When my books go into school libraries, I want to know--- Who will read them?
- How will they fit into the curriculum?
- What connections do they make to other kinds of learning?
Here are are few of my recent books and ways they can be used to enhance learning:
A Day and Night in the Rain Forest (PictureWindow Books, 2015)Common Core Connections:Integration of Knowledge and Ideas: Describe how the passage of time is shown throughout this book.
Key Ideas and Details: Explain the similarities and differences between diurnal and nocturnal animals in the rain forest.
Key Ideas and Details: Name three things that all animals in the rain forest need to survive.
Key Ideas and Details: Name three diurnal predators in the rain forest and their prey. Then name three nocturnal predators and their prey.
[Similar connections can be made with the other three titles in the Day and Night series--in the Desert, in the Forest, and on the Prairie.]
Living Fossils: Clues to the Past (Charlesbridge, 2016)Curriculum Links:
Language Arts: comprehension strategy--compare and contrast, main idea/details strategy, cause and effect relationships
Science: Life science--animal adaptation and classification
Hatching Chicks in Room 6 (Charlesbridge, 2017)Teaching Ideas:Sequencing: Understanding Chick Development and Text Structure
Life Cycles: Make a time line.
Eggs: Where do eggs come from?
Baby Animals: What do baby animals need?
Photo essays: How do pictures tell the story?
A Warmer World (Charlesbridge, 2012)Common Core Curriculum Links:
Language Arts: genre--non-fiction informational text; new scientific vocabulary, comprehension strategy, cause and effect relationships
Science: Life science--animals and their environment, survival, adaptation, extinction. Environmental issues--global warming/climate change over time, pollution
