Azzi in Between is a phenomenal graphic novel that explains the plight of refugees in a way that all children can understand. “There was a country at war, and that is where this story begins…” There is no mention of the country at war. There doesn’t need to be. Unfortunately, war is a fact of life in the world. This is a realistic story about a family who escapes a war-torn country and finds a host country. The main character, a little girl named Azzi, explains the hardships of her family’s escape and life in a new country. The pictures are rich with detail, adding the anxieties and hopes that all refugees have in common. Amnesty International endorsed this book. I created a “Guided Reading” packet to use with students in grades 3-6.

This is the story about the child, Louis Braille. It is written in the first person, making Louis feel closer to his readers. The book is rich with language. I have created a student packet that includes reading comprehension strategies, critical thinking, and writing activities. As a post reading activity, students will try writing Braille messages to classmates about Louis Braille.

When a valuable fraction goes missing, George Cornelius Factor (a.k.a. GCF) vows to track it down. Knowing that the villainous Dr. Brok likes to disguise his ill-begotten fractions, GCF invents a Reducer—a tool that strips away the disguise, reducing the fraction and revealing its true form. Equal parts of action and humor add up to a wholly entertaining introduction to simplifying fractions. While the teacher reads and pauses, students can fill out this interactive packet on a clipboard to practice finding equivalent fractions and simplifying fractions. *Every third grader enjoyed and understood how fractions can be “disguised” and “simplified.”

Now, more than ever, students need to learn about the various cultures of the world in order to promote a peaceful future, filled with knowledge and understanding. Under the Ramadan Moon helps students understand the month long observance of Ramadan by their fellow classmates. While promoting a global awareness, students will also learn about verbs and repetitive lines in poems, in addition to answering comprehension questions. As a culmination, students will write their own poem to portray the month long Muslim observance of Ramadan by a modern family.

This magazine article was written by a woman who recalls her life as a little girl when the Great Depression occurred. This article engages students in ways a textbook does not. With leading reading comprehension strategies and critical thinking, students will start to understand what the Great Depression was and how it affected a great majority of people. I would use this article after introducing my Great Depression Powerpoint - Visual Thinking Strategies. Then I would introduce reading groups where the main characters face adversity, one being Bud, Not Buddy.

Maya Angelou was a celebrated poet and author. She wrote a poem for President Bill Clinton when he was inaugurated, and a tribute for Nelson Mandella, the first black president of South Africa, when he died. She also wrote poems for children. Her voice and delivery of her “messages” were powerful and clear. She died in 2014, but her poetry and life messages will live on all over the world! This mini-unit includes three poems for elementary students to read/hear and respond to. In addition, students will use Maya Angelou as a poet “mentor” to write their own poems.

Malala Yousafzai was the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014. In her native country of Pakistan, when the Taliban took over, girls were not allowed to be educated. Malala’s father, the principal of a girl’s school would not give up his job of making sure that girls were educated, no matter who was in charge of his country. When Malala was shot by the Taliban and almost died, she made it her life’s work, at only sixteen years old, to speak to world leaders about the basic rights of girls’ education around the world. The world continues to listen…This guided reading packet will help students understand the problem Malala and her friends when they so desired an education, but were denied by the Taliban. Although Malala almost died at the hands of the Taliban, she continues to live the dream of helping to make a girls’ education mandatory around the world where it has been denied. This is a perfect book to use to show how the Growth Mindset makes heroes to those who continue to live their dreams, even during dire circumstances.

There are many “Water Princesses” who have to walk for miles in different countries in Africa with water jugs on their heads in order to get water. Water often needs to be boiled in order for it to be safe for drinking. This is the story of Princess Gie Gie who used to walk miles with her mom to get water. The whole day was spent on this journey. As an adult, Georgie Badiel founded the Georgie Badiel Foundation in order to help people who live in villages in Burkina Faso get water in the villages. Students will learn about Princess Gie Gie’s life with her mom on their daily journey for water.

We’re All Wonders is about the main character, Auggie, in the older version of Wonder, by R.J. Palacio. Palacio gives a powerful message to younger primary students in this book. She lets students FEEL the unhappiness that runs through Auggie’s very being when he is made fun of and stared at by other people. Auggie feels the need to fly to Pluto with his beloved dog, Daisy, so he can play with others as unique as he is. When he looks back at Earth, he has hopes that kindness will prevail and he and everyone will be looked upon for their “wonder.” This student directed guide, including the best of reading comprehension strategies, will help all students to be “kinder” throughout the year.

Li Bai is a famous Chinese poet. He revered the moon. This is a fairly simple poem about the moon, perfect to teach what a “metaphor” is to young students. Students will read “The Moon” by Li Bai, discuss the metaphor in his poem, and challenge themselves to write a poem in Li Bai’s style about the moon or something else, applying their knowledge of metaphors.

More and more, there are students who need graphic organizers to arrange their thoughts, sequence events, and include the details of a well developed personal narrative. THIS IS IT!

This guided reading packet focuses on maps of Ghana to show students the journey Emmanuel took and what he saw on his journey. There is a large emphasis on Emmanuel’s character – What is his dream? Is he a national hero? Why, why not? Students need to provide evidence throughout the story by explaining why Emmanuel was “useful,” instead of “disabled.” Students will see two videos of the real Emmanuel to learn more about his accomplishments and awards. A final activity is that students will trace a BIG map of Ghana and show the places, people, and landmarks Emmanuel saw on his journey. Students will also write in their own words what Emmanuel’s quote means, “In this world, we are not perfect. We can only do our best.”

This is a true story how William Kamkwamba brought light and water to his village in Malawi by building a windmill. People thought William’s dreams were crazy, but William did not give up and at fourteen years old, brought light to a dark village. Later, another windmill he built brought food to a ravaged land where drought nearly starved its people. The teacher will read this book to the students and pause while students answer questions in this packet. This packet includes vocabulary development, parts of speech, visual images, recall questions, making inferences, and critical thinking. There is a TedTalk included where students can hear William as an adult. There is a writing assignment at the end.

This novel, When the Sea Turned to Silver, is another one of Grace Lin’s wonderful fantasies!!!!! In the packet I prepared, students will draw visual images, depicting the descriptive words of the author. Students will give characters traits, and give evidence from the story why they chose specific traits. Students will try and unravel the mysteries as the story progresses. They will react, make predictions, and make inferences. Students will use their critical thinking skills to interpret the legends, the stories within the stories, after they summarize the legends in no more than eight sentences. Students will also do some research to find out why the Great Wall was built in China and learn about the Forbidden City, both referenced in this book. This is a fine piece of literature fifth and sixth grade students will love!!!!!

Standing in someone else’s shoes allows a person to FEEL that person’s feelings. When someone can stand in someone else’s shoes, they can begin to show empathy. Emily barges into her older sister’s room when Alicia is studying for a test. Alicia explains the meaning of empathy to Emily in a way that Emily understands. Throughout the day, Alicia starts to notice how different people in her life are feeling, and she makes every effort to talk to them and offer her support. My packet reinforces how each person in Emily’s life is feeling, why they are feeling a certain way, and how Emily offers her support in the way of words and actions. As a culmination, students will write about how someone has shown empathy to them, or they have shown empathy to someone else. This is a great beginning of the year book in order to build a strong, supportive community of empathetic peers.

This is the best of literacy integrated with the study of Nutrition. Students will answer comprehension questions, apply their knowledge, analyze and evaluate the text as they read. Students will “turn and talk” and retell the story to a partner. As an activity, students will make a food pyramid put the ingredients of the story’s food into the correct categories. As a final exhibition, students will reenact the story in a Reader’s Theater.

The Arrival, by Shaun Tan, is an amazing immigrant story! It is a graphic novel, without any words, appealing to all students. The dragon’s tail surrounding the old country is a symbol of any reason one might want to leave their country for another…war, racism, lack of freedom, genocide…It is surreal. The land of opportunity looks nothing like any place anyone has ever seen before! This wonderful graphic novel should be read after students know about European immigration – people leaving their countries for various reasons, and passing through Ellis Island to find a land of opportunity, or not. While students read The Arrival, they will easily find “text-to-world” connections. Students will also visually SEE how difficult it is to adjust and maneuver in a new country with a family waiting back in the old country. This book has six parts. I have prepared a PowerPoint to do Visual Thinking Strategies with students before they read each part in order for them to look closely at the pictures and interpret them, figuring out the difficult parts of the narrative more easily. Before partners read each part, there is a packet of questions they need to think about pre-reading, during reading, and after reading. In tandem, I have given students books to read about immigration from various countries around the world, both in the past and present, to acquaint students with global understanding. Students will choose responses to write as they read. They will also keep track of the “parts” of a narrative, to prepare them to write their own. To integrate writing into reading and history, when students have completed The Arrival as a class, and have read their immigrant novels, they have a choice to write their own five-page immigration narrative. Included in my unit are a variety of graphic organizers to help students. Scholars can choose a family immigration story to write about, or retell the story about the character they just read about during independent reading. Once the written narrative is complete, students will transfer the information and story to write a graphic novel. *If you are interested in an Immigration Unit to teach before reading The Arrival, here are two of my TpT products:

It is important to read to students every day, introduce new genres, engage students, and elicit their responses before, during, and after reading. This is a script, written with the rigor of the Common Core Standards, to elicit students' critical thinking during read aloud time.