Math



Hello everybody! I am going to talk about a book called Whole-y Cow! Fractions are Fun by Taryn Souder that explains fractions on a kindergarten to second grade level. Each page explains the cow in scenarios which get the students thinking. Such as, one page states that the cow is in a red, white, and blue bathing suit, and asks how much of the cow is red. This book could be super useful for students to help understand fractions since they are often tricky to understand. For many students, fractions are hard for students to grasp, and this book introduces them to fractions, without it looking like "math," therefore, students will be learning without even knowing. If they are introduced to the concept earlier in a simple way, then they will have a much easier time when they are introduced to fractions! This book would be incredibly useful inside a classroom, and I would definitely use this for my students! 

Science Book Talk



The Bacteria Book by Steve Mould is a fantastic book to help students understand just how bacteria speads, and affects them. This book discusses introducing readers to its microbial mates-- viruses, fungi, algae, archaea, and protozoa that help us, make us sick, as well as just how easily it spreads. This is a great addition to the classroom because it breaks the complex topic of bacteria into terms young students can easily understand. Typical science books can be too overwhelming for young students and may cause them to struggle with the vocabulary, or other aspects, yet this book can specifically focus on one topic, and vocabulary that associates with it, which will be much easier for them to understand.

Science Fiction Book Talk


The Magic School Bus On the Ocean Floor by Joanna Cole is a great science fiction add to your classroom book collection. A cooky science teacher and her students explore the great depths of the ocean in their scuba gear. This will be a fantastic book to use to introduce students to the great discoveries of the ocean. It sparks their interest and allows them to become familar with the discoveries of the ocean, while in terms they are easily able to understand. After using this book as the introduction to oceans, you can then branch out and discuss and find others facts about our oceans. Depending on the class level, you can tie each of your ocean lessons back to this book so they can easily make connections with the new content with the previous in the book.
However, the entire Magic School Book series can be helpful within the classroom because of the multitude of topics you will discuss with your students. Each book provides scientific facts, along with the hands on exploration fiction that will grab your students interests.

Social Studies
If You Were a Kid During the Civil War
by Wil Mara



For this weeks topic of social studies, the book I chose is If You Were a Kid During the Civil War by Wil Mara. This book is a fantastic addition to the classroom because it teaches the history of the Civil War from a different perspective that young students are able to understand and relate to. Within this book, they blend fiction with non-fiction to help tell a story of the past. Having this book handy when you introduce kids to the Civil War could be extremely helpful when it comes to young students comprhension of this topic, and can serve as an attention grabber. Wil Mara has a collection of If you were a kid books that could help students understand more about history, as well as other topics, such as natural disasters.

Nonfiction Book Talk

The book I chose to discuss is Solar System. It is put in terms simple enough for first graders  to understand. This book discusses the size, and order of the plants as well as what the planets are made up of. This is a very good introductory book to get your children interested in space and the planets that make up our solar system. I would use this book when introducing space so they are made aware of what planets are in our solar system, and I would often be able to refer back to it during oour space lesson when students are struggling to remember any of the key points made within the book.

Traditional Literature- Alice in Wonderland

The book I chose for traditional literature is one of my favorites, Alice in Wonderland. When I was younger, I really enjoyed this book due to its magical features. This book can be introduced in third grade due to it being a chapter book, with words at advanced levels as well as thematic topics throughout the book. This book is about a young girl adapting to growing up and making her own decisions, all while staying composed for the best outcome. This is a bit of a coming of age story from learning the rules of life, right down to the inevitability of dangers around every corner.

Poetry Book Talk:
The Shape of Me and Other Stuff by Dr. Seuss is a great book for introducing poetry because it is a fantastic way for children to understand how poetry works due to the rhyming throughout the book. Teachers and their students could do an activity together where they predict what will come next in the story to help them practice producing poetry. Although, this is not the only thing that can help students, unrealted to the topic, students can also learn self-perception and acceptance of themselves and others due to the topic of the story.