Curating resources & sharing stories to empower teacher & student ownership, wonder, and daring.
Not only is Valentine’s day a great time to celebrate a holiday in the classroom, but it can also be a great segway into learning more about feelings. Here are a few picture books to use in the classroom during this time.
Happy 4th of July weekend! What a great weekend to talk with students about the Revolutionary War and our Founding Fathers. While it’s important to learn about these, there is also a lack of educational information about our Founding Mothers and the women of the revolution. Here are some of the kids’ books that bring out the stories of these women.
Founding Mother’s: Remembering the Ladies
They Called Her Molly Pitcher
Who Was Betsy Ross?
Who Was Abigail Adams?
From A Small Seed- The Story of Eliza Hamilton
Anna Strong: A Spy During the American Revolution
This Land Is Your Land– Not a book about the women of the revolution, but still a moving book worth the read!
How do you teach about the founding mothers and fathers of our country in your classroom?
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, schools shut down and children started learning from home. Everyone was very focused on making sure kids had the proper technology for at-home learning, and rightfully so. Teachers also worked overtime to set up bags of additional resources such as pencils, notebooks, and more.
But in some homes, especially those of lower-income, there were additional missing resources. Books.
Reading, and the love of reading is so important for children! But one teacher in Nampa, Idaho was set out to change that. She teaches in a low-income school where her students don’t have as much access to literature and were learning from home. So she reached out to family and friends asking for them to become “book buddies” with the 25+ students in her class.
All she asked was for them to send one book a month to the student they were paired with. I had the wonderful opportunity to become one of the book sponsors for this program. I’ve been able to send one book a month to my little friend in second grade. He even drew me a little picture and thank you note back!
I was so impressed with Rachel because she had the books delivered to her house for these students and personally drives around town to deliver each one to their homes.
It’s incredible to see the ingenuity, sacrifice, time, and love these teachers have for their students. What other incredible things have you seen teachers do for their students during the pandemic?
Christmas books! I’m giddy about putting together this post! The Christmas season is my favorite time of the year, and books are one of my favorite subjects. Let’s put the two together!
Pick A Pine Tree: We don’t own this one yet, but I’m looking forward to the day we do!
Dasher: Doesn’t the moody cover of the book just invite you in while you sit under a cozy blanket with a cup of hot cocoa?
Red & Lulu: The same author as Dasher. The magic of New York during the Christmas season is captured in this holiday book.
The Crayons’ Christmas: A holiday twist on The Day The Crayons Quit.
What books would you add to this list? Need some good book ideas for the holiday season that aren’t Christmas themed? Stay tuned for next week!
Featured photo: pexels.com
If you search book lists on our blog you’ll find multiple posts full of lists and lists of good read alouds, books for certain subjects, etc, etc. This blog is chucked full of book lists! What it’s missing is a list of read alouds for high school. I’m not talking books approved for English class to read and pick apart, but just a fun book to read to your students, no matter what subject you are teaching. Here’s my favorite list of chapter books you can read to your high school students.
What books do you like to read aloud to your high school students?
Snow is falling! Winter is here! I know for many this is discouraging and sad, but I am one to adore winter and the falling snow. So to excite everyone about the upcoming winter season, let’s come up with a great book list to get us ready for the snowy season.
The Snowy Day: A Caldecott award book, and the first picture book to have a Black child as the protagonist. What a great conversation to have with students!
Owl Moon: I can’t explain it, but you can HEAR the silence the snow brings in this book. It’s mesmerizing.
Wolf In The Snow: This book with no words pulls at your heartstrings when you realize the sense of family and community both humans and animals have, and how we aren’t as different as we may think.
The Wish Tree: I haven’t read this one yet, but it’s on my list to get at the library next time we go.
The Polar Express: Okay, okay. I know, it’s a Christmas book. But the wintery feel of the train and the page of the book with the wolves standing in the snow looking at the train? It just lights up something in me that excites me for that fresh snow smell!
Are you team snow or team no snow? Do you think reading fun books about winter and snow help change your attitude about winter?
The election is *almost* over. I don’t think any of us were ready for election week instead of election day, but it’s 2020, what else can you expect?
Have you been talking to your students about the election? Explain electoral votes? Show them the red and blue maps across the country? Talk about what policies are and what each candidate is promising?
What better way to teach about a big, historical event with some picture books! Here are a few of my favorite.
The Next President: The Unexpected Beginnings and Unwritten Future of America’s Presidents
What have you been doing with your students during this election week? What other books have you read to them?