https://padlet.com/nwrigley/s1yvi5yfp6esk0cz These are all books that I am super excited to share in my future classroom! The books have links to find out more about them or to purchase in the description. The activities associated with the texts are all based on information I have learned about the 5 pillars of reading, the foundational K-5 literacy standards, and the text complexity rubric. en-us 2020-10-12 15:06:49 UTC 2026-02-19 01:08:17 UTC hello@padlet.com nwrigley https://padlet.com/nwrigley/s1yvi5yfp6esk0cz/wish/822117161 Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade is a biographical picture book about the life of Tony Sarg, the man responsible for the amazing puppets that we see today in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade!  The picture book gives an insight as to how he came up with the balloons from his early love of inventing, to making marionette puppets, to the parade balloons.  This book is the winner of the NCTE Orbis Pictus Award, the Siebert Medal, and was a Caldecott Honor winner as well.  The text itself has fairly simple phrases with only a few specific vocabulary words like "marionette" and "helium". moderately complex.  I think that the text structure and meaning are slightly complex with a chronological story line that follows one main idea, Tony Sarg and his puppets/balloons.  Because of the limited specific vocabulary and some of the historical references, the book is moderately complex in therms of language features and knowledge demands.  This book presents a lot of awesome opportunities for science lessons associate with it as well as some fluency, specifically prosody, practice with reader's theatre.  The students can create their own puppets and practice reading the story aloud with a group and presenting it.  This book would be great for a kindergarten through third grade audience to learn new vocabulary based off of context clues and practice it in context. 

Aligned with 3.FL.VA.7a: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases, the pillars of reading, and the text complexity rubric.]]> 2020-10-12 16:17:21 UTC https://padlet.com/nwrigley/s1yvi5yfp6esk0cz/wish/822117161 nwrigley https://padlet.com/nwrigley/s1yvi5yfp6esk0cz/wish/822403292 Merci Suárez Changes Gears is a Newbery Medal Book about Mercedes "Merci" Suárez and the and the struggles she faces both in school and at home as a sixth grader who attends an elite private school in Florida.  As a coming of age chapter book about a Latina female, this is a great diversity book for our fourth and fifth grade students.  The longer length of this chapter book, extended plot, host of many characters, and text specific vocabulary have this book sitting at very complex across the board when looking at the text complexity rubric.  This book really focuses on the qualitative level of text complexity in terms of structure, organization, and prior knowledge demands.  This would also be a great book to practice fluency with because of the back and forth conversation between characters like Merci and her Abuela.  This book uses some figurative language so breaking that down in context will be helpful in teaching the difference between the types of figurative language.  This could be another great reader's theatre book or an opportunity for an activity where students can illustrate portions of the text based on the figurative language and descriptive words.  Doing paired readings with this book might be a smart idea since it is a bit more complex in content and a little longer in length.  

Aligned with 4.FL.VA.7b: Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in
word meanings, 2.RL.CS.5 Describe the overall structure of a story, including how the beginning introduces
the story and the ending concludes the action, the pillars of reading, and the text complexity rubric.]]> 2020-10-12 17:42:25 UTC https://padlet.com/nwrigley/s1yvi5yfp6esk0cz/wish/822403292 nwrigley https://padlet.com/nwrigley/s1yvi5yfp6esk0cz/wish/822490522 The One and Only Ivan is a Newbery Medal book that follows the story of a Silverback gorilla named Ivan who lives in a mall circus and his journey towards freedom through art for himself and circus newcomer, Ruby the baby elephant.  This book is great for third, fourth, and fifth grade students as the text is moderately complex while explicitly describing anything the reader may need to know.  Since the book is written in prose, it allows our students to focus on fluency and gives them practice with another form of literature.  This is a great book that would be amazing in a text set with Wishtree, also by Katherine Applegate, and/or Charlotte's Web by  E.B.White.  All three books are great on touching on real world issues diversity through the use of whimsical talking animals.  This book also provides many activities that can bleed into other subjects like science (researching gorillas) and art (drawing pictures like Ivan does).  A very well done movie version of the book was just made by Disney and would be a great addition to a lesson using this book!  This text would be read aloud well by a teacher or in small groups along with a Think/Pair/Share activity. 

Aligned with 3.FL.F.5 Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension, the pillars of reading, and the text complexity rubric.]]> 2020-10-12 18:09:01 UTC https://padlet.com/nwrigley/s1yvi5yfp6esk0cz/wish/822490522 nwrigley https://padlet.com/nwrigley/s1yvi5yfp6esk0cz/wish/822540935 Wishtree is a beautiful story written in prose about a Red Oak tree named Red and his journey to help his community accept a family who many be a little different from them.  Like the One and Only Ivan, this book is written in a similar structure and is ideal for third, fourth, and fifth grade students.  In terms of text complexity, this book is moderately complex in regards to text structure and meaning and very complex when it comes to language features and knowledge demands.  The book would be a great introduction to a science lesson because of the use and explanation of the tradition latin words for many species found in nature.  This is what makes the text lean a bit more towards very complex.  Because of the specific vocabulary, this would be a great text to pull new vocabulary words from and use them in an activity that goes along with the book.  For example, wishes written on paper and cloth are tied to the branches of the tree in the book.  Students could all pick a new vocabulary word, look it up and write it down, like a wish, and tie it to a tree we make in the classroom.  This would be a great opportunity for students to learn a host of new words.  

Aligned with 3.FL.F.5 Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension, the pillars of reading, and the text complexity rubric.]]> 2020-10-12 18:25:53 UTC https://padlet.com/nwrigley/s1yvi5yfp6esk0cz/wish/822540935 nwrigley https://padlet.com/nwrigley/s1yvi5yfp6esk0cz/wish/822573605 The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus is a Sibert Medal winner as well as a Caldecott Honor book.  The biographical picture book tells the story of Peter Roget and how his early love for words led him to write the world's first thesaurus.  The book uses simple words and phrasing to make the story and easy read that any kindergarten, first, second, or third grade student would enjoy.  The book follows a chronological timeline (even one is included in the back) with very straightforward text and sentence structure.  All of these features play a role in making the text slightly complex.  Since the text is about vocabulary and the thesaurus, this would be a great text to use while focusing in the pillar of vocabulary.  For our older students, a class lesson can introduce the thesaurus and its purpose.  Then the  students can make a poster where they write their favorite word, or an assigned one, and all the synonyms and/or antonyms they could find about the original word.  For our younger learners, we can focus on some of the vocabulary included in some of the illustrations (since Melissa Sweet has a mulit-media-text collage style of illustration) and come up with similar words as a class.  In any of the grades, we can play a game called "Human Thesaurus".  In this game, students go around the room one by one and pretend to be a thesaurus.  A student will give them a word and they have to come up with a similar or opposite word for it.  This book can take class vocabulary lessons in a ton of different and awesome directions!  

Aligned with 3.FL.VA.7a Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 3 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies, the pillars of reading, and the text complexity rubric.]]> 2020-10-12 18:36:53 UTC https://padlet.com/nwrigley/s1yvi5yfp6esk0cz/wish/822573605 nwrigley https://padlet.com/nwrigley/s1yvi5yfp6esk0cz/wish/822722446 Wolf in the Snow tells the story of a little girl who gets lost in a terrible snowstorm on the way home from school.  She meets a little lost wolf pup and together they help one another find their families.  This Caldecott winning book has a catch though; it is a wordless picture book.  While that may seem intimidating, I see it as a book that opens a world of lessons.  It can work for all grade levels kindergarten through fifth grade and all text complexity levels. This book would be great in a literature circle group with roles like "artful artist", "predictor", and "summarizer".  The lesson ideas for this book are endless and ones that can span across multiple grade levels.  Have students write in text, have them illustrate an image to add as a new plot point, or even research wolves.  I also would love to see this done as a text set with Little Red Riding Hood, as the two stories are often compared.  Since the activities are so open and moldable to the needs of the students, any of the pillars can be emphasized with this text.  This is one that I am so excited to use in the future! 

Aligned with 3.RL.IKI.7 Explain how illustrations in a text
contribute to what is conveyed by the words, 5.RL.IKI.7 Explain how visual and multimedia
elements contribute to the meaning, tone, or
mood of a text, such as in a graphic novel,
multimedia presentation, or fiction, folktale,
myth, or poem, the pillars of reading, and the text complexity rubric. ]]> 2020-10-12 19:35:39 UTC https://padlet.com/nwrigley/s1yvi5yfp6esk0cz/wish/822722446 nwrigley https://padlet.com/nwrigley/s1yvi5yfp6esk0cz/wish/822754043 This Promise of Change: One Girl's Story in the Fight for School Equality is a Sibert Honor book that follows the story of Civil Rights jusice advocate Jo Anne Allen Boyce as she and her friends integrate Clinton High School in East Tennessee.  The text written in prose and having mature and difficult language meets the criteria to be considered exceedingly complex.  This is a novel that fourth and fifth grade students would love.  This is an awesome book to include in a diversity text set and a great one to teach here in Knoxville as it connects to where our students live.  Because it is written in prose, this would be an awesome fluency book, specifically when it comes to practicing prosody.  This could be one where a paired reading activity is great so that students can practice fluency as well as talk about the historical nature of the book.  Including videos in the lesson of others reading this book aloud or even interviews with Jo Ann Allen Boyce (since the book is about her) could be a fun addition as well.  It could also be cool to source some of the real articles mentioned in the text to read them in conjunction with the book and some comprehension questions.  There could even be a literature circle activity where each group gets a different article and reads it to share with the class.  

Aligned with 5.RL.KID.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a story, drama, or poem and explain how it is conveyed through details in the text;
summarize the text, the pillars of reading, and the text complexity rubric.]]> 2020-10-12 19:49:24 UTC https://padlet.com/nwrigley/s1yvi5yfp6esk0cz/wish/822754043 nwrigley https://padlet.com/nwrigley/s1yvi5yfp6esk0cz/wish/822788544 I Love you So... is a great book for our kindergarten and first grade learners!  This book shows readers how much bigger unconditional love is than anything that we can imagine.  The simple text places a fantastic focus on basic words, phrasing, and rhyming.  This slightly complex picture book would be a great entrance to a lesson about rhyming words!  An emphasis can be placed on rhyming vocabulary and the phonemic awareness of rhymes.  This could be used as a choral reading book where the students listen first and then practice reading the text all together.

Aligned with K.FFL.PA.2 Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and
sounds (phonemes), the pillars of reading, and the text complexity rubric.]]> 2020-10-12 20:03:45 UTC https://padlet.com/nwrigley/s1yvi5yfp6esk0cz/wish/822788544 nwrigley https://padlet.com/nwrigley/s1yvi5yfp6esk0cz/wish/822812013 Hello, Neighbor! The Kind and Caring World of Mister Rogers is a biographical picture book that tells the life and times and Fred Rogers and how he became the Mister Rogers that millions of people have come to know and love.  This slightly complex book follows an easy timeline of events, is greatly enhanced by the illustrations, and utilizes familiar language in simple sentences.  This would be a great read aloud book for first, second, third, and fourth grade students.  The book has a lot of great resource material in the back that could be used in class activities.  The illustrations also provide a lot of information beyond the text so this is a book where you should definitely make note of the pictures!  Since Mister Rogers himself used puppets in his storytelling, this could be a great opportunity to have students make their own puppets and read with them to enhance their fluency skills (like with Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of the Macy's Parade).  Another fun thing to do with this book would be to watch an episode of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" and make connections between that and the text.  I could also see this book working well in a text set with other biographical picture books.  For example, the text set could include Hello, Neighbor! The Kind and Caring World of Mister Rogers, Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of the Macy's Parade, and The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus.

Aligned with 3.RL.IKI.7 Explain how illustrations in a text
contribute to what is conveyed by the words, 4.RL.IKI.7 Make connections between the
print version of a story or drama and a visual
or oral presentation of the same text, the pillars of reading, and the text complexity rubric.]]> 2020-10-12 20:14:37 UTC https://padlet.com/nwrigley/s1yvi5yfp6esk0cz/wish/822812013 nwrigley https://padlet.com/nwrigley/s1yvi5yfp6esk0cz/wish/822921470 Some Writer! The Story of E.B.White goes through the life of one of the most beloved children's book authors of all time, E.B.White!  This picture-chapter book would make a great class read-aloud book for third, fourth, and fifth grade students.  Because of the sheer amount of text, the extensive timeline and plot that his life has, and the use of helpful primary source material makes, this text is exceedingly complex.  This is a great book to allow students to practice their fluency with by allowing them to read parts of it aloud to themselves, the class, or a partner.  This book would great in a text set with Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little, or Trumpet of the Swan (all of which are written by E.B.White).  This could also be fun to analyze some of the primary source material, like his letters.  Another activity could be to connect similarities between his books, like they are all about animals, and find where that comes up in Some Writer! The Story of E.B.White.  Of course, there is always connecting the book to a visual media by watching the movie of Charlotte's Web and making text connections on what they read about in Some Writer! The Story of E.B.White.

Aligned with 4.RL.IKI.7 Make connections between the
print version of a story or drama and a visual or oral presentation of the same text, 4.RI.KID.3 Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in a text, the pillars of literacy, and the text complexity rubric.]]> 2020-10-12 21:15:01 UTC https://padlet.com/nwrigley/s1yvi5yfp6esk0cz/wish/822921470 nwrigley https://padlet.com/nwrigley/s1yvi5yfp6esk0cz/wish/822942915 Plenty of Hugs is a picture book that celebrates the LGBTQ+ community by telling a tale of a beautiful day spent with two mothers and their baby.  This awesome piece of diversity text is perfect for our kindergartners, first graders, and second graders.  The very simple language and sentence structure combined with the rhyme scheme makes this book the perfect candidate to be slightly complex.  This text is great for introducing rhyming and really allows teachers and students to focus on phonemic awareness.  This, like I Love You So... would make a great choral reading book.  I could even see it being used as a text set since they present similar themes and are structured with the same rhyme scheme and complexity level.  I could also see this book being used in a lesson along with The Kissing Hand since they present similar themes as well.

Aligned with K.FFL.PA.2 Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and
sounds (phonemes), the pillars of reading, and the text complexity rubric.]]> 2020-10-12 21:29:04 UTC https://padlet.com/nwrigley/s1yvi5yfp6esk0cz/wish/822942915 nwrigley https://padlet.com/nwrigley/s1yvi5yfp6esk0cz/wish/822956304 A is for Audra introduces children to all the amazing leading ladies that have graced the stages of Broadway from Audra McDonald all the way to Liza Minnelli (Liza with a "Z", of course).  Another text that features a strong rhyme scheme, simple words, and simple phrasing, this slightly complex text would be great in a kindergarten, first, second, or third grade class.  Similar to I Love You So... and Plenty of Hugs, the book offers the opportunity to play with rhyming vocabulary and places an emphasis on phonemic awareness.  This is fun take on a biographical text and has many avenues for lessons.  Videos can be shown of the women in the book or literature circle groups can each get a Broadway star to research and present to the class.  Participating in a  Record/Listen/Reflect activity would be perfect for this book and will allow students to get active fluency practice and self reflect on their progress over time.  This is a book that I cannot wait to teach in my future classroom! 

Aligned with 3.FL.F.5 Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension, K.FFL.PA.2 Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and
sounds (phonemes), the pillars of reading, and the text complexity rubric.]]> 2020-10-12 21:38:29 UTC https://padlet.com/nwrigley/s1yvi5yfp6esk0cz/wish/822956304 nwrigley https://padlet.com/nwrigley/s1yvi5yfp6esk0cz/wish/823163220 I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark tells the life story of late supreme court justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg.  The text follows a chronological timeline of her life which makes it easy to keep up with but there is some advanced text structure and language.  For those reasons, I think that this book could be considered moderately complex and be a good read for second through fifth grade learners.  Since there is the opportunity to develop new vocabulary skills, I think this book fits well into the vocabulary pillar of reading.  One activity could be to talk about what it means to "dissent" something and then everyone can use the word in context by sharing something that they dissent.  This is also a  great opportunity to do an important women in history project.  This is another text that I will definitely use in the classroom!

Aligned with 4.FL.VA.7a Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases
based on grade 4 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies, 4.W.TP.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information, the pillars of reading, and the text complexity rubric.]]> 2020-10-13 00:12:29 UTC https://padlet.com/nwrigley/s1yvi5yfp6esk0cz/wish/823163220 nwrigley https://padlet.com/nwrigley/s1yvi5yfp6esk0cz/wish/823448536 Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race is a picture book based off the book and novel of the same name about four incredible African-American who helped NASA launch men into space.  This is a fantastic diversity book to have in the classroom that tells the story of women who should be talked about.  It also promotes women in STEM and helps to break down the barriers of typical gender norms.  With advance text structure and specific vocabulary, this book is very complex and would be enjoyed by second through fifth grade students.  This is the kind of book that I would love to use in another subject besides English.  Because it so heavily promotes STEM and is a historical text, I could see it being taught in science, math, history, and English.  This is another book where I feel like the possibilities are endless.  I think it could be awesome to have the students read the books in literature circles, complete some comprehension questions, and then do a little bit of further research on the women highlighted in the book.  This is a text that focuses on both vocabulary and comprehension of the text.  

Aligned with 3.FL.F.5 Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension, the pillars of literacy, and the text complexity rubric. 

]]> 2020-10-13 02:37:18 UTC https://padlet.com/nwrigley/s1yvi5yfp6esk0cz/wish/823448536 nwrigley https://padlet.com/nwrigley/s1yvi5yfp6esk0cz/wish/823479297 All Are Welcome is an adorable picture book about a school where, like the title says, all are welcome and celebrated no matter their ethnicity, differences, or gender.  This is another great text to include in a diversity and inclusion lesson.  The very simple phrasing and sentences with basic vocabulary and sight words makes the book be slightly complex.  This is a great book to read-aloud to our kindergarten and first grade students.  This text promotes fluency by being a grade appropriate read-aloud.  I think a really effective activity to do with this book would be to do either small group or class wide choral reading.  A video of someone else reading the book can also be shown as a positive fluency example for the students.  

Aligned with K.FFL.F.5 Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension, K.FL.VA.7a Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on Kindergarten conversations, reading, and content, the pillars of reading, and the text complexity rubric.]]> 2020-10-13 02:55:24 UTC https://padlet.com/nwrigley/s1yvi5yfp6esk0cz/wish/823479297 nwrigley https://padlet.com/nwrigley/s1yvi5yfp6esk0cz/wish/823500617 Pink is for Boys is a great an empowering picture book that breaks gender norms and shows readers that colors, like many things in life, are for everyone no matter their gender.  The simple and repetitive text makes the book slightly complex in terms of the text complexity rubric.  This text is a great read for kindergarten students.  It promotes phonics and phonemic awareness through the use of basic and repetitive language on each page.  I can see this book being a great tool to promote inclusion and teaching that the stigma of gender norms is just that; a stigma.  An engaging activity to do with this book could be to have students pick a color and write it down.  Then on the same paper, they should come up with anything they can think of that is that color.  This promotes vocabulary and spelling practice.  This text could also be great in conjunction with a Record/Listen/Reflect activity so that students can self evaluate their fluency.

Aligned with K.FFL.PWR.3 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills when decoding isolated  words and in connected text, K.FFL.WC.4 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills when encoding words; write legibly, the pillars of reading, and the text complexity rubric.]]> 2020-10-13 03:08:40 UTC https://padlet.com/nwrigley/s1yvi5yfp6esk0cz/wish/823500617 nwrigley https://padlet.com/nwrigley/s1yvi5yfp6esk0cz/wish/823522443 Secret Engineer: How Emily Roebling Built the Brooklyn Bridge is a biographical picture book about STEM woman Emily Roebling who was the secret head of operations behind the Brooklyn Bridge.  The basic phrasing and simple yet sophisticated language make the book moderately complex and great for second, third, and fourth grade learners.  This STEM based book would make an awesome feminist text set along with Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race.  This would be a book that would do great with the pillar of comprehension by having students complete comprehension questions and Think/Pair/Share activities.  This could also be fun in conjunction with a class activity that involves building a bridge with spaghetti and marshmallows to touch on some of the STEM aspects of the book.

Aligned with 3.FL.F.5 Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension, the pillars of reading, and the text complexity rubric.

]]> 2020-10-13 03:22:49 UTC https://padlet.com/nwrigley/s1yvi5yfp6esk0cz/wish/823522443 nwrigley https://padlet.com/nwrigley/s1yvi5yfp6esk0cz/wish/823552285 Leif and the Fall tells the tale of a crafty but nervous leaf named Leif who is afraid of falling off the tree in autumn.  The phrasing, vocabulary, and conversations between characters makes the text moderately complex.  This particular book fits well with the reading levels of second, third, and fourth grade students.  This could be a really fun text to read in fall when the leaves are changing and falling off the trees.  The class could go outside and find leaves and examine them as part of a little science lesson.  Because of the conversations in the text, this could be a great opportunity for students to practice the pillar of fluency by doing a little but of reader's theatre.  Because of the whimsical aspects of nature in the book, this could be a fun book to read in a text set with Wishtree.

Aligned with 2.FL.F.5 Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension, the pillars of reading, and the text complexity rubric.]]> 2020-10-13 03:42:35 UTC https://padlet.com/nwrigley/s1yvi5yfp6esk0cz/wish/823552285 nwrigley https://padlet.com/nwrigley/s1yvi5yfp6esk0cz/wish/823576281 My Rainbow is the fantastic story of a mother who goes above and beyond to make a beautiful rainbow wig for her transgendered daughter.  This text promotes diversity and the LGBTQ+ community. It tells the real life story of the authors of the book.  The simple text and phrasing of the book along with a consistent storyline makes the text slightly complex.  It is a great read for our first and second grade students.  This text exhibits the fluency pillar with the inclusion of conversation between the characters.  The book would work well in a literacy circle or with choral reading to promote those important fluency skills.  I can also see this being used in the classroom as a text during Black History Month and/or Pride Month to promote diversity and inclusion with out students.

Aligned with 2.FL.F.5 Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension, the pillars of reading, and the text complexity rubric.  ]]> 2020-10-13 03:59:38 UTC https://padlet.com/nwrigley/s1yvi5yfp6esk0cz/wish/823576281 nwrigley https://padlet.com/nwrigley/s1yvi5yfp6esk0cz/wish/823613318 Lucy's Mask is a book written about a young girl nervous about the new norm of wearing a mask.  She uses her imagination to come up with all the cool ways wearing a mask can protect herself and everyone around her.  This timely text features simple phrasing and vocabulary that young kindergartners can relate to.  The slightly complex book can promote comprehension and vocabulary by pulling new words from the book and using them in a different context.  It could be fun to have students be active on their feet and act out some of the ways that Lucy is playing pretend while reading the text aloud, promoting fluency.  This book also presents the opportunity to do a "show and share" of our favorite part of the book, which allows for practice reading aloud. 

Aligned with K.FFL.F.5 Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension, K.FFL.F.5 Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension, the pillars of reading, and the text complexity rubric.   ]]> 2020-10-13 04:23:00 UTC https://padlet.com/nwrigley/s1yvi5yfp6esk0cz/wish/823613318