Nana in the City by Lauren Castillo. 2014

Busy Cities and Towns

Nana in the city by Castillo, Lauren — Clarion Books, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014--E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 2.1 A young boy is frightened by how busy and noisy the city is when he goes there to visit his Nana, but she makes him a fancy red cape that keeps him from being scared as she shows him how wonderful a place it is.

Rationale: Early primary grade social studies curricula often include a study of local community life and different types of communities. This award winning picture book fits nicely into that study because it explores the city. A well designed curricula is a spiraling sequential one, always expanding from the core idea as students skills and maturity grow. Library lessons, according to my philosophy, need to completely integrate into classroom lessons, supplementing and expanding what is happening in the classroom, not a stand alone isolated lesson. Never being one to do the same activity each year or do it the same way, these are a few of the content development and library and media skills I use that can be incorporated in a unit about city life. Here are a few ideas that I use in the library-computer lab. Use this lesson in conjunction with the activities for Last Stop on Market Street.

After reading the Inspiration Book aloud to the class, or one of the other related books listed below, complete one of the following related library, classroom & computer activities that support the community life strand of social studies curricula. Substrands that are supported include maps and community services.

1. Take a field trip walk around the neighborhood looking for city details like stop signs, fences, parks, playgrounds, stores, gas stations, house styles, street signs, hills, water, bridges, railroads, streets, etc. Provide a clipboard and sketch paper for each child on which each child sketches one item when identified. Back in the school, use a large city map to trace the walk--if the map is laminated, use a vis-a-vis marker. Using computers or paper, pencil & crayon, have students draw one item they saw, then arrange all into a mural or collage “What We Saw in the Neighborhood.”
2. If a city bus route goes by the school, arrange a bus field trip to the center of town for the class, noting sites and services. Take a walk around the city center, taking photos of individual students outside buildings. Upload the photos, then import into a drawing program to have the student pictured in the photo draw a grandparent next to the student. Older students can write about what the grandparent and student saw or did in that building.
3. Students in second and third grade often learn about community services such as specific types of stores (gas, clothing, grocery, furniture), government buildings (city hall, fire department, police station, library), recreation facilities (swimming pool, parks, skating rinks, gyms), houses of worship, Ys, etc. Brainstorm other locations students go to, but were not part of the community services discussed above. Using cereal boxes, shoe boxes, or milk cartons, each or a pair of students designs a representative community service and the class creates a 3-D community.
4. Have a discussion of “scary” things found in the book and how to keep safe and not be scared. This discussion could lead into safety services personnel such as police and fire personnel.

Related Titles:

All through my town by Reidy, Jean — Bloomsbury, 2013. Dewey: -E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 1.0. Illustrations and simple, rhyming text take the reader on a tour around town. FREE Teaching Resources available for download from Follett.

Every Friday by Yaccarino, Dan  — Square Fish, c2006 p2012. Dewey: -E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 1.4. Every Friday a father, rather than a grandmother, and his child share a special ritual.

Brown Rabbit in the city by Russell, Natalie — Viking, 2010.Dewey: -E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 2.2. Brown Rabbit takes the bus to visit his best friend in the city, but the visit does not go as Brown Rabbit expecte.

In the town all year 'round by Berner, Rotraut Susanne  — Chronicle Books, 2008. Dewey: -E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 2.4 Illustrations and sparse text present a variety of characters going on errands and adventures around a small town throughout the seasons and asks the reader to find surprises and details.

In New York by Brown, Marc Tolon ( — Alfred A. Knopf, 2014. Dewey: 974.7; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 3.3. Takes readers on a tour of New York City.

Last stop on Market Street by de la Pena, Matt — G.P. Putnam's Sons, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA), 2015. Dewey: -E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 3.3. A young boy rides the bus across town with his grandmother and learns to appreciate the beauty in everyday things.

The silver button by Graham, Bob — Candlewick Press, 2013. Dewey: -E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 3.7. At the same moment that Jodie's baby brother takes his first step, a city's worth of moments unfold.

City shapes by Murray, Diana — Little, Brown and Company, 2016. Dewey: -E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 5.4. A young girl walks through the bustling city, while a pigeon flies above, both spotting hidden shapes at every turn"--Provided by publisher.

If Stones Could Speak : Unlocking the Secrets of Stonehenge by Marc Aronson

The Giant Stones of Stone Age England

If stones could speak : unlocking the secrets of Stonehenge by Aronson, Marc  — National Geographic, 2010--936.2; Int Lvl: 5-8; Rd Lvl: 6.4 Text, photographs, and explanatory maps and illustrations document archaeologist Mike Parker Pearson's study of Stonehenge and the surrounding area, describing what he found and what the artifacts reveal about the site and its history. This book presents some of Pearson’s new ideas about Stonehenge. Archaeology at its best, with vivid photography. Explore the mysterious circle of stones while new questions are raised and new ideas are shared from unusual sources.

Background: The first trip my family made to England, my sons wanted to visited Stonehenge. Somehow, there’s a draw to that location. I was disappointed--it was out in the middle of nowhere with few interpretive resources. This summer friends of mine visited England with their young family--again the kids wanted to visit Stonehenge. Much has changed since my first visit, and has become a major tourist attraction complete with what people like and dislike about a tourist destination. I guess it’s the mystery of the place. Who built it? Why?

Ten years after my first  visit, my husband and I did a hiking trip within England’s Lake District. Guess what we found? More Stonehenge type circles and our “guide” declared that all the circles were calendars of sorts. That same trip we went to Ireland, and discovered another circular “calendar” but underground except for a slit through which the sun shone on the spring equinox.

And, ten years later, I was asked to review a book about Stonehenge. While reviewing the book, I was led to a series of websites in England that share some of the more recent theories about Stonehenge for adults. That book appears on the very brief booklist. I recommended the book with reservation; I recommended it because it is more readable and shorter for young readers than the Inspiration Book.

Now, how would I use the Inspiration Book? The topic of Stonehenge is usually an ancillary topic in upper elementary and middle school. Consequently, I wouldn’t spend a great deal of time on the topic with the whole class. Rather, I’d ask that student or group of students who is curious to research the topic when the whole class is studying the Stone Age (another topic that is ancillary in most curricula). OR, I would take one library lesson to share the resources listed below in the order they are presented: Aronson on history and Wonderopolis. Then I’d divide the group in half for Internet exploration of the remaining websites. I would ask the students in each group to look for answers to two essential questions: What was the purpose of Stonehenge? How was it built?

Conclude with a comparison of each group’s work. Ask for answers to the questions one at a time and write those answers on the white/chalkboard or chart. If they agree, star that answer, if they disagree make no marks. Finally, use the book tools in the Inspiration Book to read aloud what Aronson says regarding the two questions.

You could conclude with the quiz at the KidsDiscover site.

1. Marc Aronson on History http://www.teachingbooks.net/slideshows/aronson/MA_OnHistory.html

2. What Is Stonehenge? K-5 | Activity, Video, Website Today’s Wonder of the Day takes a look at some mysterious stones! http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/what-is-stonehenge/

3. Stonehenge Engineering 6 to 12 | Audio, Instructional Resources, Lesson, Media Objects/Elements A new hypothesis explaining how prehistoric people transported the huge slabs of rock to create Stonehenge. Includes 4 questions to answer. http://sciencenetlinks.com/science-news/science-updates/stonehenge-engineering/

OR

Kids Discover feature http://www.kidsdiscover.com/spotlight/stonehenge-for-kids/?wpss-routing=results#wpss_survey

Related Books:

Stonehenge by Raum, Elizabeth  — RiverStream, 2015--936.2; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 3.0 Stone mystery -- Building Stonehenge -- Looking for clues -- The purpose -- Visiting Stonehenge. "Describes the mysteries behind Stonehenge, one of the ancient wonders of the world, including how and why it was built, the people who built it, and what the ruins are like today. OP

Stonehenge by McDaniel, Sean  — Bellwether Media, 2012--936.2; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 5.1 An ancient mystery -- What is Stonehenge? -- Searching for answers. Briefly describes Stonehenge, looks at theories about how this ancient monument was built, and explains how the structure was restored after people took some of the stones.

Stonehenge by Henzel, Cynthia Kennedy  — ABDO, 2011--936.2; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 5.4 Circles on the plain -- From hill to henge -- Starting Stonehenge -- Moving bluestones -- The sarsen giants -- Along the Avenue -- Symbols in the sky -- Digging deeper -- The threat of time -- That Stonehenge feeling -- Secrets in the stones. Traces the history of Stonehenge, describes its features, explains how this structure was put together, and discusses how visitors have damaged Stonehenge over time and the current efforts to protect it.

Mysteries of Stonehenge (Ancient Mysteries) by Weitzman, Elizabeth — Lerner Publications, 2018. Dewey: 936.2; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 6.1. Five thousand years ago, someone (or a lot of someones) shaped and assembled a group of 25-ton rocks in southwest England. We call it Stonehenge. The summer and winter solstices are amazingly beautiful at this mysterious configuration of rocks. But still no one knows exactly who built Stonehenge, how they did it, or why. Explore the fantastical myths that attempt to explain these ancient mysteries, as well as the fascinating clues and tools archaeologists are using to uncover the truth about Stonehenge.

FREE Teaching Resources available for download from Follett. This is an excellent resource for a whole class study of this title that emphasizes reading for detail and learning about the purpose of the author.

The secrets of Stonehenge by Manning, Mick — Frances Lincoln Children's Books, 2013--936.2; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 6.9 An illustrated exploration of life in England five thousand years ago during the construction of Stonehenge. OP

20 fun facts about Stonehenge by Sabatino, Michael — Gareth Stevens Publishing, 2014--936.2; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 8.2 Presents twenty trivia facts about Stonehenge including information about the giant stone statues, the weather, and more.