The Million Dollar Shot

Gutman, Dan. The Million Dollar Shot. New York: Scholastic, 1997. Print.

This book is about a kid who is given a chance to win a million dollars by making a free throw shot during halftime at the NBA finals. It's all about peer pressure, believing in yourself, having the courage to face your fears and doing the right thing no matter what.

Content Level: Literature, Sports

Reading Level: grades 3-5

Creative Activity: I would have the kids make a reading journal. Each chapter they would have a different task they had to do. One chapter they could draw a picture, one write a poem, one focus on vocab words etc.. Each task would focus on the important characters, events and plot of that chapter.

Maniac Magee

Newbery Award Winner


 Spinelli, Jerry. Maniac Magee. New York: Little, Brown and, 1990. Print.

This book is about a kid whose parents die so he decides to run away from home because he can no longer stand his aunt and uncle's constant bickering. He meets many people along the way, including the Beale family who is a black family that takes him in. He deals with racism, prejudice and stereotypes. Every situation he gets himself into teaches a life lesson and there are so many different types of characters that anyone can relate to.

Content Level: Literature

Reading Level: 10-12

Creative Activity: I would have the students make a map on a bulletin board of all the places Maniac travels. Have them draw symbols to represent each place and have them explain the importance of each place. They could also draw the characters that Maniac met at each place and explain their relevance to the story. 

The Hunger Games

Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. New York: Scholastic, 2007. Print.

This book is about a girl named Katniss who volunteers to go into the Hunger Games in order to protect her sister. This is a story about survival, standing up for what is right, love and what is wrong with society. It teaches kids to analyze situations and see how kids are influenced and exploited by society.


Content Area: Literature


Reading Level: Grade 6-8


Creative Activity: Have the students create commercials or ads for one of the tributes to help them gain sponsors. The students would learn about advertisement and persuasive writing. They would also have to know the strengths and weaknesses of the character in order to get them sponsors.

Porcupine's Pajama Party

Harshman, Terry Webb. Porcupine's Pajama Party. Columbus: Harper Collins, 1988. Print.

This story is about how Porcupine invites his two friends Otter and Owl to a pajama party. Everything seems to go wrong, they eat all of the cookie dough and get scared watching a movie. The friends begin to argue and get mad at each other. However, they learn to face their fears together and realize how important friendship is.


Content Area: Literature


Reading Level: 5-7


Creative Activity: I would have all the students write on a piece of paper what they are most afraid of. I would then have the students sit in a circle and one by one pull the slips of paper out and read them. Have the students think of different ways they could face those fears. The kids would be working together to face fears which are the core lessons of the book.

The Grandma Mix-Up

McCully, Emily Arnold. The Grandma Mix-Up. Columbus: Harper & Row, 1988. Print.

This story is about a boy named Pip whose parents go out of town and they each call one of his grandmas to babysit. Neither grandma knows that the other one is coming so they both expected to be babysitting on their own. The grandmas are completely different. One is very lenient and all about fun and the other is strict and cares about rules. Pip ends up bringing the two grandmas together and having them meet in the middle on their ways.


Content Level: Literature


Reading Level: 5-7


Creative Activity: I would have the students write literary letters. They would write a letter to one of the characters in the story and tell what they liked about them or didn't like about them. They could share a similar experience they had and give advice to the character. This would ensure that they understood the story and would be a fun way to connect to the characters in the story.

Thank You, Amelia Bedelia

 Parish, Peggy. Thank You, Amelia Bedelia. Columbus: Harper Collins, 1993. Print.

This book is about a housekeeper named Amelia Bedelia. Mrs. Rogers asks Amelia Bedelia to get the house ready for a visit from Great-Aunt Myra. Amelia Bedelia misunderstands many of the instructions Mrs. Rogers gives her. Like when Mrs. Rogers tells Amelia Bedelia to strip the sheets off the bed and she tears the sheets apart. At first Mr. and Mrs. Rogers are upset with Amelia for all the mistakes she made but once they see that Great-Aunt Myra is happy with the dinner Amelia prepared, they realize how great of a help Amelia is.


Content Area: Literature


Reading Level: 5-8


Creative Activity: I would have the students do a character map. They would write different traits that Amelia Bedelia portrays and how she makes those traits evident. They would give specific examples from the story and explain how Amelia Bedelia evolves throughout the story. The students would learn what characterization is. 

Cr

Abraham Lincoln- A Courageous Leader

Collard III, Sneed B. Abraham Lincoln- A Courageous Leader. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 2007. Print.

This story is a biography on President Abraham Lincoln. It discusses his childhood, road to presidency and family life. It gives important dates in Lincoln's life and pictures of important moments. It teaches words such as Confederate, politics and slave. 


Content Area: Literature, biography


Reading Level: Grades 3-5


Creative Activity: I would have the children write their own biography on Abraham Lincoln. This would teach them how to summarize and write about a person's life. They would also learn what an instrumental person Lincoln was to our country's history. 

Fire Trucks

Roberts, Cynthia. Fire Trucks. Mankato: Child's World, 2007. Print.

This book teaches kids all about fire trucks and firefighters. It tells what fire trucks are, what they look like, how they move, different kinds of fire trucks, and how they are important. It also gives the meanings of terms such as controls, emergencies and sirens. The students get a better understanding of the purpose of fire trucks and firefighters in the community.

Content Area: Literature

Reading Level: 7-9

Creative Activity: The students could be "put" in different situations and they would have to say what they would do in that emergency. Have them use terms they learned from the book and tell them why it's important to know what to do in emergency situations. 

Keeping You Healthy- A Book About Doctors

Owen, Ann. Keeping You Healthy- A Book About Doctors. Minneapolis: Picture Window, 2004. Print.

This book teaches children what a doctor does. It tells when and why kids have to go to the doctor. It gives the names of the tools a doctor uses and what that tool is used for. It basically gives a profile of the job of a doctor and helps kids understand the importance of staying healthy.

Content Area: Literature, Hygiene

Reading Level: 5-8

Creative Activity: I would give the students a crossword puzzle of terms relating to the job of a doctor, the tools a doctor uses and ways to stay healthy. If they understand the terms than they understood the book and tips on staying healthy are important for kids to learn.

Tigers

Squire, Ann O. Tigers. New York: Children's, 2005. Print.

This book gives all kinds of facts on tigers. He talks about how wild tigers are endangered. It discusses the five subspecies of tigers. It talks about what the tigers eat, where they live and what their behaviors are. It tells kids what they can do to help save tigers. 

Content Area: Literature, Animals

Interest Level: Grade 3

Creative Activity: You could give the students a worksheet with a bunch of different facts on it. The kids could circle the facts that are about the tigers from that they learned in the story. They could also write down what fact about tigers they found most interesting.

Oh, the Places You'll Go

 Seuss, Dr. Oh, the Places You'll Go! New York: Random House, 1990. Print.

This story is about a character who goes on a journey. This person has to make decisions and face their fears. They experience many wonderful things but they have to take chances in order to witness those things. The book is about moving on and going out on your own. It teaches kids to be brave enough to make their own decisions and voice their opinions. It teaches them that they are in charge of their life and they choose how to live it. 


Content: literature


Grade level: 3.2
Interest level: Kindegarten-Second Grade


Creative activity: Since Dr. Seuss rhymes often, help the students identify the different rhymes in the story and explain what a rhyme is. Also, Dr. Seuss uses figures of speech in the story like "you'll move mountains". Have the kids understand the difference between literal and figurative language. The teacher could make two columns on the board and pass out cards with different sayings on them, some literal and some figurative. Have the kids figure out what cards go in which column. 

The Polar Express

The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg is a Caldecott Medal winner.


Van Allsburg, Chris. The Polar Express. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1985. Print.

The Polar Express is a story about a boy who gets on a train in the middle of the night heading to the North Pole. When they arrive at the North Pole, the boy asks Santa for a bell from his sleigh. Santa gives him the bell as the first gift of Christmas. However, the boy loses the bell on the train ride home. The next morning, the boy gets the bell in a present from Santa. However, only he can hear the sound it makes, not his parents. The story is about believing in Santa Claus. However, it also teaches the lesson of having faith and hope. The boy learned that seeing isn't believing and he could hear the bell because he had faith that Santa really did exist.

Content area: literature

Grade Level: 4.9

Interest Level: Kindergarten-Second Grade

Creative Activity: Allow children to come into school in their pajamas since the story takes place at night. Have the kids act out the story. The author uses all of the senses to tell the story of the boy's journey so have the students use their senses to retell the story. This will allow the children to learn what their five senses are and how they are used to describe events.