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.

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.

Japanese Food is an important part of Japanese culture. This is a PowerPoint that will explain the essential ingredients in a variety of Japanese dishes. Students will use Japan's geography to predict what food the Japanese eat. The "food" pictures I took while I was in Japan are interesting and engaging, geared to intrigue young children. A trip to a Japanese restaurant will reinforce the Japanese foods students will learn about! Or parents can help teachers make sushi in small groups right in the classroom. I've done both.

When learning about geography, it is an important skill for students to study landmarks of various cities within countries. This PowerPoint shows the landmarks of China, focusing on the cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Xian, and Chengdu. At the end is a picture of a "Big Map" my first grade students made depicting the landmarks they studied about throughout our China unit.

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.

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.”

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:

This is a wonderful biography about Charles Darwin’s journey to South America and the Galapagos Islands. In an age-appropriate language that children in grades 2,3,4 and 5 will understand, students will learn the places where Charles Darwin observed so many interesting organisms. Students will learn the questions Charles Darwin had. They will learn about Charles Darwin’s discoveries that led him to become a famous scientist!!!! This packet includes map skills of the beautiful maps included in this book, guided reading comprehension strategies, and research of chosen organisms Charles Darwin saw and studied. (I provided internet sites that are age-appropriate for students to use when researching). For Post-Reading Activities, students are provided with a Bio-Poem template about C.D. or an Acrostic Poem or more research.

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander, was the 2015 Newbery Medal Winner and the 2015 Coretta Scott King Honor Award Winner. It is the story about an athletic father of athletic twins and their family dynamics. This is a perfect middle school story that students can relate to – the pressure of winning, the love of a sport, the consequences of bad choices, loss and gain. I have created a critical thinking packet for students to “think” as they read and reflect upon the author’s strategies for word usage. There are opportunities for students to write a persuasive essay and a narrative, with templates to help students shape their pieces of writing.

On a windy day a sheep picks up a crown that has blown his way. The sheep picks it up and puts it on. Thus a sheep becomes Louis the First. Louis assumes the leadership of his sheep. He does what many leaders do, dresses up as a king, forms an army, invites artists to perform in his palace, etc. Then Louis decides that only sheep that look like him can stay in his realm. The rest of the sheep have to leave. That is when another windy day happens, and Louis the first loses his crown. There is lots of great discussion to be had here. Young children often feel left out on the playground. This is a chance for students to understand the role of a “leader” as well as the feelings of those who are included and excluded. This book is fresh off the press! Students will notice, page-by-page, what the sheep does to make himself more like a leader or king. As students study about other leaders in their community or country, they can make comparisons. Being an election year in the fall, the new president will do a lot of what Louis first does.

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.

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.

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.

What are the sources of light? What makes a shadow? How can shadows change? What kinds of hand shadows can you make, large and small? This bundle of plans helps students find the answers to these questions through inquiry and discovery. There are indoor and outdoor activities included in this unit as well as suggested read alouds or small group heterogeneous readings.

Students love the story of the Terracotta Warriors! These clay soldiers were the soldiers who guarded the first emperor of China, Emperor Xin Shi Huangdi in life, and in death. The Emperor's Mausoleum was discovered in 1974 by local farmers. The Emperor's clay army, each soldier unique and different like the Emperor's real army, the has since been put back together to make this museum and tomb unique to the visitors of Xian.

This is a comprehensive MAPPING UNIT geared for first or second graders. Students learn how to zoom in and zoom out when looking at maps or drawing them. This is an important skill! Students will learn to identify basic components of maps – cardinal directions, compass rose, keys - in order to fully tell “stories” of various maps. Google Earth is an invaluable resource for teachers to use as well as an age-appropriate mapping bibliography. Making a variety of maps will synthesize students’ knowledge and increase their understanding of neighborhood/community. Teachers may collect all of the students’ maps to make individual books to show how their geography knowledge progresses.

This story takes place during the Great Depression in the segregated south. The main characters are affected by the Great Depression in different ways; This story shows the resiliency it takes to undergo adversity as well as family members helping other family members in time of crisis. Perfect for reading aloud to fifth graders before "facing adversity" reading groups, one being Bud, Not Buddy. Check out my Visual Thinking Strategies PowerPoint on the Great Depression.

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!

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.