Hello there,
I apologize for the lack of blog posts this week. I have also been busy this week, and Monday was the Fourth of July. I am babysitting this week! I will be blogging about my experience and sharing some tips next week, so be sure to check that out!
Today I wanted to share with you, my favorite children's picture books that I have used during in my college classes. Each one of these books, I have either used in a lesson plan, and/or I have seen teachers using them during my classroom observations.
My very favorite book is The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers (K-3).
I first heard about this book while in a Half Priced Book store. There was someone reading this book to the children in the store, and I listened in. I loved this book, even though I did'nt even get to hear the whole story while in the store.
However, later that year while I was observing in a second grade classroom, there were two students reading this book together during daily 5. I also saw this book being used in a first grade classroom, the teacher read it in whole group and then did a letter writing lesson. The students picked a color and wrote a letter to Duncan as the color they chose.
This book is about a boy named Duncan whose crayons have written him letters explaining why they are upset and have quit. Blue crayon is stubby from coloring water, beige is tired of coming in second place to brown, and orange and yellow are no longer speaking to one another. This book is book is fun, creative, and will have students coloring with crayons in a whole new way.
I apologize for the lack of blog posts this week. I have also been busy this week, and Monday was the Fourth of July. I am babysitting this week! I will be blogging about my experience and sharing some tips next week, so be sure to check that out!
Today I wanted to share with you, my favorite children's picture books that I have used during in my college classes. Each one of these books, I have either used in a lesson plan, and/or I have seen teachers using them during my classroom observations.
My very favorite book is The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers (K-3).
I first heard about this book while in a Half Priced Book store. There was someone reading this book to the children in the store, and I listened in. I loved this book, even though I did'nt even get to hear the whole story while in the store.
However, later that year while I was observing in a second grade classroom, there were two students reading this book together during daily 5. I also saw this book being used in a first grade classroom, the teacher read it in whole group and then did a letter writing lesson. The students picked a color and wrote a letter to Duncan as the color they chose.
This book is about a boy named Duncan whose crayons have written him letters explaining why they are upset and have quit. Blue crayon is stubby from coloring water, beige is tired of coming in second place to brown, and orange and yellow are no longer speaking to one another. This book is book is fun, creative, and will have students coloring with crayons in a whole new way.
The next book is called I Need My Monster by Amanda Noll and Howard McWilliam (K-2).
I first heard about this book when I was writing my very first lesson plan. (which I still have!)
I was researching lesson plans trying to come up with an idea, when I stumbled upon a blog with a lesson for this book. The blog explains a lesson that focuses on inferring and descriptive writing. The students listen to the story, without getting to look at the illustrations, and draw what the monster looks like from listening to the monster's description.
This story is about a boy's monster, Gabe, who has gone fishing for a week. Ethan can't sleep without his monster, so he tries to find a substitute monster... but none are as scary as Gabe. This book includes a lot of descriptive words, which also makes it perfect for descriptive writing.
Click the button below to take you to the blog with the I Need My Monster lesson idea!
I first heard about this book when I was writing my very first lesson plan. (which I still have!)
I was researching lesson plans trying to come up with an idea, when I stumbled upon a blog with a lesson for this book. The blog explains a lesson that focuses on inferring and descriptive writing. The students listen to the story, without getting to look at the illustrations, and draw what the monster looks like from listening to the monster's description.
This story is about a boy's monster, Gabe, who has gone fishing for a week. Ethan can't sleep without his monster, so he tries to find a substitute monster... but none are as scary as Gabe. This book includes a lot of descriptive words, which also makes it perfect for descriptive writing.
Click the button below to take you to the blog with the I Need My Monster lesson idea!
Next up, The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle (K-2) is another favorite. I love Eric Carle's books and illustrations.
I used this book for a "parent take home activity packet" assignment. The students would take this book, along with all the materials, home to complete the activity with their parents. For this book, the student would grow a plant from a lima bean seed and record its growth.
Below you will find, the activity instructions, observation log, and parent letter for the activity pack that I created.
I used this book for a "parent take home activity packet" assignment. The students would take this book, along with all the materials, home to complete the activity with their parents. For this book, the student would grow a plant from a lima bean seed and record its growth.
Below you will find, the activity instructions, observation log, and parent letter for the activity pack that I created.
Activity pack_seed process.docx |
Activity pack_Seed observations log sheet.docx |
Activity pack_Parent letter.docx |
This book follows the journey of a seed throughout all the seasons, and across different environments. The seed also goes through the process of becoming a plant. This book would be great to cover the life cycle of a plant!
Another Eric Carle book that I love is, The Very Hungry Caterpillar (PreK-1).
I used this book in a preschool for a healthy snack lesson. I read the book to the class and we classified whether the food the caterpillar was eating was healthy or unhealthy. Then, I had pre-cut apples and oranges, along with strawberries for the students to make their own fruit salads. They were also given small plastic knives and cutting boards if they wanted to practice their cutting skills.
I also completed a group lesson plan using this book. We brought actual caterpillars into the class to incorporate real-life experiences. In the classroom, your students could observe and document the real caterpillars going through their life cycle.
This book goes through the life cycle of a butterfly, starting with the egg, showing all the things the caterpillar eats, the caterpillar making a cocoon (or chrysalis) and finally turning into a butterfly.
I used this book in a preschool for a healthy snack lesson. I read the book to the class and we classified whether the food the caterpillar was eating was healthy or unhealthy. Then, I had pre-cut apples and oranges, along with strawberries for the students to make their own fruit salads. They were also given small plastic knives and cutting boards if they wanted to practice their cutting skills.
I also completed a group lesson plan using this book. We brought actual caterpillars into the class to incorporate real-life experiences. In the classroom, your students could observe and document the real caterpillars going through their life cycle.
This book goes through the life cycle of a butterfly, starting with the egg, showing all the things the caterpillar eats, the caterpillar making a cocoon (or chrysalis) and finally turning into a butterfly.
The last book that I am sharing is If I Ran the Zoo by Dr. Seuss (K-2).
I discovered this book while observing in a first grade classroom. The teacher read it to the class and they absolutely loved it.. and so did I!
Since then, I made my own art lesson plan using this book. The students will be creating an animal that may be seen in our very own classroom zoo. Students will get into groups of four, receive anchor chart paper, and each student will get a piece of paper with either legs, head, body, or tail written on it. This is the part of the animal that student will be drawing and coloring. Students' zoo animals will be placed up on the walls of the classroom and viewed gallery walk style.
This book is about Gerald McGrew, and all the animals he imagines he would have in his own zoo. These animals include a lion with ten feet, an elephant cat, an Obsk, and an It-Kutch.
I discovered this book while observing in a first grade classroom. The teacher read it to the class and they absolutely loved it.. and so did I!
Since then, I made my own art lesson plan using this book. The students will be creating an animal that may be seen in our very own classroom zoo. Students will get into groups of four, receive anchor chart paper, and each student will get a piece of paper with either legs, head, body, or tail written on it. This is the part of the animal that student will be drawing and coloring. Students' zoo animals will be placed up on the walls of the classroom and viewed gallery walk style.
This book is about Gerald McGrew, and all the animals he imagines he would have in his own zoo. These animals include a lion with ten feet, an elephant cat, an Obsk, and an It-Kutch.
I hope that you enjoyed reading this blog, and that you are able to use these books in your classroom!
Comment below your favorite children's books!
Inspirationally,
Ally
Comment below your favorite children's books!
Inspirationally,
Ally