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| Published in 1971, The Lorax is an ecological warning that still rings true today amidst the dangers of clear-cutting, pollution, and disregard for the earth's environment. In The Lorax, we find what we've come to expect from the illustrious doctor: brilliantly whimsical rhymes, delightfully original creatures, and colorful illustrations. (72 pages, ages 4-8) |
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| Just in time for Earth Day on April 22, Michael Recycle tells the adventures of a young superhero whose power allows him to teach people about recycling. After cleaning up a town, the people declare: "To Michael Recycle! The green-caped crusader, our super-green hero, the planet's new savior!" (Ages 4-8) Additional Resources for Classroom Use: Green Education Foundation: Recycling Superhero Lesson Plan  Click on the picture to play Michael, Michael Go Recycle  Michael Recycle Meets Litterbug Doug is a great text to accompany Michael Recycle. Michael Recycle Meets Litterbug Doug is also written by Ellie Bethel and Alexandra Colombo. |
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| Cherry combines illustrations that reveal a naturalist's reverence for beauty with a mythlike story that explains the ecological importance of saving the rain forests. The text is a simply told story about a man who falls asleep while chopping down a kapok tree. The forest's inhabitants--snakes, butterflies, a jaguar, and finally a child--each whisper in his ear about the terrible consequences of living in ``a world without trees'' or beauty, about the interconnectedness of all living things. When the man awakens and sees all the extraordinary creatures around him, he leaves his ax and ``walks out of the rain forest.'' A map showing the earth's endangered forests and the creatures that dwell within ends the book which, like the rain forests themselves, is ``wondrous and rare.'' Ages 4-8. |
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This inspiring book presents the true stories of 12 people from across North America who have done great things for the environment. Heroes include a teenage girl who figured out how to remove an industrial pollutant from the Ohio River, a Mexican superstar wrestler who works to protect turtles and whales, and a teenage boy from Rhode Island who helped his community and his state develop effective e-waste recycling programs. Plenty of photographs and illustrations bring each compelling story vividly to life....(Ages 9-12, 110 pages) Additional Resources for Classroom Use: (Teachers can use this website as a starting point for Internet research on Environmentalists) (Site includes environmental projects, games, tips for protecting the environment, etc.) |
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| This book describes the journey of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a woman who stood up and fought for what she believed in. In nineteenth-century America, women were not allowed to go to college, own property, or vote. Instead, they were expected to marry, have babies, and keep house for their husbands. But rather than accept her lesser status, Elizabeth gathered other like-minded women to challenge the right to vote. Here is the inspiring story of an extraordinary woman who changed America forever. Additional resources for classroom use: |
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| A blend of archival photographs, historical background, and fictional narrative brings to life the experiences and emotions of the African-American students who made the tumultuous journey to school integration. Dramatic, mostly full-page, black-and-white photographs make up the bulk of the book. An introduction sets the scene, and factual pages, consisting of several sentences, are scattered throughout. They explain the significance of the events, the trauma of racial conflict, the courage and determination of African Americans and their supporters, and the importance of remembering and understanding. Amazon.com recommends this book for students in grades 3-8. From Stanford.edu: Toni Morrison has collected a treasure chest of archival photographs that depict the historical events surrounding school desegregation. These unforgettable images serve as the inspiration for Ms. Morrison"s text--a fictional account of the dialogue and emotions of the children who lived during the era of "separate but equal" schooling. Remember is a unique pictorial and narrative journey that introduces children to a watershed period in American history and its relevance to us today. Remember will be published on the 50th anniversary of the groundbreaking Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision ending legal school segregation, handed down on May 17, 1954. |
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Without enough tin jingles to make her dress sing, how can Jenna be a jingle dancer just like Grandma Wolfe at the next powwow? She borrows one row from Great-aunt Sis, whose aching legs keep her from dancing; another from Mrs. Scott, who sells fry bread; one from Cousin Elizabeth, whose work keeps her away from the festivities; and a fourth row from Grandma, who helps Jenna sew the jingles to her dress, assemble her regalia, and practice her bounce-steps. When the big day arrives, the girl feels proud to represent these four women and carry on their tradition. Watercolor paintings in bright, warm tones fill each page. In scenes where she is dancing, backgrounds of blurred figures effectively represent both the large audience and the many generations whose tradition the gathering honors. Seeing Jenna as both a modern girl in the suburban homes of her intertribal community and as one of many traditionally costumed participants at the powwow will give some readers a new view of a contemporary Native American way of life. An author's note and glossary tell more about the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, the Ojibway origins of jingle dancing, and the significance of the number four in Native American tradition. (From Amazon.com) Jingle Dance Video Additional Resources for Classroom Use: |
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| What is Wordle? Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like. You can print them out, or save them to the Wordle gallery to share with your friends. Why use Wordle in your Classroom? Wordle is a fun way for students to manipulate and work with vocabulary words or a bunch of text. Students can paste selected words or a piece of text within the Wordle Create box, click Go, and then make color, front, and word adjustments to create their own, unique Wordle. Wordle is an easy Web 2.0 tool for both teachers and students to use in any grade and within any content area. Wordle can be used for making predictions, short poems/haikus, dialogue reconstruction, revision of text (to assess students memory), text comparison, personal information, or while researching a topic. |
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| A young girl moves back and forth between her divorced parents' homes, along with her canine companion, Fred, who has several bad habits that neither parent appreciates.When the dog wears out his welcome at both homes, the child must forcefully remind the adults that, "Fred stays with me!" and help work out solutions for his naughty behavior. The story unfolds through the voice of the child: "Sometimes I live with my mom. Sometimes I live with my dad. My dog, Fred, stays with me." |
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| Heather's favorite number is two. She has two hands, two feet, two knees and two elbows. She has two pets: a black dog named Midnight and a ginger-colored cat named Gingersnap. Heather has two mommies: Mama Jane and Mama Kate. When Heather goes to day care, she learns that families come in all shapes and sizes: Joshua has a mom, a dad and a step-dad; Miriam has a mom and a baby sister; David is adopted. Heather also learns that "the most important thing about a family is that all the people in it love each other." (from lesleakids.com) Additional resources to use in the classroom: |
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| This unique book offers a fun introduction to the complexities of extended family relationships. Keeping it simple, Isadora emphasizes physical characteristics shared by different family members to show how they are related. Large, dynamic, and humorous pictures invite readers to look and compare the family in the book with their own. A family tree, complete with pictures, is included on the end papers. Recommended for ages 3-10 |
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L, M, N, O, P are teased by the other letters because kids run them together in the ABC song. They leave the alphabet because the other letters make them feel like they don’t belong, but this causes trouble in the classroom. Additional Resources: |
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A fish thinks he is better than the other fish because of his beautiful scales, which leaves him with no friends. When he shares his scales with the other fish, everyone wants to play with him. |
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No one wants to play with Charlie because he is an ugly caterpillar. Charlie grows lonely and turns into a beautiful butterfly who then befriends a lonely young caterpillar. Addtional resources for classroom use: |
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Rodney’s classmates tease him because he cannot pronounce his /r/'s. His speech impediment ends up saving the rest of the class from a bully and he becomes the classroom hero. Activities and resources for using this book in the classroom: Scholastic Lesson Plan Get to know the author - Helen Lester's website Students can turn this story into a reader's theater Script for reader's theater Video of students performing "Hooway for Wodney Wat" |
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Chrysanthemum’s classmates tease her about her name, and she no longer wants to go to school. With the reassurance of her parents and a special teacher she learns to love her name and herself for who she is. Additional Resources for using this book in the classroom: Read Aloud Video |
