BOOK #1: JUST A DREAM
Genre: Fiction
Keywords: Environment, Attitude, Future Problems, Garbage, Pollution, Endangered Ecosystem, Grand Canyon, Smog, Drinking Water Shortage, Endangered Wildlife, Recycling, Trees, Deforestation, Reforestation.
Summary: Have you ever have a bad dream? Or a dream that takes you to the unimaginable? I think we all do. Every child loves a good story and Chris Van Allsburg really captures the essence of how important it is to take a caring and active role in our environment. A young boy, Walter, envisions his future to be full of robots that make life easier for him, with a careless attitude and no conscious feelings toward how he treats the earth now. Through a series of eye-oping realities in his dream, he begins to discover how important it is to not only care for the environment but to take an active role in making a difference, no matter how small the act of involvement may seem. This text would be appropriate for the junior learner as it opens an array of topic opportunities to discuss (keywords above) that can easily connect to the Language and Arts curriculum expectations.
Classroom Suggestions & Curriculum Connections:
- Activity #1: Ask students to create a character description of Walter at the beginning of the story and a character description of him at the end. Explain how his attitude changed and why.
- Curriculum Connection: Grades 6 / Language Arts / Writing Strand: Specific Expectation - 1.2 & 1.4
- Activity #2: Using the Draper model from class on making connections (reference below). Introduce the connections of text to text, text to self, and text to world. Discuss these different connections with your class. Ask your students to create a chart with 3 columns: Text to Text, Text to Self, Text to World and input at least 3 connections within each column.
- Curriculum Connection: Grade 6 / Language & Arts Curriculum / Reading, Writing, Oral Communication Strands. This is a great activity to assess the learners comprehension with the book.
BOOK #2: POLES APART. Life at the Ends of the Earth
Genre: Non-fiction / Science
Keywords: North Pole, South Pole, Baleen, Camouflage, Global Warming, Ice Cap, Inuit, Glacier, Krill, Predator, Prey, Tundra.
Summary:
A short illustration book that will give quick informative facts about life, climate and landscapes of the North and South Poles. This book is appropriate for the junior learner because it's short, it's engaging and it's filled with fascinating pictures that will capture the viewer to read it from beginning to end. This text will lend itself to the junior learner that struggles with focus, reading or a learning disability. The font is enlarged, keywords are bolded, and the illustration helps to bring it all together. Having a text like this available on your classroom book shelf is important as it creates strategies and structures to support independent reading.
Classroom Suggestions & Curriculum Connections:
- Activity #1: Ask your students what are some key points in this book. Class/group discussion. Individually or in groups, have your students create a chart that compares/contrasts the life, climate and landscapes of both environments.
- Curriculum Connection: Grades 4-6/ Language / Written & Oral Communication Strands.
- Activity #2: Ask your students to research magazines, newspapers, online print outs to build a poster collage with pictures and keywords that relate to this book. Encourage them to include a global theme.
- Curriculum Connection: Grades 4-6 / Language & Arts Curriculum / Media,
BOOK #3: National Geographic: Planet or Plastic?
Genre: Illustrated Magazine
Keywords: Planet, Plastic.
Summary:
How cool would it be to actually explore with our own eyes this fascinating iceberg on the cover of National Geographic? Now, take 22 seconds to view the video below. For real... check it out! (Insert sad face) !! This text sets a more serious tone for the viewer, especially the article written by Laura Parker, Planet or Plastic. This magazine issue was released in June 2018 which is relevant for up-to-date facts in articles based on the environment, conservation, animal wildlife and endangered species. Children are naturally curious about the world around them and nothing seems more appropriate than a magazine that delivers facts and real pictures of what's out there! National Geographic offers the perfect resource of pictures and information for educational learning and class projects.
Classroom Suggestions and Curriculum Connections:
- Activity #1: What do we know about plastic? Take 15 minutes to research and jot dot down at least 10 facts about plastic and how it affects our environment. Also, include initiatives that have been developed to provide awareness on this global issue. Class discussion to follow.
- Curriculum Connections: Grades 4-6 / Language / Writing, Oral Communication and Media Strands.
- Activity #2: In groups of 3 or 4 research and create a poster board that includes a title and short description (250 words max) outlining how this global issue impacts ecosystems and communities worldwide. Add at least two sub-sections to your poster that support your description (i.e., Why is it harmful? How can we raise awareness? What is at risk? Why is this important to us? How can we solve the problem?) with 8-10 point form notes. Include at least 4 pictures (i.e., magazines, newspapers, print outs) to support your work and to capture your audience. You will present your poster to the class, 5-10 minutes. Print and attach the given rubric to the back of your poster. Due 1 week from today.
- Curriculum Connections: Grades 4-6 / Language & Arts Curriculum / Writing, Oral, and Communication Strands.
BOOK #4: All The Wild Wonders: Poems Of Our Earth
Illustrator: Piet Grobler
Genre: Fiction / Environmental
Keywords: Earth, Sun, Moon, Animals, Climate Change,
Summary:
A brilliant collection of poems that will embody your soul! This is a must have in your classroom and at home. Through poetry and colourful illustrations, the junior learner will connect with this collection of poems with a creative mind. The anthologist of this collection has chosen poems that will enable children to explore and ask questions. Most importantly it will ask the question, What can we do to protect Earth for the future? This book lends itself to connect with the junior learner that has an appreciation for visual art, poetry, music and literacy. It is a celebration of our Earth bringing exuberant joy to the reader, and also lending itself to assume great responsibility as a consumer in a global society.
Classroom Suggestions & Curriculum Connections:
- Activity #1: Earth Day is April 22, 2019. We have a beautiful earth, so lets make a "green" book as a class to celebrate our great planet. Each student will create a poem that can be about anything and everything that has to do with planet earth. You can set a joyful tone for the beauty that lies within or you can choose a more serious tone that focuses on bringing awareness to global issues (or both). Use a legal size sheet of paper, fold it half, one side will be your poem and the other you will design a creative illustration to accompany and reflect your poem. You will present your poems on Earth Day.
- Curriculum Connections: Grade 6 / Language & Arts Curriculums
- Writing Strand: Specific Expectation 1.1
- Visual Arts Strand: Specific Expectation D1.1
- Oral Communication Strand: Specific Expectation 2.3
- Activity #2: Choose a poem from the text. Create a melodic composition to use with this text. Keep in mind rhythm and a flow with the lines in the picture that move you with the direction of your pitches. How can you best reflect the nature of your chosen poem.
- Curriculum Connections: Grade 6 / Arts Curriculum
- Music Strand: Specific Expectation: C1.1 - Sing and/or play, in tune, from musical notation, unison music, or music in two or more parts from a wide variety of cultures, styles and historical periods.
- Music Strand: Specific Expectation: C1.3 - Create musical compositions for specific purposes and audiences.
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES...
Text #1: Just A Dream
- Global Issues: Environmental: climate change, air pollution, deforestation, water pollution, endangered ecosystem.
Text #2: Poles Apart
- Global Issues: Global warming affecting wildlife and landscape for wildlife.
Text #3: Planet or Plastic?
- Global Issues: Plastic crisis, waste, endangered ecosystem.
Text #4: All The Wild Wonders
- Global Issues: Sun, Moon, Ocean, Trees, Weather, Climate, Animals, etc.