Fourth and Fritcher

Morning Meetings for Upper Elementary Students

Morning Meeting for Upper Elementary Students

Who loves a Monday Morning Meeting?

I am not talking about a staff meeting or another round of PD. This meeting is completely kid-centered and exciting for everyone involved. My team and I arrange for bi-monthy team meetings. Twice a month our grade level - 3 classes - reserves our auditorium for the meeting that kids constantly ask for.

It does take some planning and teamwork between the teachers. But as each month (and year) has gone by we have gotten faster at planning and better at execution each time. We have happily reached a point where we can throw a Monday Morning Meeting together quickly. Here is how we do it...

What You Need to Host a Monday Morning Meeting:

Meeting Space (large enough for your group)
Posted Agenda (I use a set of Google Slides that I edit each month and they are projected onto a large screen in our auditorium)
Materials for Planned Activities

You can hold Monday Morning Meetings with just your class, but these meetings become even more powerful when you have multiple classrooms participating. Students get an opportunity to work with other students they may not see except for a few minutes during lunch, recess, or on the bus.

If you don't have any grade level teachers willing to participate, grab a class from above or below your grade level. There must be someone willing to spend quality time with you and your students! An added bonus of multi-grade levels is the connections being made at a building level; that's pretty special.

When planning and organizing your first few team meetings, think of a structure that you will use over and over again. It helps the students understand the expectations and keeps the meeting organized and focused.

This is the structure my team and I use:

Students get off the buses and walk straight to the auditorium (We love to see all of their faces light up as they start their day in the auditorium!)
Sit by homeroom in your assigned section
Opening (announcements, pledge)
Team Chant (sung to "We Will Rock You")
Go over the agenda
Complete an activity/team-builder
Close with an inspirational message

Team Activity Ideas

When planning for team activities, we like to really mix up. We never do the same activity twice. That keeps it fresh and exciting for the students. It also helps them develop following directions (we project the directions so students can reference their task as needed). We also like to plan for seasonal fun whenever possible. And, we love it when the team activity relects back on content learned in the classroom. Here are some team activities we have done in the past:

Who's In Your Circles?: Students get a response sheet with concentric circles labeled with things such as "food", "subject", "hobby" on the inner most circle. The circles moving outward are labled with "I love this.", "I like this.", "I don't like this." They complete the response by filling in their favorites. We then break students into small groups (3-4). They get together and take turns talking about their response. Students jot down the names of students who love, like, or don't like their given response.

This activity is great for establishing norms of group work and giving the students a chance to get to know one another. This activity is done in the opening month of school. More than likely, students will be grouped with students they do not know. It's a perfect ice breaker for upper elementary and middle school.

Index Card Favorites: Each student gets an index card. In the center of the card they write their name. In each corner they write 3 answers to given topics. For instance: 3 Hobbies, 3 Favorite Foods, 3 Favorite Movies, 3 Adjectives to Describe You, 3 Placed You Would Like to Visit, 3 Favorite Animals.

Once the index card is filled in, students mix and mingle sharing their answers with different students. This is another great team-builder where students are practicing their speaking and listening skills.

Candy Corn Bottle Flipping: The loudest (and most fun!) STEM project we bring to morning meeting is our candy corn bottle flipping. The teams predict which of their 4 bottles is easiest to flip based on the amount of candy corn in them. Students take turns one at a time flipping and record results. Preparing the bottles took time, but once they were done they are easy to store until the following year. We use the candy corn section in October STEM Activities from Lisa Taylor Teaching the Stars.

Pumpkin Glyphs: This one is SO MUCH FUN! We took the directions designed for an individual glyph and had the students create a team glyph. The results were outstanding and made for an eye-catching holiday hallway display!

Read all about them here: Best Collaborative Actvities for Hallway Displays

Human Christmas Lights: In groups of 7-8, students link hands with a person not next to them and untangle themselves without letting go of each other’s hands. They should hold the hands of two different people. It can be tricky and some students release their partner's hand in desperation to untangle. But that's ok, just have them start again! Students like to do this activity over and over again because, once they understand the strategies used to untangle, they like to explore them repeatedly with different entanglements.

Holiday Book Exchange: We like to have a Morning Meeting before the break where students do a book exchange. We send home communication to families asking them to send their child to school with a new book (no more than $5) wrapped and labeled with a to/from tag indicating if it's for a "boy", "girl" or "either" and their child's name.

The teachers collect books all week long before the meeting. We do keep some extras on hand and wrap them if a student is unable to bring a book in for the exchange. You can also add a few extra in so the last handful of students that pick have more than 1-2 options.

The entire grade level sits in a large circle on the stage. We sort the books in the middle of the circle into 3 piles by category (boy, girl, either). We then randomly draw names to determine the order that students go into the middle to pick their book. Students are instructed to sit with their book and wait until every student has chosen a book. Once everyone has their books, we open! We remind students to read the label (so they know who to thank).

Once books are opened, we spend a few minutes cleaning up the space and remind students to find the student who gifted the book the received and thank them personally.

Digital Fun: We have had our students bring their Chromebooks to the auditorium. Once there we will have them complete (or compete) using digital platforms. One thing to consider is if your space can connect to a decent signal and handle the bandwidth. It's discouraging when some of the Chromebooks are functioning smoothly and others are unable to keep up.

Some platforms lend themselves to working in pairs or small groups on one device. Kahoot and Quizlet Live are a couple of our favorites.

Plickers is also fun. It's an excellent way to get students engaged while running a quick formative assessment! I have noticed that running the app does drain my phone battery a bit, but I think it is well worth it.

Other Activity Ideas

Positivity Project: Representing Positivity Project in our meetings is also a great way to start their week. The feel good quotes and videos provide opportunities to reflect on ways we are making a difference in our relationships with others. We have focus words and concepts that we infuse into our week, but this is a great place to discuss it as a grade level.

Invite an Expert: Guest speakers are an amazing way to create a community/school connection. We had a local military foundation come in and speak to the students. Her discussion on therapy dogs for veterans ignited a community project that went school wide. All of our students donated dog treats and supplies that we later donated to the military foundation.

One time we has an expert in Tourette Syndrome come in and present to the grade level. Because we routinely met as a grade level, it was an easy to determine a date for her present. Another time we had a person give a lecture/slide show/demonstration about the battle of Bunker Hill during our Revolutionary War Unit. Again, it was easy to schedule because we already had the dates and space arranged.

Reward System

To build excitement at our meetings and to connect with what goes on in the classroom, we started a ticket system. The students love the ticket system! When our students get caught during the week doing something great academically or socially we reward them with a ticket. These tickets are placed in a grade level bin that grows throughout the month.

At the end of the last meeting of the month, we randomly choose winners. Students choose from small prizes and rewards. The favorite prize is a lunch bunch date in the classroom for them and 3 friends. You can stop at the dollar store and grab seasonally fun items. For instance, during Halloween time we bought small fidgets for prizes as well. We try and make these prizes easy and exciting for the kids.

Morning Meetings for Upper Elementary Students

Who would have thought such a simple addition to our schedule would make such an impact! The students know that the meetings are fun, but they have no idea how powerful they really are! Try and have a meeting with just your class to start off small. It really is an amazing way to connect to your kids!

Eyes that Kiss in the Corners

This book not only has an amazing message and text, it is visually stunning. It was nominated for multiple awards and won the 2022 SCBWI Golden Kite Award for Picture Book Text.

I had seen multiple posters and references to it throughout my school and on social media. I finally bought it - on a whim. Once I read it and had time to process this picture book, I was actually annoyed it took me so long to pick it up and read it!

It is chock full of figurative language and lesson opportunities, but for this post I will focus on the personification. The family's eyes take on their own "life". Joanna Ho and Dung Ho weave a beautiful tale of how each female in the family is connected. Their eyes not only connect them genetically, they speak to each other and bind them through love. Grandmother's eyes take them to the past and their homeland; whereas the narrator's eyes reach into the future.

You could focus on the straight-forward personification: "eyes disappear..." "eyes find mountains..." Or, you can extend the learning with a discussion about the differences between figurative and literal in a broader sense. For instance, it can be pointed out that the family's eyes are all genetically linked through DNA. That's why they look the same (literal). But they are also linked through their love for one another (figurative).

Another way to explore the personification in this book is to task students with examining the verbs used in association with the eyes; "eyes that kiss", "eyes tell", "eyes disappear". If eyes cannot literally do the verb- that's a pretty good clue the author is using figurative language. Granted, sometimes the figurative language meshes together and you get a bit of personification mixed in with hyperbole or simile...but that's the beauty of figurative language! Don't let that trip up your focus on personification. Simply examine it, have a short discussion, and move on.

You can find my entire literature study for "Eyes that Kiss in the Corners" in my TpT store.

Owl Moon

Every once in awhile a picture book comes along, makes its mark on you, and you never forget it. I used Owl Moon when I taught kindergarten over 20 years ago, and I still use it today.

This 1988 Caldecott Award Winner strikes its readers at their core through rich text and illustrations that sets a gentle tone unlike any other. Jane Yolen uses her poetry to bring readers on the journey of a little girl who goes owling with her father on a cold, snowy night.

Side bar: Jane Yolen has confirmed that the young child is a girl.

The young girl's environment takes on life as she makes her way through the woods. The trees, the dogs, the trains, the cold, the shadows...they all have an impact on her experience and they leave the reader feeling calm and serene.

This text gives teachers a chance to break down the ways an author can make an environment come to life for a character. The word choice also brings a tone to the text. I present students with a scenario in which the verbs are switched and ask them to consider how that would impact the tone of the text.

For example:

"...little gray footprints followed us."

versus

"... little gray footprints chased us."

As an extension, teachers can also switch out chunks of text to shift the tone. Bonus teaching points if you replace it with a figurative language phrase!

"They sang out, trains and dogs, for a real long time."

versus

"They screeched out, trains and dogs, until my ears bled."

By simply switching a few words teachers can demonstrate how to shift tone. An environment that was once calm and serene can become alarming and uncomfortable.

You can find my entire literature study for "Owl Moon" in my TpT store.

CLICK BELOW to Sign Up and Get

FREE FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE RESOURCES for "Owl Moon"!

owl moon free figurative language worksheets

Survivor Tree

Last year I stumbled upon this book in my local library. I was immediately drawn to the story of both the Tree and the Family impacted on 9/11. I decided to use it in my classroom and focused my lessons only on the personification. It made a huge difference in the students' understanding!

Like many other authors, Marci Colleen uses several literary devices throughout the text. However, the personification is especially poignant. The story tells a simultaneous tale of two survivors: a Family and a Tree. The text focuses on the Tree; and the illustrations bind the Family to the Tree. Through perseverance and love, both the Tree and the Family find the strength to continue on and survive the events of 9/11.

The Tree is personified through brilliant text and invites the reader to envision the Tree as a person. The Tree "stands", "stretches", "dances", "hesitates"; and eventually the Tree finds a "time to go home". Not since "The Giving Tree" have I been so emotionally invested in a tree.

Aside from the literary standards, Survivor Tree gives teachers a chance to teach students about the horrors and devastating effects of 9/11. They are too young to rememebr that day; not even born yet. And, now, some teachers are too young as well. If our young people are emotionally disconnected from 9/11, this book gives us a unique opportunity to connect those emotions and solidify a deeper understanding of that time in our history.

You can find my entire literature study for "Survivor Tree" in my TpT store.

Other Picture Book Blogs:

interested

picture books with personification elementary classroom

'Twas the Night Before Christmas in an Elementary Classroom

Twas the Night Before Christmas A Visit from St. Nicholas

There are so many ELA options during the holiday season. So many, in fact, it can become overwhelming. The perfect blend is when I can find a text that is not only entertaining, but gives me an opportunity to work on the standards. For me, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas is such a text. Most people will refer to the Clement Clarke Moore poem using the former title. Others will refer to it using its original title: A Visit from St. Nicholas.

Here are some of the ways I break down this Christmas favorite for my students:

Introduction and Reinforcement

This poem is not only a seasonal favorite, but it is an excellent way to introduce (or reinforce) the basic elements of poetry. For my yearly planning, this poem ironically fits in just before our official poetry unit, so it's a perfect "before the holiday break" unit to have some holiday fun while getting students prepared for the poetry unit that will be taught after the holiday break.

Imagery

Of all the texts I use to teach about imagery, this poem may be my favorite. I love to read it to the students a couple of times before looking at any of the illustrations offered with the scores and scores of pictures books that have been published. I want to give my students a chance to form their own images in their minds without being influenced by what an illustrator has committed to paper.

Once section of the poem that always leads to great discussion is "while visions of sugar plums danced in their heads". Firstly, it's a great use of personification. But, even more interesting, is when I probe the students as to what they imagined during that line. Students oftentimes discuss children, sleeping, cozy in a bed, etc... Very few (none) describe sugar plums. Students today do not even know what a sugar plum is much less conjur images of them while listening to this poem. It is always a fun point of discussion and usually leads to me projecting images the internet deems to be sugar plums. It's a fantastic tie-in to later on in the unit when we compare 1823 to today.

My room always has several versions of this poem available and the only author/illustrator that we've seen take a crack at illustrating sugar plums is Jan Brett... I am sure there are others, just not that we've seen.

A great extension activity it to invite students to illustrate a section. Group them homogeneously. Then, have them compare their illustrations to each others' as well as a published illustration. This is a fun way to compare/contrast and to celebrate the different interpretations of the same text.

Rhyme Scheme

This poem is a simple and easy way to introduce rhyme scheme. The straight forward patterns leave little guesswork. I usually note the rhyme scheme for the first page while discussing the whys and hows. The students then take it upon themselves to finish the scheme on the back. I love that! It tells me that they not only understand the rhyme scheme, but are invested enough to finish the job properly.

Figurative Language

Aside from the poetic elements, this poem also gives me an opportunity to reinforce simile and metaphor with my students. It does not have a lot; just a handful in stanzas 9-12. However, it's nice to have a limited amount. It allows me to keep the students focused on a smaller portion of the poem and laser-focused as they search for the similes and metaphors. I address the figurative language in a mini-lesson or as we read through. Sometimes we take 15-20 minutes to talk about them, sometimes it's a passing conversation. It depends on the needs of my class.

There are some excellent examples of alliteration and personification too! The short, well-thought out phrases help students understand how an author's use of these simple additions to their writing enhances the experience for the reader.

Evidence Charts

Finding text evidence is a skill that my students need consistenly all year long. Practicing this skill with a poem reinforces not only finding the evidence but gives students an opportunity to use poetic terminology to cite the evidence (stanza #, line #). When crafted properly, the evidence charts can help you lead your students into a discussion about Mood!

Mood

Abstract elements, like Mood, can be difficult for students to grasp. One way I like to practice this skill is to have students close their eyes and make a picture/movie in their mind as they listen. I ask them to talk about what they envisioned; how did they feel? Sometimes we start with the basics: happy or sad? Scared or excited? We then move on to more nuanced language.

Another useful way to get students talking about mood is to have them note the verbs the author is using. It helps that the poem is written in the first person point of view. Readers start out with words such as "clatter" and "sprang" which are alarming to words and move to "twinkled" and "laughed" later in the poem. The later words tell us that the narrator certainly has "nothing to dread".

1823 v Present

It's hard to believe this poem is 100 years old! However, its age is a perfect segue to discuss how language has evolved as well as household routines and "norms" from 100 years ago. When we explore the title and vocabulary, I intentially use the originals as written and published by Moore. This leads to other discussions of how culture can shape references to literature and spelling of words.

Vocabulary

The vocabulary options in this poem are vast. Not only can I introduce and work with some new words with my students, I can also explore the original spellings of "pedler" and "lustre" to dig deep into the morphology and spelling of these words. And, no one knows what a "courser" is when we start this unit. But, every single student does before the bell rings for holiday break!

'Twas the Night Before Christmas is a classic that your students will love. Whether you spend one lesson or several days exploring Moore's masterpiece, your students will love the break from the usual curriculum and have an opportunity to work on the standards while having some holiday fun!

STEM Roller Coaster Planning

My teammate found a great STEM project on Teacher Pay Teachers from Teachers Are Terrific called STEM Activity Roller Coasters Challenge. This resource is amazing and provided us with great background knowledge along with detailed teacher directions, editable work pages, and pictures to support us. We used this as a framework and it guided us through the exploration.

We knew time was going to be an issue. A challenge this size would need more time than the standard blocks of instruction in our daily routine. Even the set up and clean up would take more time than we had. As a team we decided that we were going to give up 2 full days of all of our teaching blocks and designate them as Roller Coaster-palooza!

Once the time issue worked out, we needed to find a place to be able to set up our roller coasters. We wanted a place large enough to accommodate the groups and safe enough for our roller coasters to stay overnight until our next work session. We decided on the auditorium.

In subsequent years we have done this challenge in a combined space (library/classroom). If you are planning for one class, a classroom will work. If you are planning for a larger more collaborative experience, you may need to find a space larger than a classroom to make it work. Plan according to the size of your group. We were more cramped in the library/classroom, but the learning was the same!

Materials were the next thing that we needed to troubleshoot. The tubes are around $1 a piece. Each group needs three halves. But we had 75 kids consisting of 15 groups (4-5 kids). I read that pool noodles can be used as well but they can’t be manipulated as easy as the insulation tubes. We needed a lot more than my classroom budget wanted to support. Many times we use Donor Choose to help with our STEM activities, but we didn’t have that kind of time. So my teammate put her feelers out to her classroom parents and found out that one of the fathers owns a HVAC business. They were more than happy to donate the insulation tubes for us! Ask around you never know who is listening!

We made groups that mixed all three homerooms so that our groups were heterogeneous. This allowed students to problem solve with students they wouldn’t choose on their own. Within the groups each student had a role that helped the group work as a successful unit. These roles helped maintain collaboration and allowed everyone to play a role in their success.

All of the tubing needed to be cut into halves so we had enough pieces for each group to have 3. We made sure we had at least 1 roll of masking tape for each group and a variety of marbles to use/test. We had large and small glass marbles as well as a variety of steel marbles. This provided opportunities to test how size and mass affected their trials.

Materials Per Group (4-5 students):

3 Pieces of FoamTubing (to act as the track)
Masking Tape
Recording Forms
Pencils
Various Marbles (glass, steel, etc.)
Index Card
Plastic Cup (to catch the marble)
A Chair or Stool

We created a slide presentation that would work as a guide for our two days of STEM. The guiding questions, steps, and informational videos would help us move through our plans in an organized manner. We kept the guiding slides projected so every student could look up and reference what their goals were for each part of the day. We included a time frame and guiding questions.

We also made copies of the record sheets that came from Teachers are Terrific. It was great that we could edit these because we changed the schedule from 3 to 2 days due to our time constraints.

Prepping the Space!

Materials were all set. Now we had to prep the space. In the morning before the students came in, we divided the stage and floor into 15 sections that gave each group about a 3’x5’ area. We mapped out the floor with masking tape and we were ready for the materials to be brought in. We had one area in the front of the stage where all the materials were held.

OUR 2 DAY SCHEDULE

DAY 1 AM:

Whole Group Meeting with Slide Show and Videos
One Tube and One Hill

DAY 1 PM:

Whole Group Meeting and Debrief
Two Tubes, One Hill, One Loop

DAY 2 AM:

Whole Group Meeting and Debrief
Three Tubes, Three Hills, One Loop

We divided the schedule into two days of roller coaster fun. In a nutshell we made day 1 the foundation learning and building of the basic coasters. This day started with only 1 tube to experiment with. We had the guiding questions scaffold the learning that was needed for adding a second tube for the afternoon. In the morning they only had hills; but in the afternoon, they were able to start experimenting with loops. This first day was magical to see how hard they worked together to make a working coaster.

On day 2 the groups were given their third tube to create 3 hills and a loop. They had to put all of their learning and trials to work. We saw more frustrations on day 2 because there were more expectations and constraints. But, we also started to see some unique thinking and engineering. Students started to look around for other materials they could use to get the correct amounts of potential and kinetic energy to get the marble in the cup.

Students were also tasked with naming their Roller Coaster!

At the end of each day we had the students complete a Google Form that would give us immediate feedback for the project. We used the feedback to adjust for the next session. Of course, they learned more deeply about energy, but they gained a much better undertsanding of how to collaborate and problem solve. These kinds of lessons will forever be in their minds and be used as stepping stones for future collaborations. I can’t wait to do this again next year!

Other Blogs you Might Be Interested In:

Daffodil Disection in the Elementary Classroom

The Story of Snow: Upper Elementary Literature Study (nonfiction)

Ways to Use Picture Books in an Upper Elementary Classroom

Picture books have a place in the upper elementary classroom. In fact, there are times when a picture book offers a unique learning experience that a student will never get from a text book or news article. Over the years I have found ways to infuse picture books into my units of instruction.

Whether you are looking for a single lesson focused on one skill or an entire unit of instruction, keep reading to see all the different ways you can use picture books to teach content and deliver meaningful instruction in your upper elementary classroom!

Find a Video Online

The internet makes life easier. I love that if I want to use a picture book in my classroom, I can usually find a video on the internet where someone is reading the book aloud. It's a bonus when the video includes sound or visual effects.

Oftentimes, I will upload the video link to our LMS so the students can access the video over and over again. It is very common for students to access the video on their own and enjoy the book over and over again.

I will sometimes play the video while walking around the room turning the pages in sync with the video. The students like to see the illustrations up close and the change of focus helps keep them engaged.

Get Multiple Copies

For picture books this can be a challenge. We have an amazing librarian who is always on the hunt for anything we need. If you can get your hands on multiple copies of a picture book, then you have a host of options open up.

Students can work in small groups to dissect a section of the text or scrutinize the illustrations. You could also set up stations/centers where the task at each area is a little bit different. One station for vocabulary, one station for illustrations, one station for literary devices, one station for characters, etc...

Multiply copies also means that you can pair students up to read (or reread) a section of the text. Books in hands sometimes gives students that extra bit of "tangible" to dive deep into the meanings and symbolism.

For Long Texts- Break It Up

Picture books offer visual appeal, but sometimes they have long, elaborate text that can make a read aloud challenging. If you choose a book with long text, break it up into sections. Perhaps read one half before lunch and the second half after lunch. Maybe read it in small sections throughout the day. Get creative with your planning and you can find a way to get the whole book read to your class.

When you are ready to dive in deeper, you can focus on smaller sections of the text that can be used to meet your goals.

Listen Before You Watch

I love to have the students close their eyes and listen to the story before showing them illustrations. It's a growing concern that imagination and creativity are declining. Students are handed everything to them through graphic novels and social media; it can make it difficult to downright impossible for them to use their own imagination or creativity.

Side Bar:

One strategy I use to help students get their imaginations fired up is Reading Response Journals. Although graphic novels are allowed for independent reading, students cannot choose them over and over again. They must move back and forth between a graphic novel and classic chapter books. It's a formula that has worked well for many years.

I also use picture books to help spark imagination. Two books that work well for this are A Visit From St. Nicholas ('Twas the Night Before Christmas) and Owl Moon.

In December I gather as many copies of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas as I can. The best part is that each copy will have different illustrations. I set them aside.

Then, I read the poem to my class as their eyes are closed and ask them to imagine the story as they listen. I like to focus on the section regarding sugar plums; I've yet to meet a fourth grader that can describe a sugar plum! I love the discussions this one small section of the poem generates.

To extend the activity, ask students to draw what they envisioned. It can be the sugar plum section, or any other part of the story. You could also break up the story and have students illustrate the different sections so that you end up with your own illustrated version of this holiday favorite. The possibilities are endless.

If you want more ideas to break down and teach this timeless classic, check out the full print and go resource for A Visit From St. Nicholas in my TpT store.

A Visit From St. Nicholas 'Twas the Night Before Christmas

Pick a Standard (or Two)

Picture books give you the best of both worlds. You can choose to create a full unit or focus on a standard or two. Sometimes a picture book can help you truly zoom in and practice a standard. Figurative language can be a very broad and abstract concept; the right picture book can clarify!

For example, I have used Survivor Tree to help my students better understand personification and Owl Moon to focus on simile and metaphor.

Picture books can also give teachers an engaging text which encourages students to dig in, examine text in a broader manner through written resonse, or even develop their own creativity.

When I want to focus on a writing standard, I will use books that lend themselves to the task.

During my Women's Suffrage unit I use three books to focus on three different writing standards: Two Friends (compare and contrast), Around America to Win the Vote (narrative), Heart on Fire (opinion). Listening to the stories gives the students more exposure to the content, continues to build their knowledge base, and expands their capacity for writing about content-specific topics.

You can find these Women's Suffrage Stories picture books bundled (and individually) in my TpT Store.

Women's Suffrage Picture Book Bundle writing standards

Other themed picture book bundles offered in my TpT Store:

American Revolutionary War Stories

Native American Stories

Snow Stories

Discuss the Illustrations

It would be fair to say that a picture book with a subpar plot can hook me in if the illustrations are top-notch. When the text and the illustrations are both well done... oh boy! I especially love piture books that use text as part of the illustrations. (Ex: John, Paul, George and Ben, Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom, Locomotive)

Too often, students will use the illustrations to learn the content but fail to truly scrutinize the art. Take some time and ask the students which illustration they liked the most. Ask them to articulate the part of the illustration that caught their eye. Discuss color, theme, composition, symbols, technique!

John, Paul, George and ben Literature Study

Review & Reinforcement of Previous Skills

Picture books give teachers an opportunity to revisit a skill previousy taught. A revisit will give students a chance to reinforce or master the skill. This is especially true when I am going to focus on only one standard (or two). I will choose the picture book and then make sure it works with the standard(s) I am going to teach/reinforce.

Enrichment

The visuals of a picture book add so much to stories- this is especially true for content. Nonfiction science picture books have all sorts of amazing and eye-catching ways to deliver meaningful content beyond the words on the page. The same can hold true for social studies.

Instead of paragraph after paragraph of content, students can listen and engage visually with the science or social studies being presented to them. It shifts the cognitive load and engages a different part of the brain.

Find a book that brings the science "up close" or delivers the content in a different way. Find a history book that teaches about how a person made a difference in our history or gives students a glimpse into the childhood of some of our most famous history-makers.

Picture books can enrich the discussions and understanding of some of the most complex content.

Centers

Choose a book and create centers that focus on different standards. Teachers can get multiple copies of the book and do a carousel of centers, or switch out the task each day when students visit the center.

Ideas for Picture Book Centers:

Vocabulary Station
Illustration Station
Comprehension Station (ex: Evidence Charts, Summary, Multiple Choice)
Figurative Language Station (ex: Personification, Simile, metaphor, etc...)
Mirrow versus Window Station
Short Response Station
Character Traits Station

Sub Plans

Picture books are absolutely perfect for subtitute lesson plans. You can use them for one hour of plans, one day, or even longer! Keep your sub planning easier with a print and go approach.

Read about ways to use reading response graphic organizers in your classroom. Grab a picture book that fits into your unit of study, make your response copies, and you will be all set!

There are so many picture books out there. It can be down right impossible to know where to begin or what to choose. Don't let the prospect of endless choices deter you. Think back to your favorite picture books and build from there. Start with one, just one! Soon you'll find it easier and easier to just grab a book and go!