We know that a big part of the CCSS is to include more informational texts into our students' reading. I quickly discovered I had a "gap" in my reading diet - the genre of informational texts! To help me fill the gap this year, I am going to participate in Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesdays! This is a great link-up hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy. Please visit this website to see other educator's link-ups. My goal is to read at least one informational text each week and post information on the blog. The more books and subjects I read, the more I can encourage (my #OLW for 2014) other teachers to use in their classroom!
"Explore" or "Discover" are themes that can be applied to so many different concept ideas. I've come across several books that lend itself to that theme. Try pairing some of these together:
The World is Waiting for You by Barbara Kerley
I love the verbs this book uses in its simple sentences and the photographs are breathtaking. This book would be perfect to use when getting ready to explore - whether a new school year or new concept in school. What verbs will students use in their discoveries?
Step Gently Out by Helen Frost and Rick Lieder
I love using this book paired with the one above because both have similar sentence structures and photography, yet still have a totally different feel from each other. Use this book to talk about explorations and looking closely at learning.
Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
I would share this book last to talk about the need to look closely at discoveries in order to see the patterns or even the contrasts these new explorations are showing.