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.

Castle Crenshaw is a boy who lives on the poor side of town. His father was an alcoholic. When his mom finally grabbed Castle to run away from the dad, the dad tried to shoot at both of them. Castle had rage inside of him. He was always in trouble at school, unable to control his rage when others made disparaging remarks about him, his life, or his mom. When Castle joins a track team, his life, (inside and out), starts to change… This student packet contains reading comprehension strategies, reflections, and critical thinking. Students are expected to back up their answers with evidence from the story.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

Every young child who studies the Japanese culture should know about Sadako Sasaki, the symbol of peace for children all over the world. I took many age-appropriate pictures of the Peace Museum in Hiroshima, concentrating on the child, Sadako Sasaki, who died of the Atom Bomb disease. There are many age-appropriate books that my second grade class read about Sadako that complemented our Japan studies. Students learned to make paper cranes as part of our geometry unit. My students made 1000 paper cranes to send to Hiroshima in honor of Peace Day, held at the Peace Park each year in August. I am a global studies teacher, who hopes to instill the hopes for peace, now and in the future. Our future is in the students we teach.

Included in this packet are “selections” from two books, Bad Boy, by Walter Dean Myers, and The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros. Fifth grade students will do “close readings” to think and interact with the given selections. There are handouts I give to students that include a mini-lesson on writing summaries. There are also examples of “blogs” about two books, Wonder and Mockingbird, that a fifth grade student wrote to demonstrate to students what good “Book Reviews” look like, including writing a summary of the book, excluding the ending. Students then have an assignment to write “blogs” about the selections they have read in class, beginning with writing a document in “google docs” that teachers can comment on. Students can then copy and paste revisions on a blog of choice, (I use Blogger). Students can choose to write their blogs with chosen “elements” from the demonstrated fifth grader’s blogs. These Book Review “blogs” can continue throughout the year as students independently read. Integrating literacy and technology is a motivating and engaging activity!

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.

This PowerPoint focuses on good reading strategies, starting with visuals, the "primary sources" that help students learn. This PowerPoint contains aerial views and pictures taken within the Forbidden City. Rather than give information about the Forbidden City, students look at the pictures and tell what they "notice," and start to make "inferences" about groups of pictures. Students also have a chance throughout the PowerPoint to ask questions about the Forbidden City. Students will use their questions to do internet research, (the "leveled" sites are given), and there are choices of activities that students can choose to show what they learn.

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.

This is a sixth grade Hero unit. This packet was adapted for a small group of students who would be reading The Adventures of Odysseus by Hugh Lipton, in order to understand the six elements of a “Hero” genre. The six elements are: a call to adventure, a mentor, an obstacle(s), fulfilling the quest, the return of the hero, and the transformation of the hero. In The Adventures of Odysseus, the hero remains the same, but the obstacles are countless! After each chapter, students will write a summary of the chapter and fill out a chart to note what the six elements are, and see what elements have changed/not changed. There is a lot of scaffolding to provide students with who the characters are, as they are referred to in the “Prologue” and “Chapter One.” There is background information about the Trojan War, which leads into The Adventures of Odysseus. There is also a lot of background provided about one “mentor,” Athena, whose name appears in The Adventures of Odysseus. Students will get a sense of Athena as they work on “Visual Thinking Strategies” as they look at various Greek art work depicting Athena, (coin, relief, vase, statue). For the Final Exhibition, students will make a poster, depicting the six elements of the “hero” in The Adventures of Odysseus. There are clear directions for this poster and a rubric included.

The air in Cuba is enchanting to Margarita as she visits this island every summer with her family to see her grandmother. Margarita feels glued to the Cuban culture and nature surrounding the island. When she goes back to California, Margarita loses her "real self," and lives a totally different life. Margarita has to manage living in two cultures, but when The Cold War prevents Margarita's family from visiting the enchanted island, Margarita and her mom are bereft. This student packet asks students to think rigorously about the beautiful prose that Margarita experiences in her youth, chapter by chapter. Students will learn about history as well as the thoughts, emotions, and reactions Margarita feels through authentic historical events. This is a beautifully written book, a benchmark book all students should read in middle school. (I have also created a PowerPoint about the Cuban Revolution that is a prequel to this reading). There is also an historical Cold War Timeline at the end of the book.

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!

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:

Why do people call Nairobi a "city of contrasts?" What makes Nairobi unique from other cities? What do the places in or near Nairobi look like? What is a Tea Estate? The photographs and maps in this PowerPoint will help students visually answer these questions. At the end of this PowerPoint is an opportunity for students to research the places in or near Nairobi, (within a 50 mile radius).

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.

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.