Caitlin+Beall

** Signature Assignment ** Bibliography
 * Special Days in History **
 * Children’s Fiction Books ****  :  **


 * 1. Moore, Clement C. (2003) The Night Before Christmas, A Goblin Tale. Dial Books for Young Readers. 32. Tempe Public Library **.

//This is a classic about the children waiting for Santa Claus to come to their home and deliver presents. But when Santa arrives there are a few surprises in store for him. The house that Santa visits belongs to a family of eager goblins awaiting his visit!// // I chose this story because of the intriguing illustrations of goblins that was incorporated into the classic story of the “The Night Before Christmas”. Not only is this a good opportunity to talk about the holiday of Christmas but as could be a wonderful literacy lesson. I would like to have the children determine if this story is fiction or nonfiction after reading the story and looking at the illustrations. //


 * 2. Mora, Pat. (2009) A Piñata in a Pine Tree, A Latina Twelve Days of Christmas. Clarion Books. 29. Tempe Public Library **

// This story is a new version of the classic story of the twelve days of Christmas. In this story the traditional gifts are replaced by Latino flavored offerings. An “amiga” delivers gifts such as colored piñatas, dancing donkeys, singing moons, guitars and tamales. The pages are filled with enchanting pictures that are sure to captivate your classroom. // // I chose this story because I wanted to bring in the Latino traditions of Christmas. It also provided me with an opportunity to intertwine mathematics, social studies, and literacy. The children will enjoy counting the numbers (1-12) of offerings on each page. This story also can be sung as a song. //


 * 3. Van Rynback, Iris. (1995) Five Little Pumpkins. Bell Books. 31. Tempe Public Library. **

//This is the tale of twelve brave pumpkins sitting on a gate. These pumpkins are not spooked by the witches or ghouls, they want to run and run to enjoy the Halloween fun.// // I chose this story to share with my students because It shows through the illustrations the traditions and festivities of Halloween night. I also thought it was a good opportunity to do some counting with the 5 little pumpkins. The children should also be able to identify that the book is non-fiction because of the living pumpkins. //


 * 4. Carlson, Nancy. (1984) Harriet’s Halloween Candy. 32. Tempe Public Library. **

// The story of Harriet’s Halloween Candy is about a dog who fills her trick or treat back with candy on Halloween Candy. When she gets home her mother asks her to share with her little brother. She doesn’t want to share so she hides her candy so no one will eat it. When she ran out of places to hide her stash, she decided she needed to eat it all up. She ate so much candy that she felt sick! Harriet decides it is a good idea to share her candy with her little brother. // // I chose this story because it highlights the important of sharing through the Halloween story. In the story Harriet sorts her candy by size, color, and favorites. I would like to incorporate a sorting and categorization activity with my class. //


 * 5. Bridwell, Norman. (1993) Clifford’s Thanksgiving Visit. 32. Tempe Public Library. **

// Clifford the Big Red Dog prepares to celebrate the holiday of Thanksgiving. He makes his way to visit his mother in the big city of New York! On his way Clifford has many obstacles that he must get through to get to his mother. In the end he is reunited with his mother and shares a wonderful thanksgiving feast with his mother and her owners. // // I chose this story because it really highlights the value of family during the thanksgiving season. It also can be use to teach and identify emotions. In the story we see Clifford feeling happy, lonely, joyful, scared, excited, nervous, and thankful. //


 * 6. Hennessy, B.G. (1999) One Litte, Two Little, Three Little Pilgrims. 32. Tempe Public Library. **

//This story of the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people take us on a journey through the jobs the people did to prepare for the first thanksgiving feast ever! We can see how they worked together to gather, hunt and harvest. At the end of the story the Author explains all of the details in the story that might have sparked your curiosity.// //I chose this story because I know that the children would love to sing along to the catchy tune of the story. This story also teaches us why thanksgiving came to be and why we have a feast to celebrate.// //It also goes over the topics of counting and cardinality.//


 * 7. McKissack, Patricia C. (1986) Our Martin Luther King Book. Children’s Press. 32. Tempe Public Library. **

// This story takes us through Mrs. Steven’s kindergarten classroom’s journey through history to learn about segregation and the civil rights movement as the prepare to celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. They have many great ways of celebrating the accomplishment of such a wise man! // // I chose this story because it explains the accomplishments of Martin Luther King in a way that the children will understand. The story also gives us wonderful ideas of how to learn about his life and celebrate his dreams. For example the class wears ribbons to remember him, they make posters, and throw him a birthday party. I also would incorporate literacy by having the children right letters to The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Non-Violent Social Change as suggested in the story. //


 * 8. Hoff, Syd. (1981) Henrietta’s Fourth of July. Garrard Publishing Company. 48. Tempe Public Library. **

//This is a story about a chicken names Henrietta’s Fourth of July. With the help of the famer, Henrietta and the other farm animals have the best Fourth of July ever! They march “left-right-left-right” in the parade. They have a picnic and watch fireworks too!// // I chose to use this story to teach the fourth of July because it highlights that the fourth of July is America’s birthday. It also notes the traditional activites that take place on the fourth of July. I could also use this activity to introduce the American flag and other symbols to the class. With the introduction of the flag, we would identify the colors red, white, and blue. //


 * 9. Bond, Felicia. (1983) Four Valentines in a Rainstorm. Harper & Row, Publishers. 28. Tempe Public Library. **

// This story tells a story of a little girl who gets caught in a magical heart rainstorm. After she collects what the hearts that came down with the rain, she uses them to make special valentines to all of her friends. When her friends get the valentines they are thankful and happy. She made special valentines for her friends for years after. // // I would use this story to introduce what valentines day is all about, love, friendship and family. After we discussed the special day we would cut out different shapes of hearts. I could introduce vocabulary such as thin, wide, big, small, tall, short while cutting out different shapes of hearts. We could then use the hearts that we created to make valentines for the children’s friends and family. //


 * 10. Cox, Judy. (2004) Go To Sleep, Groundhog!. A Holiday House Book. 32. Tempe Public Library. **

//When Mr. Groundhog can not sleep, he sees many holidays that he has never seen before! He sees the leaves change color and experiences autumn. Then he sees it get cold and snowy in winter time. He is amazed by the celebration of turkeys, lights, and// // jack-o-lanterns. He then gets tired and falls fast asleep right before ground hog day. // // I chose this book not only for the children to learn about Groundhog Day but also to learn about the seasons. I would like to study trees and the changing color of the leaves in science. It would also be a great opportunity to learn about animals like the ground hog. //


 *  Children’s Nonfiction Books: **


 * 11. Bird, Malcolm. Dart, Alan. (1986) The Christmas Handbook. Barron’s Educational Series, Inc. 95. Tempe Public Library. **

// This book include fun, food and games for the Christmas season with many ideas of things to make, games to play, and activities to do with your class or family. In this book we can learn about Christmas traditions in over 14 countries around the world. // // I chose this book because it has many “How to’s” that teach the children how to get dress in the cold, make a snowman, create decorations, and wrap a present. I would like to take my lesson through the holiday. I would also like to have the kids create an “how to” book of their own. This would teach them many literacy skills but also help them realize the importance of following instructions. //


 * 12. Sorenson, Lynda. (1994) Thanksgiving. The Rourke Press, Inc. 24. Tempe Public Library. **

// This story talk about how the Thanksgiving holiday was generated. It also tells about how the holiday was celebrate through out history. Another section of the story talks about how Sarah Hale was able to make the day a national holiday. It also tells about why the turkey is a symbol of Thanksgiving. // // This book would be a great one to have out in baskets for the children to look through. The photographs would really help the children understand this special day in history. I would also like to use this book tell the children about the Index and glossary section of the book. //


 * 13. Strain Trueit, Trudy. (2007) Independence Day. Children’s Press. 31. Tempe Public Library. **

// This book tells about the history of Independence day and how we America came to be. You can find information about the 13 original colonies on the east coast, pictures of the british fighting over taxes, and the Declaration of Independence. This book makes it easy for rookie readers traditions and festivities of Independence day. // // This book would also be great for putting in a holiday basket for this kids to look at in the library. I would like to talk about the American Flag and what each stripe and star represents. We could also sing happy birthday to America. //


 * 14. Greene, Carol. (2004) The Story of Halloween. Harper Collins Publishers. 36. Tempe Public Library. **

// This book tells about how different Halloween was 2000 years ago. It gives the Halloween history of how the holiday was originally a harvest festival in countries like Great Britain, Northern France, and Ireland. Overtime Halloween changed to spooky costumes, trick-or-treating, and carving pumpkins. // // I would use this book to teach the holiday of Halloween. We could study the holidays festivities and simulate the appropriate traditions in the classroom. //


 * 15. Sorenson, Lynda. (1994) Martin Luther King Jr. Day. 24. Tempe Public Library. **

// Teaches that holidays are meant to have fun but also to remember the history. This book helps readers learn how Dr. Martin Luther King’s courage and ideas helped African American’s gain more power and freedom in their country. The book teachers about the topics of segregation, the bus boycott, civil rights, and his famous “I Have a Dream…” speech. // // I would like to use this book not only to teach the students about Dr. Martin Luther King’s achievements but also to introduce new vocabulary. I would like to discuss the meaning of the words boycott, national, nonviolent, and segregation. //


 * Teacher Resource Books: **