"Mission to Mars" by Franklyn M. Branley (Non-Fiction)

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http://nataliehawley.glogster.com/mission-to-mars/

Mission to Mars puts a different twist on a typical non-fiction book.  It paints a picture of what you, the reader, might need to do on a mission to Mars.  It would take you over six months to reach Mars once you have left the International Space Station.  Then, you would transfer into the Mars Habitat Lander.  You could then use the Lander to land on the surface of Mars.  It has sections for sleeping, living, exercising, and conducting experiments.  Mission to Mars provides a variety of facts and information about this planet and the roles of astronauts who explore it.  Since gravity on Mars is only one-third the force on Earth, you could lift heavy things easily.  Inside the Station there is air, so you do not need to wear your space suit when you’re inside.  The name for this planet was derived from the Roman god Mars, the god of war.  Since they only knew that Mars was a reddish-planet, they associated red with the color of blood and war.  Today, we can use technology to tell us much more about this planet.  For example, we now know that Mars had water many years ago by studying old riverbeds in the rock.  There is a dormant volcano on Mars that has the highest peak in the solar system!  Mission to Mars is filled with many more facts about this planet.  The book concludes with a look on how you, the astronaut, would make their way back home to Earth.

This book can definitely be used as a part of the science unit on the solar system.  Since Mars is Earth’s neighbor and our knowledge of the planet is growing exponentially, I think it should be taught in more depth than the rest of the planets.  The recent discoveries on Mars are relevant, and you could ask students to do a Science in the News project.  For this project, you could introduce the book, and then ask students to find recent science journals or articles that focus on a recent discovery on Mars.  This project not only teaches students about the planet, but it also allows them to explore online resources and use search engines to find scholarly articles.  Lastly, you could have students present their articles to the class.  Since the book also focuses on the astronaut’s role, you could have students research the career of an astronaut (training, schooling, duties, etc.).  You might be able to spark a child’s interest in pursuing this path!

“Life in a Colonial Town” by Sally Senzell Isaacs (Non-Fiction)

This book paints a picture of daily life in cities in the United States in the years 1800 to 1860.  During this time, cities did not look like the cities we know today.  Most Americans lived on farms, while a growing number were migrating to developing cities.  The book defines a colony, and describes the colonization process using a timeline and informative maps.  It lays out the colony-building process, and the typical buildings you would see in a colony.  Life in a Colonial Time also mentions how news was spread throughout colonies, as well as the different rooms in houses and what their purposes were.  The book informs the reader of a typical day in the life of an adult colonist, such as the work that had to be done.  Children carried many of the same responsibilities as adults, and when they did not work they went to small, one-room schoolhouses.  It also points out the types of garments that colonists wore, how they were made, and the differences between boys and girls clothes.  The book informs us on what American’s ate during this time, where they got their food, and how it was prepared.  Lastly, the book mentions how the thirteen colonies came together to win the Revolutionary War.

This book is a great resource for students to use when studying colonial life during the Revolution.  Many students might not realize how different life was during this time.  As an activity, you could separate students into groups and make each group responsible for researching a different aspect of colonial life, such as food, clothing, homes, towns, jobs, etc.  They could use this book, similar books, and online sources to research information.  Then they could participate in a “Colony Walk”, where they walked around to each group to learn about that particular subject.

"Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" by Judith Viorst (Realistic/Historical Fiction)

No matter what Alexander does, he CANNOT seem to have a good day.  He gets gum in his hair, trips on his skateboard, drops his sweater in the sink, has no prize in his cereal box, has to sit in the middle seat, is called out for misbehaving in school, argues with friends, has no dessert in his lunch, has a cavity, hurts his foot, knocks things over, gets soap in his eyes, and bit his tongue.  The worst part is that no one seems to be listening to him, not his parents, teacher, or brothers.  Despite his terrible day, his mom assures him that some days are going to be terrible days.  Everybody has terrible days, and that tomorrow will be better.

This is a great book to introduce to students at the beginning of the year.  You should let students know that sometimes they are going to have bad days, and sometimes everything can go wrong at school.  Let them understand that tomorrow will be a better day and that they should be optimistic and keep a positive attitude.  You can let the students write about a day when everything went wrong, and reflect on how they felt.  Together as a class, you can talk about some ways to make yourself feel better on those no good, terrible days, and write them on a piece of chart paper to display in the classroom.  Encourage them to talk to a friend or the teacher, or read one of their favorite books during Independent Reading.  Even doing small things can make your day a little better.

"Storyteller" by Patricia Reilly Giff (Chapter Book; Realistic/Historical Fiction)

Elizabeth, a young girl living in the twenty-first century, feels anything but special.  In fact, she feels “useless”.  Her mother has passed away, and her father often travels for business, leaving her to stay with a neighbor of family friend.  This time, her father is sending her to her Aunt Libby’s house.  Elizabeth has never met her Aunt Libby, but she quickly finds out that her aunt is awkward, quiet, and an awful cook.  The only thing Elizabeth finds comfort in is her room and a picture of a young girl named Zee, who looks remarkably like Elizabeth.  Elizabeth is determined to find out more about Zee.  The book intertwines the lives of Elizabeth and Zee.  Zee’s story takes place during the American Revolution.  Zee, feeling just as useless as Elizabeth, finds the strength and courage to leave her home and go into battle with her father and brother.  As Elizabeth discovers more of Zee’s story, she is eager to find the places where Zee once walked and lived.  Elizabeth finds that she has a purpose: to make sure Zee’s story is told.  In the end, Elizabeth realizes that she is far from “useless”, and the adventure brings her closer to her aunt and father.       

This story would be a great way to introduce the American Revolution to students.  It shows how the Revolution seemed to children their age, and how they felt during this time.  If you do not need to do a unit on the Revolution, you could have students practice writing letters by writing their own letter to Zee.  They could ask her how she felt, what she experienced, and other questions about life during this time.  You could also have students research their family trees, just like Elizabeth did.  They could pick someone in their family tree that they look up to, or that they are a lot alike, and write about them. 

"The Other Side" by Jacqueline Woodson (Realistic/Historical Fiction)

The Other Side is a story of two young girls living in the pre-Civil Rights Movement era, Clover and Annie.  Clover is an African-American girl, while Annie is Caucasian.  They live next to each other, yet a fence separates their property, as well as their lives.  Clover's mother warns her that she should never climb over the fence, because it was not safe and “that’s the way things have always been”.  But day by day Clover's interest in Annie grows as she notices the girl playing outside and sitting on the fence.  Despite her friends' lack of support, Clover introduces herself to Annie and together they sit side-by-side on the fence the entire summer.  Eventually, Annie is invited to jump rope with Clover and her friends.  When they were too exhausted to continue playing, all of the girls sat along the fence, and Annie remarks that “someday somebody’s going to come along and knock this old fence down”.

I think that this story has a strong sense of symbolism and portrays what life might have been like for children during this time period.  I could integrate this book into a lesson about symbolism, and have the children come up with things that the fence might represent.  This would also be a great book to use to study Black History Month, where students could research life for children during this time and how the lives between black and white students varied greatly.  In addition, they could research people or events that helped to tear the “fence” down.