sample performance assessment where students read Counting on Frank and then wrote a letter to the author commenting on at least one example of the mathematical claims made.
Try this NCTM lesson on volume that is based on the book.
Here is a series of lessons on estimation that are based on the book.
Here is a short video introduction to Counting on Frank. It also includes a handout on estimation.

In this podcast, Megan Ney introduces listeners to the book How Big is a Foot?, written and illustrated by Rolf Myller.

Introduction
How big is a foot? This is a good question, and an important one. When a King wants to have a bed built for his Queen, he proceeds to walk around her and gives the measurements in feet. However, when the apprentice uses foot measurements to build the bed, things don’t turn out as everyone would have hoped. Thrown into jail for making a bed that is too small, the apprentice must solve the puzzling question of why his bed didn’t measure up.

Related Books
Measuring Penny by Loreen Leedy
Twelve Snails to One Lizard: A Tale of Mischief and Measurement by Susan Hightower

More Information
Try this lesson using the book that includes a reader’s theater script.
NCTM also has a measurement lesson based on the book.
Follow this outline for a computer (Excel) graphing lesson based on the book.
Here’s a great chapter of information on nonstandard measurement.

In this podcast, Cory Widdowson introduces listeners to the book Once Upon a Dime: A Math Adventure, written by Nancy Kelly Allen and illustrated by Adam Doyle.

Introduction
Follow Farmer Truman Worth, a young boy and their animal friends Lewis and Cluck, and Grover Clevelamb in an exciting story about a tree that actually grows money! Truman and the boy use different organic fertilizers on the tree, each of which cause the tree to grow different kinds of money. If only they could find out which fertilizer grew the most money…

Related Books
The Coin Counting Book by Rozanne Lanczak Williams

More Information
Try this economics lesson that is based on the book.
The author has some class activities for the book on her web site.
Try a word search puzzle based on the book.
Here is an activity guide for use with The Coin Counting Book.

In this podcast, Kristin Coffee introduces listeners to the book Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday, written by Judith Viorst and illustrated by Ray Cruz.

Introduction
Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday incorporates math facts into a traditional children’s book format. Judith Viorst writes in the voice of Alexander, a boy who, after receiving a dollar from his grandparents, tries to save up for a set of walkie talkies but ends up spending his dollar over the course of several days. By the end of the week, Alexander is left with only bus tokens, but readers have been provided with many opportunities to practice their math skills through reading about his adventures.

Related Books
The Berenstain Bears’ Trouble with Money by Stan and Jan Berenstain
The Story of Money, written by Betsy Maestro and illustrated by Giulio Maestro

More Information
You can visit the official site for the Berenstain Bears.
You can read an interview with the Judith Viorst.
Visit this site for kids about the history of money.
Try this economics lesson that is based on the book.
Try this problem-solving lesson based on the book.
Try this lesson on opportunity cost based on the book.
Young Investor has a web site for kids on saving money.

In this podcast, Jamie Malone introduces listeners to the book A Second is a Hiccup: A Child’s Book of Time, written by Hazel Hutchins and illustrated by Kady Macdonald Denton.

Introduction
A Second is a Hiccup explains the differences between units of time, such as a second, minute, hour, day, week, month, and year. By using day to day activities, which are common and easy for students to understand, Hutchins does a wonderful job of introducing and teaching students about different units of time.

Related Books
It’s About Time! by Stuart Murphy
Just a Minute by Bonny Becker

More Information
Experiment with elapsed time at this interactive web site.
Visit this site where kids can practice telling time.
Check out this thematic book list on telling time.