Rocks and Minerals

When you go outside, do you notice the differences and similarities between rocks? The book Rocks and Minerals helps you identify the different kind of rocks. This book explains to the readers that rocks can be many different colors, such as black, brown or tan. Rocks can also have different textures such as being smooth or rough. This book also talks about how all rocks are made of their own special mineral ,and how they are formed. For example, this book talks about how "each mineral
has its own special shape, called a crystal (KRIS-tal)."

                                                               

This book goes along with the standard S3E1 that states students will investigate the physical attributes of rocks and soils. In this standard
 the students will explain the difference between a rocks and  minerals. Students will also recognize the physical attributes of rocks. The book Rocks and Minerals would be a good book to go along with this standard because it explains to the reader what rocks and minerals are on a level that is easy enough for younger readers to understand. This story also keeps the readers interested because of all of the pictures.


We believe this book is good to teach students about rocks because it is easy to read and understand. This book also has rock jokes throughout the book that kids would find very funny. A fun activity that students could do to check their understanding of identifying rocks and minerals,is to have the students bring in rocks and try to identify the type of rock that they brought in. This book also has a quiz at the end of it took check the students understanding of rocks and minerals. We both enjoyed this book because it contained a lot of engaging activities and pictures.

Slower than a Snail

     Are you slower than a snail? In the story Slower than a Snail the little girl in the story measured many different objects to prove to her brother that she was not slower than a snail. For example, she said "I'm smaller than an elephant. I'm bigger than a poodle." In the story the little girl also talks about how she was bigger a noodle, bean, fly, and monkey, but she was smaller than a rocket, truck air plane and a tree.


This text could be used to help students learn about measurements. This text can be used to teach standard MCC.K.MD.2 which states to directly compare two objects with a measureable attribute in common, to see which object has “more of”/”less of” the attribute, and describe the difference. To use this story in the classroom while reading the story you can get the students to point to items in the book  that are bigger or smaller than the little girl. As a classroom assessment you could have the students compare two things in the classroom. For example, ask the student to find something in the classroom that is bigger than a pencil.



We both enjoyed this story because it is a good way to teach students how to compare two objects based on measurements. We think it is very appropriate to use in the classroom along with the activities that are provided in the book.

Did You Steal Grandpa's teeth?

       Did you steal grandpa's teeth? In the story Grandpa's Teeth that's exactly what grandpa thought. In this story grandpa woke up and his teeth were missing. The glass container that he kept them in were still on the dresser beside his bed, but his teeth were missing. Grandpa had the whole family looking for his teeth. They even called the police and Officer Rate did a full search of the house. Officer Rate took the whole family down to the station so the police artist could draw a picture of the missing teeth. He even had the family call the a crime scene investigation show. After a few days Officer Rate realized that no teeth had been found and no thief had been caught. Grandpa suspected everyone, especially the people who didn't smile. After a while everyone in the town started to smile all the time so Grandpa wouldn't suspect them of stealing his teeth. The town started to lose business because tourists were afraid to get out of the car because of all of the smiling people. Since everyone started losing business because of Grandpa's teeth the town decided to have a town hall meeting so people could express their complaints. Pastor Butter came up with a solution to the problem, he suggested that everyone could put a dollar in a basket to buy Grandpa a new set of teeth. Grandpa was happy with his new teeth and smiled all the time the dog started smiling also and they realized that the dog stole Grandpa's teeth.
      This story is considered to be contemporary fiction, because the events in this story could really happen even though the story is made up. Grandpa would be the protagonist in the story because during the story you are routing for Grandpa to find his teeth. The dog would be considered to be the antagonist in the end of the story he was the one that stole Grandpa's teeth. This story is told in first person because the little boy is telling the story. The setting of this story was mainly in the house because they spent a lot of time looking for Grandpa's teeth.
     We both enjoyed the story because it was funny and it kept us entertained. This book has a great surprising ending that would be very entertaining for kids and adults. We think this book could be used in the classroom because the students could write about who they think took Grandpa's teeth before reading the whole story.


Here's a link to the story:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snOH1QZ0JTM

Puss In Boots

   Have you ever received a gift that you didn't like at first, but it ended up being your favorite? In the story Puss In Boots that's exactly what happened to the miller's youngest son. The miller left his mill to his oldest son, a donkey to his second son, and a cat to his youngest son. The youngest son was sad about only receiving the cat in the beginning, but the cat was determined to prove to him that he was the best gift of all. Throughout the story the cat tricked many different people into getting what he wanted. For example, he tricked the king into thinking his master was a very rich man and the perfect man to marry his daughter. In the end the cat himself became very rich and never had to run after mice again.
   Puss In Boots is considered to be traditional literature because it is a folk tale. The story Puss In Boots contains two types of folktales, they are animal and trickster tales. The reason it is an animal tale is because the cat has exaggerated human characteristics. This story is also considered to be a trickster tale because the cat out smarted the king and many other characters in the story. This story has characterization because the cat in the story could be considered a sign of good and evil because he tricks people throughout the story, but he only does it for the good of his master. Like most traditional literature this story also contains a vague setting. In the story the author never gives a specific location leaving it for the readers imagination.
   We both agree that this a good book to teach kids not to be ungrateful, and always give things a chance. We think this would be a good book to read in class because it would help students to use their imagination. The best way to use this story in a classroom would be to use reader's theatre and have the students act the story out in groups.