You're going to wish you wrote this book.

No, really. Our outline for this blog post ended up being 5 pages long because this book is just so awesome. It is entertaining, great for many grade ranges, and hits multiple different standards (even that dreaded "s" word is no match for the mighty power of this book!). Makes you wanna read it, doesn't it? Well it makes us want to share it with you, other future teachers in this labyrinth of standards and codes and regulations and checklists. Where's the fun? Where is the cheat sheet to teaching? This book is just one little trick. From space, to matter, to energy flow in an ecosystem, this little treasure is one you won't want to be without.

Science Verse, by Jon Scieszka, starts off on a dull Wednesday in science class. The excitement begins when the science teacher zaps the student (or reader) with a curse of science verse, saying “ You know, if you listen closely enough, you can hear the poetry of science in everything.” Then begin the 18 poems about different topics in science. We both agreed that these poems could be used from elementary school to high school because they are just too cool - especially compared to a science textbook (eww). Check out this example about the scientific method:

Scientific Method At The Bat

The outlook wasn’t brilliant for my experiment that day;

The only way to graduate was to come up with an A.

So when my lab exploded and turned to blackish gunk,

My chance of passing anything went Titanic—you know, sunk.

I sat and sadly watched the clock, cursed to be alive.

It would take a miracle—no, make that two---get me to grade five.

Then I had a brainstorm, an idea so terrific:

I just had to use those words from the METHOD SCIENTIFIC.

I grab my pen and get to work. You should see my look.

I slowly write Hypothesis. . . Observation . . . in my book.

And now the class bell rings. And now I lose or win.

With one mighty PLOP, I hand my lab book in.

Oh somewhere in some science class, hypotheses are made.

Experiments are conducted. Kids move up a grade.

Somewhere conclusions are concluded, without a bit of doubt.

But there is no joy in this lab--- my results got me flunked out.

So much more fun that a boring definition, right? And this even hits science standards in multiple different grades! 

S3CS5. Students will communicate scientific ideas and activities clearly.

a. Write instructions that others can follow in carrying out a scientific procedure.

b. Make sketches to aid in explaining scientific procedures or ideas.

S2CS6. Students will be familiar with the character of scientific knowledge and how it is achieved. 

a. When a science investigate is done the way it was done before, we expect to get a similar result.

b. Science involves collecting data and testing hypotheses. 

This book and the poems within would be an easy, fun way to introduce a science lesson. We had trouble finding a read-aloud for you, so instead here is a link for you to buy the book because, again, it is so awesome that you want to get it for your own future classroom (or personal enjoyment). 

http://www.amazon.com/Science-Golden-Awards-Picture-Awards/dp/0670910570

See that hyperlink? This book even won an award!

Did you follow the link yet? Notice something about the book? That's right; it's the same author and illustrator as the Math Curse, another fun book about math. We recommend both of them!

Yearning for Fall

Pumpkins, scarecrows, Halloween, and...Multiplication?
How does that even fit in? The book "2 x 2 = Boo!: A Set of Spooky Multiplication Stories" by Loreen Leery is a fun, creepy book about multiplication. Think a book about multiplication sounds a little boring? Wrong. Students and teachers alike will love the mini-stories within the book, each teaching about different multiplication factors. Like the black cat here, it helps students enjoy multiplication, boosts their confidence, and gives them ways to remember multiplication facts through entertaining stories. 

For example, there is one story with witches who cast magic spells using the factor 0 and making people or things disappear altogether. When three angry snakes were chasing the witch, she yells "3x0=0!" and the three snakes disappear. Another story is about a skeleton chef who has to use a recipe for one serving and multiply each ingredient by five to have enough food for all the guests coming to dinner. The recipe calls for 4 smelly toes, so he says "4x5=20. Twenty toes." There is a chapter for factors 0 through 5 with silly, spooky stories such as these ones.

What we love about this book is that there are so many fun ways to use this book in the classroom. We found multiple lessons already created by teachers (linked below). Using the standard MCC.3.OA.1 (interpret products of whole numbers, e.g. interpret 5 x 7 as a whole number of objects in 5 groups of 7 objects each), this book teaches six different multiplication factors and their properties, or in laymen's terms, it allows us to kill six birds with one stone! It would be perfect to introduce the factors 0 through 5, or to use as a review of those factors. Of course, the book could be used as a Halloween-themed read aloud during a math lesson. 

We came up with a couple different activities to do in conjunction with this book. Since the format of the book is comic strip style, students could mimic the comic strip style making their own multiplication stories (maybe with one of the factors 6 through 12). Another useful activity would be creating recipe cards to give to small groups of 5 or 6; the groups have the "ingredients" and have to multiply the recipe by the number of students in their group for the final product (see what we did there? ;) ). The ingredients would be yucky things like witch nails (candy corn), skeleton bones (pretzels), ghost poop (marshmallows), or cat whiskers (licorice). Students would get a kick out of these activities!

Here are links to previously-created activities using this book:
http://www.loreenleedy.com/books/2x2boo.html
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/FREE-Book-Activity-for-2-X-2-BOO-A-Set-of-Spooky-Multiplication-Stories-902465

Also, the author has an awesome Pinterest board with tons of great resources! We highly recommend you check it out! You will fall in love (like we did) and you will probably start following all of her boards (also like we did!).
 http://www.pinterest.com/loreenleedy/

Oh, Amelia...

Don't be so literal!

We all remember them: the books about a unique woman who defines "silly". Who hasn't rolled their eyes or laughed out loud at the absurdity of the infamous Amelia Bedelia? Well, we went back and read one of the humorous books and it was just as silly reading it as an adult. In fact, it even reminded us of a character on a popular t.v. show, New Girl. Zooey Deschanel plays Jess, an offbeat young woman who is, as portrayed in the meme below, a lot like Amelia Bedelia...

 

In comparison, here is a passage from the book we read, Good Driving, Amelia Bedelia:

“What a beautiful farm,” said Mr. Rodgers.

“Yes,” said Amelia Bedelia.

“And what a nice bunch of cows.”

“Herd of cows,” said Mr. Rodgers.

“Heard of cows?” asked Amelia Bedelia.

“Of course I have heard of cows.”

“No,” said Mr. Rogers. “I mean a cow herd.”

“So what if a cow heard?” said Amelia Bedelia.

“I didn't say anything bad.”

Ah yes, we just love Amelia. In this particular story, Mr. Rogers offers to ride with Amelia Bedelia to visit her cousin's house because Amelia hasn't driven a car in a long time and may be out of practice. Little does he know, he's in for the ride of his life (see what we did there?). Their conversation, Mr. Rogers directions, and Amelia's understanding of things get them into some trouble, but they eventually make it to her cousin's house. 

This piece of contemporary realistic fiction would be a useful book to introduce a lesson on directions or maps, like for social studies. It would be especially helpful to introduce or use for examples a lesson about homonyms, like in our excerpt of "herd" and "heard." Of course, there is the lesson about friendship, kindness, and community in the story, like when a tow truck worker sees Amelia on the side of the road with a flat tire and stops to help her (Mr. Rogers left her to go find help). The book is considered contemporary realistic fiction because the plot has a distinct order: build up to conflict, climax of conflict, and resolution. It has characters that have been developed through other books in the series, like Amelia, Mr. and Mrs. Rogers, and even her cousin. The story has a distinct setting, namely a country road to her cousin's house. Last, but not least, there is a protagonist and an antagonist; interestingly, they are one in the same in this story, Ms. Amelia herself.

If you'd like a little taste of the fun and silliness of Amelia Bedelia, you can follow this link to part of the book we read: http://browseinside.harpercollinschildrens.com/index.aspx?isbn13=9780688133580 .

Just Don't Use the "N" Word!

That word is "naked." 

When reading the classic story of The Emperor's New Clothes you don't want to use the "n" word unless you want a riot of giggly girls and baffled boys, yelling to their neighbor how ridiculous the situation would be. Murphy's Law states that when your classroom is most unruly is when your principle visits for an unexpected evaluation... So, just use proper judgment and a different word. However, no matter the way one describes the lack of clothes of the emperor, the students will be appalled. 

For classroom purposes, let's discuss what kind of text the story is. The Emperor's New Clothes is a piece of traditional literature by Hans Christian Anderson . Other examples of traditional literature would be any fairy tales, folklore, or legends, such as Cinderella, The Tale of Johnny Appleseed, or Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears. These types of literature  consist of simple, sequential, and cyclical plots, vague settings, and motifs.

In case you have never read The Emperor's New Clothes, the story takes place in an unnamed kingdom, ruled by a king who's idol is self-image. He always wears the latest fashions and is tune with what others think of him. When a couple of mysterious newcomers arrive in the kingdom claiming to be clothesmakers, the conceited king commands them to make him beautiful clothes. He is willing to pay them a great deal of money. Little does he know, the newcomers are tricksters. They tell the king that the clothes they make are different from any others because they are invisible to anyone who is either a simpleton, or unfit to hold their office. The king believes them, and they start sewing the "magical" clothes. After a while, the king sends various people to check on the progress of the new clothes: a minister and other officers. None of the people who check on the tricksters' progress can see the clothes, but they are too prideful to admit it; they are afraid of being considered simple or unfit for their offices. They send word to the king that the clothes are quite wonderful. The tricksters convince the king to wear the new clothes for the great parade, and he agrees. The tricksters are paid and the king wears his grand new clothes through the town in the parade. It takes the innocence of a child to say aloud that the king has no clothes on at all. Then the people see the reality of the situation: their emperor has been fooled and made a fool of himself. The people laugh at the king, who is very embarrassed indeed.

Throughout the tale are the elements of traditional literature, such as a simple and sequential plot. It also has a vague setting, and motifs like trickery. If you read the book with pictures or watch an animated version, the tricksters usually have sly, untrustworthy faces with mischievous eyes and malicious smiles.
If you're going to be one of those (awesome) teachers that incorporate character education, there are obviously important morals to this story: don't be wrapped up in self, don't be led by what's popular, don't be a fool, use discretion in making decisions, etc.
For lessons concerning language arts, there are many possibilities:

1. One could have two variants of the story and compare and contrast them. 
2. Students could be paired or put into groups and create a story map, showing the background, climax, and resolution of the story. 
3. As a class or in groups, students could create fractured folk tales, or modernized re-tellings of the story. 
4. Students could pretend they attended the parade and are journalists writing a news article about what happened in the story. 

One idea that is usually beneficial for developing oral skills is to act out traditional literature pieces. However, for (hopefully) evident reasons, this would be a poor choice. Even if there are students who wouldn't mind acting out the king's part, you never know when some out-of-his-mind student will strip. And, of course, Murphy's Law comes to mind again. 

Here's a link to watch an animated version of the story:

http://www.speakaboos.com/story/the-emperors-new-clothes