Book Title & Author

Float
By: Daniel Miyares

Strategy

Inferring, Visualization

Standards

Activity

K.G.2- Geometry
: Correctly name shapes regardless of their
orientations or overall size.
RL.K.7 Reading:
Literature Integration of Knowledge and Ideas:
With prompting and support, describe the relationship between
illustrations and the story in the book in which they appear.

1. Invite children to predict what the book may be about by looking at the cover.
Do a picture walk from start to finish with them and see if any of them notice
that there are no words and start your discussion about how you need their job
to read the book. Ask for volunteers to give the sentence for one page at a time
thinking about their personal experiences, write it down on poster paper.
2. Ask why they think the illustrator didnt need an author to write the story for
him? Would you want to write a story with no words? How would people know
what your story was about? What does it mean to float? What are some things
that float? Has anyone ever made a paper boat?
2. Show them the video attached it goes along nicely with the book as it doesnt
have any speaking or written directions, it just shows us.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiAWx8odStA
3. Print this great PDF with images and text for directions on how to make a
paper boat.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/4d/29/cd/4d29cd077bb6676edf2c
41f3efad2b93.jpg
4. Talk about the shapes as a group going through the directions and process of
your paper boats, and wait for that perfect rainy day to set sail to the playground
puddles. Try to have a few adults available at this time, parent volunteers! You
will need the extra hand, but worth it I promise!

Assessment

Assess each boat and have children make one with you 1:1 if they
need more support with following these tricky directions.
Have them the child individually walk you through the story by
doing a picture walk and write down what they retell you. If
children find this tricky, have them tell you one word that
represents that page for them.

Book Title & Author

Dream Drum Girl

Margarita Engel

Strategy

Standards

Activity

Making Connections

MLR- Movement-
Moves in response to tempo changes and
different styles of music
MLR- Music-
Uses music and instruments to imitate and
improvise songs, melodies, and patterns

1.Before reading ask your students about their experiences with drums,
instruments, and emotions? Talk about what dreams are. Where do you
think Cuba is? When you hear drums what does your body do? Show and
share some information about Cuba, and discuss it and gather
information.
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/explore/countries/cuba/#cuba-matanza
s.jpg
2. After reading the book I ask the same questions I did as before to see if
they gained information from the text to enhance their answers. Show this
short video, with no words or text, its all about the many different drums.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILpJ_8nCo2U
3.
(Ahead of time go to this site and print the attached visuals for you
to use as a discussion tool about the instrument families)
Go over them,
ask if they have any experiences with instruments, ask them to hold a
simple ABAB patterned beat, and then play the music and let them try with
that as well.
http://www.wmich.edu/mus-gened/mus150/appendix.pdf
4. To get the children moving I would have them go around the room and
have them follow your lead to moving to the beat of the music. Play this
video, just as sound and it plays up to 20 different styles of music with
drums in 6 minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkGguKJ1MfM

Assessment

Ask the children how it felt to dance and hear the music,
write down the response and use a different type music to
let them try.
Ask them to clap to the beat of a song individually
Ask them to identify some instruments

Book Title & Author

Im New Here
Anne Sibley OBrien

Strategy

Making Connections

MLR Health Education:

Identifies social skills that influence
interpersonal relationships in positive ways
MLR Social Development:
Building Relationships with
Children Participates cooperatively in large and small group
activities

Standards

Activity

1.

Before reading ask questions to promote experiences children may

have already had.
a. Have you ever been a new student?
b. What does it feel like to go somewhere new?
c. How can we make people feel more comfortable when they
are new?
d. Why do some students cry when they are new students?
e. What are some emotions we feel when we move?

2. Ask the children what they predict the book will be about? Read the
book and talk about the questions previously asked before reading. When
finished reading go over the questions and see of students have a better
understanding that didnt before.
3. Show them the wall where you have put photos and important things
about your family, and send home a request for parents to share items for
the culture family wall.
4. Once the wall is up and children have things to represent themselves it
will be such a fun place to learn about their peers. It will also be a great
place for new students to go to get to know the new people in their life.
Add things to this throughout the year, and keep it up. Children may want
to add their school work to this wall as it will be their own space. It will
also give them a space that creates self confidence and self worth.
5. Do walk throughs and see what children notice about other families or
students.

Assessment

Ask children to identify different children on the wall

Ask children to identify emotions that connect with moving
or being a new student.

 Ask children to recall a moment from the book

Book Title & Author

What James Said

Liz Rosenburg

Strategy

Standards

Activity

Making Connections, Inferring

MLR: Social Development Building

Relationships with Children-
Uses
different turn-taking strategies
MLR
: Gives social support to others

1. Read the book and talk and after, talk about some of the
emotions involved.
2. Print these cards ahead of time and partner the
children up and have them each guess the emotion by the
childrens actions or face. The card will help prompt
them, as you watch and assist as needed.
.
http://www.hiyah.net/cards/emotions.pdf

Assessment

Book Title & Author

Ask them to identify some cards with

emotions
Have them act out an emotion based on a
situation you give them specifically.

Mother Bruce
Ryan T. Higgins

Strategy

Making Connections, Inferring

 CCSS.ELA- Literacy.RL.1.2:
Retell stories,
including key details, and demonstrate
understanding

Standards

Activity

1.
2.
3.

4.

Assessment

Book Title & Author

Ask the children to predict what they think might

happen.
Read the book
Ask them what their favorite part of the book is,
ask them questions like, have you ever seen a
baby chick? Where do bears usually go in the
winter? Where do most birds go in the winter?
Explain to them that they will be drawing a
picture of their own from the book to then share
with the class.

Have the children draw their favorite part

of the story and explain it to you
Have the kids put their pictures in order of
events

Hippos Are Huge

Jonathan London

Strategy

Standards

Activity

Determining Importance, Visualization

MLR Dramatic Play/Performance:

Students demonstrate a character by
participating in skits, puppet shows, and or
theatre games.

1. Do a picture walk with the children to start and have

them raise their hands when they want to share
something they see. Talk about those as they come, one
volunteer per page.
2. Read the book, and then ask them to each share
something they noticed as they listened and watched.
3. Have the students collect one fact that they would
share in front of the class, or possibly another class and
make a mask prop, or tail, or a puppet to go with the fact.

Practice their line with them and over a few days have
them present their fact in front of the class. Below are
links to use:
Mask Template:
http://www.itsybitsyfun.com/uploads/9/8/7/6/9876061/hipo
-mask.pdf
Puppet Template:
http://www.first-school.ws/theme/crafts/paper_bag_puppe
ts.htm

Assessment

Ask for three facts about hippos that they

remember.
Have them draw a hippo, with use of the
book if needed.

Book Title & Author

Land Shark
Beth Ferry

Strategy

Standards

Activity

Visualization, Text-to-Self Connections

CCSS.ELA-Literacy. RL. 1.7:

Use

illustrations and details in a story to

describe its characters, setting, or events.

1. Talk about pets, do a chart on the board or poster paper

of who has pets and what kind. Count them, compare and
contrast the type of pets and how many.
2. Ask questions about the cover, have them share one
thing they notice. After reading talk about the events, the
character, and the setting. What emotions were involved

with Bobby? Show them this site on the overhead about

sharks:
http://sharks4kids.com/
3. After as a group do 3 web graphs, one being the setting
and have them come up with all of the facts about each
setting in the book. Two, being characters, and list them
out as children bring them up, and three being the
different events in the book.

Assessment

Ask each child something about the: setting,

character, and events
Have them draw their own pet, or an
animal of choice.

Book Title & Author

A Lucky Author Has a Dog

Mary Lyn Ray

Strategy

Self-to-Text Connections, Visualization

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.7:
Use illustrations
and details in a story to describe its
characters, setting, or events.

Standards

CCSS.ELA-W.K.1:
Use a combination of
drawing, dictating, and writing to compose
opinion pieces in which they tell the reader
the topic and state opinion or preference
about topic.

Activity

1.
2.

3.

Read the book to the children, and do 3 web graph

about the setting, environment, and characters.
Go over the information from the story, and then
talk about different ways to write and do web
graph. Poetry, letters, lists, opinion writing,
persuasive writing, informational writing.
Have them write an opinion piece based on what
they would want to be when they grow up and

why. Do this in a small group setting to encourage

provoking questions to help their thinking. Use
the webs as tools.

Assessment

Draw a picture from the story

Talk about the character in the book

Book Title & Author

Henry Holton Takes the Ice

Sandra Bradley

Strategy

Questioning, Self-to-Text Connection

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.K.2:
With
prompting and support, identify the main
topic & retell details of the text.

Standards

Activity

1.

2.

3.

Assessment

Before reading aloud start a discussion to talk talk

about what they already know about hockey and
skating. Talk about sports and whether all sports
are specifically for girls or boys. Make a list of
sports that they have all been a part of.
On a strip of paper, have them write what sport
they like to do. Once they are done, ask them how
they would feel if someone said you arent
allowed to play this sport? Talk about emotions
and how they would feel.
Talk about how Henry felt throughout the book
and connect their feelings with his. Make a list of
Henrys feelings and then write how they felt next
to it, compare and contrast.

Ask them what emotions can be involved in

sports

 Draw a picture of themselves playing a

sport that they love to do

Book Title & Author

Emmanuel's Dream
Laurie Ann Thompson

Strategy

Inferring, visualization

MLR. Geography:
Use basic maps and
globes to identify local and distant places
and locations, directions, and basic
physical, environmental, and cultural
features.

Standards

K.CC.1:
Count to 100 by ones and by tens

Activity

1.

2.

3.

Assessment

Print these maps prior to reading the book, so

each child has one to look at, also get a globe and a
wall map prepared as well.
http://www.mapsofworld.com/print_image.php?id
=http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-maps/maps/
world-maps/worldmap1/world-map-a3.jpg&spid=
undefined
After reading the book, have the children mark
the paper map where we are, and mark where
Emmanuel is on the map. Use cubes to count the
distance, then do the same thing on the globe and
wall map. Compare and contrast why the
distances are bigger and smaller on different
surfaces. GIve them the actual distance between
countries.
Then, mark Emmanuels distance he rode on his
bike and do the same measuring, mark the maps
and make a graph using all of the information
found.

Ask children to mark the USA and Ghana on

a map

 Ask them to measure in cubes, the distance

between the two countries.