Thankfully, in late spring I had some left over grant money that could be used to purchase books for my classroom. I decided to purchase some titles that my kids could integrate with our social studies units. In North Carolina, the
Essential Standards in Social Studies are related to the time period from the Early Americans to Reconstruction. Many of the books I ordered I had not read, but had wonderful reviews and would certainly hit many of the historical elements, while also becoming strong additions to our Reader's Workshop classroom library.
In the past two days these are the fantastic titles I've read (the kids will LOVE them!):
This is a wonderful story about the journey of Lewis and Clark (with excerpts from Captain Lewis's journal) told from the point of view of his loyal Newfoundland dog. Fantastic descriptions and character development. The kids will get a kick out of what the dog was thinking and doing as the men struggled to make the arduous journey to the Pacific Ocean!
This humorous adventure of a young boy journeying to save his older brother from the battles of the Civil War also has many thoughtful moments and pieces of history that many kids don't know about the culture in America during the Civil War period. The non-stop adventures and action will keep the kids turning the pages, and the character development is a great model for Writer's Workshop.
Although a copy of this book has been in my classroom library for several years, I had never picked it up to read it. It is a collection of vignettes from 16 characters who experienced the Civil War in one fashion or another (ie. soldier, mother back home, doctor, photographer, general, etc.). It is a very graphic and powerful, well-written book that will expose the kids to the various opinions held on both sides of the horrendous war. Definitely a must read during our Civil War unit.
About 8 other new titles to go in my Barnes and Noble box! It is always so wonderful to read children's literature, wish I had started sooner in the summer!
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