Looking at Lincoln, written and illustrated by Maira KalmanLooking at Lincoln is an informational picture book that is intended for grades K-3. Some of the awards that it received include The Bulletin Blue Ribbon in 2012 and the NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People in 2013. This book includes great details and artwork about the life of Abraham Lincoln, and not only how he shaped the United States and had many great contributions to our nation, but also about his life in general, outside of the presidency. This book does a great job of highlighting the fact that presidents are normal people, despite their great accomplishments and popularity. A great activity for this book would take place in the content area of history, specifically in studying the office of presidency. The students would be asked to read short biographies of presidents, and once they found a president who they found particularly interesting, they would create a Glogster about that president to be shared with the class. This Glogster would include basic facts about the president, along with fun, additional facts that make him interesting or unique. After each student made his or her Glogster, they would be asked to present it to the class and a great lesson on presidential history would thus be completed.
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Island: A Story of the Galapagos, written and illustrated by Jason ChinIsland is an informational book intended for grades 3-5. Its awards include the Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Book in 2012 and the NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book in 2013. This book gives a great amount of information on the Galapagos Islands and how they formed. It not only gives a great deal of information on this topic, but also includes beautiful and descriptive illustrations about their formation as well. A great activity for this book would take place in geography class, in which students would research how islands are formed and the different types of islands that are formed through the process. The students could then be paired up or placed into groups, in which they use clay to create a visual representation of an island's formation. They could do this by creating and forming the different steps that are involved in an island's formation with clay and then showing and explaining their models to the class.
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Hitler Youth by Susan BartolettiHitler Youth is an informational book that won the Newbery medal and is intended for grades 7-9. This book tells about the rise of Hitler in 1933, when he was able to gain a following of 3.5 million children to join his army. In her book, the author conducts interviews with Hitler youth survivors, and provides a great deal of information on how Hitler was able to gain the passion and allegiance of so many young people, despite his evil and twisted motives of the Holocaust. An interdisciplinary activity for this book could be conducted in a Psychology class. Students could study the habits habits of children and the developmental part of their brains that can be easily influenced by people like Hitler. This could teach them not only about Hitler and the historical event of the Holocaust, but also about their own brains and what makes them able to be easily influenced by large political or historical figures.
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