Washington (Nonfiction)

By: Christine Webster, part of the From Sea to Shining Sea series

The state of Washington is a beautiful state located in the Northwestern part of the United State. This book has tons of good information about the state, its landscapes, its history, state government and even recent facts. 

“About 4,000 years ago, before European explorers came, there were many Native Americans living in Washington. About 70 tribes occupied the land. “ Page 18

I love that these books come in a series, so each state has a book with tons of information. I would use these books to help my students explore other states. Each student would pick a state and create an informational brochure. This is a great way to allow my students to be creative and take responsibility for selecting the information from the book that they deem appropriate. Once all the brochures are done I would have each student present an interesting fact about their state.

Rapunzel (Fairytale)

By: Stephanie Peters

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kp2O1w_OK8

^link to youtube video

This traditional fairytale written in a graphic novel form is great for integrating theatre into the classroom. Because the way graphic novels are written, similar to comics with shots from scene to scene, the students can perform their favorite parts of the story. I know there is also a Snow White graphic novel, which would be great to use as well for some variety. In 3^rd grade students learn about types of fiction so this activity, would be great to introduce folk/fairytales, integrate technology with some flip cameras and incorporate theatre in the classroom.

Science Verse (Science Fiction)

By: Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith

Mr. Newton, the science teacher, says

“You know, if you listen closely enough, you can hear the poetry of science in everything.”

After that, the main character, a boy in Mr. Newton’s class, is zapped with a curse of the science verse. He begins to hear everything as a science poem. The young boy hears poems about the water cycle, dinosaurs, the food chain and as his day goes by everything turns into a poem. He feels like he will never escape the curse, until suddenly he wakes up, is still in science class, and is cursed of the Science Verse.

I would use this book to connect science and language arts. If I was starting a unit on poetry in language arts I could use this book as a fun and creative example. Also, the poems are about a variety of science topics such as evolution, the water cycle, matter and animal food chains.