Book Club 7: Environmental Texts & Textbooks

Environmental Texts

 

blogging2.humanities.manchester.ac.uk

Genre Study

When looking for books that fell under the environmental genre, it was very important that these books met the Iowa Common Core Science Standards somewhere along the lines of the grade level the book is being used for.  This is important because information within the book will help cover some of the standards that we as teachers are required to meet with our instruction; it is important we take advantage of tools and resources that help us meet these standards!  Furthermore, I felt it was important that the books I chose met the Iowa Common Core Literacy Standards as well.  This is because books I chose would be used for either a read aloud or shared reading with my students.  Also, I plan to have the books placed somewhere within my classroom in a place where students will be able to look through the book on their own.  Any time a book is used, it is important to find books that help students work on the skills that they are required to develop based on the Iowa Common Core Standards.  Some other qualities I looked for within the books I chose to look for were pictures and graphics that appealed to the students, as well as quality information that enhanced student learning and were presented in a way they could easily understand.

While choosing books, I really wanted to focus on books that would have multiple uses within my classroom because I felt it would enhance the information I was presenting to my students.  Also, I felt it would serve as additional resources students could use to increase the knowledge of the concept being discussed.  With these ideas in mind, I looked for books I felt would be good for read alouds, shared reading, or individual reading for my students.  Second, I looked for books that would challenge my students’ independent level of reading, for my students who read at grade level.  However, there were some books I chose that would challenge my students who were at the lower levels of reading because it is always important to provide resources for students of every reading level within my classroom.  Third, I chose books that would provide students with background knowledge of a concept that they would need prior to diving too far into a unit.  Lastly, and one of the most important things, I chose books that I thought would grab the attention of my students who don’t enjoy reading.  These students continuously struggle to find books they like the read, so it is very important that we find books that allow them to develop an interest in a concept so they can continue to practice and develop important reading strategies.

Collard, S. B., & Brickman, R. (2005). One night in the Coral Sea. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge.

5^th grade, 4^th-8^th grade interest level

www.independent.com

            Themes covered throughout this book include mass spawning, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, creatures/species living within the reef, and species reproduction in coral.  This book is awesome to look through because the pictures are extremely bright and thoroughly detailed that the students can develop a visual picture of what the reef looks like.  Additionally, labels are provided on almost every picture to help students identify what the picture is to push their understanding even further.  A glossary is provided in the back for words that are bolded throughout the book to help students learn words that may be new terms to them.  A connection that students can make within this book is sea life.  The only assistance students will need in this text is with the pronunciation of terms; some students might need help understanding the concept of spawning as well.

Stewart, M., Young, A.M., & Wong, N. (2013). No monkeys, no chocolate. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge.

3-4 independent, K-2 read aloud

Lexile 740L

www.amazon.com

Major themes that appear throughout this book include cocoa beans, the rain forest, and animal relationships with crop production.  This book provides readers with fun pictures to keep students interested while they are reading.  My favorite part of this book are the “book worms” that appear in the bottom corner ever every page because they provide students with additional content about the concepts within the book, as well as pose questions that get students thinking deeper about the content.  Furthermore, this book provides students with some humor to make the book more enjoyable to read.  One connection that students can make to a global issue within this book is the concept of the rain forest.  Little support will be needed for students throughout the book, however, younger students might need some support for some of the concepts.

Textbooks

www.utexas.edu

Genre Study

When looking for books that fell under the concept genre, it was very important that these books met the Iowa Common Core Literacy Standards, as well as the standards for the subject the book is being used for, somewhere along the lines of the grade level the book is being used for.  This is important because information within the book will help cover some of the standards that we as teachers are required to meet with our instruction; it is important we take advantage of tools and resources that help us meet these standards!  Furthermore, I felt it was important that the books I chose met the Iowa Common Core Standards for the subject they were being used for as well, such as social studies.  This is because books I chose would be used for either a read aloud or shared reading with my students.  Any time a book is used, it is important to find books that help students work on the skills that they are required to develop based on the Iowa Common Core Standards.  Some other qualities I looked for within the books I chose to look for were pictures and graphics that appealed to the students, as well as quality information that enhanced student learning and were presented in a way they could easily understand.

While choosing books, I really wanted to focus on books that would have multiple uses within my classroom because I felt it would enhance the information I was presenting to my students.  With these ideas in mind, I looked for books I felt would be good for read alouds, shared reading, or individual reading for my students.  Second, I looked for books that would challenge my students’ independent level of reading, for my students who read at grade level.  However, there were some books I chose that would challenge my students who were at the lower levels of reading because it is always important to provide resources for students of every reading level within my classroom.

Everyday mathematics (Common Core state standards ed.). (2012). Chicago, Ill.: Wright Group/McGraw-Hill Education.

1^st Grade

www.mheonline.com

            This math book’s theme for this volume is numbers, patterns, place value, and basic facts.  A few things that were helpful within this textbook include picture representations and bright colors because these tend to help students with concepts like math.  Furthermore, the layout of the textbook was laid our fairly well, for being a textbook.  Even better is the fact that this textbook provided an abundance of resources for teachers to use.  There really weren't any connections for students to make with issues in this text.  Support students will need when using this book is teacher guidance to show students “how to read” the textbook and through the introduction of concepts within the book.

Sharpe, P., Clark, A., & Kanter, P. F. (2009). Math in focus. Singapore math. Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Education.

Kindergarten

heartsathomestore.com

           This math textbook covers the concepts of shapes, comparing, sorting, matching, ordering, and counting.  Some things that are good for kindergartners in this textbook are similar to the 1^st grade math book: fun pictures, bright colors, good descriptions for students of the concepts, and short and precise directions for students to follow.  Furthermore, this book also provides an abundance of resources for the teacher to use, specifically ones that they can use to make copies for students.  There really weren't any connections for students to make with issues in this text.  Support students will need when using this book is teacher guidance to show students “how to read” the textbook and through the introduction of concepts within the book.