Granny Torrelli Makes Soup

By: Sharon Creech
Joanna Cotler Books, 2003
Reading Level: 4.2 (Accelerated Reader)
Independent Read


Book Description: Realistic Fiction, Chapter Book

Granny Torrelli seems to always have the answers.  When Rosie gets into a fight with her friend Bailey, who struggles with a problem of his own, Granny Torrelli seems to know how to fix the problem.  When a new girl moves into the neighborhood and threatens Rosie's relationship with Bailey, Granny Torrelli uses her words of wisdom to offer comfort.  Award winning author Sharon Creech focuses on the importance of family and friendship in Granny Torrelli Makes Soup.

*Teaching Suggestions for Granny Torrelli Makes Soup

Supporting Electronic Sources:
SharonCreech.com
Sharon Creech's personal website offers during and after reading questions.  In addition, Sharon shares connections between events in the book and memories from her childhood.
Scholastic
This website offers literary circle questions as well as extension activities and vocabulary words that should be reviewed before or during reading.  Suggested answers to literary questions are also available.

Vocabulary:
Italian- eccola, molto, bambini, bene, piccolino, cavatelli, niente
English- ghastly, nuisance, mutter, enchanting, impulse, Braille, mangle, slosh, assess

Teaching Suggestions:
-Discuss how to determine the theme(s) of a story using information and key events from the text
-Examine conflict and resolution, focusing on the relationship between Rosie and Bailey

Comprehension Strategies:
Before Reading- Review both the English and Italian vocabulary words before reading the story.  Students will need to know these words in order to independently read the story.
After Reading- Use a conflict-resolution chart to examine the main conflict in the story and determine how it was resolved.

Writing Prompt:
Pretend you are Rosie and write and apology letter to Bailey.  Mention how you feel about the situation and defend yourself as to why you wanted to learn Braille.  Offer some resolution strategies that could possibly make the situation better.

César: Sí, Se Puede Yes, We Can

By: Carmen T. Bernier-Grand
Illustrated by: David Diaz
Marshall Cavendish, 2004
Reading Level: 4.3 (Accelerated Reader)
Read Aloud


Book Description: Poetry, Multicultural Literature

For many Mexican-Americans living in the United States during the 1900s, making a living as an agricultural could be an extremely difficult task.  Wages were unfair, hours were long, and living conditions were terrible.  However, César Chávez fought for the rights of immigrant workers and challenged unfair working conditions.  Using poetry and illustrations, Carmen T. Bernier-Grand and
David Diaz chronicle the legacy of human rights activist César Chávez in César: Si, Se Puede Yes, We Can.

*Teaching Resources for César: Si, Se Puede Yes,
We Can

Supporting Electronic Sources:
Teacher's Guide
Use this website before or after reading to find poetry lesson plans.  There are lesson plans which introduce poetry as well as lessons which focus on specific types of poems such as acrostics, Haikus, and diamond poems.
Reading To Kids
This website contains before, during, and after discussion questions as well as additional teaching strategies that can be used for this book.

Vocabulary:
English- Aztec, humbly, dignity, pension, pesticide, legacy
Spanish- chavalos, guitarrón, contratista, dicho, manzanilla, mayordomo, Pachuco, peregrinación, raitero

Teaching Suggestions:
-Use this book to discuss human rights and immigration
-Discuss the elements of poetry
-This book can be used for bilingual education

Comprehension Strategies:
Before Reading- Read pages 44-45 of the book, which offer a brief summary of the life of César Chávez.  This will help students comprehend the meaning of the poems, which all pertain to various events in César's life.
After Reading- Use a before and after chart to contrast the lives of Mexican-American workers before and after the work of César Chávez.

Writing Prompt:
Have students create an acrostic poem for Chávez.  Focus on characteristics, accomplishments, and key events in his life.

My Havana: Memories of a Cuban Boyhood

By: Rosemary Wells with Secundino Fernandez
Illustrated By: Peter Ferguson
Candlewick Press, 2010
Reading Level: 4.2 (Accelerated Reader)
Independent Read

Book Description: Nonfiction, Biography, Diversity, Chapter Book

Secundino Fernandez in a young boy living in Havana, Cuba.  He loves Havana and its beautiful sights but when his family moves to Spain, Secundino finds that being away from home is not very easy.  Using his drawing book to bring back memories of Cuba, Secundino dreams of being back home once again.  However, when Castro takes power the Fernandez family heads to the United States and despite a rocky start, Secundino eventually finds a new home in New York.  However, he will remember the beautiful sights of Havana forever.  Rosemary Wells tells the story of Cuban immigrant Secundino Fernandez in this beautifully illustrated book.

*Teacher Resources for My Havana: Memories of a Cuban Boyhood

Supporting Electronic Resources:
Scholastic
Use this website before reading to introduce the topic of immigration.  Use examples of childrens' immigration stories to talk about the challenges of moving to a new country.  Have students talk about how they would feel if they were emigrating to a new place.
Google Earth
Use Google Earth before and during the story to map Secundino's travels.  Google Earth allows you to zoom in on landmarks and even has information on key sites mentioned in the story.  This will give students a better understanding of the extent of Secundino's travels.

Vocabulary:
pastel, palacio, dictator, gallego, malachite, soot

Teaching Suggestions:
-Use this story in conjunction with a lesson on immigration
-Discuss the characteristics of a biography
-Focus on the differences between cultures

Comprehension Strategies:
During Reading- Sequence the events in the story to map out the places Secundino travels to.  Mention what Secundinoo experiences in the different countries he mentions.
After Reading- Predict what happens next to Secundino.  Does he forget about Cuba?  How does life turn out to be in the United States?

Writing Prompt:
Pretend you are Secundino writing to a friend back in Cuba.  What do you want to tell him or her about the United States?  What do you like or dislike?  What are some challenges you face?

Tales from Outer Suburbia

By: Shaun Tan
Arthur A. Levine Books, 2008
Reading Level: 6.5 (Accelerated Reader)
Guided Reading


Book Description: Fantasy Fiction, Graphic Novel, Short Stories

Things are not always as they appear and this is definitely apparent in Tales from Outer Suburbia.  This collection of short stories and illustrations by Shaun Tan is a thought provoking mix of open-ended tales that all take place in the suburbs of Australia.  Direction giving water buffalo, a finger sized foreign exchange student, and walking stick figures are all characters in this fable-esque graphic novel.

*Teacher Resources for Tales from Outer Suburbia

Supporting Electronic Sources:
ReadWriteThink
Use this website to find lesson plans on short stories and fables.  This hyperlinked lesson in particular combines illustrations, artwork, and short stories just as Tales from Outer Suburbia does.  Use this website either before or after reading.
Cooperative Children's Book Center
The Cooperative Children's Book Center offers a bibliography which lists hundreds of other graphic novels that may be interesting to children.  Focus on student interests and use this list to foster reading for those who enjoy graphic novels.

Vocabulary:
vacant, speculation, perplexing, weathered, dugong, bewilderment, cryptic, perilous, explicitly, sternly, sentinel, ballistic, mantra

Teaching Suggestions:
-Discuss the characteristics of a short story
-Have students respond to open-endings of the stories using information from the text
-Examine the importance of pictures in a graphic novel

Comprehension Strategies:
Before Reading- Look at the pictures in the story and hypothesize as to what the story will be about.  Mention how graphic novels contain many pictures and these pictures are used to tell a story.
During Reading- Use questioning while reading these stories.  Many of them contain messages that can only be obtained through inferential comprehension so use questions to judge how well students are looking beyond the literal meaning of the stories.
After Reading- For the stories that are open-ended, predict what will happen based on information from the story.  This will require students to use their knowledge of the story to make an educated guess.

Writing Prompt:
Have students create their own open ended short stories.

City Across Time

By: Peter Kent
Kingfisher, 2010
Reading Level: 4.5 (Accelerated Reader)
Independent Read


Book Description: Non-Fiction, Reference, Timeline

From the Stone Age to the 21st century, Peter Kent's City Across Time highlights key events throughout human history.  Listed in sequential order, this pictorial timeline offers brief descriptions of key historical events in an easy-to-read fashion.  Each page contains side boxes which offer additional information and key terms are highlighted throughout the book.  This book is an interesting introduction to world history for younger students.

*Teacher Resources for City Across Time

Supporting Electronic Sources:
ProTeacher
This online chat room is available for teachers to both post and learn about timeline activities.  Since City Across Time is essentially a timeline, this website can be useful for introduction and extension activities.
History Channel
The History Channel website is a great after-reading source that can be used in conjunction with City Across Time.  Students have the opportunity to further research topics that interested them from the book and can explore articles, pictures, videos, and interactive games.

Vocabulary:
archaeology, barbarian, catacomb, pagan, persecute, plague, pyre, thatched, urn, winch

Teaching Suggestions:
-Use this book as an introduction to world history
-Review the different parts of non-fiction texts such as glossaries, side bars, etc.
-Focus on content specific vocabulary

Comprehension Strategies:
Before Reading- Preview the book and talk about the setup of non-fiction texts.  Look at the glossary, index, headings, pictures, side bars, and so on.  Since informational texts are very different from fiction texts, discuss how to approach reading City Across Time.
During Reading- Create a graphic organizer that sequences each event in the story.  Also, write a brief description of the event so that students can see both the order and the main idea of what the event was.

Writing Activity:
Have students work informational texts using research from the internet.  Ask them to select a historical topic from the book and have them research the topic on the History Channel website.  Ask them to write an informative piece that summarizes the event (where, when, key points, etc.)

Everything for a Dog

By: Ann M. Martin
Feiwel and Friends, 2009
Reading Level: 5.4 (Accelerated Reader)
Guided Reading

Description: Fiction, Chapter Book

Charlie, Henry, and Bone are three different characters who each have a problem to deal with in their lives.  Charlie is a young boy who has experiences a tragic loss.  Bone is a stray dog searching for some food and a family to care for him.  All Henry has ever wanted for Christmas is a dog and yet his parents refuse to get him one.  Although they each face a challenge, in the end these three will find that their lives intertwine in an unexpected way.  Ann M. Martin addresses the themes of friendship, loss, and resilience in Everything for a Dog.

*Teacher Resources for Everything for a Dog

Supporting Electronic Resources:
Teacher Guide
This guide to Everything for a Dog is a useful teacher resource that contains pre-reading discussion ideas, challenging vocabulary from the story, discussion questions, writing activities with related standards, and related websites.
Macmillan
Use this site as a post-reading resource to find ideas for discussion questions as well as narrative, persuasive, and expository writing prompts.

Vocabulary:
ajar, drowse, revere, dolefully, amble, forlorn, tromp, cajole, tentatively, lope, rehabilitation, eave, reprimand, incredulous, galvanized, grimacing, exuberant, skittish

Teaching Suggestions:
-Focus on the difference between first and third person writing
-Discuss the role that fate has in the outcome of the story
-Use this story to demonstrate how character comparison maps are used

Comprehension Strategies:
Pre-Reading- Discuss the layout of the book before reading.  Since each chapter switches from one character to the other, it can be confusing for students to keep track of what is happening in the story.  Also mention the differences between first and third person in writing.
After Reading- Use Make Beliefs Comix and have students create an online comic that summarizes the various characters from the story.

Writing Activity:
Pretend that you are Bone and write journal entries from Bone's point of view.  Mention how you feel, what you see and smell, and how you survive on the streets.

Sojourner Truth's Step-Stomp Stride

By: Andrea Pinkney
Illustrated By: Brian Pinkney
Hyperion Book, 2009
Reading Level: 4.2 (Accelerated Reader)
Read Aloud

Description:
Non-Fiction, Biography, Diversity, Multicultural Literature, Picture Book

Born into slavery, Sojourner Truth is treated unjustly and cruelty.  For years she has suffered under the oppression of slavery and having been denied her freedom for the last time, Sojourner escapes and gains her freedom.  However, that is not enough for this strong, outspoken woman.  Sojourner begins to travel the country, speaking against slavery and promoting womens' rights.  Sojourner Truth's Step-Stomp Stride is the story of how one powerful woman fought for social equality and changed the world.  Check out more information on author Andrea Davis Pinkney and award winning artist Brian Pinkney.

*Teacher Resources for Sojourner Truth's
Step-Stomp Stride

Supporting Electronic Resources:
Sojourner's Speech for Equality
Use this resource as a post-reading activity.  This video is a reenactment of Sojourner Truth's "Ain't I a Women" speech and it can be used as an extension tool after reading. 
Sojourner Truth Institute
This website can be used before, during, and after reading.  The Sojourner Truth Institute website contains a brief biography, historical articles, pictures, speeches, and artwork pertaining to Sojourner Truth.

Vocabulary Words:
abolitionist, convention, master, plantation

Teaching Suggestions:
-Use this book in conjunction with a lesson on slavery or the abolitionist movement
-Read Sojourner Truth's "Ain't I a Women" speech after reading this book
-Base a discussion off the book that deals with thoughts and feelings about racial and gender inequality

Comprehension Strategies:
Before Reading- Preview Sojourner Truth's Step-Stomp Stride.  Look through the illustrations and introduce the main character.  Have students predict what the story might be about and draw on students' previous knowledge of slavery and injustice in the U.S.
During Reading- Question students as to how they would feel in if they were in Sojourner's shoes.  Would they be scared, angry, or motivated to make changes?  Try to make connections between the story and students' lives.
After Reading- Complete a character web of Sojourner Truth that focuses on her characteristics and accomplishments.

Writing Activity:
Pretend that you are an abolitionist living during the time of Sojourner Truth.  Write a persuasive speech that convinces others to put an end to slavery.  View Sojourner's "Ain't I a Women" speech to see an example of a strong persuasive speech.