Eating Fractions

Written and Photography by: Bruce McMillan

Recommended for: Children Ages 4-8

Themes: Math, Character Education

Summary:

     Eating Fractions illustrates the story of two friends who share their food by cutting it up into fractions to share amongst one another and with their dog. The children enjoy cutting up the food into halves, thirds and quarters. McMillian has used pictures of the friends dividing up there food along with simple drawings of each food with fractions displayed on each fraction of the food to show that the real portions of food are in fact a portion of the whole.

     Children will love the simplistic way in which the book is written and in which it displays dividing up a whole into equal parts to make a fraction. The pictures in this book really do tell the story, making it easy for children to go back to it on there own with little assistance from an adult while maintaining their ability to understand the story and concept.

Suggestions for the Classroom:

     Eating Fractions is a wonderful book to use with young children to introduce fractions as being parts of a whole. It is also a great book to open up discussions with children about sharing and how all members of a group should get equal amounts in order to be fair when sharing.

*Pre-Reading Activities: Tell the students brought in a special treat which you would like to share with them in class today: bananas. However, you were quite sleepy when you packed your bag today and did not bring enough for everyone. You only brought 12 bananas with you and there are 24 children in the class today. Tell students that you are very sad, because you wanted to share and are not sure how you can do it fairly so that everyone gets some. Tell that you are going to read them a book while you try to figure out what to do to solve your problem.

*During Reading: Point out to students how the two boys were able to cut up their the different parts of their meal so that each of them could have some. Ask the students if the boys were getting the same amount of each food?

*Post-Reading Activities: See if any of them come up with a solution to your problem and whether or not it could work for the amount of bananas that you have so that they can be shared equally. Carefully cut the bananas in half and count them with the children to see if you now have enough for everyone to get an equal share (you may want to have someone put paper towels down on the students desks ahead of time, if you can, to save time once you begin cutting). To extend this activity, after the students have finished eating their snack, give them a contruction paper template of a pizza. Ask the students to show you how they could share their pizza with three friends equally, between the four of them, so that each of them would get an equal amount.

About the Author/Photographer:

     Bruce McMillan was born in Boston, Mass but grew up and attended school in Maine. He began his love for literature as a young child, riding his bike into town each week to spend his hard earned allowance on books while he made his way through the Hardy Boys Series. McMillian always loved to take photographs, with a professional camera given to him by his dad at the age of 9, and sold his first one as a teenager (a photograph of his former home, now the summer residence of George H.W. Bush). He describes that while he has always loved reading and the spoken word, it wasn't until he was a "big kid". He states that he taught himself about writing while working as a island caretaker on McGee Island one summer. By the end of that summer he wrote his first published work, an article for the DownEast Magazine. During his last few weeks on the island, McMillian had also taken the photographs for and outlined his first book, Finestkind o'Day, which featured his own child.

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Bears! Bears! Bears!

Written and Illustrated by: Bob Barner

Recommended for: Children Ages 4-8

Themes: Non-Fiction, Science

Summary:

     A wonderful and informative book about bears from around the world. Gives children some insight into the lives of bear cubs, their relationship with their mothers, and what it is that they eat. This books gives information to children about: Polar Bears, Sun Bears, Giant Pandas, Spectacled Bears, Black Bears, Moon Bears, Sloth Bears, and Grizzly Bears.

     Children will love the wonderful illustrations and learning that young bear cubs come in many different types and they do some of the same things that young children do. They also enjoy the map located a the back of this text that shows them where each type of bear lives within the world.

Suggestions for the Classroom:

     This text could be used in several different ways within the classroom: to aid in teaching students about mammals; to teach children more about bears; to show children that there are several different species of bears; as a pre-cursor to a zoo trip; and as a non-fiction pair to fictional text such as Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? and The Bear Snores On.

*Pre-Reading Activities: Discuss with students that there are many different types of bears. Show them pictures of some different types of popular types of bears and see if they are able to identify the names of each (Polar Bear, Brown Bear, Black Bear, etc.). Begin filling in a KWL chart with the students about bears. Ask them to tell you diffent things that they know about Bears, write this under the K section of the chart. Then ask them to come about with a couple of questions about Bears that they may have (select only a few, 3-4, as I am sure that many questions will come up), record these under the W section of the chart.

*During Reading: Ask the students to tell you some of the different foods that the bears eat during the book? (honey, bamboo, fish, seals, etc.) Do they all have the same diet? (no) What are some of the activities that the bears completed in the book? (climbing, sleeping, cuddling), etc.)

*Post-Reading Activities: Show the students the map at the end of the book and discuss with them that each bear is located in different regions around the world. Give them pictures of Polar Bears, Black Bears and Grizzly Bears and a Map of North America to color. After the students finish coloring the pictures, model for them how to paste them onto their map to show where you can find each type located in North America (leave your map displayed for the children to refernce to). Give them time to paste their bears on their map, just as you had done.

About the Author/Illustrator:

     Bob Barner is the author and illustrator of many children's non-fiction books, including: Bugs! Bugs! Bugs!; Penguins, Penguins, Everywhere!; Stars! Stars! Stars!; Dinosaur Bones and Bug Safari. He has enjoyed drawing since the age of three and throughout his life he has written and illustrated over 25 children's books. He graduated from The Columbus College of Art and Design and has held jobs as a comic-strip Illustrator, and has worked as an art director in advertising agencies and in art studios. He now enjoys visiting schools and sharing his experiences and books with young children. He maintains his own website where visitors can learn more about him, complete jigsaw puzzles, view student work samples, and where teachers and administrators can contact him to speak at their schools.

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Saving the Ghost of the Mountain: An Expedition Among Snow Leopards in Mongolia

Written by: Sy Montgomery

Photographs by: Nic Bishop

Recommended for: Children Ages

Themes: Non-Fiction, Science, Social Studies

Summary:
      This book chronicles the journey of several widlife experts as they work to catch and track the white leopard in an attempt to save them from extinction. This book also give wonderful information about the country of Mongolia, as this is where this section of their expedition takes place. The author adds in information about the culture, lifestyle, topography and wildlife of Mongolia as he describes the mission of these experts.
     Children will enjoy learning about the culture of Mongolia. This book will give them a glimpse into what it would be like living in this Asian country. The book gives maps, to help children to understand where Mongolia is, as well as wonderful photographs of the people, animals and land in Mongolia. The information is presented in a way where it is interesting and not overwhelming to children, however, it would be best to break this book up into different sections in order to make it more manageable.

Suggestions for the Classroom:
     This book would be best used to support instruction on the cultures of Asia, that of Mongolia in particular. In addition, the book provides information about the wildlife of Mongolia, including: snow leopards, goats, camels, takhi (wild horse),yaks, etc.

*Pre-Reading Activities: Show children a map of the world. Point out to them where Mongolia is. If possible, show them a short video about Mongolia to peak their interest:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abKtXa-UCP8 or http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/planet-earth-camels-of-the-gobi-desert.html

*During Reading: In small groups, reading groups, create a book club where you will read with students different sections of the book each day (Chap. 1- Where is Mongolia, Chap. 2- About the Experts, Chap. 3- Culture of Mongolia, Chap. 4 - Trapping and Tagging, Chap. 5- Topography, etc). With the children, point out the important details (Book Talks) from each section using a graphic organizer. *You may want to select different books to go with different Book Club groups to give students opportunities to work with different levels and to provide a greater variety of information to be shared at its conclusion.

*Post-Reading Activities: At the conclusion of the Book Club have the students prepare some sort of visual representation of what they have learned, a poster, using the information that they have collected on their graphic organizers during your Book Talks.

About the Author:

     Sy Montgomery a graduate of Syracuse University, with three degrees in: Magazine Journalism from the Newhouse School of Public Communication; the French Language and Literature; and in Psychology. She has traveled extensively to do research for her books which center around the preservation and protection of animals. She has received several awards for her writing, including: the 2009 New England Independent Booksellers Association Nonfiction Award, the 2010 Children’s Book Guild Nonfiction Award, the Henry Bergh Award for Nonfiction (given by the ASPCA for Humane Education) and dozens of other honors.

About the Photographer:

     Nic Bishop moved around a lot as a child, the son of a Biology professor he was taught to love and respect the animals found around him in each place that they traveled to and lived in. He began taking photographs at the age of 9 and as an adult decided to pursue his degree in Biology as well. He decided to travel after receiving his degree and took his cameras with him to chronicle his journey around the world, which he later turned into his first book Untouched Horizons. He decided to get into providing photographs for children's books after seeing how children responded to his work and thinking back to his love for non-fiction books as a child.

George Washington Carver: Teacher, Scientist, and Inventor

Written by: Lori Mortensen

Illustrated by: Niamh O'Connor

Recommended for: Children Ages 4-8

Themes: Non-Fiction, Science, Social Studies

Summary:

     A wonderful picture book that tells the life of young George Washington Carver, starting with his separation from his mother as a baby when they were both taken by slave steallers. This book shows children that since George was a boy he was always facinated with plants and helping people. Children are able to follow George's life through school and college and even as he bagan working at the Tuskeegee Institute in order to help poor black farmers. The book chronicles his reasons for making the peanut plant popular and what type of work he did testing out products to introduce all the ways that the peanut plant could benefit American farmers.

     Children will enjoy the opportunity to not only learn more about Carver's impact on the American society through his work with peanuts, but also in learning more about him as a man and why he chose to do the work that he has done. They will be sad to hear about how he how he was separated from his mother and how difficult it was for him to go to school. However, they will be very inspired by how he persevered to get the education that he always wanted and how he used his education to help other people. The illustrations in this book are beautiful and colorful. They are simple and follow the storyline, making it easier for the children to follow along with the story.

Suggestions for the Classroom:

     This book could be used in several different ways within the classroom: 1) as a resource when covering the achievements of famous African American's during Black History Month; 2) in discussing Plants, Peanuts, and Crops within a Science lesson; and 3) when discussing Slavery within America in conjunction with the Civil War.

*Pre-Reading Activities: Make a web with the class discussing all of the different things that you can eat that have peanuts in it (peanut butter, snickers bars, peanut brittle, etc.). Tell students that today we are going to read a stroy about George Washington Carver. He is the man who showed Americans all of the wonderful uses that a peanut has. Until he had invented it, peanut butter did not exist. People only used peanuts to feed their animals at the time. Review vocabulary on page 23 with the students before reading to introduce to them terms which they may not be familiar with.

*During Reading: Stop periodically to review with the students what is happening in George Washington Carver's life.Give them opportunities to give feedback about what is going on and how George may be feeling. Review the timeline and Did You Know? facts with the students which are on pages 22 and 23 in the back of the selection.

*Post-Reading Activities: Complete a Graphic Organizer with the students as you discuss the plot (StoryMan would work). Start with details about the main character. Make a new web with the students. Ask them this time to tell you character traits that they could associate with George Washington Carver. Them discuss the setting, and jot down ideas as the students provide them. Finally, add in the Problem and the Solution (farmer's crops weren't growing so George Washington Carver showed them that you could rotate crops and then the field's would produce plentiful crops again. Also, people could produce peanuts but there were not uses for them so George Washington Carver invented different uses for the peanut so that farmers would be able to get people to buy them).



About the Author:
     Lori Mortensen lives in Northern California with her husband, three children and her cat, Max. She graduated with her Bachlor of Science degree from Bringham Young University with a major in Dance and a minot in Art and she later received her Master's degree in Dance Education. However, Mortensen states that she has always been an avid reader enjoying the way that reading a book had helped her to escape into many different adventures. She adds that writing is her true passion and she enjoys writing both picture books and chapter books for children and juvenilles. She has also written stories and articles for popular children's magazines, such as : Highlights, Ladybug, and The Friend. Check out her website to learn more about her and her books.

 

Snowflake Bentley

Written by. Jaqueline Briggs Martin

Illustrated by. Mary Azarion

Caledecott Award Winner - 1999

Recommended for Children Ages 4-8.

Genre: Non-Fiction, Science, Biography

Summary:

     This book tells the story of Willie Bentley, who as a child becomes facinated with snowflakes and how each is unique and beautiful in their own rite. Despite how others view his quest, Willie devotes his life to taking photgraphs to share the beauty that he has found in his snowflakes with others. Willie Bentley spends many hours trying to find the right environment to take his photographs. This is an arduous task, being that he has to deal with a fragile muse: broken flakes and melted flakes.

     This story teaches children to celebrate their differences and to look for the right opportunities to shine and sparkle. Children in Central New York will enjoy listening to this story as they can relate to the joy that Willie Bentley experiences as he catches his snowflakes and relate that to their own feelings of excitement about the first snowfall of the year. They will have the opportunity to learn something new, that snowflakes are all different one from the other and will enjoying exploring the validity of this claim.

Pre-Reading Activities:
     Discuss with students what is means to explore: to become familiar with by investigating or experimenting. Activate their prior knowledge of the topic by brainstorming with them the things that they investigate and the reasons why using a t-chart.

During Reading:
     Ask the students : Why Willie is interested in investigating snowflakes? Why is Willie's family is not supportive of his snowflake research? What would you do if you were Willie and your family did not support you? How do you think that Willie feels? Was Willie's research important? What did Willie learn about snowflakes? Why did he want to share his research with others?
Post Reading Activities:
     Go back to the t-chart that we made before reading and add snowflakes to the chart as well as Bentley's reasons for investigating them. Allow students some time to look at W. A. Bentley's books and write a letter to Bentley discussing with him their reaction to his books and his biography. If time, also allow them to  design their own snowflakes and then write words about themselves on their snowflakes; showing how each flake is different just as they are all unique.

About the Author:
     Jacqueline Briggs Martin lives in Ithaca, NY with her huband who is a professor at Cornell. Her son and daughter are now grown and starting families of their own but she credits them as her inspiration for writing children's books. Martin states that she has always had a love for words and wanted to create stories that would appeal to adults and children as they read together.

About the Illustrator:
     Mary Azarian won a Caldecott Medal for her in illustrations in Snowflake Bentley.She began her interest in working with wood cut prints as a fourth grade student, and after a few years of working with a press, and  has returned to using this medium primarily for her illustrations and prints. Azarian uses her wooden forms to make her black and white prints and then hand paints the color aspects of her illustration, a technique that is rare in her line of work. She credits her prints inspiration to her life living on a farm in Vermont with her husband and three sons.

Read Reviews and/or purchase the book

To purchase books of Willie Bentley click the following links:

Snowflakes in Photographs

Snow Crystals