# data[].attributes.body
“Uncle Willie and the Soup Kitchen” has a 560L which makes it appropriate for 2nd and 3rd grade students. Based on the Qualitative Measurement Rubric, this book has slightly complex organization because it is clearly organized chronologically. The use of graphics is moderately complex due to the assistance given by some of the illustrations to better understand what is happening in the text. Language features such as conventionality and vocabulary and moderately complex while the sentence structures are very complex because there is so much dialogue. Implicit and explicit explanations of vocabulary would be a good area of focus to use with this book (first read). The words are not overly academic, but some of them could be unfamiliar to students depending on their background knowledge (e.g. wobble, supermarket, clangity, soup kitchen, telescope). Meaning and knowledge demands are all very complex as well. This book contains subtle ideas and themes that could be difficult to pull out without having been exposed to some of the topics. Homelessness is a heavy subject for people a all ages, and as 2nd grade students, there is a possibility they have not yet been exposed to topics like this.

The book would be a good text to use for an interactive read aloud in a 2nd grade classroom. As previously stated, the words in the text are not overly difficult, but the message of the story could be difficult for students to obtain on their own. If the book was an interactive read aloud, the teacher could dig deeper into the text through questioning the students (second read). Teacher prompted questions would help the students to understand the deeper meaning of the story about the boy and Uncle Willie’s volunteering to help those in need. Examples of this line of questioning could include: “Why does the boy say, ‘Let’s go’ when Uncle Willie is talking to the Can Man?” (A: the boy feels uncomfortable, he doesn’t want Willie to stop, he’s in a hurry); “What does the boy say when he sees the lady on the bench? How does it make him feel?” (A: he says she looks lonely, and it makes him feel sad); and “What do you notice about the boy on this page compared to Uncle Willie? Why is he standing stiffly against the wall?” (A: Uncle Willie is smiling while the boy does not look happy. The boy is uncomfortable or maybe overwhelmed.)

An example of end of book activities could be a graphic organizer and a writing task. For the graphic organizer, students would be asked to draw an image, thought bubbles, or a thinking web that illustrates what they think the main intention of the story is and give examples that support that thought. They would then use that pre-writing activity to help them to complete the prompt by answering, “What did the main character learn from Uncle Willie and working in the soup kitchen?”, “How did the main character change during the story?”, and “Why is the main purpose of this story?” The students could be given sentence starters, refer back to an anchor chart made during the reading/while answering the questions during the IRA.

Reader and Task Considerations: The most challenging part of this text will be the issue of homelessness and poverty the book touches on. I can provide support by offering information or answering any questions they may have about the topic at hand.

# data[].attributes.body
This National Geographic Young Explorer magazine is geared towards 1st grade students. Most children like animals, especially dogs. This text is slightly complex in organization, conventionality, purpose, subject matter knowledge, and intertextuality. The text features and use of graphics are in the middle of moderately and very complex. The vocabulary and sentence structures are moderately complex.

I would use this magazine to make a KWL chart with my students. Before reading, they would tell the class what they already know about dogs and what they wonder. After reading they would tell what they learned from the text. They could also identify which of their questions were answered in the reading. The KWL chart could be paired with a writing activity where the students write a 1-3 sentence response about something they learned while reading.

# data[].attributes.body
“How the Moon Regained Her Shape” has a 580L which means it fits well with 2nd or 3rd grade. Overall, I would say this book is moderately to very complex. The organization is simply complex; but the conventionality, sentence structures, and life experiences are moderately complex. Finally, the vocabulary, cultural knowledge, and use of graphics are very complex. This book is about a Native American legend of why the moon changes shape, uses tier-two and tier three vocabulary terms (e.g. gleamed, tormented, stammered, trudged, skypath and comet), and relies heavily on the use of images to best follow along with how the moon’s feelings and shape changes as she progresses.

I would use this book with a 2nd grade class as an IRA. Before reading, I would explain what a legend is (assuming we had not read one before) and how some of the information may not be exactly true. I would use the IRA method to point out key details and ask questions throughout the story while also bringing attention to how important the images are. Examples of questions could be: “How is the moon feeling now? How do you know? How can the picture help you decide how she is feeling?”, “Why was she sad?”, and “How did becoming happier change the moon’s shape?” After reading, I would help the students make a true false chart with information from the book that was true versus information that was false. For example, it is true that the moon does change phases, and it is false/not true that the moon is a person. I would also have them complete a short writing activity with three to five sentences about what it means to be a good friend since the book touches on that while also going through the moon’s phases.

# data[].attributes.body
“Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me” has a 450L which is geared towards 2nd and 3rd grade. The organization, conventionality, vocabulary, meaning, life experiences, and intertextuality/cultural knowledge is slightly complex. The use of graphics, vocabulary, and sentence structures is moderately complex. This is a cute pop-up book that is not hard to follow along with and it is entertaining. The extended images make for a fun read.

I would use this book with a 2nd grade classroom to help teach the students the -ea vowel combination. The book uses words like please, near, reached, reappear, and disappear. The students could be given a list of words and be asked to find the -ea vowel combination words. They could give an example of how each of those words could be used in a sentence.

I would use this book in partner with other books that had focuses on other vowel combinations. While we read the different books, we could create an anchor chart that has the vowel combination, the sound it makes, and a few examples of those vowel combo words.

# data[].attributes.body
This book is for late 1st-early 2nd grade level readers. I would say it is moderately complex overall. The organization, conventionality, sentence structures, purpose, and intertextuality is all slightly complex and not very difficult to navigate. The text features, use of graphics, subject matter knowledge, and the vocabulary are all moderately complex. There are lots of two tier words in this book (e.g. species, antennae, compound eyes, mounds, disperse, carpenter, and colony). This is a non-fiction book that I think students would be very interested in. It is filled with facts, well organized/labeled, has wonderful images, and uses graphics and text features to add to and enhance the knowledge that can be gained.

“All About Ants” would work well for monitoring comprehension by thinking about the text and the author/illustrator’s choice of text features (table of contents, headings, bold words, glossary, index, maps, diagrams, etc.). The students could help in completing a chart about Non-Fiction text feature tools. The chat would consist of three columns with at least six rows of content. This book contains several clear text features. There are headings, picture captions, bolded words, and several other examples. The chart would require students to identify a text feature, find the pages where the text features are found, and discuss why the author chose to add certain text tools.

# data[].attributes.body
“Footprints Across the Planet” has a 590L making it appropriate for 2nd to 3rd grade. The book has moderately complex organization, use of graphics, conventionality, and subject matter knowledge. The vocabulary, purpose, and text features are very complex. This book is very interesting and filled with a lot of information. There is a deeper meaning that extends to our impact and our “footprint” that we leave on the planet. I think that could be a harder concept for middle elementary students to grasp without assistance.

I would use this book in a 3rd grade classroom. I would use yellow questions after reading this book as a class. I could ask, “How are ___ and ___ similar? And how are they different?” I could also ask, “What was the effect of ___.” Specific to the text: How are toes and hooves similar? They’re used to walk on. How are they different? Hooves are one solid piece. What is the effect of having toes (moneys) verses hooves (horses)? Monkeys can grasp things with their toes and horses cannot.

I think this would be a good strategy to use with this book because the questions could gradually get more complex and promote higher order thinking.

# data[].attributes.body
This Young Explorer National Geographic is appropriate for 1st grade students. The organization, conventionality, sentence structures, purpose, and intertextuality are all simply complex. The text features, use of graphics, vocabulary, and subject matter knowledge are moderately complex. There are some tier-2 vocabulary words in the text as well as text features and graphics that add to and help with the understanding of the information given.

I would use this magazine to make a wonder/learned T chart with my late 1st grade or early 2nd grade students. On one side of the chart, they would share t things they wonder and questions they have. On the other side, they would share the information they learned through the text. I would also pair this non-fiction magazine with a non-fiction children’s book that matches the subject. They could add to the chart with information from this story as well. Once the chart is complete, I would give the students a think sheet. On the think sheet, students would be asked to draw in something they learned in each of the three boxes and label it. For students with more advanced writing skills, they could write a paragraph. For students with less advanced writing skills, they could use one to two words labels for their pictures. The students would also be provided with a separate word bank with words they may want to use on their think sheet.

# data[].attributes.body
“Mae Among the Stars” has a 580L that fits best with 2nd to 3rd grade. This book is slightly complex in organization, graphics, conventionality, meaning, life experiences, intertextuality, and cultural knowledge. Vocabulary and sentence structures are moderately complex. There would be a few vocabulary words that would need to be introduced during the reading. This book is the true story of a little girl who grew up to become an astronaut, so it would be interesting and engaging for students.

I would use this book with 2nd grade students. This book talks about Mae’s dream to become an astronaut as a little girl, how she was discouraged and encouraged along the way, and how she was able to reach her goals and achieve her dreams. We could use the story to create an “I wonder” chart. We would stop halfway through (when Mae’s teacher tells her to become a nurse) and fill out the “I wonder” part of the chart and complete it after finishing the book. I think this book would be good to use connection comprehension strategies. I would end by the students doing an activity where they would write a paragraph and draw a picture about what they aspire to be when they become adults.

# data[].attributes.body
“Charlie Parker Played Be Bop” has a 260L which is appropriate for kindergarten through 1st grade students. This book is difficult to measure using the Qualitative Measures Rubric. The text structure is only slightly complex in the way that there are not multiple storylines intertwined, and the words flow easily. The words used in the book are not overly complex, but there are words that could be unfamiliar to children (e.g. saxophone and chickadee). The book also uses examples of onomatopoeia such as, “boomba,” “bang,” and “bop”. The book has slightly complex knowledge demands.

This book could be used to identify and compare rhyming words. There are several found in the text. Examples of words that rhyme in the book are bop and hop, saxophone and alone, and lollipop and stop. This book would also be best shown to the class in a video. There is a cute segment of Read Between the Lions that reads this book with sound effects. https://youtu.be/8JJCODv6wMA

# data[].attributes.body
“The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush” has a 840L which is geared toward 4th and 5th grade. The organization, use of graphics, sentence structures, meaning, and life experiences are all moderately complex. The conventionality and cultural knowledge demands are very complex. The book is in chronological order, but it covers a period of time as the boy grows up and even shared some dreams/visions the boy has throughout his life. This book is moderately to very complex because it is a legend that covers the life of this young boy as he grows up and discovers his talents. There are several tier-two vocabulary words (e.g. teepee, buckskin, and shaman) that will need to be explained to students prior to reading.

This book would be great in working on students with their comprehension. Since it is geared toward upper elementary school, I would use it in a 4th grade class in the latter part of the year. Before reading, I would have a discussion with the class about what a legend and why they are important while also explaining n to them that some of the things included in legends may or may not be true. My biggest focus would be the after reading writing assignment. Students would be prompted with two questions they would need to make inferences about from the story: 1.) “Why is it important for Little Gopher to paint pictures telling the story of his tribe?” 2.) “How do you think Little Gopher felt when he couldn’t become a warrior?” I would tie the second question into a personal connection by asking, “Have you ever felt that way?” Finally, I would have a short creative writing and sharing opportunity by asking students about a talent that they have. If they could not think of something, I would tell them something they do well in class.