Last year I published a unit on the fantastic novel, Towers Falling by Jewell Parker Rhodes. September 11th is a monumental piece of modern history, one I think is important to teach. In this post I wanted to share a few more books that you can use in your classroom or at home to touch on the subject of 9/11 with your kiddos. Though many are picture books, don't let that deter you from checking them out. Some of these picture books will captivate your youngest readers all the way up to your … [Read more...]
Back to School Books to Prepare for that First Day
I don't know about you, but this time of year is bitter-sweet. The end of August brings the early onset signs of Fall (which I LOVE), the smell of sharpened pencils, but also the end of summer. By now some of you have already been in school for a few weeks and others only have a few sweet, sweet days of summer left. I am so excited for this new school year and the consistency of our days that comes with it. Back to school for us means the start of Kindergarten for Miss B, the last year of … [Read more...]
A Complete Unit Study: The Evolution of the Calpurnia Tate
Have you ever read one of those books that you just couldn't put down? One that you found so many different activities to can accompany it that you just can't stop planning? Books like that are so hard to find sometimes. A great plot, characters that you can really connect with and get to know, and thrilling elements that just suck you in and keep you thoroughly engaged. Books like that are often very difficult to find. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly takes you on … [Read more...]
Baseball Cards: Literature Unit Project
When doing a Literature Unit or Literature Circles, it's always fun to incorporate novel based projects for students to do to enhance their understanding of the novel. Baseball Cards are a great way to work on characterization and/or have your child or students discuss main characters from the story. You can even take it a step further and research historical figures mentioned in the novel for this project. Baseball Cards are a close second all-time favorite project to add in to any … [Read more...]
Literature Unit Project: Character Suitcase
In addition to writing Literature Units, like Keeping Score by Linda Sue Park, I will also be focusing on a specific project each month. These projects can easily be done with almost any novel. Projects like the Character Suitcase, which we are talking about today, will only enhance your students' or childs' understanding of the novel and allow them to show their understanding in a creative way. Character Suitcase Character suitcases are an awesome project that you can do with just about … [Read more...]
Literature Units: 8 Subjects to Include in a Unit of Study
I've written Literature Units here at Live Love Learn Gracefully for about two months now and am totally loving every minute. But I wanted to take a second to explain why I'm writing these units and how to use them. I'm sure many of you are thinking, this crazy woman has all preschoolers, why is she writing Literature Units for older kids? And that would be a good questions. Which is what I hope to answer today, that and so much more. Why Literature Units? Literature units … [Read more...]
How to use the novel Keeping Score as a Unit of Study
In my search for Historical Fiction books outside of the World War II era, I found this gem, Keeping Score by Linda Sue Park. In this book, you will fall in step with Maggie a New York born Brooklyn fan, who learns about life as she tackles the art of keeping score of baseball games at the local firehouse. Similar to the Paper Wishes Literature Unit, this unit of study will have your child exploring the history of baseball, the Korean war, life in New York in the 1950's, and so much … [Read more...]
Paper Wishes Literature Unit
Paper Wishes by Lois Sepahban is an incredible historical fiction novel about a girl and her experiences in a Japanese American Internment Camp in Manzanar, California. Through this literature unit your child will learn a little about World War II, but more specifically what was going on in America during this time. Through research, reading, primary source documents, and hands on STEM activities this Paper Wishes Literature Unit will expose your child to Japanese culture, tsunamis, the … [Read more...]
