Below are a list of read aloud books you may use to build background knowledge within health, science, and social studies. My hope for you is to integrate the reading, writing, and content areas.
HEALTH:
Being a Pig is Nice: a Child’s Eye-View of Manners by Sally Lloyd-Jones: manners
Blood & Gore by Vicki Cobb
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SCIENCE:
At This Very Moment by Jim Arnosky: animal activities around the world in simplistic description; compare/contrast
Elephant’s Story by Harriet Blackford: informational narrative about elephants
Guess What is Growing Inside by Mia Posada: incubation, where each creature begins life; comparison of egg sizes
How Many Ways to Catch a Fly? by Steve Jenkins: informational text about different animals in a question/answer format
Old Bear by Kevin Henkes: hibernation; seasons
Otters Under Water by Jim Arnosky: habitat; animal behavior
Red-Eyed Tree Frog by Joy Cowley (Nic Bishop illustrator): habitat; predator
Redwoods by Jason Chin: science notebook; Redwood forest
The Secret Place by Eve Bunting: animal habitat displaced in a city; observation of the world around you
Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin: observation of the snowflake
Stranger in the Woods by Carl R Sams II and Jean Stoick: winter; animal behavior
Thea’s Tree by Alison Jackson: hypothesizing and observing a plant
Who Will Plant a Tree? by Jerry Pallotta: how seeds are transported; the illustrations show the stages of growth for the tree, showing the roots as well.
Yucky Worms by Vivian French: what worms do in the earth
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SOCIAL STUDIES:
14 Cows for America by Carman Agra Deedy: rememberance of Sept. 11th
Abe Lincon’s Hat by Martha Brennerjj: insight into the president’s character and how his hat helped him organize
America’s White Table by Margot Theis Raven: Veteran’s Day
Black History Month – several books listed for Black History awareness
Boxes for Katje by Candace Fleming: WWII; compassion
The Boy Who Invented TV: the Story of Phil Farnsworth by Kathleen Krull: biography of how Phil imagined the idea for TV
The Cemetery Keepers of Gettysburg by Linda Oatman High: US History
Christmas in the Trenches by John McCutcheon: WWII
Dad, Jackie, and Me by Myron Uhlberg: baseball history; discrimination
Dadblamed Union Army Cow by Susan Fletcher: Civil War; IN History
Eight Days: a Story of Haiti by Edwidge Danticat: Haiti’s earthquake
Fireboat: the Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey by Maira Kalman: September 11
Goin’ Someplace Special by Patricia McKissack: segregation in Nashville, TN; library
A Good Night for Freedom by Barbara Olenyik Morrow: underground railroad
Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchuio: voting; persuasion
Grandaddy’s Gift by Margaree Mitchell-King: segregation and voting rights
I Am Rosa Parks by Rosa Parks: civil rights movement
If I Ran for President by Catherine Stier: voting; government
John, Paul, George & Ben by Lane Smith: background read for American history. Each of the five Sons of Liberty are spotlighted with events that made them famous.
Lincoln Tells a Joke: How Laughter Saved the President (and the Country) by Kathleen Krull; biography of Abraham Lincoln
Looking Down by Steve Jenkins: map skills; geography from the moon to landscape to streets
More Than Anything Else by Marie Bradby: post slavery; young African-American wanting to learn how to read
My Brother Martin by Christine King Farris: civil rights movement; Martin Luther King, Jr.
My Librarian is a Camel: How Books are Brought to Children Around the World by Margriet Ruurs: geography; cultures around the world
Night Flight: Amelia Earhart Crosses the Atlantic by Robert Burleigh: the first-person narrative gives the reader insight into the emotions Amelia might have felt flying over the Atlantic. It also gives the readers an understanding of how dangerous the flight was. You can also do a compare/ contrast to today’s technology versus the past.
Night Running: How James Escaped with the Help of His Faithful Dog by Elisa Carbone: slavery
Oliver’s Game by Matt Tavares: World War II
One Thousand Tracings: Healing the Wounds of World War II by Lita Judge: WWII
Owney the Mail-Pouch Pooch by Mona Kerby: American History; maps
Pictures from Our Vacation by Lynn Rae Perkins: map skills
Presidents’ Day by Anne Rockwell
Pricilla and the Hollyhocks by Anne Broyles: slavery
Ron’s Big Mission by Rose Blue and Corinne Naden: civil rights
Roanoke the Lost Colony by Jane Yolen; pilgrims
Rosa by Nikki Giovanni: Rosa Parks bus ride
Rough, Tough Charley by Verla Kay: stage coach history; first woman to vote
Satchel Paige: Don’t Look Back by David Adler: baseball history
She Loved Baseball: the Effa Manley Story by Audrey Vernick: civil rights; Negro Baseball League
Silent Music: A Story of Baghdad by James Rumford: war in the Middle East; culture
Squanto’s Journey by Joseph Bruchac: Native American’s perspective
A Sweet Smell of Roses by Angela Johnson: civil rights movement
Testing the Ice: true story about Jackie Robinson by Sharon Robinson: baseball history; courage
Thank You, Sara: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving by Laurie Halse Anderson: American History
Uncle Jed’s Barbershop by Margaree King Mitchell: Black History; philanthropy
The Wall by Eve Bunting: Vietnam War
Book Savors 