Sunday

Picture Books that Launch STEM Learning

Kids love science. As a teacher though, sometimes it can be a little overwhelming trying to figure out where to start. Why not start with picture books? Picture books are the perfect hook for the kids

and can spur lots of ideas for STEM.

Here are some ideas.

After the Fall

(How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again)

by Dan Santat

This is a great book to teach perseverance

and getting over fears. Kids are already familiar with the nursery rhyme. This just extends the story.

What are some STEM extensions?

-Design a paper airplane for Humpty.

-Engineer a device to get Humpty up a wall safely.

-Do the egg drop!

(If you want that one step by step, download my Picture Book STEM Unit for some literacy activities and the STEM activity)

If I Built A School

by Chris Van Dusen

This book is so fun. When I read it to second graders, their imaginations went wild! Their only let down was that it wasn't real!!

What are some STEM extensions?

-What new classroom or space would you build?

The sky is the limit!

-Redsign! Look at your current library,

computer lab, innovation lab, maker space etc.

What would you add or change?

I Dissent:

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark!

By Debbie Levy

Do you know the story of RBG? It is truly inspirational! She had to overcome great odds and she affected great change.

What are some STEM extensions?

-Have students design bookmarks to teach younger students about the Notorious RBG

-Can your students create their own scales of justice?

-Did you know her jabot had different meanings?

Have students create their own jabots!

As you read picture books, think of ways you can integrate STEM. Your kids will love it.

You can find me on these platforms (as well as my blog!)

How can I make your job easier this year? Let me know in the comments. If I use your ideas for a blog post, you will win $10 to Teachers Pay Teachers. Even better, if I use your ideas to make a resource in my store, LisaTeachR's Classroom, I'll send you a free copy of that resource!

What's an Interactive Read aloud? and Picture books to support it for the first day of school

What's an

Interactive Read aloud?

and Picture books to support it for the first day of school

Do you use interactive read alouds in your classroom?

I'm going to go over what they are and how to do it and then suggest some great books for back to school!

Reading Strategies

Interactive read aloud lessons are rooted in the reading strategies.

These strategies are

-asking questions

-accessing background knowledge

-determining importance

predicting

-visualizing

-making connections

-summarizing, evaluating

-synthesizing

If you want posters of the strategies, go to my store.

Structure of the Interactive Reading Plan

Choose a book, read it, and decide on

a strategy to focus upon.

What strategy does the book lend itself to?

Once you have that, determine how and what you will ask and use post its to put them on the right pages.

Modeling:

Be explicit. Tell the students what strategy you are working on and why. In this stage, you model how to ask the question and you answer it yourself.

Shared:

Stop and summarize.

Ask a question and share your thinking.

Then give students time to think-pair-share

to discuss before anyone shares out.

As students share, validate or redirect.

Guided:

Continue asking questions.

Give students time to think-pair-share to discuss before anyone shares out.

Continue validating and gently redirecting.

Independent:

When you ask questions, students can share out without the think-pair-share process.

Remember to circle back around and discuss the reading strategy used.

What books should I use?

You can use any picture book you like.

Just be sure to read it first and consider what strategy lends itself to it.

Some suggestions I like for the

first week of school are:

-All Are Welcome

-The Book With No Pictures

-If You take A Mouse To School

-Happy Dreamer

-Each Kindness

_The Day You Begin

If you need more explicit support, try my first day of school interactive read aloud lesson plans.

As you read picture books, think of ways you can use them in an interactive read aloud. Your kids will love it.

You can find me on these platforms (as well as my blog!)

First Day of School Picture Books

First Day of School

Picture Books

Are you looking for some great books

for back to school?

Are you looking for diverse reads that are inclusive? A great class library has books that provide those mirrors, windows and sliding doors that are for all students!

All Are Welcome

by Alexandra Penfold

This book celebrates everyone and how we are different and that makes our world a better place.

It's a beautiful poem celebrating inclusivity and diversity. Just lovely.

Just Ask!

by Sonia Sotomayor

Written by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, this book encourages students to accept others and just ask when curious. I love this as it helps kids see there are many differently abled people in the world and if we're curious we can just ask. More knowledge makes everyone more accepting.

Happy Dreamer

by Peter Reynolds

This is written by the incomparable

Peter H. Reynolds which reminds students to

DREAM BIG! Peter Reynolds is just amazing. I love all his work. Check out their stuff at

FableVision Learning.

Sometimes it's nice to have the lesson plans at your fingertips. If you're looking for picture book units, here you go!

If you just want interactive read aloud lesson plans, then you want this bundle!

I hope you have an amazing back to school! After this past year, we need some normalcy and to teach our kids to be accepting of everyone!

Check out these blogs from some amazing teachers.

You can find me on these platforms (as well as my blog!)

Pennants! Decorating your class with student work

Decorating Your Class with Student Work

Pennants are a great way to decorate your room for back to school! It's students work at the ready. Let's explore different types.

Executive Branch

For the newest members of the Executive Branch: Joe Biden, Dr. Jill and VP Kamala Harris! Have your students do the research, fill them out and decorate. These pennants can be used before election times or President's Day, or any time you want something cool to decorate your room.

Hispanic Heritage Month

September 15th to October 15th is LatinX Heritage month. What better way to celebrate than to research some famous Latinos? People like Frida Kahlo, Eva Peron and Lin Manuel Miranda! As a matter of fact, there are 34 pennants to choose from in both color and black and white.

Get the whole kit and kaboodle!

If you want enough pennants for the whole year, here you go. In this pennant bundle, you have pennants for the Executive branch, Hispanic Heritage month, Christmas Holiday, Valentine's Day, and St. Paddy's day. Then you have some for multiplication, a study of the planets and finally a college application. Have to start thinking about where they may want to go now!

Aren't these cool ways to have students do research and decorate the classroom with their work?

Have fun!

You can find me on these platforms (as well as my blog!)