By Maya Angelou More Maya Angelou

The free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wings
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.

But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings
with fearful trill
of the things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill for the caged bird
sings of freedom

The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn
and he names the sky his own.

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing

The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom

Source: https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/i-know-why-the-caged-bird-sings-by-maya-angelou

I love reading this poem to my students each year. It can be used to discuss literal and non-literal meanings and requires students to think critically. It can be integrated with social studies to discuss the feelings of minorities in the past. Also, this poem covers the standard RL.2.5.

I enjoy reading CATCF with my students because we can discuss and learn about theme, compare and contrast, descriptive language, inferencing, and point of view. We work on vocabulary constantly throughout the text. Children love reading this story. Typically, I end it before the FSA and we celebrate the end of testing by watching the older movie with some candy. Once they watch the movie, we compare and contrast the book and movie.

"Once there was a tree...and she loved a little boy."

So begins a story of unforgettable perception, beautifully written and illustrated by the gifted and versatile Shel Silverstein.

Every day the boy would come to the tree to eat her apples, swing from her branches, or slide down her trunk...and the tree was happy. But as the boy grew older he began to want more from the tree, and the tree gave and gave and gave.

This is a tender story, touched with sadness, aglow with consolation. Shel Silverstein has created a moving parable for readers of all ages that offers an affecting interpretation of the gift of giving and a serene acceptance of another's capacity to love in return

What this book teaches is

In Jacqueline Davies’ The Lemonade War, Jessie Treski and her brother Evan have a pretty good relationship…usually. But when Evan finds out that Jessie will be skipping third grade and will share his fourth-grade classroom, he gets pretty angry. It’s bad enough that his sister gets all the good grades, but now she is going to mess up things with his friends as well. His anger grows…and grows…and then he explodes, saying awful things to her that he knows he will regret later. Jessie responds and their argument swells until they make a wager with high odds, all riding on who can sell the most lemonade in the last five days before school starts.

Jessie is awesome at figuring out her potential profit from a pitcher of lemonade, but she isn’t really good at reading people’s body language or interpreting what they say. Evan is much better at understanding people, and he uses this to his advantage. But Evan has a hard time planning the business side of things, and so he loses money with poor financial planning. In the midst of Evan’s anger and Jessie’s bewilderment, they both have forgotten what a good team they make together.

The Lemonade War is a fun, light-hearted book that would be perfect for summer reading 

The story is about a fourth grader named Peter. He has a little brother that is 2 ½ years old. Fudge, Peter's little brother, constantly causes trouble for Peter, but goes unpunished. This is a tale of how an older brother successfully navigates the perils and trials of a younger brother.