Book Arsenal I

by Theresa Milstein

Theresa Milstein has a B.A and M.A. in History, and is certified to teach Social Studies. Before becoming a substitute teacher, she had been a part-time teaching assistant in the seventh and fifth-grades, and was an extended term substitute in the fifth-grade for three months. She became a substitute to get more teaching experience in the upper grades and help her make contacts in other schools while she looks for a full-time position. Visit her blog "Substitute Teacher's Saga" at http://theresamilstein.blogspot.com.

"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go."- Oh! The Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss

I've come across other substitute teacher blogs and had a commenter on my blog state that when there are inadequate plans or the students finish their work early, the subs are struggling to find a way to fill in what feels like e n d l e s s t i m e.

Books are a great way to bring a class together. Being a mother and an assistant in the fifth-grade for a few years has given me an advantage because I've been exposed to a variety of wonderful picture books. I've decided to share my arsenal with you, which you can use to just read aloud or to also do a follow-up project. I've provided appropriate age ranges for reach book.

An Undone Fairy Tale by Ian Lendler (illustrated by Whitney Martin) is a comical book, which can be used from preschool all the way up to fourth-grade (Maybe fifth). The illustrator can't keep up with the illustrations because the teacher is reading too fast. See how the illustrator copes. Afterwards, have young ones draw their favorite part of the book.

My Daddy is a Pretzel by Baron Baptiste (illustrated by Sophie Fatus) is a cute story with yoga poses. Read slowly, having preschool to second-grade students try the poses. Can even have them draw themselves doing their favorite pose afterwards. Good for an antsy bunch!

Ish and The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds are about teaching students that they're all artists. After reading, Ish, tell them to make an "ish" drawing. After reading, The Dot, have students make their own dot. Provide colored pencils, markers, or (if you dare) paints. These are best for third-grade and under.

I Pledge Allegiance by Bill Martin Jr. (illustrated by Chris Raschka) is a good learning tool. How many students recite the pledge each morning, but have no idea what it means? Read it; then write vocabulary words with definitions on the board. Students should copy them, and draw and color an American flag. Good for third to fifth-grades.

One of Those Days by Amy Krouse Rosenthal (illustrated by Rebecca Doughty) is one of my favorites. As a sub, I can relate to having a bad day. The illustrations will tickle the kids up to third-grade. It's a short book, so afterwards, have them draw something that happened to them on "one of those days".

Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems is about a toddler losing her beloved bunny, cleverly written and illustrated. It's a great book for preschool to first-grade. After reading the story, have them draw and color their favorite stuffed animal or important item.

Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann won The Caldecott Medal. It's about safety tips, a boring officer, and his zany dog. Kids in first to third-grade will get a kick out of this. Afterwards, have students write an important safety tip along with a picture of Gloria the dog.

The Bugliest Bug by Carol Diggory Shields (Illustrator Scott Nash) has great rhyming, is a fun story, and has lots of bugs. Afterwards, have students from preschool to second-grade draw their favorite bugs and perhaps a few bad spiders too.

Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina is a classic because kids still love it. Encourage students to play the parts of the monkey and peddler as your read it. After reading, have students draw the monkeys in a tree with the caps on their heads. Good for preschool to second-grade.

Fireboat by Maira Kalman is the best book for children written about September 11th. It handles the difficult topic well without being scary. This is a good book to use around the anniversary for just about any age group, but you may want to read it from second to fifth-grades.

Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss (illustrated by Bonnie Timmons) is great for fourth and fifth-grades. It shows how the meaning of a sentence can drastically (and hilariously) change as the result of incorrect comma placement. Make copies of the book in advance, and give the students two sheets of paper to show two sentences and different meanings after you read aloud.

Come On, Rain! By Karen Hesse (illustrated by Jon J. Muth) works well with preschoolers to fifth-graders. For younger kids, after reading, have them draw a picture of a hot day, and then a rainy day. For older kids, after reading, go through the vivid vocabulary. Ask what the author means by, "The rain has made us new?"

Check with the local and school libraries for availability, but you may want to have a few on-hand to make your life easier. I'll share thirteen more books next week. I figured I'd break it up because how many books do you want to see on one post?