Text Set
Kathy PieschekCourse: Educ 580
Theme – Weather
In first grade one of our science topics is weather and I have been looking for some new books to add to my book collection to use as read a-louds, as a resource for information and for my students to read in guided or independent reading. I was happy to see there are many books on the topic I can add to my library.
Title: The Schoolchildren’s Blizzard
Author: Marty Rhodes Figley
Illustrator: Shelly O. Haas
Level: Primary
Genre: Historical Fiction
ISBN# 1-57505-586-4
Milbrook Press 2004
Summary: The story is set in Nebraska in 1888 as two girls are on their way to school one day. During lunch they see a dark cloud coming as the teacher calls them to quickly get back into the school. As the storm arrives the children are frightened, soon the doors blow open and the roof collapses. The teacher knows they will not survive if they stay in the school so she ties them all together and leads them to her home half a mile away in the blizzard conditions. Although it is a fictional story there really was a blizzard in 1888 known as the Schoolchildren’s Blizzard with a teacher that led her students to safety much as Miss Freeman did in the story.
Activity: I will use this book as a read a-loud in the classroom to start a lesson(s) on winter weather, dressing for the weather and safety in winter weather. My students with a higher reading level would also be able to read the book in a guided reading lesson. The link given here will get you to a short video that gives a good recount of the blizzard.
Title: Weather Forecasting
Author: Gail Gibbons
Level: Primary
Genre:Informational -Non-Fiction
ISBN# 978-0-329-03886-1
Aladdin Paperbacks 1987
Summary: Gail Gibbons does a nice job of telling what a weather forecaster does. Using her drawings as illustrations as well as text to explain what the forecaster does, she explains about the tools he or she uses and how the weather tools help him predict the weather as it changes. The book is organized around the four seasons and is written in simple language for the children to understand.
Activity: This book can be used as a good resource for weather as we discuss the job a weather forecaster does. I plan to use this book as a read a-loud to introduce a lesson where we graph the weather for 2 weeks. As a writing activity the students could write a weather forecast using vocabulary from the unit as well as incorporating good adjectives to describe the weather. I can contact the local television stations to have a weather forecaster come to visit my classroom, or show a short video of a local weather forecast.
Title: Tornado
Author: Steven Kramer
Level: Middle
Genre:Informational -Non-Fiction
ISBN# 1-57505-058-7
Lerner Publications Company 1992
Summary: The book does a great job of explaining what a tornado is, and how it forms. There are many wonderful pictures the children will love to look at. Throughout the book we learn about different types of tornados, where and when they are most likely to happen, and safety tips for surviving a tornado. There is a fascinating facts section that will appeal to the students that are curious about tornadoes.
Activity: Older students can use this book for a good resource on tornadoes. I will use this text for information I can share with my students, including the safety tips and fascinating facts. First grade students will like looking at the pictures of different tornadoes. National Geographic has agood kid’s video on tornadoes.
Title: Flood
Author: Linda Strachan
Illustrator: Bruce Hogarth
Level: Primary
Genre: Realistic Fiction
ISBN# 0-7635-9701-5
Rigby 2000
Zac is visiting his Aunt Nicki who lives by a river. It has been raining all night and the river is beginning to go over its banks. Zac is excited, but Aunt Nicki is worried. They begin preparing for a flood moving things upstairs when Aunt Nicki slips and falls down the steps. Aunt Nicki has a broken leg. The phones are out and the road is flooded, what will Zac do? How can he get help for Aunt Nicki?
Activity: The book has a guided reading level of K and could be read by some of my higher level students. As a read a-loud I can read the story to discuss storms and describe what a flood is. This story also works well for the story elements of problem-solution.
Title: What Will the Weather Be Like Today?
Author: Paul Rogers
Illustrator: Kazuko
Level: Primary
Genre: Picture Book
ISBN# 0-590-45013-1
Scholastic 1989
Summary: This book has simple text that introduces children to weather words with vivid pictures to match. Then animals begin to make predictions for the weather they would like; the lizard likes hot and dry, but the duck would like rain. In the end we see that all around the world there are many different types of weather happening at the same time.
Activity: I plan to use this book as a read a-loud to introduce the topic of weather. After reading the book my students can collaboratively list the different types of weather. They can draw their favorite type of weather and include an animal that may like this type of weather.
Title: How We Know What We Know About Our Changing Climate
Scientists and Kids Explore Global Warming
Author: Lynne Cherry and Gary Braasch
Level: Young Adult
Genre: Informational -Non-Fiction
ISBN# 978-1-58469-103-7
Dawn Publications 2008
Summary: A very informative book for anyone looking for an overview on global warming, a major issue that the earth is dealing which impacts the weather conditions we are experiencing. This book explains how scientists have been studying climate change and the effects on the earth. They have collected and examined data from over 10 years. Students are now working with scientists all around the world to study animals, birds, insects, plants, oceans, and air quality to examine the changes we are seeing all around the world from the rain forests to the frozen Arctic. The book concludes with some uplifting stories about students and their community working to make a difference. There is a section that gives kids a list of simple things they can do to help reduce their climate footprint.
Activity: I love the format of this book, and young students will love to sit just looking at the photographs. It is very easy to use the various parts of the book that apply to what your teaching objective is. There is good information I can share with my students to explain global warming, it gives very good practical ideas students can do to help save the environment. Global warming is a topic I touch on during our weather unit and revisit around Earth Day. I like the section that tells about student groups helping scientists around the world studying the weather, temperature changes and the effects it is having on animals and plants. A lot of information in the text could be shared with younger students in different lessons or read by older students interested in global warming.
Title: Rain
Author: Peter Spier
Level: Primary
Genre: Picture Book (Wordless)
ISBN# 0-440-84349-9
The Trumpet Club 1982
Summary: Peter Spier does a wonderful job of telling the story of a rainy day through the use of pictures. In a graphic novel format he has some detailed single page illustrations and then pages with many smaller pictures that help tell the adventures of 2 children on a rainy day. The children love looking through the illustrations and finding all the little details the author has included as they imagine the adventures they could have on the next rainy day.
Activity: Our weather curriculum has a lesson on rain and measuring rain fall with a rain gauge. I see this book tying into the lesson to introduce a writing activity where the children choose a page or picture from the book to write about. Students can describe what is happening in the picture or write a conversation about what the children may be saying to each other.
Title: Weather
Author: Pamela Chanko and Daniel Moreton
Level: Primary
Genre: Picture Book - Realistic Fiction
ISBN# 0-590-10730-5
Scholastic 1998
Summary: A very simple picture book with beautiful photographs that tell the activities we might choose to do on certain days. On a rainy day we may choose to play in the puddles or on a snowy day we may play in the snow. I used this book in my guided reading lesson with my lowest students and they love the pictures and the simple text that they can read on their own.
Activity: I used this book in a guided reading lesson and I had my students respond in their reader’s response logs. The students picked their favorite type of weather from the book and wrote about things they like to do in that type of weather.
Title: Sadie and the Snowman
Author: Allen Morgan
Illustrator: by Brenda Clark
Level: Primary
Genre: Picture Book - Realistic Fiction
ISBN# 0-591-41826-2
Scholastic 1985
Summary: Sadie loves to make snowmen, but they keep melting. The story moves from the first snowfall, through the winter until spring when Sadie makes a small snowman because there isn’t much snow. Sadie sadly looks at her little snowman and gets a wonderful idea on what to do with her small snowman.
Activity: Children have experienced the melting of snow, but they do not always understand the idea of temperature. After using this book as a read a-loud I will begin a lesson on thermometers and telling temperature. Students will read the temperature on the thermometer inside school and take it outside to read the temperature outside. They can see how the temperature goes down when it is in the cold and up when it is warm as well as experience how to read a real thermometer.
Title: Lightning!
Author: Jeff Bauer
Level: Primary
Genre:Informational - Non-Fiction
ISBN# 0-439-87644-3
Scholastic 2006
Summary: This book does a great job of explaining lightening to the students. It is easy enough for my higher level students to read (Fountas and Pinnell level I). The vocabulary and text layout are easy for students to understand, and the pictures help with labels as well as captions with facts the students will enjoy. This book is part of a set called Science Vocabulary Readers this one being on weather. I recommend all of the books in the set on weather, the titles include Tornadoes!,Blizzards!,Floods!, and Hurricanes!.
Activity: I can use this book as a read a-loud then discuss informational text features. I could also use this to have the students take notes on lightening and facts they learned. They could do a turn and talk to share facts about lightening or fill in a text map on the book. Depending on students reading level they could each take a book and read it. Then they can do a book share on what they learned on the topic that they read about in their book. This is a short video on lightening for children.
Millions of Snowflakes
By Mary McKenna Siddals
Illustrated by Elizabeth Sayles
Level – Primary
Genre – Poetry
ISBN# 0-439-12194-9
Scholastic 1998
Summary: The book is a counting poem about snowflakes falling from the sky. It is beautifully illustrated as the little girl in the story watches the snowflakes falling. She runs, spins, jumps and tries to catch the snowflakes throughout the poem, who hasn’t tried to catch a few of their own snowflakes.
Activity: Students can visualize and draw their own pictures to write about for a writing activity. An activity we did in class where everyone says one or two words about snow or snowflakes could become a class poem. Students could also cut out snowflakes for an extension into an art activity.
Title: Storm the Lightning Fairy
Author: Daisy Meadows
Illustrator: Georgie Ripper
Level: Primary
Genre: Modern Fantasy
ISBN# 978-1-428-71374-1
Scholastic 2007
Summary: Rachel and Kirsty are on their way to the park when they are caught in a sudden rain storm. Theytake shelter by a big tree when it is struck by lightning. The lightning begins to sparkle and they know it must be the work of Jack Frost and his goblins. Rachel and Kristie run to the museum for a safe place out of the storm. They must find the feathers to help bring the weather back to Fairyland, where the magical fairies live. The evil Jack Frost and his goblins have stolen the feathers, and the weather is wacky. It's up to the Weather Fairies to fix it as fast as they can! A loose lightning bolt could cause terrible trouble in Wetherbury! Can Rachel, Kirstie and Storm the Lightning Fairy find her magic feather and get things under control before it's too late? This particular book is the sixth one of a series titled The Weather Fairies by Daisy Meadow, there are a total of 7 books in the series.
Activity: This book can be used as a read a-loud or as a guided reading book for my higher level students. I would like to link this book with another book listed previouslyLightning!, to do a compare and contrast of 2 books on the same subject. I would like the students to compare the two different genres (informational and fantasy) listing characteristics of each and contrasting fact versus fiction.
Title: Storm is Coming!
Author: Heather Tekavec
Illustrator: Margaret Spengler
Level: Primary
Genre: Picture Book
ISBN# 0-545-09624-3
Scholastic 2002
Summary: The farmer and his dog get the animals to the barn because a storm is coming. When the animals all get to the barn they wake up the cat who asks “What is going on?” The animals tell her that storm is coming and they all begin to wonder who is “Storm”? This is a very funny story that the students are sure to love as the animals discuss how the rain, thunder and lightning will keep storm from coming to get them.
Activity: As a class we can have a discussion on the elements of a storm and how the animals describe each part of the storm. We could generate a list of describing words for the children to use in their writing about a storm they have experienced.