Ms.C Harris' future classroom books

A Very Hungry Caterpillar is a story about a caterpillar who eats something new everyday. Each day the hungry caterpillar eats one more than he did the previous day. This story is placed at a 2.9 (2nd grade, 9th month) reading level from accelerated reader leveling system, but would be great to teach when teaching students how to count as well. A great activity for this book would be to engage this book in a math lesson in teaching students how to add and take away. You could also use this book to have students work on retelling the story and using their fine motor skills.   

We all know the classic story of the three little pigs from the pigs point of view, but have you ever wondered what the wolf thought? The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs tells you the story through the wolfs perception. This is a great book to introduce P.O.V to your students. This story is placed at a 3.0 (3rd grade, ATOS) reading level from accelerated reader leveling system. A great activity for reading this book is to compare and contrast the original story to the wolf's story. You could have students create newspapers of their own belief of the 3 little pigs and let students be creative and share their own story through THEIR perspectives.

A great book for a Valentines day! It is placed at a 2.8 (2nd grade, 8th month) reading level from accelerated reader leveling system. This book is guaranteed to touch hearts. Little Nut Brown Hare tries to prove to his mother just how much he loves her. Big Nut Brown Hare out does Little Nut Brown Hare every time. You will have to read to experience the sweet ending. An exciting activity for students to participate in is to have the teacher read this to students during Valentines day and the teacher will cut out hearts that have sight words and/or spelling words. The students will have to spell the words correctly and say the word aloud. This activity could be called "Un-breaking Hearts" as the students put the hearts back together with the correct pronunciation. 

For any child who has felt like they are always being told "NO!" this is a wonderful book for  students to relate to. David is always doing something wrong and seems like he is always breaking his mother's rule. At the end of the book David knows he is loved by his mother throughout it all. It is important for students to understand that they are loved no matter what they do. This book is placed at a 1.8 (1st grade, 8th month) reading level from accelerated reader leveling system. Teachers could host a fun activity for students to write things in two separate columns. The first column could be things that David should not do and the second column could be things that David could do instead. 

A classic that will help students with learning the alphabet. This is a great book for emerging readers and/or any student who may be struggling with learning the alphabet. The reading level is placed at an AD530L for the Lexile leveling system. There is rhyming presented and the teacher could even present the book as a song to help students. It would be a great book to read as teachers are introducing the alphabet to engage students in the reading. 

Would you read a book here or there? Would you read this book anywhere? Why yes I would! This book is rocking a 1.5 (1st grade, 5th month) reading level from accelerated reader leveling system and can be a great book to read for Dr. Suess week. Students can eat green eggs and ham while reading, before reading, or even after reading. They could eat it at their desk, in the car, or on the rug. Students LOVE this book and will soon discover after reading that Dr. Suess will most likely follow them throughout their whole lives. 

This is a great book to get your students to follow along and predict what will happen next. There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly is about an old woman who swallows all of these "things" and the story is describing a food chain. Students love this book and find it fun and engaging. It is placed at a 2.0 (2nd grade) reading level from accelerated reader leveling system. There are tons of different versions of these books for different holidays (culture). A great activity for the students is to get the students to make a timeline of what happened, first, second, .... and last. 

Rainbow Fish is a wonderful book that teaches your students to share! Rainbow fish is the prettiest fish in the see which soon makes him lonely. He later discovers by sharing his beautiful scales he will be happy. This is a great book to tell students about caring and sharing. Rainbow Fish is at a 3.3 (3rd grade, 3rd month) reading level based on an accelerated reader leveling system. A great activity to do is to have students color and create their own rainbow fish. They can create things that they will start sharing and use terms to write in scales of the fish. 

Llama, Llama Mad at Mama is a great book to get your students engaged. There is a lot of rhyming that will help your students comprehend the book and help with their literacy skills. This book is at a reading level of 1.9 (1st grade, 9th month) based on an accelerated reader leveling system. Teachers can read series of Llama, Llama books if students are interested. A fun activity to do with your students is for them to go shopping (depending what school you are in) or write about an experience of how they went shopping and they wanted something they were not able to get. This will engage them with prior memory and could be fun for students to participate like little Llama did in the book (with teachers observing of course). 

The Graveyard Book is a spooky book that may reach out to boys in your classroom. This could be a book you read to your class during Halloween or the Day of the Dead. The Graveyard Book is about a young boy who becomes adopted by ghost. He goes through a LIVING experience to find out who he really is and why he is here. Based on an accelerated reader leveling system, this book is placed at a 5.1 (5th grade, 1st month) reading level. I would suggest it for students who are not traumatized by ghost stories. An activity to get your students engaged in is to write the next book or the next chapter of the book. This will allow your students to recall what decisions where made and what was important in the book. If the students would want to dress up as characters around Halloween (make sure principal approves first) and share their stories during reading time. 

Bridge to Terabitha is a wonderful book that opens up a new realm to students imagination. This book is about a young boy who becomes close friends with a girl who challenges him to discover who he really is. This book has some language that may have to be discussed with students and parents before reading. Suggested to read as a whole group. Bridge to Terabitha is a 4.6 (4th grade, 6th month) reading level based on an accelerated reader leveling system. An activity for students to participate in is to write "what if's" in Jess's perspective. "What if" Jess did not follow his art passion? "What if" Jess showed up at the right time? Etc. Warning: This book makes me cry.

Miss Nelson is Missing is a fun book for teachers and students. It is a book full of mystery and laughter. This book is rated at a 2.7 (2nd grade, 7th month) reading level based on accelerated reader leveling system. This is personally one of my favorite books that I remember reading when I was younger. This book will allow students to engage in conversation and may help the teacher out a little (you will just HAVE to read to find out what I mean). A great activity for this reading is to have the students go on a "hunt". 

Amazing Grace proves that you can be anything you want to be. This is a great book to promote literacy and reach out to any girls who feel like they are not able to do something because they aren't male. Amazing Grace is on a reading level of 3.5 (3rd grade, 5th month) based on the accelerated reader leveling system. A fun activity to do with this book is to allow the students to watch Peter Pan and/or have them act out a play of Peter Pan. 

 The Giving Tree is a book about a young boy and his life with a giving tree. This book would be great for students to learn about sharing and being thoughtful of others. The Giving Tree is placed at a 2.6 reading level (2nd grade, 6th month) based on accelerated reader leveling system. A spectacular activity for this book would to have the students participate as the giving tree. The teachers could use this activity for as long as they would like by rewarding the students when they see them sharing and/or being considerate. The teacher could tell the students that they are being the giving tree and allow the students to read the book in front of the class to promote literacy and being generous. 

A little mouse believes the moon is made of cheese and although everyone tells him its not, the mouse is determined to figure out himself. This is a great book to motivate your students and get to know what they are determined to do. I would recommend reading this book to lower grade (K-2) while engaging them in an activity by them writing, discovering, and drawing what they aspire to be. This is a great book for all students and I recommend for teachers to give it a read to encourage their students.

Reading level: AD550L

Leveling system: Lexile Measure

Where the Wild Things Are will take you and your students on a magical journey of imagination and adventure. This book is about a young boy who gets in trouble and goes on an adventure to figure out his wild side. This is a great book to get to know your students and understand their imagination and laughter. The reading level is at a 3.4 (3rd grade and 4th month) based on an accelerated reader leveling system. A great activity would be for students to come up with their own scenarios of their imagination and/or draw the picture they are envisioning.