Informational books are an important step in students reading however not always something they look forward to, assuming that it will be boring. However while exploring this genre I found several fun interesting books that explore many different subjects. The one I chose to explore further was Me and My Amazing Body by Joan Sweeney.

This is a great book that simplifies the human body to a level that children will be able to understand. While still making it fun and exciting to learn about. The author uses the element of diagrams to be able to learn the names of the parts of the human body. The illustrations are colorful and age appropriate for the intended audience.

In order to use this book in a classroom I would have them test what they learned about the human body after reading the book aloud. You could write up the names taught in the book cut them out and they would have to match them to their body by taping each word to themselves. For example the word knee they would tape to their knee and so on. Then as and exit ticket you could have the students write three new things they learned through reading the book. Overall this book is a great fun educational book that students can learn a lot from.

Exploring biographies this week has helped me to understand the value of them especially in the education system. Biographies are a great way to get a deeper understanding of a person and the impact that they have had on the world. I found that despite my previous ideas of this genre it can be exciting and enjoyable to read.

The book I chose to review is A Picture Book Of George Washington this book is a great way to introduce this historical figure and the events that he was involved in. I found that it explains his early life which can make it more interesting and create a better understanding of him as a person. The simplicity in the writers craft is helpful to introduce history and informational texts to readers at a young age.

In order to connect this story into a classroom I would make sure to have refection time. Another thing I would do is to recap the main facts and events the students learned by reading this book. Have the students create a drawing of the most important thing they learned from the story and follow it with writing. This gives the students a chance to show what they have learned can be used as an exit type of activity.

Historical fiction is a genre that can seem intimidating simply because it uses the word historical that can lead the readers to think it will be informational and not as entertaining to read. However through my reading this week I learned how exciting historical fiction can be as well as informational. The book that I am choosing to review this week is Ox-cart Man by Donald Hall. This book is about a man and his family and them making preparations for the dad to go into town where he sells there goods to buy things for the family and his journey there and back and ends with how they use their news goods and how they remake goods all over again.

This book has the ingenuity and innovation theme by the way the family creates the goods to sell ignorer to be able to buy the goods that they want. It shows the readers a cycle of making then selling and buying and circles back around to making to end the book full circle. The author uses setting to take the reader to a time period in history. While reading you really feel transported to back in the day when there were no cars to take people places and going to town was a journey not just a 5 minute drive.

I would use this story in my class by reading having the students think of their own families and what they would make or what their family members would make if we still lived like this. We have time to think on their own then share out their ideas. By doing this they will show that they understood the story and that they are able to connect with it. Overall I think that this story would be fun and beneficial to explore within a class.

Realistic fiction is a genre that I enjoy because I find it to be more relatable or interesting because you can more realistically imagine what the story is about without a wild imagination. I find that realistic fiction can be a great genre for students to read because it is still entertaining and exciting while still something they can make a connection with.

The book I chose to talk about this week is one of my favorites and one that I remember from my childhood. It is Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, I chose this book because of how relatable it is. We have all had those days where things just seem to keep going wrong. The writers craft that is used in this book is feelings and emotions. The author follows a boy Alex along his day which happens to be a horrible one and shows the emotions that Alex experiences both through written word and the illustrations.

The way that I would use this book in my classroom is to evoke a readers response. I will have them write about a bad day they may have had or can imagine having. I would have them do this activity after reading the book as a class. They would get to either use creativity or actual past experiences to practice writing a short story. Then as an exit ticket I would have them write the three bad things that happened to Alex throughout his day in the story. This book is a great story to use because of the connection that students will be able to make with it. I highly recommend this book!

Realizing this weeks genres were fantasy and science fiction left me feeling excited to begin looking for books. Now the reason for this is that these genres are home to some of my all time favorite books. So making the decision of what book to take a closer look at was not the easiest decision but when I thought back to my favorite stories as a kid there was one that stuck out to me and this book is Charlotte’s Web. This story is a classic that I’m sure everybody remembers reading as a child so I thought it would be a great book to use in a classroom.

This story is an animal fantasy that is engaging to young children due to its easy to follow episodic plot. The way it brings to life these real life animals to make them feel like humans can make the story magical for young students. In order to use this book within the classroom I would first of course read the story with the students. After everyone has read it I would challenge the students to make their very own story board to capture what they just read in order to get a deeper understanding of main events, themes, and characters. After they have created their art to show their understanding of the story then I would ask them to provide in written form this information to assess their learning.

Overall I think it is an excellent way to help students identify themes, main events, and main characters. It will keep the students engaged and help them develop skills they can use as what they read gets more complicated. I highly recommend using this book both in the classroom or even at home if you have children.

I have to admit that when I saw poetry was going to be our next assignment, I panicked. I mean how can you teach poetry to kids when you have famous poets like Edgar Allen Poe and Langston Hughes either talking about a murder or racism. However, I had a realization more like a memory of when I was introduced to poetry. It started with The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein and it continued on to Dr. Seuss’s work. Therefore, I no longer feared the subject of poetry because I knew that there had to be similar poems out there.

So on my search to find a book of poems that measured up to that of Silverstein and Seuss, I stumbled across Kay Winters author of Did You Hear What I Heard? Poems About School. This book may have been one of the most interactive, yet fun pieces of literature that I’ve read. Winters does an excellent job using the literary device of narrative writing as she tells the story of a school day through the point of view of a little girl in various poems. Not only does Winters use that device but she also uses rhyming to keep the audience engaged. Along with the writing, illustrations definitely play a huge roll in a children’s poem book by helping the students visualize the poem.

In order to introduce poetry to a class I feel like reading this book would be a great place to start. I would then follow the story with an activity where students would then have a chance to work together and make a classroom poem of our school routine. Having the class working on this assignment as a whole would ensure my help in aiding the students with rhyming words.

Overall, I do believe that having this assignment opened my eyes to see how valuable poetry can be to not only me as well as children.

Picture books were a big part of my childhood as they are for most kids. To this day my favorite ones bring back great memories of reading them with my sisters and mom. So without further delay here are my top three.

If You Give a Pig a Pancake is a great story that is fun for children to read. The author does a great job of keeping the audience engaged by guessing what the pig could possibly want next. This book has predictability or pattern in it by each page leading to something new the pig wants until the end where the story comes full circle and ends just the way it started. Throughout this story there are colorful well illustrated images that help to bring the story to life. Overall if you want to get your students or children laughing and enjoying a great book I highly recommend this one.

One way that you could use this book with in the classroom would be to do a circle read and then have a follow up activity where they draw what they think would happen next if the story continued. This will help show how close they were paying attention and if they are able to identify a pattern. Then you can have them share their predictions with each other and all together make a conclusion as to what could happen next and why they think that. This will help to make sure they understood the story and were listening and that they were able to see a pattern and able to guess what could be next. Overall I think this book is a great choice to keep students engaged in their reading and learning.

A little bit about me…

My name is Jaycee Baker and I am aspiring to be a early education teacher. My dream is to one day teach either kindergarten or first grade. Currently I am attending Central Washington University and I am a junior in my second quarter. Due to attending classes and working full time I do not read as often as I used to in my younger years. The precious little time I do have for reading I dedicate to educational materials for my career. I’m excited to be on this journey to the career of my dreams. I’ve only just begun but I’m grateful to be at the beginning of my opportunity .

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton