Research with Amazing Animals

Name: Amazing Animals Research Unit

Skills: Research, Taking Notes, Print and Digital Sources

Resources: Amazing Animals Research Guide, Cute as an Axolotl, Pink is for Blobfish, WorldBook Student database

Great for Grades: 3 and 4

The final product--look at that fine axolotl drawing!

  

Research is woven into lessons and units, especially in grades 3 and up.  But oftentimes curriculum, pacing calendars, and packed schedules make teaching research, and giving it the time it deserves, difficult for classroom teachers. 

That's where librarians come in.

Librarians are information specialists, so that means we are experts at research.  And just like any other skill in schools--reading, multiplication, essay writing--research needs to be taught. 

Here is one of my favorite ways to introduce research skills to upper elementary students: the Amazing Animals Research Unit!  I use this at the beginning of the year with 4th grade, to brush up on the skills they gained in third and set the scene for using more sources.  This unit allows them to get practice with print and digital sources, practice note taking (first with guided notes, and then freestyle), and create a final product to display what they learned.

I broke this unit down into 3 weeks.  For reference: I see my classes once a week, for 45 minutes.  We spent 30-35 minutes each week on this, leaving 10-15 minutes for checkout.  For this unit, I assigned partners (with the help of the classroom teacher) for my students to work with.

Week 1: Introduce the unit.  My students were pretty excited about doing animal research, but became even more so when I gave them a sneak peek of some of the animals.  Who doesn't get excited about naked mole rats, river dolphins, bare-hearted glass frogs, and uakari?  I walked them through the packet, and we did page 1 as a class.  Then I showed students how the book pages they'd be using were laid out (I made copies of pages from the books, since we didn't have numerous copies of each book), and what information they'd be looking for on page 2.  I took about 3 minutes at the end to have them cite their print source on page 4.  We did page 1 as a whole group--brainstorming ahead of time to think about what we would want to look for while researching.  Doing that helps students focus on keywords and think about what they, as scientists, would most need to learn and share.

Their goal for the day: finish page 2--or at least make a good start, since introducing a new unit takes time!

Page 1: Group work to plan ahead

  

Page 2: Basic Info

Week 2: This week, we talked about the importance of multiple sources, and different kinds of sources.  My students were familiar with WorldBook Kids, but for this unit, I introduced them to WorldBook students.  I used my example animal (the hippopotamus) to show them how to search the database, how to look for information, and what makes a fact worth writing down.  Page 2 is all about freeform notes, so I modeled some note taking as well.  I gave students back the book pages from week 1, but the emphasis was on digital sources this week.  Again, we cited our source on page 4!

Page 4: Works Cited

Their goal for the day: finish page 1 if they hadn't, and dig into page 2.  Some of my students finished page 2, but all of mine got to a place where I felt confident they could finish week 3.

*Note: my students researching the capybara pointed out the WorldBook entry was pretty lackluster, so I found an alternate site for them to use, and made a QR code for easy access.  QR codes rock. 

Page 3: Freeform notes

 

Week 3: The grand finale!  Students had the day to finish up their research and make their field guides.  I showed them my field guide example and talked about how to choose their "3 Things."  (Note: it might be worth telling students to do the writing on the field guide before the drawing, because some of my students spent almost the whole time drawing.  They created some beautiful work, but it was time-consuming!)  This day was pretty hands-off for me, since students had most of their research done.  When they finished, they cut out their field guide, handed everything in, and that was that!  I hung the guides up around the library and in the hall, and it's always neat to see other students looking at displayed work. 

Look at that beautiful pangolin!

LINKS:

Amazing Animals Research Packet 

Jess Keating's World of Weird Animals books

February New Releases I'm Jazzed About

One of the best ways to beat the post-holiday, winter blues are all of the new releases that come out in the spring--starting as early as February!  While there are many, many books coming out this month, I've chosen a few that I'm really excited to read and share with my students.  If I left off any you're excited about, please share below; bookish friends are the BEST for giving recommendations!

1. The Girl Who Lost Her Shadow by Emily Ilett
When Gale's shadow goes missing, she's surprised but not concerned--until her older sister's also disappears.  Gale is determined to find her Kay's shadow, convinced that doing so will finally get Kay out of bed, where she's spent all of her time since their dad left.  But there are many places on their Scottish island for a shadow to hide, and not everyone there is friendly to a lost shadow.  Subplots are the marine life on the island, including an interesting one about pearl poaching, support Gale's journey and add dazzling visual layers to an already strong, fresh story. 

Age recommendation: 10 and up.

Release date: February 11, 2020

2. Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring by Kenard Pak
The latest installment in Pak's series about changing seasons, Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring not only pays homage to winter, but showcases the wonders of spring: fresh greenery, animals waking up, birds singing.  I love the gentle style and be, autiful watercolors in Pak's other books, and this one, following a boy and his husky exploring spring, looks like an excellent addition to the series.

Age recommendation: 3 and up

Release date: February 18, 2020

3. Don't Feed the Coos! by Jonathan Stutzman and Heather Fox
When you see a pigeon, you want to feed it, right?  But a little girl is about to find out that this seemingly harmless, friendly action can lead to, um, a LOT of pigeons (aka "coos").  What's a girl to do?  Fortunately, she's got a lot of spunk and grit to solve this problem!  Stutzman and Fox's first joint effort, Llama Destroys the World, has been hugely popular with my students for the past year, and this newest book of theirs, in the tradition of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, is sure to excite readers.

Age recommendation: 4 and up

Release date: February 25, 2020

4. Mulan: Before the Sword by Grace Lin
This is the awkward moment where I have to confess I still haven't read Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, but the fifth grade teachers I work with--who I would trust with my life when it comes to book recommendations--adore this book and read it every year with their students, who also love it.  So I feel pretty confident in recommending her latest book.  This story takes place before the events in the movie Mulan, where we see Mulan struggling with some familiar ideas: honoring her family, fitting in, and finding how to be true to herself.  In this story, Mulan's sister is bit by a poisonous spider, and Mulan goes on a quest to save her.  Along the way, she encounters obstacles, amazing events, and we get to learn a lot more about the gods in Mulan's world.

Age recommendation: 9 and up

Release date: February 11, 2020

5. The Box Turtle by Vanessa Roeder
I love the cover of this book, showing Terrance the Turtle in his special shell--a cardboard box! Terrance was born without a shell, so he uses a cardboard box instead.  He loves his cardboard box: it keeps him safe and dry and warm, and he can even share with a friend.  But then another turtle tells him that his shell is not exactly normal, and Terrance starts to doubt his special shell.  By the end of the story, Terrance will learn that it's okay to be different--and your differences might just make you special.  The illustrations in this book are so sweet and share Terrance's journey with the simple text.

Age recommendation: 3 and up

Release date: February 11, 2020

7 Chapter Books to Make You Cry

Earlier this year, I had a class come in right after finishing their classroom read of Kate DiCamillo's The Tiger Rising.  There had been some tears in the room, from one girl in particular--who promptly came up to me and asked "Where are the sad books?"  She wanted to read more of them!

It's always good to remind myself that even if a genre (no matter how niche) isn't for me, I still need to be familiar with it.  I hate that feeling of utter blankness I sometimes get when a student asks for a certain type of book; it feels like such a librarian failure!  Fortunately, I had to read a lot of sad books in my grad school children's lit class, so I feel somewhat qualified in this arena, and it seems like there are a lot of sadder, heavier books coming right now.

For the most part, I really don't like sad books.  I'm pretty sensitive, and a sad book has the potential to make me feel really, really down for several days.  I've read most of the below books, but even if I hadn't, I've heard from sources I trust that these are great books.

1. Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin
Main character Rose has OCD and Asperger's, and more importantly, she loves homonyms.  Even her own name is a homonym!  She lives with her dad, and the two of them aren't close--her dad spends most evenings at the local bar, and he often doesn't have the patience or compassion to raise his daughter in the way that she needs.  One thing he did do, though, is bring her a dog: a wonderful, special dog whom Rose names Rain.  Rain gets Rose through her sad and scary moments, helps her connect to the kids at school, and makes her feel like she has a home.  But one night a huge storm hits town, and Rose's father insists on letting Rain out--and now Rain is missing.  Rose is determined to find her dog and bring him home, even if the odds are stacked against her.

I often describe this as "the saddest book I've ever read," and I usually warn people of that ahead of time.  I know people who love it, but it was too much for me!


2. The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart
Coyote and her dad have been on the road for a while.  They drive around the country in a school bus they've refurbished to also serve as their home.  The two of them are happy, and they don't need anyone but each other.  But then Coyote finds out that the park near her childhood home is being torn up, and she has to get home to find the memory box she buried there with her mom and sisters, before all the bad things happened.  In order to get there, she has to trick her dad into driving back toward Washington state without him knowing where they're going, because the the only thing he won't do for Coyote is anything involving home.  Her plan to get them there causes them to cross paths with several new people, all on their own journeys.  By the end of the book, you'll definitely have cried a few times--but your heart will feel good, too.

3. Nine, Ten by Nora Raleigh Baskin
This is one of the books I haven't read, but I've heard from from a few teachers that it's fantastic.  Everyone knows what happened on September 11, 2001--but a few days before that, our four main characters were dealing with their own problems and trying to live their own lives.  Aimee is starting a new school and missing her mom, who travels to New York for business a lot; Naheed is also at a new school, and she's suddenly getting funny looks because of the headscarf she wears.  Will's whole family is coping with the sudden loss of his father, and Sergio is struggling to accept and live with his complicated, partly absentee family.  These four have never met, but the events of September 11 will bring them into each other's lives in ways they can't even imagine.

4. The Line Tender by Kate Allen
Lucy's mom was a biologist who devoted her life to studying sharks, until she suddenly died while on a boat collecting data.  Since then, Lucy's dad has been distant and sad, and she's relied on her best friend Fred and his family to keep her afloat.  When Fred dies in a freak accident, Lucy has to be the one to pull her family together, connect the threads between her father, a neighbor, and a rough fisherman, and try to finish her mother's research on Great White Sharks, a topic that's suddenly become very timely.  I have to be honest: I didn't actually finish this book, because it was too dreary for me, but I know it's been well-received, and there is a copy in my library.

5. Love, Aubrey by Suzanne LaFleur
11-year-old Aubrey's father and sister have died in a car crash, and Aubrey is living by herself, not recognizing that her mother is no longer able to care for her.  But she has everything she needs: Spaghetti-o's and her pet fish, Sammy.  She hasn't told anyone about what happened, because she doesn't know how to.  The words won't come out, and it's easier not to say anything.  The only time she can really express herself is through letter writing.
Things are forced to change for Aubrey when her grandma finds out what happened and takes Aubrey home with her.  She suddenly has a new house, a new school, and if that weren't enough, she has to grapple with the fact that her mother isn't there for her the way she should be.

This book has so many devastating storylines, but I did feel hopeful at the end.  Aubrey and the supporting cast were well-developed, complex characters, and while I wouldn't recommend it to every student, it's a beautiful story, and I do think it would be helpful for students suffering loss.

6. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Look, I haven't read this book since 6th grade, but I remember being shocked when Jesse finds out Leslie has died, and rereading that part over and over, because surely I misread something, right?  Right?!  Nope.  What made this book even more gut-wrenching for me is how much blame Jesse places on himself for her death.  I didn't just feel sad when I read this book; I remember the horror that someone could carry guilt, even misplaced, like that with them for so long.

7. The Giver by Lois Lowry
Was I the only one traumatized by this book as a child?  It seems like it had an impact on everyone, but I lost sleep over this.  I often think of this book as the original dystopia, although I'm sure there were others before it.  When Jonah is given his apprenticeship at age 12, he doesn't get the standard community job he was expecting: he's apprenticed to the Giver, a mysterious old man who has always stood apart from society.  And what he has to teach Jonah has repercussions for everyone.  Jonah's life,

and the lives of those around him, have been carefully controlled and chosen for them.  They live in a world without pain, without fighting, and without hardship--but also without real love, happiness or choice.  I love this book because it shows kids the world in a whole new perspective, but the scene where he finds out what happens to some of the babies still makes me cry (this is the scene that kept me up at night).  The ambiguity of the ending stayed with me as an adult more than when I read the book at age 11--I remembered the book having a happy ending, but as an adult, I couldn't tell if Jonah made his escape or not.

I know there are many, many more sad books--what are the ones your students (or you) love that I left off?  Share below!

Valentine's Day Reads to Warm the Heart

I LOVE Valentine's Day.  And no, not because it's so romantic--I love that Valentine's Day is an excuse to celebrate ALL kinds of love.  Love for friends, family, coworkers, students, anyone you're glad is in your life.  (The excuse to wear pink and eat chocolate?  Also not too shabby.)  If you want to share the warm fuzzies with your students--or if you want another chance to feel them yourself--here are five excellent books that celebrate love in all its forms.

1. Plant a Kiss by Amy Krause Rosenthal and Peter H. Reynolds
This is such a cute, simple book about what happens when "Little Miss planted a kiss."  The kiss grows and grows and starts things she never could have imagined.  One of my favorite Valentine's Day activities is to give every student a paper heart after reading and have them write down one kind thing someone else has done for them, and use those hearts to decorate the classroom. 

2. Hug Machine by Scott Campbell
Watch out, the Hug Machine is coming!  He'll hug everything and everyone, and no one can resist his hugs!  Parents, friends, mailboxes, benches--everyone deserves a hug, and our main character is making sure they get one.

3. Love, Z by Jessie Sima
I adore Jessie Sima's touching, original stories and artwork, and this book is no different.  When Z, a young robot, finds a message in a bottle signed, "Love, Beatrice," he wants to know what love is.  But when no one can give him a proper answer, he sets sail to try to find an answer, and to try to meet Beatrice.  And he may just learn that love was easier to understand than he thought.

4. My Heart is Like a Zoo by Michael Hall
Michael Hall uses hearts to construct every animal seen on the pages of this book from lions to beavers to herons.  The text is simple and helps convey the idea that hearts can feel like many, many things.  Kids will have fun spotting all the hearts in the illustrations!

5. I'll Love You Till the Cows Come Home by Kathryn Cristaldi and Kristyna Litten
Reminiscent of Guess How Much I Love You, this is all about the love a parent feels for a child, and it's sweet, silly prose and adorable illustrations have something everyone will love.  How can you not love a book that includes, "I'll love you till the cows come home / from a trip to Mars through skies unknown / in a rocket ship made of glass and stone"?

Smooth Sailing During Checkout

We do a lot of checkout in the library, but that doesn't mean it's easy.  Keeping track of time, helping so many students find a book, meeting any specific requirements a teacher may have, and more . . . what's a librarian to do?  Below, I've listed some common checkout challenges and some ways to make them easier.

1. Every child needs help finding a book.
This is one I struggle with a lot; obviously, I want to help every child as much as possible!  But I also know I just don't have time to help every single one.   One thing I've found to be really helpful is to spend a few weeks teaching library skills and getting students familiar with the how the library is organized.  This way, I can tell a student looking for Wings of Fire that it's in the chapter book section, under SUT, and they should be able to find it.  So much simpler than having to show them where it is!

For reader's advisory, have you ever noticed that it's often the same students every week who need recommendations?  For these frequent fliers, I try to remember their preferences so I can have a few ideas ready ahead of time (or better yet, I've already put them on display).  I also think there's nothing wrong with directing a student, especially an older one, to spend some time browsing on their own.  They get to work on their independence a bit, and who doesn't love browsing?

If you're lucky enough to have the classroom teacher stay for library time, get them involved with helping students.  Sometimes they know a child's interests and abilities better than you do, and it's so helpful to have another adult helping out.  This also helps show students the crossover between the library and the classroom, and teachers may appreciate knowing more about what their class is reading.

2. No one can remember their ID number!
This is one of those skills that you just wish every child could magically acquire in ten seconds flat.  You don't want to spend all your time practicing in the library, but it's so time-consuming when a student is staring at the keypad.  At my school, we make library cards for kindergarten that we scan (we keep all the cards behind the desk), which is much easier than expecting them to memorize a long number.

For the older students, my assistant and I keep a list of all the students and their IDs so that we can easily look someone up.  Since first grade is the first year students check out with their numbers, I give them extra checkout time in September since so many of them don't know their numbers yet.  After a few weeks, we make them do as much of their numbers as possible, even if they don't know the whole thing--it reinforces the idea that they need to learn it.  We also send them home with their number on a sticky note so they can practice.  There's a learning curve for the students, but it's our job as teachers and librarians to support them and give them the time to develop skills.

3. The teacher has too many requirements for book checkouts.
Agh!  This is probably the hardest one to handle gracefully--you don't want to make any teachers feel like you're usurping them, but you don't want them usurping you, either.  Is the issue that the teacher won't let students check out books that are "too hard" or "too easy"?  Sometimes they have a point, and sometimes they don't--this is where I gently remind teachers that students have a choice in the books they check out, and that they can get a "just right" book while also getting a push book (my term for challenging books) or a simpler one.  See if you can help that student find a "just right" book as well--maybe something similar to the other one they want to read!

Sometimes I have classes that need to get a nonfiction book, or a biography, or a certain genre, etc., when they check out.  After a lot of frantic checkout periods where students didn't really know what they were supposed to be getting and we kept having to send them back to the shelves, I started asking teachers to let me know ahead of time what students needed, to communicate clearly to students what they needed to be getting, and to assist them during checkout to make sure they had the right kind of book.
It also bothered me that this required book (or books) was cutting into students' choice books.  I let students borrow three books at a time, and I want them to get books they're excited to read, so I decided that students can checkout three books in addition to any required books.  Sometimes students get to get four or five books--and they always get something they're excited about.

Finally, talk to the teachers if you feel they're being too restrictive.  It's never a fun conversation to have, but you're advocating for student choice and for them to be excited about reading--and when you're putting the kids first, those conversations are much easier to have.  You and the teacher ultimately both want what's best for the students, and in the library, classroom teachers need to respect your rules and expertise.  If needed, talk to your administrators--you don't have to tell on anyone, but a good admin can help you frame this conversation.

4. They just take too darn long to check out!
My 2nd graders in particular seem to take forever to choose books at the beginning of the year.  I kept trying to speed them up, until I realized: maybe they just need more time.  (Duh.)  I started making sure they had at least 15 minutes to choose books, and as the year has gone on, I've been able to cut that back down to 10.  Did I want that extra 5-10 minutes for instructional time?  Of course, but it was better spent letting kids have an enjoyable, productive checkout time.  I'm always reminding myself to meet the children where they're at, and if they're at needing more time, I'm giving it to them.

Now, we all have that kid who can have all the time in the world, wander around aimlessly, never touch a book, refuse all help, and then panic when their class is lining up.  For that student, try to give them a little extra attention and figure out what the issue is.  Do they not like reading?  Do they think you don't have their favorite book?  I like to remind these ones that they need to get at least one book, and I would love to help them find something.  Take some time to talk to them--what other books do they like?  Or TV shows?  What are their friends reading?  And if they still won't check out and have the last-minute panic, it won't hurt them to leave without a book for a week or two.  It's usually a good reminder that they do need to pick something when everyone else does.

What practices do you have that help streamline checkout?  Share below--I'm always looking for new ideas!

My 2020 Mock Caldecott

Awards season isn't just for Oscars and Golden Globes--every book person knows the biggest awards are the ones announced by the ALA at their midwinter conference.  The Caldecott Medal is the one I look forward to most; something about the art of visual storytelling really gets me.  It's also the perfect award to have a mock voting for in the classroom or library, since the contenders are usually picture books, perfect to use at your usual read aloud time, or to incorporate during morning meeting (or anytime, really).  This is my first year doing a mock Caldecott, and while I already know things I'll change in the future (like, um, starting it sooner), I'm sharing the books I'm sharing for 2020, how I chose them, and how I grouped them.

How I Chose My Contenders
When I was going through Caldecott shortlists, I knew there was no way I was going to be able to include everything.  Time constraints are one challenge--even after I decided to try to do 2 read alouds per class, I couldn't do them all.  I also looked at the interest level of the books; since I'm doing this with 1st grade, I left out a few books that I felt appealed more to older students.  I also left out a few that I thought would be tougher to share as read-alouds--some books are brilliant but just don't lend themselves quite as much to this.


The Books I Chose

Fry Bread (Author: Kevin Noble Maillard, Illustrator: Juana Martinez-Neal) 
My Papi Has a Motorcycle (Author: Isabel Quintero, Illustrator: Zeke Peña)
My Heart (Corinna Luyken)
Truman (Author: Jean Reidy, Illustrator: Lucy Ruth Cummins)
The Fisherman and the Whale (Jessica Lanan)
Another (Christian Robinson)
Daniel's Good Day (Micha Archer)
Saturday (Oge Mora)

How I'm Grouping Them: A Timeline

Week 1: Read Hello Lighthouse (last year's winner!) to introduce the unit and talk about what the Caldecott is for.

Week 2: Fry Bread and My Papi Has a Motorcycle
These two stories have such a focus on family, culture, and tradition that it made sense to me to read them on the same day.  Both of these not only have incredible artwork, but wonderful written stories as well.

Week 3: My Heart and Truman
Both of these tug at your heartstrings in the sweetest way possible.  They gave me a feeling of warmth and calm, and prove that quieter stories are just as good as loud ones.

Week 4: The Fisherman and the Whale and Another
It just makes sense to combine the wordless picture books, right?  The artwork styles here are very different, but they both use visual storytelling to tell interesting, compelling stories: one about what a boy and his father do when a whale gets caught in their net, the other about a girl who finds another dimension.  Since some students struggle with the concept of "reading" without words, I wanted to do these together so we could deep dive into this type of storytelling.

Week 5: Daniel's Good Day and Saturday
These are both stories about how ordinary days can be the most special ones, especially when you spend them with people you love.  Not only are the themes similar, but they both feature bold, colorful artwork.  Which isn't to say that they're different iterations of the same story--these are two unique books, both deserving of the award.

(Want to know my pick for the winner?  I'm rooting for Truman.  The deceptively simple line drawings perfectly capture Truman's range of emotions, making him a small, relatable hero who finds bravery in doing the things that seem simplest to the reader--something that children, no doubt, will relate to.  That said, I don't think it will win; from everything I've read, it looks like Saturday is most people's top pick, or possibly Vamos! Let's Go to the Market!)

Winter Read Alouds That Are Not Holiday Books

I don't know about you, but when I hear "winter read alouds," I automatically think, "holiday read alouds."  And there are a lot of great holiday books--but what about the rest of the season?  Winter is, arguably, the most beautiful and dramatic month: ice storms are gorgeous and slippery; blizzards are ferocious, but the snow left after is quietly stunning.  Here are some of my favorite books that celebrate winter--no holidays included.

1. Blizzard by John Rocco

Based on the author's experience of a real-life blizzard from when he was a boy, this picture book shows kids what a huge snowstorm is really like.  The main character ends up strapping on snowshoes and braving it to the store to get groceries and supplies for his family and neighbors--a great lesson in kindness, perseverance, and helping others.

2. Penguin Problems by Jory Jon and Lane Smith

Look.  Penguins have a lot of problems, okay?  It's cold outside, there are seals that want to eat them, and they all look the same.  What's a penguin to do?  This hilarious, cynical story is also a hit with older students.

3. Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner and Mark Buehner

Ever wonder what snowmen do when you're not looking?  The narrator in this book does, and he's got some pretty imaginative ideas.  Told in rhyming verse and jewel-toned illustrations, this book will delight children's imaginations and have everyone smiling.

4. Goodbye Autumn, Hello Winter by Kenard Pak

A brother and sister go exploring outside and notice the signs of the seasons changing: falling leaves, bare trees, animals getting ready for winter, the first signs of snow.  The text is sparse but concise, and the whimsical watercolors feel cozy and will have kids making connections between what they've seen--and help them know what to look for.  This is a great one to read before a nature walk, or even before recess!

5. The Story of Snow: The Science of Winter's Weather by Jon Nelson and Mark Cassino
This nonfiction read aloud teaches about what snowflakes look like, how they form, and much more about the science of snow.  I like this one because it's a little simpler than some kids' science books, making it easier to read out loud and share with young students.  The book includes both photographs and drawings, and is sure to get students to look closer at snow.  If you live somewhere snowy, it also includes directions for catching and studying snowflakes!

6. Owl Moon by Jane Yolen and John Schoenherr
On a winter night, a girl and her father go on a walk in the woods, hoping to see an owl.  The night is quiet and still, and they know that even if they don't see an owl, they will still have had a beautiful walk through nature.  This book uses beautiful language to focus on people's relationship to the natural world, and its perspective is especially important today.

7. Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin and Mary Azarian
Ever wondered how we know so much about snowflakes?  Wilson Bentley, born in 1865, thought snowflakes were miraculous--so much so that he made it his life's work to photograph these tiny works of art.  His talents and interest weren't always understood when he was alive, and this book pays tribute to him while telling an engrossing story.  I've found this book to be a good read aloud for all elementary students; the pages include science facts in the margins that you can skip over or include, depending on your audience (or your time constraints).  Snowflake Bentley also won the Caldecott Medal for its detailed, wood-carving illustrations.  Show pictures of real snowflakes after reading to show students what Bentley saw.

What are your favorite winter read alouds?  Favorite extension activities?  Share below!