August 15, 2022 · curriculum
Wonderful resources for our biography unit! Not pictured: video of Libba singing. As I said in this post , choosing nonfiction (or any) resources critically is SO IMPORTANT, so here are some do’s and don’ts when looking for mentor texts or any type of media for students to consume. Look at publication dates. In general, older (sometimes “classic”) books tend to have stereotypical portrayals of people of color and gender roles (and more). Also, sometimes “classic” books are viewed with nostalgia and problematic and/or factually incorrect depictions are excused by saying “it was a different time.” Some examples: Little House on the Prairie, George and Martha (George dresses up as an “Indian”). We are not saying you cannot use these books, but be prepared to address the problematic images, language, or events. Avoid anything stereotypical, overly simplistic, or cartoonish (think of the
nonfictionmentor textbookscritical literacy
April 10, 2022 · national month
Happy April or National Poetry Month! Poetry is something to infuse into your classroom (and life) everyday, but if you don’t have time to teach a standalone poetry unit, you can use it as a morning greeting, introduction to a topic or subject, or a way to share information. There are so many different types of poems. We don’t have a poetry unit as part of our 3rd grade curriculum, but we make sure to have plenty of poetry books in our classroom. I’ve learned that students who read one novel in verse often want to try others, so I always include them on my “teacher recommendations” shelf. Novels in verse also make wonderful read alouds, too. They sound beautiful when read aloud and are relatively quick reads. Here are some ideas for teaching poetry that we shared in 2019 . Many of these could be standalone lessons or part of a larger poetry unit. In the past, Gabby read This is a Poem
poetryNational Poetry Monthpicture booksmiddle gradenovels in verse
July 20, 2017 · book review
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech is our read aloud for the last few months of the school year. Aside from being an incredibly captivating story with beautiful writing, it also fits perfectly with our curriculum as we are studying storytelling (and Sal, the main character, is telling a story) and American Indian studies (Sal has Indigenous ancestors and visits sacred Native sites). We also study Health & Wellness so the budding young romance is perfect for our class to experience as well. There are also many other relevant and significant issues skillfully woven into this story (mental illness and the related stigma, family dynamics, and gender equality, to name a few). We have a bin full of books by Sharon Creech that we only bring out of the closet (with a lot of fanfare) when we start reading Walk Two Moons . Soon, the books are fought over (especially Absolutely Normal Chaos as it
read aloudbooksbook reviewmentor text