By Jen Cullerton Johnson illustrated by Sonia Lynn Sadler

Genre: Nonfiction/Biography/Multicultural

description: Wangari Maathai was the first African woman and environmentalist to win a Nobel Peace Prize. Wangari grew up in Kenya and loved the land and plants and animals. Despite other girls in Kenya not being educated, Wangari went to school and eventually she went to study in the United States. When she returned to Kenya, she helped women realize the importance of planting trees in Kenya.

 

Oil Spill! Disaster in the Gulf of Mexico

By Elaine Landau

Genre: Informational/Nonfiction

Description: This informational book describes the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the impact that this tragedy had on the environment. The real images in the story provoke urgency to clean up after this mess. The book discusses the oil spill and the efforts to stop it. 

 

By Kathleen M. Reilly

Genre: Informational/Activity Book

Description: This book encourages kids to actively connect with their surroundings. Some key environmental issues such as solar power, endangered species, pollution, and global warming are discussed along with what children can do to help. Recycling is a topic that children can explore and learn how to make an impact. Additionally, there are 25 hands on projects. This would be great to have in my classroom. 

By Michelle Mulder

Genre: Informational

Description: Trash talk analyzes the many ways that humans generate garbage. The United States is a small part of the world’s population, but we produce almost half of the world’s garbage. This book talks about the history and the many ways that the world is dealing with waste. 

 

One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia

by Miranda Paul illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon

Genre: Nonfiction/Biography/Cultural

Description: This is the story of Isatou Ceesay and her idea of recycling plastic bags that accumulated in Gambia. Plastic bags are cheap and easy to use but they had covered the streets of Gambia and filled with water to host mosquitos and soon disease had spread. One person’s actions make a difference in the environment. 

            In “Becoming Nonfiction Authors: Engaging in Science Inquiry” the author discusses how project-based learninghelped students gain a deeper understanding of material and construct their own learning. Throughout my unit of study, students will be reading nonfiction and informational texts. Students can work in groups to identify the nonfiction text featuresof their books and the author’s purpose. This will help them to better understand nonfiction. Another strategy that the author suggests is creating semantic maps so that students can show what they are learning. Students use these maps and the research from their nonfiction/informational books to create a nonfiction science journal in which they have developed a deeper understanding of nonfiction and science. 

Kersten, S. (2017). Becoming nonfiction authors: Engaging in science inquiry. The Reading Teacher 71(1). 33-41

Using Mentor Texts:

 I could use the poetry book, The Cuckoo’s Haiku and Other Birding Poems as a mentor text to teach poetry throughout my unit. “Using Mentor Texts to Teach Writing in Science and Social Studies” describes some high-quality resources to help teachers select the best mentor texts using the Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People and Outstanding Science Trade Books. By using mentor texts, students have a sense of the final product; they should mimic tone, style, and length in their writing. My students would be able to complete a writing poetry component through this unit.
Pytash, K. E. & Morgan, D. N. (2014). Using mentor texts to teach writing in science and social studies. The Reading Teacher 68(2). 93-102.