There are so many great books to choose from that focus on spring. The beginning of spring is a great time to talk about the changes in the seasons - weather, plants and animals, clothing, etc. These three books all have one thing in common: the main characters are all out looking for that elusive "spring."

 Hopper Hunts for Spring, by Marcus Pfister
Hopper is a young bunny who excitedly goes out to look for where his new playmate, Spring, lives. On the way, he checks in with other animals who share with him signs of spring. His new friend Bear offers to bring him back home where Mother tells Hopper that Spring is not a person.

Finding Spring, by Carin Berger
Instead of beginning his long winter's nap, a little bear named Maurice goes off in search of spring. He think he has found it when he brings back a snowflake to his den. When has wakes up again, spring seems to have disappeared. His mother suggests going back out to look for spring again, and this time Maurice notices all the changes that have happened since his last visit.

Are You Spring?, by Caroline Pitcher
Una should be napping in the den with her mother, but she decides to go out and find spring instead. Along the way, she meets other animals who tell her when she will know spring has arrived. Una has quite a scare when she meets a wolf, but her mother brings her home and they spend the winter listening to her tell stories about the coming of spring.






Any of these three books are great for working more closely with analyzing characters.
- How would you describe each character?
- How are the characters alike and different?
- How does the character respond to the challenge?

The illustrations in the books also add more details to the story, allowing readers to see how the illustrations support the text - and even extend it.

FREEBIE! I made these ideas super easy to use in your classroom by creating the response sheets you'll need to use one or all of these books. You can download these response sheets for your classroom by clicking on the image above.

Each book also shows different signs of spring, making them a perfect fit for an activity about the beginning of spring! Have students draw the setting of one of the stories, adding in as many details from the text as they can. Students can label the various signs of spring, as well.

This time of year is also the perfect time to say goodbye to winter and hello to spring! After reading one or more of these books, ask students to brainstorm their own signs of spring.

Next, create a T-chart listing things we say goodbye to in winter and the corresponding thing we say hello to in spring. Have students turn their ideas into sentences, add some cute drawings and use them as a bright and fun spring display!

Everything you need for the "Goodbye, Hello" writing activity is available in my TpT store. Just click on the image below to see what else is included.

It's so much fun to bring out new spring books at this time of year. These three books are the perfect stories to start things off. You can pin the image below so you'll remember these great books!

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Elementary Stories

I am always on the lookout for great books to use to teach everything - and science is no exception! When we are just introducing how to be a scientists, I like to choose books that are simple, but use strong vocabulary, have photos or illustrations that my students can relate to, and give students enough to think about so we can discuss and ask questions. (Come to think about it - those are the same criteria I use for pretty much every book I choose!) This post is the third in a series about introducing science to young students. You can read the other posts here:

Being a Scientist" Setting the Stage

Being a Scientist: A Simple Experiment

These six books are my go-to books for science at the beginning of the year. Most are read alouds, but a couple of them can be done well with small groups. Unfortunately, not all of them are available. I'm going to share them anyway because teachers are masters at finding what we want, and you never know when a good book will show up at a tag sale or used book store.

What is a Scientist? by Barbara Lehn is a great beginning read-aloud for introducing scientific thinking. The pictures shows kids engaged in scientific activities such as observing and measuring and gives a brief explanation. This is a great jumping off point to introduce all the things a scientist does.

Being a Scientist by Natalie Lunis and Nancy White goes more in-depth into those scientific activities such as measuring,, observing, classifying etc. I like to read this book with my students, but I tend to paraphrase the text because it can be long. The photographs are bright and colorful and my kiddos enjoy answering the questions posed throughout the book.

What is Science? by Rebecca Dotlich is a very simply written and colorful book that gives a variety of answers to the question, "What is science?" I like to ask my students this the very first time we start talking about science. We group our answers into scientific topics, science tools, scientific activities, etc. It's a great way to start a conversation and find out what your students know and think about science.

I Use Science Tools is part of an emergent reader series of science books. The text is very simple, but the photographs are a great way to make sure everyone is clear about what a variety of science tools are used for. I tend to show this one under the document camera, stopping to talk about how each tool is used.

Nature Spy, by Ken Kreisler is a great book to use when discussing the importance of observation. This book tells about how children can be a "nature spy"  observing and noticing and recognizing patterns in nature. It's a very relatable book for students, which is why I keep it around.



Scientists Ask Questions, by Ginger Garrett is part of the Rookie Read-About Science series. Simple text and colorful photos make it engaging for young readers and there is just enough information for students to learn without being overwhelmed. I have 6-8 copies of this book and I like to use it in a small group. I put it out as a center after we have read it together.



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Elementary Stories

Happy Monday, folks! It's so hard to believe that we're already beginning the month of February! I always say that February is the craziest and shortest month in teaching! (November ranks a close second!) With Groundhog Day, 100th Day, Presidents' Day, Chinese New Year, Black History Month, Valentine's Day... well, you get the picture.

I thought I would share with you some of my favorite books for the month of February. Some will be titles you already know. Teachers always have their favorite books that they love to share with their student each year. But I also tried to choose a few titles that might be new to you. I always love to find new books to add to my collections.

So, without further ado... here's my Top Ten Booklist for February! (in no particular order :-)

1. Starting off the month with Groundhog Day, I chose two titles that I like. This first one is a fun story abut a groundhog who just can't fall asleep. He wakes up during each month from October through December, until finally he falls asleep for the winter. I like this book because each time Groundhog gets up, the structure of the text is the same, but the details for each month are different. For example, in October he sees scarecrows and jack-o-lanterns, meets a witch and drinks a glass of apple cider. In December he sees lights and wreaths, meets Santa and enjoys a glass of milk and some cookies. Students enjoy predicting what each month will be like, and it's fun to have students choose another month not in the story and write about what Groundhog did, following the same structure.

2. Another great Groundhog Day book,, this one is a fun look at how Groundhog decides he needs more help predicting the weather. He enlists the help of his friends, who must first go to "Groundhog School" to learn everything there is to know about being a groundhog. This book is filled with interesting facts about groundhogs and the speech bubbles, fact boxes and dialogue that carries the story makes it a favorite for kids. I could see a "Top 10 Facts I Learned in Groundhog School" writing activity coming from this one, long with great practice with fluency and expression.

(If you need some groundhog ideas to get you through the week, you can hop over to this post of mine - there's a freebie!)

3. Our 100th day of school is early this year, so I'll be pulling this fun favorite out soon. Mr. Wolf is determined to fatten up the chicken he wants to eat, so he brings all sorts of fun food to her house - 100 pancakes, 100 donuts... The ending is adorable and it's fun to make a list of 100 things the wolf could bring to the chicken's house.

4. Another 100th day of school story, this one follows Jessica as she tries to come up with what to bring to school for her 100th day collection. She can't decide and her family is so busy, that by the 100th day she still has nothing to bring. Her family comes to the rescue and her teacher lovingly turns what could be an embarrassing moment into the best collection in the class. I like to read this one before the 100th day sometimes, to remind students that it's not how beautiful the project looks, but the work and love that went into it that counts. A great way to discuss theme!

5. Presidents' Day means lots of focus on George and Lincoln. This trio of books (I'm counting it as one book :-) shares the story of how Abe Lincoln, with a little encouragement from Grace,  decided to grow his beard. These are great stories to let students know that they CAN make a difference! I do these in book groups and have students talk with each other about the facts they have learned, character traits and so much more.

6. The middle of February brings Valentine's Day! I swear this is my favorite holiday with second graders! Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch is such a great story about making everyone feel important. Mr. Hatch is always lonely and by himself until he gets a mysterious valentine delivered. This makes him more outgoing and sociable and he becomes friends with his neighbors and people on the way to work. Unfortunately, he finds out that the valentine was not meant for him and he goes back to his old ways. Students love predicting what's going to happen at the end and if Mr. Hatch will once again be with his friends. This is the perfect book for talking about character traits, how characters change throughout the story and getting details from the illustrations. Letter writing is the perfect tie-in to extend the story.

(I've got a great way to put some learning into those Valentine cards, and an easy way to pass them out! It's all HERE!)

7. What kid doesn't love slugs? And slugs in LOVE - ewwwww! This is the adorable story of Herbie and Marylou's romance in the garden. Herbie tries desperately to get Marylou to know he likes her, but his every attempt is thwarted. Meanwhile, Marylou writes sweet notes to Herbie - if he could only figure out which slug she is! This story is just plain sweet. It's fun to guess how Herbie will write his next love letter - and what will happen to it! Students can retell or summarize the story and work on cause and effect with this one.

8. I'm giving each of these next three books it's own spot because each is so powerful. February is Black History month, and I like to use these three books to focus on where we have come from. Amistad Rising is the powerful story of Joseph Cinque and his brave attempt at freedom after being kidnapped and bound for slavery. This story is best suited for upper elementary students, but I have read it to a few of my second grade classes. My students are always able to connect because the story takes place in New London, CT, a city not far from where our school is. (Who am I kidding, I'm in CT... nothing is that far away in this small state!) I would never be able to do the story justice by summarizing it here, so if you're interested, you can check it out on Amazon or do a little research about the ship and its importance in history.

9. The subtitle of this book is even better than the title: "How four friends stood up by sitting down." Sit-In is the story of four college students who decided to take a stand against segregation. The book follows their peaceful protest and the effect it had on the diner. Great for point of view, this book lets students know that anyone can make a difference.

10. My final book on the list this month is about hope. It's the story of a fence, and the two girls who live on either side of it. The fence becomes a metaphor for the separation that exists between them. This book lends itself to some great conversations about how little things can mean so much in the world. I love the way author, in her comments at the beginning, talks about how the fence has not completely disappeared... but it has been lowered. Simple, yet powerful words.

I hope you've found some new books that you can bring into your classroom this month! My kiddos love when they come in and the book display has changed. It's like Christmas to them! I'd love to hear about your favorite books for the month. Do you share any of these? What's your favorite February title?

I'm linking up with everyone over at I Teach K-2 to share some great ideas for the month of February.

An InLinkz Link-up

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Elementary Stories

Happy Tuesday, teacher friends! It's time for this week's "Teacher Talk Tuesday" chat. (Be sure you've checked out the previous week's talks about creating classroom community and classroom management.) This week it's all about the books!

I have a slight obsession with books. I have a book for everything. And why not? Books are a great way to get students excited about a topic, introduce a concept, to use as a mentor text... I have books for math, social skills, grammar ..... you name it, I have it.

Sooooo... let's talk back to school books. We all have our favorites. From First Day Jitters, to The Kissing Hand, from Chrysanthemum to No, David! There are so many books out there that are perfect for the first days and weeks of school. Hopefully this post will give you some new ideas, as well as bring up old favorites.

I have a few blog posts I've written about using different books.  I recently did a blog series about creating classroom rules and shared some great read alouds to use as you go.

 

Earlier this summer, I shared some great books for the first few weeks of school as you are getting to know your students.

 

This next book is PERFECT to use when you're working on personal space - any time of year!

 

Now how about some books you may not be familiar with? (All these books are at school ready to go for the first day, so the images are linked to Amazon.)

 

  

 

These two books are a great way to add some social studies into your back to school activities. Pull down the map or even better - use Google Earth! - and see where each of these schools are located. Do a little compare and contrast - how are these schools the same and different from yours? Finish with a quick opinion writing - which place do you think would be most interesting to go to school?

 

   

  

I am in love with these books. I bought both of them last spring and they immediately became favorites with my kiddos. The illustrations are bright and colorful and the message of "be yourself" is simple and powerful.

 

These last 3 books are new to me! I saw One on Luckeyfrog's instagram feed and knew I had to check it out. Of course, I ended up buying all three in the series.

 All three books continue with a theme of accepting differences - and accepting yourself, as well as being kind and compassionate to others.

 

Now it's your turn! I know we as teachers are always on the look out for new books. What are some of your favorites for back to school? Any titles that people may not be familiar with? Share, share, share! Leave a comment with your go-to books for these next few weeks. I'm loving hearing from everyone as part of these Teacher Talks!



 

 

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Elementary Stories

Hello summer!  We were FINALLY done with school on Tuesday this week (last day for kids - teachers came back Wednesday).. I just may have done a little happy dance when we waved to the kids as the buses pulled away... sigh... another year over...

But, that means another summer begins!  I love to spend time in the summer reading.  My Kindle is full of books I've been wanting to read and I am so ready to turn those pages!  Interesting though, when I read professional books about teaching... I always need to have the actual book.  I just cannot read about teaching and engaging and educating without a book in my hand.

I'm blogging over at Who's Who and Who's New today, with a sample of some great blog book clubs that I've come across for summer.  Looking for a way to improve your math instruction?  I've got you covered.  Want to learn more about close reading?  There's one for that, too.  Looking for ways to increase engagement and just plain teaching fun?  I have just what you need. 

And if you're STILL in school... or go year round... or teach summer school.. or live on the other side of the world :-)..... I also have something for you.  My Summertime Fix-It freebie is a fun way for kiddos to practice grammar, spelling, editing.. you name it.. all with a summer theme.  Click on the image below to download.

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Elementary Stories