Unleashing Readers

You Can be a Paleontologist!: Discovering Dinosaurs with Dr. Scott by Scott D. Sampson, Ph.D.

May 21, 2017May 3, 2017 by Kellee

Nonfiction Wednesday

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday is hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy and was started to help promote the reading of nonfiction texts. Most Wednesdays, we will be participating and will review a nonfiction text (though it may not always be a picture book).
Be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy and see what other nonfiction books are shared this week!

You Can Be a Paleontologist!: Discovering Dinosaurs with Dr. Scott
Author: Scott D. Sampson, Ph.D.
Illustrator: Franco Tempesta
Published April 4th, 2017 by National Geographic Kids

Summary: Ever wondered how to find a dinosaur? Paleontologist Dr. Scott Sampson, host of Dinosaur Train on PBS Kids, tells kids how! How do paleontologists find dinosaur bones? How do they know what dinosaurs ate or looked like? And what is paleontology, anyway? Dr. Scott tackles all these questions and more while inspiring kids to go out and make the next big dino discovery!

About the Author: Scott Sampson is a dinosaur paleontologist, science communicator, and passionate advocate for connecting people with nature. He currently serves as president and CEO of Science World British Columbia in Vancouver, B.C., where much of his work focuses on rethinking 21st Century cities as places where people and nature thrive. Nevertheless, he’s perhaps best known as “Dr. Scott,” host and science advisor of the Emmy-nominated PBS KIDS series Dinosaur Train, produced by the Jim Henson Company. Dinosaur Train is currently viewed daily by millions of children and parents in more than 100 countries. Sampson also served as the on-air host and science advisor for the four-part Discovery Channel series Dinosaur Planet (2003). He has given hundreds of media interviews for radio (e.g., NPR), newspapers (e.g., New York Times), multimedia newswire services (e.g., Reuters), television (e.g., The Today Show, Good Morning America), and periodicals (e.g., Time Magazine, National Geographic). He has been featured in more than a dozen documentaries, including Nova, Paleoworld, and Nature Kids. Sampson is a widely sought public speaker, presenting on topics ranging from dinosaurs and education to children, nature, and sustainability. Sampson is author of Dinosaur Odyssey: Fossil Threads in the Web of Life (University of California Press, 2009), as well as a new general audience book—How to Raise a Wild Child—aimed at helping parents, teachers and others foster a deep connection with nature in children (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015). He lives in Denver, Colorado with his wife Toni and daughter Jade.

Review: Kids love Dr. Scott on Dinosaur Train on PBS, and there is a reason why: HE LOVES HIS JOB! And that love just flows through this book. His descriptions of everything from where to find fossils, where they are stored, and why dinos looked so weird are so animated, lively, and interesting and the text is so kid friendly! It is set up in a way that is easy to follow if you want to read it sequentially or the reader can jump around to get answers to their questions. The information isn’t dumbed down for kids, which is something I really try to watch out for because it is a huge pet peeve of mine!, but it is definitely written in a way that most readers will be able to understand. As for hard tier 3 academic words, there is a glossary!

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Do you know that student you have who has read every dinosaur book in your library but just wants to know more and more? This book is for them. This shows them that they can take their passion and make a living out of it! The text would also find a very nice home in classrooms to discuss how science is used in the real world. I hope there are more books in this series because it would be definitely a wonderful asset to elementary classrooms to have books written by scientists for kids about being a scientist.

Discussion Questions: What do you have to do to become a paleontologist?; What would your job consist of if you become a paleontologist?; What interesting information about dinosaurs have paleontologists discovered?; What other questions do you have about being a paleontologist?

Flagged Passages:

Read This If You Love: Dinosaurs, Sharing scientists with kids

Recommended For:

**Thank you Karen at Media Masters Publicity for providing a copy for review!**

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Covers of the Rainbow

May 2, 2017May 2, 2017 by Kellee

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. The feature was created because The Broke and Bookish are particularly fond of lists (as are we!). Each week a new Top Ten list topic is given and bloggers can participate.

Today’s Topic: Ten Covers of the Rainbow

And all books we (or at least one of us) love!
*Click on any book cover to see our review or the book’s Goodreads page*

R O Y G B I/V

NEUTRALS

RAINBOW

What are some of your favorite books with different colored covers?

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 5/1/17

May 7, 2017May 1, 2017 by Kellee

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA!

It’s Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme started by Sheila at Book Journeys and now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It’s also a great chance to see what others are reading right now…you just might discover the next “must-read” book!

Kellee and Jen, of Teach Mentor Texts, decided to give It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children’s literature – picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit – join us! We love this meme and think you will, too.

We encourage everyone who participates to support the blogging community by visiting at least three of the other book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

CONGRATULATIONS

KATIE
for winning a copy of Posted by John David Anderson

and

NIKKI

for winning a copy of Cowboy Car by Jeanie Franz Ransom

Last Week’s Posts

**Click on any picture/link to view the post**

Tuesday: Top Ten Tuesday: Things That Make us Instantly Make us Want to Read a Book

Wednesday: Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets by Kwame Alexander, Chris Colderley, and Marjory Wentworth

Thursday: Review and Giveaway!: Share, Big Bear, Share! by Maureen Wright

Giveaway open until Wednesday!

Friday: In the Middle School Classroom: Creative and Argumentative Writing with Papertoy Glowbots by Brian Castleforte

Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee

This was one of those odd weeks where I didn’t have anything that I HAD to read, so I was able to pick what to read. To be honest, this is always harder than I think it should be because I have so many books I want to read; however, I decided to go for my #mustread list and a book that Michele recommended to me this time.

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli is just a perfect high school story. It has the right bits of snark and romance and drama.
I am so mad at myself for waiting so long to read The Hunted! I loved The Living, and I loved The Hunted. It is interesting though because they are two very different dystopian/post-apocalyptic stories because they deal with two different conflicts, but you really need to read both to understand the full devastation you are just introduced to in The Living.

Moon Shadow was recommended by Michele Knott, and I know exactly why! Moon Shadow is a wonderful middle grade allusion to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde but more than that as well. It is hard to explain. It is about dealing with change and standing up for yourself and growing up and learning about your personality.

And I finally finished the Masterminds series! OH MY GOODNESS! The whole premise and story and everything is so good! I can’t tell you much about this one because it’ll spoil the first two, but I highly recommend all three.

With Trent, we have discovered book movies on Hoopla through our public library, and it has added another level to our reading because you get the read along ability of a picture book and you get the narrator of an audiobook and you get animation! This week we read You and Me by Susan Verde and Locomotive by Brian Floca.

Another picture book that Trent, Jim, and I have been reading this week has been Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast by Josh Funk, and reading it with Trent now that he is a bit older is just hilarious! He asks SO many questions and argues about what things are and overall just gets really into the story.

Ricki

.I enjoyed Share, Big Bear, Share by Maureen Wright (click the link to enter the giveaway!) and On Duck Pond by Jane Yolen. Both are excellent books for different reasons. Share, Big Bear, Share made me laugh, and I immediately thought about its classroom possibilities. On Duck Pond is a quiet book that reminded me of Make Way for Ducklings. This book just feels like a classic.

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee

I’m currently reading Five Worlds: The Sand Warrior by Mark Siegel, the first book in a new graphic novel series, and I am listening to Courage for Beginners by Karen Harrington, a title on our Sunshine State Young Reader Award list. Here’s the list if you are interested:

Ricki

.I’m just about finished listening to The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. I graduate next Monday, and then, my work load will decrease exponentially, I hope! I am looking forward to more time to read. 🙂

Upcoming Week’s Posts

top ten tuesday

Tuesday: The Ten Covers of the Rainbow

Wednesday: You Can Be a Paleontologist! by Dr. Scott Sampson

Thursday: On Duck Pond by Jane Yolen

Friday: The Sweet Spot and The Perfect Trip by Stacy Mozer

So, what are you reading?

Link up below and go check out what everyone else is reading. Please support other bloggers by viewing and commenting on at least 3 other blogs. If you tweet about your Monday post, tag the tweet with #IMWAYR!

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In the Middle School Classroom: Creative and Argumentative Writing with Papertoy Glowbots by Brian Castleforte

April 28, 2017 by Kellee

Papertoy Glowbots: 46 Glowing Robots You Can Make Yourself!
Author: Brian Castleforte
Published August 23rd, 2016 by Workman Publishing Company

When I first looked through the book Papertoy Glowbots, after Brian Castleforte wrote an author guest post for Unleashing Readers, I knew that I wanted to utilize these fun robots in my classroom some how! First, let me tell you about the book. It has 46 different robots inside. Each robot has a name, a model name, description, ability, assembly instructions, and a narrative about the robot. In the back of the book, there is a template to remove that matches the assembly instructions and then glow-in-the-dark stickers to add on when done with the robot.

I loved not only the creative aspect of the robots, but the real-life aspect (following directions), and the narrative elements. However, I knew that I had to make sure that the activity I did with the robots was standards-based and fit within one of my units, so when I was building my argumentative writing and debate unit, I felt it fit perfectly (along with the Who Wins? activity I shared also)! My unit learning goal was “Students will be able to present claims and findings with relevant evidence, valid reasoning, and well-chosen details about a particular subject,” and one of my learning targets was “Students will be able to create an argumentative paragraph supporting their claim.” And I got it! Why not have students create an argumentative paragraph stating why their robot is THE BEST robot if the robots were all going to take part in Robot Wars (like Big Hero 6).

With my target set up, the students got to work! They were allowed to add any abilities to their robot; however, they could not change anything that was already stated in the Glowbots book. For example, if their robot didn’t have legs, they couldn’t add them, but they could make their eyes have lasers. Here is an example of Lightning Bee’s paragraph (you can see his information from the book above). Students first wrote up a profile for their robot then turned it into an argumentative paragraph:

My students had to try to think of any scenario and try to put something in their paragraph that proves that their robot would win in the scenario. For example, one of the robots is a submarine–what happens if the other robot is on land? Or vice versa?

After the students wrote their robot profile and creative argumentative paragraph, they were able to build their robot:

When everyone’s robot was built (which was harder than you’d think! It was a real lesson in following instructions and colloborating!), we started our ROBOT BATTLES leading up to the final ROBOT WAR! I used brackets and random.org to set up our battles, and we got started! These battles were a battle of words though, so students came to the front to present their robots and face off using their argumentative paragraphs. (Some got into it more than others!)

The rest of the class then decided based on the paragraphs which robot would be the champion of the battle. If I do this lesson again, I would allow the groups to debate more to help persuade the audience, but I stuck with them reading the paragraphs. Using a double elimination bracket, we determined which two robots in each class would go to the final ROBOT WAR!

My students loved this activity, and we used each robot battle as an opportunity to discuss argumentative and persuasive techniques and why one robot was a winner over the other. And on top of this, I felt that it was a great activity for learning to follow directions, work together, and think futuristically & creatively.

Review and Giveaway!: Share, Big Bear, Share by Maureen Wright

April 27, 2017April 27, 2017 by Ricki

Share, Big Bear, Share
Author: Maureen Wright
Illustrator: Will Hillenbrand
Published April 25, 2017 by Two Lions

Goodreads Summary: Big Bear’s forest friends eye his berries hungrily, but he doesn’t notice as he digs into his delicious snack. When the old oak tree says, “Share, Big Bear, share,” he thinks the tree has said, “Hair, Big Bear, hair!” One comical scene follows another as Big Bear keeps misunderstanding the old oak tree’s message until things finally get sorted out. Whimsical illustrations highlight the humor in this gentle story about the importance of sharing something special with friends.

Review: This book is absolutely delightful. I wish I’d filmed myself reading it because I realized halfway through my reading that I had a goofy grin on my face. Bear is so occupied with the berries that he is eating that he doesn’t realize his animal friends want him to share. Instead, he thinks they are saying “hair,” “lair,” “scare,” etc., and he acts out all of the misinterpretations he hears. So, for example, when he thinks they are saying “Hair, Big Bear, Hair!” he combs his hair into a goofy hairstyle (see the spread featured below). I can’t WAIT to read this to my son. He is going to crack up. I loved how the book teaches vocabulary words, too. Big Bear teaches us, for instance, what a “lair” is. This is going to be one of my favorite children’s books this year. I will need to buy the others in the series.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: It would be so much fun for readers to create their own Big Bear story as a class. Perhaps he could misinterpret another commonly rhymed word. Each student could be in charge of a different page to create a class book!

The Help Big Bear Share Game!

Discussion Questions: Why doesn’t Big Bear hear his friends?; What are some of the ways Big Bear misinterprets his friends?; What does this book teach us about sharing? About listening?

We Flagged:

Read This If You Loved: That’s (Not) Mine by Anna Kang, You Are (Not) Small by Anna Kang, Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson, Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast by Josh Funk, Your Alien by Tammi Sauer, The Pigeon Needs a Bath by Mo Willems, Elephant and Piggie books by Mo Willems

Recommended For:

Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author: WILL HILLENBRAND has written and/or illustrated over 60 books for young readers including Down by the Barn, Mother Goose Picture Puzzles and the Bear and Mole series. He has lived almost all of his life in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he grew up as the youngest of four boys. He now lives in Terrace Park and was recently honored as Author/Illustrator in Residence at Kent State University.

Information about his books, selected readings, art process videos and activity ideas can be viewed at www.willhillenbrand.com. Connect with Will at www.facebook.com/willhillenbrandbooks.

**Thank you to Barbara at Blue Slip Media for providing a copy for review!**

Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets by Kwame Alexander, Chris Colderley, and Marjory Wentworth

April 26, 2017April 26, 2017 by Kellee

Nonfiction Wednesday

HAPPY NATIONAL POETRY MONTH!

Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets
Authors: Kwame Alexander, Chris Colderley, and Marjory Wentworth
Illustrator: Ekua Holmes
Published March 14th, 2017 by Candlewick Press

Summary: Out of gratitude for the poet’s art form, Newbery Award–winning author and poet Kwame Alexander, along with Chris Colderley and Marjory Wentworth, present original poems that pay homage to twenty famed poets who have made the authors’ hearts sing and their minds wonder. Stunning mixed-media images by Ekua Holmes, winner of a Caldecott Honor and a John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award, complete the celebration and invite the reader to listen, wonder, and perhaps even pick up a pen.

A Newbery Medalist and a Caldecott Honoree offer a glorious, lyrical ode to poets who have sparked a sense of wonder.

Review: This anthology is beautiful. Alexander, Colderley, and Wentworth beautifully pay homage to each poet. Their tribute poems are impeccably written and not only do the poems follow the style of the poet but also teach us about the lives of the poet. And Holmes’s artwork pushes the book to another level. I also adored the diversity of the poets, as well as the types of poems, chosen.

And Out of Wonder can definitely be a perfect mentor text for a poetry unit, and I can definitely see it being paired with Love That Dog to expand what Creech started.

Teaching Guide with Prereading Activities, Discussion Questions, and Classroom Extensions (by teacher Mary Lee Hahn):

Flagged Passages:

Read This If You Love: Love That Dog and Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech; Poetry by any of the poets honored in the book: Naomi Shihab Nye, Robert Frost, e.e. cummings, Bashō, Nikki Giovanni, Langston Hughes, Walter Dean Myers, Emily Dickinson, Terrance Hayes, Billy Collins, Pablo Neruda, Judith Wright, Mary Oliver, Cwendolyn Brooks, Sandra Cisneros, William Carlos Williams, Okot p’Bitek, Chief Dan George, Rumi, or Maya Angelou

Recommended For:

Top Ten Tuesday: Things That Make Us Instantly Want to Read a Book

April 25, 2017 by Ricki

Today’s Topic: Ten Things That Make Us Instantly Want to Read a Book

Ricki

1. It is by an author of color

Most of my research is concerned with multicultural young adult literature. I try to read any and every book that I can find in that category. I read all multicultural young adult books, but I specifically seek out those that are by authors of color.

2. It is historical fiction

I honestly can’t get enough of this genre. I love to be sent to a different time and place.

3. It is a picture book with a great cover.

I love artwork, so great illustrations are a plus.

4. It is by a favorite author of mine.

This list is not exhaustive, but I instantly read any books published by (in random order): Sherman Alexie, John Green, Kristin Cashore, Matt de la Peña, Laurie Halse Anderson, Oliver Jeffers, Aaron Becker, Coe Booth, A.S. King, Gene Luen Yang, David Arnold, Jeff Zentner, Adam Silvera, Benjamin Alire Sáenz, Nicola Yoon, Jason Reynolds, Eliot Schrefer, Margarita Engle, Meg Medina, Patricia McCormick, GOODNESS, I am going to quit while I am ahead. I am sure I am forgetting one of my favorite authors, and I will lie in bed tonight thinking, “Darn! I missed ____.”

5. It is a good fit for my older son

My older son goes through crazy obsessions: vehicles, the color yellow, Paw Patrol, superheroes. When a book matches his current obsession, I feel compelled to get it. (My younger son hasn’t shown strong preferences yet.)

Kellee

1. Favorite Authors!

Unlike Ricki, I am not even going to try to list my favorites, but if it is an author I love, I will definitely pick up the book.

2. Road Trips

I am a sucker for road trip books! They are my favorite! They usually include humor, romance, identity searching, hi-jinx, and other things I love.

3. Kids recommend it to me or are passing it around at school

I cannot tell a student no if they recommend a book to me. I also really want to read books if I see that students are recommending it to each other.

4. Graphic Novel

I love graphic novels! All kinds!

5. I think Trent will love it

This means usually vehicles or monster or firemen or animals, but if I see a book that I know Trent will love, I definitely want to read it!

What makes you instantly want to pick up a book?

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