A guided reading or interactive read aloud lesson plan for the nonfiction mentor text picture book Your Place in the Universe by Jason Chin. Great for earth science, outer space, measurement or Earth Day! Google Slides presentation and student activities on Google Docs. Lessons and activities focus on: K-W-L chart / KWL chartanalyzing information depicted in illustrationscomparing and contrasting textsanalyzing the main idea and details The lesson plans include: teacher script with strategic stopping points and questions for students to discussprintable prompts for student post-reading responses through discussion in writing or reading response logs4-5 day planDiscussion questionsSuggested discussion strategiesStrategic stopping points for questioning and close readingAnchor chart examplesSentence ... read more
The Old Truck by Jarrett Pumphrey
A guided reading or interactive read aloud lesson plan for the realistic fiction mentor text picture book The Old Truck by Jarretty Pumphrey and Jerome Pumphrey. Great for Earth Day, environmental awareness and stewardship, family and conservation. Google Slides presentation and student activities on Google Docs. Lessons and activities focus on: Summarizing key details (4 strategies: narrative retell, timeline, graphic organizer, Somebody Wanted But Then So)Close reading for describing illustrationsAnalyzing the author's message / lessonMain idea and detailsComparing and contrasting but can easily be modified for other uses The lesson plans include: teacher script with strategic stopping points and questions for students to discussprintable prompts for student post-reading responses through discussion in ... read more
Hike by Pete Oswald
A guided reading or interactive read aloud lesson plan for the realistic fiction mentor text picture book Hike by Pete Oswald. Great for Earth Day, environmental awareness and stewardship, or Arbor Day to look at conservation. Google Slides presentation and student activities on Google Docs. Lessons and activities focus on: Summarizing key details (4 strategies: narrative retell, timeline, graphic organizer, Somebody Wanted But Then So)Close reading for describing character traits / characteristicsAnalyzing the author's message / lessonauthor's purposeMain idea and detailsComparing and contrasting but can easily be modified for other uses The lesson plans include: teacher script with strategic stopping points and questions for students to discussprintable prompts for student post-reading responses through ... read more
You Matter by Christian Robinson
A guided reading or interactive read aloud lesson plan for the realistic fiction mentor text picture book You Matter by Christian Robinson. Great for back to school, social emotional learning (SEL), and self-esteem studies! An amazing diverse multicultural read! Google Slides presentation and student activities on Google Docs. Lessons and activities focus on: Close reading for describing figurative language and illustrationsAnalyzing character feelingsMain idea and detailsLesson / Author's MessageComparing and contrasting but can easily be modified for other uses The lesson plans include: teacher script with strategic stopping points and questions for students to discussprintable prompts for student post-reading responses through discussion in writing or reading response logs4-5 day planDiscussion questionsSuggested ... read more
Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree by Robert Barry
A guided reading or interactive read aloud lesson plan for the Christmas / winter mentor text picture book Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree by Robert Barry. A great holiday read for poetry, wants and needs, and perspective! Google Slides presentation and student activities on Google Docs. Lessons and activities focus on: Summarizing key details (4 strategies: narrative retell, timeline, graphic organizer, Somebody Wanted But Then So)close reading for describing meaning of wordsauthor's message / lessonMain idea and detailsComparing and contrasting but can easily be modified for other uses The lesson plans include: teacher script with strategic stopping points and questions for students to discussprintable prompts for student post-reading responses through discussion in writing or reading response logs4-5 day ... read more
Christmas in the Trenches by John McCutcheon
A guided reading or interactive read aloud lesson plan for the historical fiction mentor text book Christmas in the Trenches by John McCutcheon and Henri Sorensen. This is an excellent holiday story for focusing on WWI / World War I / the Great War, history and relationships. Google Slides presentation and student activities on Google Docs. Lessons and activities focus on: Summarizing key details (4 strategies: narrative retell, timeline, graphic organizer, Somebody Wanted But Then So)analyzing central themedescribing author's purposeusing text evidence to close readMain idea and detailsComparing and contrasting but can easily be modified for other uses The lesson plans include: teacher script with strategic stopping points and questions for students to discussprintable prompts for student post-reading responses through ... read more
How Santa Got His Job by Stephen Krensky
A guided reading or interactive read aloud lesson plan for the Christmas / winter mentor text picture book How Santa Got His Job by Stephen Krensky. A really fun holiday book with a perfect social-emotional learning (SEL) connection about perseverance, not giving up and being yourself. Google Slides presentation and student activities on Google Docs. Lessons and activities focus on: Summarizing key details (4 strategies: narrative retell, timeline, graphic organizer, Somebody Wanted But Then So)close reading for describing character traits using key detailsauthor's message / lessondescribing author's purposeMain idea and detailsComparing and contrasting but can easily be modified for other uses The lesson plans include: teacher script with strategic stopping points and questions for students to discussprintable ... read more
Shooting at the Stars: The Christmas Truce of 1914
A guided reading or interactive read aloud lesson plan for the historical fiction mentor text book Shooting at the Stars The Christmas Truce of 1914 by John Hendrix. This is an excellent holiday story for focusing on World War I / the Great War WWI, war and relationships. Google Slides presentation and student activities on Google Docs. Lessons and activities focus on: Summarizing key details (4 strategies: narrative retell, timeline, graphic organizer, Somebody Wanted But Then So)analyzing central themedescribing author's purposeusing text evidence to close readMain idea and detailsComparing and contrasting but can easily be modified for other uses The lesson plans include: teacher script with strategic stopping points and questions for students to discussprintable prompts for student post-reading responses through ... read more
The Best Mock Caldecott 2021 Competition Activities
Are you ready for your Mock Caldecott 2021? A fun activity to do each year is to do some Mock Caldecott activities in which you determine which book your class, grade level or school thinks is should win the Caldecott Medal and Caldecott Honors. More so than the Newbery Medal, a Mock Caldecott Medal competition is great for both upper and primary elementary students as each book must be a picture book. Books can be read in short periods of time and allow for many books to be considered. The Newbery Medal, however, includes both picture books and middle grade novels and makes considering possible winners more difficult to do due to the time constraints of reading novels. Check out below some background information about the medal and the picture books I believe stand the best chance of winning the Caldecott Medal this year! You can get my Mock Caldecott Medal competition slides, ... read more
Best Children’s Books About Computers and Programming
Check out some of the best children's books about computers, programming and programmers as recommended by teachers and librarians! There are so many amazing computer books for kids that teach them about famous programmers, coding basics and coding in history. Great for the Hour of Code. Picture books are a great way to teach about almost any topic. These are excellent children's books about computer and programming to share with your students as suggested by the educators in the Picture Book Brain community! If you’re a member of the Picture Book Brain Trust Community, you already have access to EVERY lesson plan and activity for these books! Just click on the Lesson Plans button in the menu! If you’re not a member of the Picture Book Brain Trust, you can join for as little as $1 for 30 days to get unlimited access! Click here to join! Check out the books: Ada ... read more