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Brennap

Brennap

Joined February 2020

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Brennap
The Silent Patient | Alex Michaelides
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I HIGHLY recommend all these books. Finished all of them in just a couple days. Great mystery fiction books to keep you hooked on reading during this quarantine!
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
11/10. Amazing
Great plot line that keeps you hooked and wondering what happened to this poor woman who allegedly murdered her husband but wont speak about it. A lot of twists and turns to look forward too!

Brennap Watching You by Lisa Jewell also 10/10. Its a mystery that unfolds throughout the book from three different perspectives. The book starts out with a murder and leads you to investigating and hinting to the secrets that lie within this town. 4y
Brennap The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell 10/10 as well! This woman comes to inherit this house where there was an alleged triple suicide. As she finds out through some investigation its not what it seemed. 4y
4 likes2 comments
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Dance Dance Dance | Haruki Murakami
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This is a book I am reading for pleasure with my friends in a book club and oh wow it has captured my attention within the first couple chapters. Definitely for adult readers with some mature themes. But if you are interested in reading a sci-fi, thriller, with psychological fiction in your free time I definitely recommend. I cant put it down!

DrSpalding I hope you will continue to post for pleasure! This is such a cool app to stay in the loop with all things about good books.❤️📚 4y
5 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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“Cricket in the Thicket” written by Carol Murray and illustrated by Melissa Sweet is a great poetry book to teach about bugs and nature, while also teaching about poetry and the cadence and fluency you need to speak it out loud. You could read this book as a guided reading focusing on different things each time you read. Such as specifically the insects one day, the words and rhyming the next and so on.
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Brennap This is a paired lesson plan to do after reading to focus on vocabulary, phonemic awareness, along with some nature and art activities. This book and the lesson plan support the UDL Principal (2.2)” Clarify syntax and structure” along with the ESOL Strategy 16.” Integrate speaking, listening, reading and writing activities” 4y
DrSpalding What a wonderful poetry anthology! Poetry and science would be fantastic. Your universal design and English learner strategies are spot on. 4y
2 likes3 comments
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Esperanza Rising | Pam Munoz Ryan
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This HF chapter book, “Esperanza Rising” by Pam Muñoz Ryan tells the beautiful story of a girl who is forced to leave her home in Mexico to work in the labor camps in California. This book won the Pura Belpré Award in 2002, and is still a great book to include in your classroom library. It would be a great option to teach as a LC, it might be best to introduce the book first and then let the groups pair off.
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Brennap This resource is a teachers guide that tells you step by step how to teach and incorporate the book in your classroom. It begins with activities before the book and how the LC should flow throughout. This book supports the UDL Principal (8.3) “Foster collaboration and community”, & ESOL Strategy 32.”Use student pairs for team learning”, because it has the students working together to comprehend the themes throughout the book. 4y
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amandar I remember reading this book! I loved it and definitely would like to use it and the teacher guide you linked in my future classroom! 4y
RaivionneC I remember reading this! This became my favorite book we had to read in fifth grade! Thanks for sharing this book! 4y
DrSpalding You have followed the rubric well. Nice job identifying your teaching strategy and how these align with universal design and English learner strategies. 4y
auduibiditalia I‘ve read this book in school and I just couldn‘t put it down. I once found myself reading until 3:00 in the morning! 4y
8 likes7 comments
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“Goldilocks and the Three Bears” retold by Jim Aylesworth & illust. by Barbara McClintock is a piece of TL you need in your classroom. There are so many ways you can tell this story. Its the classic story of a little girl called goldilocks who finds her way into someone‘s else‘s house. A great way to teach this is through a RT, it engages students and allows them to take part in the story. I found a perfect resource with a script already made.

Brennap You can create name badges for each character or customize it however you want. Using this book as a readers theater supports the UDL Principal (4.1) “Vary the methods for response and navigation”, because they get to be apart of the story and see it in a new light. Also again it uses the ESOL Strategy 50.”For content comprehension use a variety of comprehension activities...etc.” 4y
DrSpalding Brenna, you are paying attention and applying your knowledge to these posts. Great idea to create name badges and customize the readers theater script. Excellent alignment. 4y
2 likes4 comments
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This classic F, “James and the Giant Peach” by Roald Dahl, is a great addition to any classroom. It tells the story of a boy named James who sprinkles some seeds in his yard one day and then the peach grows to the size of a house with some special friends living in it. Would be great as a RA for the whole class or to be used as a LC for a group of students.
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Brennap This resource was created by the author as a lesson plan to be used while reading the story. It links the story to other subjects as well like science,math, and language arts. This resource helps support the UDL (2.3) Support decoding of text, mathematical notation, and symbols & ESOL Strategy 36.”Ask numerous questions which require higher level thinking responses”. There are questions that have a base in math in the resource like”What is mass?” 4y
DrSpalding Going straight to the author‘s site is wise. You are correct that this book can be used in all content areas! 4y
10 likes3 comments
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A Bad Case of Stripes | David Shannon
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This childrens F book;”A Bad Case of Stripes” by David Shannon, is about a girl who is so scared of her first day of school and just wants to fit in, but something strange occurs to her. This would be a perfect book to read on the first day of school.

http://www.thebestclass.org/uploads/5/6/2/4/56249715/badcaseofstripes.pdf
This would also be perfect as a readers theater and there are 18 characters so the whole class could be involved.

Brennap The readers theater resource supports the UDL Principle(5.3)”Build fluencies with graduated levels of support for practice and performance”. So the book could be read aloud first so the students know the book and then practice doing a readers theater. This supports the ESOL Strategy 50.” For content comprehension use a variety of comprehension activities...etc.” It helps students get on their feet and be involved in the story. 4y
Tabitha_H I remember reading this in elementary school. I loved this book it was a great read. I would love to refresh my memory and read it again. Great pick !! (edited) 4y
DrSpalding I can see you really like readers theater! I can promise you that your future students will as well. Use these to build fluency and of course change up the teaching strategy beyond just read aloud. However this book is a great one to read aloud as well. 4y
1 like4 comments
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This SF chapter book “Attack of the Fluffy Bunnies” by Andrea Beaty is perfect for 4th-6th grade. Its about these twins who are stuck at summer camp due to their parents being at a Spam cooking championship, and suddenly sugar-addicted alien bunnies land at their camp and they have to find a way to fend them off. It would be perfect to have in your classroom for students to read independently.
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Brennap I thought this was a great resource because its like a trailer for the book so students can have a book tasting! Having this book in your classroom supports the UDL (7.1) “Optimize individual choice and autonomy”, because it allows students to see if it appeals to them so they can choose whether or not they want to read it. Also ESOL Strategy 46.”Use discovery learning activities(hands-on activities)” is highlighted by creating a book tasting. 4y
DrSpalding Until I saw this post I did not make the connection that this is the author of the STEM books that Amanda covered in her author study! Rosie Revere Engineer for example. This was a Sunshine state book years ago and I remember my youngest son enjoying it. 4y
1 like3 comments
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This is another great Bio, “The Crayon Man, The True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons” written by Natasha Biebow and illustrated by Steven Salerno. For ages 6-9 it could be perfect to be used in the classroom as a RA and paired with other books like “The Day the Crayons Quit” by Drew Daywalt. It can be used to talk about art, history, inventions, colors and more.
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Brennap This resource is great because it includes all the different themes for different subjects. Such as history and the history of the crayon and school, for language arts theres color vocabulary, also art and creating and mixing colors, and more. This resource supports the UDL Guideline (8.2) Vary demands & resources to optimize challenge & the ESOL Strategy 45. “Use Venn Diagrams to contrast & compare activities”, which is included in the resource. 4y
DrSpalding Excellent idea to use graphic organizers. The aid comprehension! Chris Pombonyo of the get your teach on crew recently did a remote teaching lesson using this book!🖍 4y
1 like3 comments
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Heres a cute Bio about the puppeteer who helped the Macy‘s day parade come to life. “Balloons over Broadway”, it is a Caldecott Honor Winner by Melissa Sweet. It would be great to use around thanksgiving as I know a lot of students will have heard of the Macy‘s day parade. I found some resources that help this story to be together and then independently, it may be complex for some students but it is perfect for 1st-3rd grade!
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Brennap In the resource there are discussion questions, a vocabulary organizer for new & known words, and other ways to incorporate this book into other subjects. This resource supports the UDL principle (2.1) Clarify vocabulary and symbols & the ESOL strategy 5. Teach technical vocabulary supporting key concepts. 4y
amandar This seems like such a cute book! I also love the resource you linked. The Reading Is Fundamental website is one of my favorites! You can find so much on it! 4y
DrSpalding Reading is Fundamental is an excellent resource. Continue using this in your future classroom. Excellent alignment! 4y
2 likes4 comments
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This is a beautiful NF book that covers the history of some very impactful women in black history! So important to bring this into your classroom to emphasize diversity and inclusion, while highlighting and naming these women so our students know who they are and what they did! It would be great to be utilized as a RA and read a page each day so the students can fully grasp the biography of each women and understand the impact a person can have.

Brennap I found this amazing resource for this book that has multiple lesson plans that can be used throughout reading the book. I think it would be great to do one lesson each day after reading the book. The lessons discuss each person, while also discussing qualities such as leadership, boldness and more. This book supports the UDL Prinicple (9.1) “Promoting expectations and beliefs that optimize motivation.” 4y
Brennap It also supports the ESOL Strategy 3. Encourage self-talk( positive thinking). Overall this book and these lessons can help create a framework for students to begin creating self esteem and belief in themselves! How amazing! 4y
DrSpalding This is a fabulous series and now that Kyleigh has presented her author study, I think many of you will be encouraged to add her books to your classroom library. This is an amazing resource. Well done. 4y
2 likes5 comments
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This Biography is such a fun and interesting one, “Magic Ramen, The story of Momofuku Ando” written by Andrea Wang & illustrated by Kana Urbanowicz. Its a very cute piece about the story of ramen and why Momofuku created cheap single use ramen, its a must read! It would be great to be used as a read aloud to discuss innovative ways to fix a problem.
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Brennap This link is a great teachers guide to use, it includes question to ask throughout the book, an activity after the book, and even a science experiment. This resource supports the UDL Principle (5.2) “Use multiple tools for construction and composition” & the ESOL Strategy 28. “Provide biographies of significant men and women from different countries.” Overall its a great book for inclusion and discussing innovation. 4y
KatiaP This looks like a very interesting take on a biography. Love the art from the book. Awesome link for the questions! It is always good to help prepare for the reading! 4y
DrSpalding I am adding this book to my stack! Hilarious! So many of us have lived on Ramen noodles. 4y
3 likes1 stack add4 comments
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Wonder | R. J. Palacio
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This RF book “Wonder” by R.J. Palacio is such a heart warming story about a little boy who looks a little “different” going into his first year of middle school. Perfect RA for 4th-6th to talk about many different themes such as bullying, family, and bravery.

https://wonderthebook.com/assets/downloadables/Wonder_EduKit14_Poster_WEB.PDF
This resource is from the authors website with different crafts & activities to do along with the book.

Brennap This resource supports the UDL Guideline (8.3)”Fosters community and collaboration”. Encouraging kindness &pledging to choose kind fosters community within the classroom. It also supports the ESOL Strategy 2.”Promote cooperation”. 4y
DrSpalding You have done a beautiful job identifying the genres and this book certainly does foster community and collaboration when used in a literature circle format. You could of course read this book aloud as well and truly help students understand the importance of tolerance and understanding. 4y
7 likes3 comments
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Brennap
The Ugly Duckling | Jerry Pinkney
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I had to recommend this TL book originally written by Hans Christian Anderson, now adapted and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. We all know the classic story the ugly duckling goes through; feeling ostracized and different then his siblings because of his appearance.

This is a great book to start with for beginning readers, its a cute and easy book to use as a RA. This specific book won the Caldecott honor in 2000.
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Brennap This lesson plan is perfect to use for K-2 to discuss the story and characters and even create a little craft. It has so many different resources to utilize to pair with the story. The resource supports the UDL Principle (4.2) “Optimize access to tools and assistive technologies” , & ESOL Strategy 29. Offer a variety of reference materials at the students‘ instructional level” 4y
Agavitt1 Aw I love this story! I think it‘s also a great to incorporate to teach younger students about acceptance and being kind. I think the craft you included would be so fun to do with students and they would really enjoy it. 4y
DrSpalding All elementary students should hear this story numerous times. Helpful resource and excellent choice in this Caldecott winner. 4y
3 likes4 comments
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Dead End in Norvelt | Jack Gantos
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This is a great HF book you didnt know you needed to read, for grades 4-8. It won the Newberry medal for childrens literature in 2012 and the Scott O‘Dell Award for historical fiction! This book is about a 13 year old boy who is grounded for the summer and forced to do some peculiar work with an old lady in his town.

This book would be great to be utilized as a RA or LC, as it is best to talk about the different hard topics as a class.

Brennap attached a great study guide the author created himself! Its perfect to discuss the various topics and themes within the book. 4y
Brennap This study guide supports the goals of UDL Principle(3.2)”Activate or supply background knowledge” & the ESOL Strategy 13. “Use preview and review activities”. 4y
DrSpalding This is an excellent choice! After reading this book I had to look up more information about Eleanor Roosevelt and her many initiatives during her husband‘s presidency. Did do you know that she started a program where books were delivered to rural families so that they could become more educated? 4y
3 likes5 comments
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This is a fantastic poetry book to teach about space! “The Day The Universe Exploded My Head” by Allan Wolf. I would use this as choral reading because there are so many poems in here that have a script, where one student recites a line and then the other recites the next.How fun!

https://www.allanwolf.com/for-teachers/. This resource I found is directly from the authors website, it introduces students to poetry and more about the author.

Brennap This book is also awesome because it has a glossary, notes on each poem, and internet resources all included in the back of the book! The links and activities provided go with the UDL Principle(7.2) “Optimize relevance, value and authenticity”, as well as the ESOL Strategy 12. “Teach two objectives, language and content”. 4y
KarliCrean This book would be great to read to students durning a science lesson! I really appreciated the link you added because it contains great activities that goes along with the book! Will definitely be getting this book for my future classroom (: 4y
DrSpalding Fabulous resource and excellent anthology that certainly could be used during a science lesson as Karli mentioned. 4y
1 like4 comments
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Waiting | Kevin Henkes
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In this F. “Waiting” by Kevin Henkes is a sweet book about toys sitting on a windowsill waiting to be played with. It won both the Caldecott + Geisel Honor in 2016. I think it would be fun to teach as a S, having the different toys and scene for each toy to tell the story!

I found a great resource to use along with the book, it has discussion questions + activities! https://www.teachingbooks.net/media/pdf/HarperCollins/Waiting_2015.pdf

Brennap UDL principle 5.2- Using multiple tools for construction and composition is supported by reading the book as a storytelling and using the activities provided! Along with the ESOL strategy 17. Which says “ Provide contextual support through audio visuals, models, demonstrations, realia, body language, and facial expressions.” 4y
deiacovab This book looks super cute. I like the idea of using it for storytelling! Do you think you‘ll pick this one for our storytelling this semester? I‘m still trying to pick mine 4y
DrSpalding This would be an excellent book to use for storytelling. This award winner along with many of his others belongs in your classroom library. 4y
3 likes1 stack add5 comments
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I Am Love | Susan Verde
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Another Susan Verde favorite called I am Love, A Book of Compassion, with Art by Peter Reynolds. I think I have found one of my favorite authors of realistic fiction. This is a story about a girl learning to lead a life full of compassion, understanding, tenderness, and most importantly love! This again would be great shared as a RA, to encourage connecting and understanding others. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1V5AIDu1GHo.

Brennap Some UDL principles that are emphasized by and through this book are 9.2 & 9.3 which have to do with facilitating personal coping skills and self assessment and reflection. Some ESOL strategies that also go along are again 3. Which “encourage self- talk(positive thinking)”. So overall this a great read to help engage social emotional learning! 4y
SequoiaC123 This is a book I am considering adding to my future classroom library based on your description of it. As a teacher I do want to teach kids compassion and how important it is and this would be the perfect book to do so! 4y
DrSpalding This is a beautiful series of books. You are correct that the English learner strategy regarding positive thinking works well with these books. Obviously, the author study Pikyochart could be used as a resource as well. 4y
4 likes4 comments
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Merci Suarez Changes Gears by Meg Medina is a great RF book for 4th and 5th graders or anyone transitioning to middle school to be used as a LC or book club read! It won the Pura Belpre Award in 2019. It talks about the real life struggles of a middle schooler from the perspective of a quirky sixth grader named Merci Suarez. http://www.unleashingreaders.com/?p=19218. There are so many topics that can be discussed in your class through this book!

Brennap Through this teacher guide that I linked, it shows many different activities used to support different concepts from the book. A UDL principle associated with these activities are 8.3 “Foster collaboration and community”, so these activities encourage collaborating and connecting with others on different concepts from the book. An ESOL strategy connected to this is also 2.”Promote cooperation( small groups).” 4y
victoriamaria Love the idea of using this book to foster collaboration and community! 4y
LizzettM This book would be a great LC for children in 5th grade about to go into middle school! 4y
DrSpalding A quality post for a quality book! Use this as a literature circle in your future classroom. 4y
5 likes5 comments
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This has to be one of my favorite Realistic Fiction books I have come across. Its about a boy learning to tune into his feelings and find peace from within. When you need to bring a sense of peace and relaxation into your classroom this would be perfect to be used as a read aloud. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXA3837uv3w This is a link to the author reading it aloud herself!

Brennap This book has so many UDL principles incorporated within it but one I thought was important is (9.2)” Facilitate personal coping skills and strategies”. This book emphasizes tuning into ones own emotions and finding peace, so its perfect for finding personal coping skills. An ESOL strategy thats also perfectly incorporated with this book is 3. “Encourage self-talk (positive thinking).” 4y
rather_be_reading looks hood! 4y
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hadassajl This looks like something I‘d definitely be interested in. Love how the author read it aloud. Great post!! 4y
charlotteclancy This picture is so cute! This is a great book for children, because they all need a little peace in their lives!! I will definitely check this book out :) 4y
DrSpalding Another book in the series! Very well done and you will need books to help students with personal coping skills. 4y
4 likes1 stack add6 comments
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Green Eyes | A. Birnbaum
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This RF book, Green Eyes by Abe Birnbaum is a great addition to your home or school library! It won the Caldecott Honor. It would be perfect for a read aloud in the classroom for younger students(pre-k to 2nd),to talk about different concepts like the seasons or farm life. The story is all about this mischievous little kitten who escapes his box and explores the word(farm) around him. https://www.pre-kpages.com/books-about-seasons-for-preschool/

Brennap A UDL principle that is perfectly aligned with this book is 3.1 which is activating/supplying background knowledge. The illustrations will allow the children to connect and clearly understand the book. An ESOL strategy that can be used is 4. Link lesson topic to students‘ prior knowledge. So again activating that prior knowledge about the seasons or farm animals prior to reading or even during the read aloud is useful! 4y
DrSpalding I have seen this book numerous times and have not read it. I am adding this to my stack. Teaching about rural life is actually a standard in social studies in the primary grades. This could be a great read aloud prior to a lesson about the seasons or farm animals. 4y
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F,Caldecott AW,Creepy Carrots is a great addition to any grade levels library!Its best used as a RA so the teacher can help facilitate predictions.
https://deannajump.com/creepy-carrots-read-aloud-lessons/
Some UDL principles that go along with these strategies are 3.2&3.3 regarding predicting and highlighting critical features happening within the story, paired with ESOL strategies 13&15 which touch on previewing and reviewing.
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DrSpalding Make sure you include a brief summary. Nice job aligning universal design and English learner strategies. Remember that only one is required.❤️📚 4y
HappyMaddy I love the plan to use this book to make predictions. Such a good book to incorporate around Halloween & maybe snack time with carrots🥕🥕 4y
Madison_swart This is a great book to help with predictions! Easy to incorporate in any classroom and all the kids love the creepy carrots! 🥕 4y
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LeahH Great post! This book is perfect to help with predictions! Definitely perfect to read around the month of October and bring in carrots for snack time!! 4y
RaimeyGallant Welcome to Litsy! #LitsyWelcomeWagon 4y
Eggs Welcome to Litsy 🤗📚 4y
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