Mrs. Overton's Library

Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs is one of my favorite books to this day. I love all of the illustrations and the cute text that goes along with it. I would use this book in my 2nd grade class and introduce making predictions. I would ask the students, based on the illustrations and title what they thought the book was about. At the end, we would infer whether our predictions were correct and "why" or "why not" food falling from the sky would be a good thing. There are so many cute activities and a movie that could follow the lesson!   

Horrible Harry in Room 2B is a good book to introduce making smart decisions. I would incorporate this book in my 3rd grade class during the first week of school. Following an integrated lesson on rules and appropriate behavior, we would read what it is like to have a friend that doesn't always make the right decisions. I would make sure that they know not to unfriend them, but instead, to encourage positive behavior and decisions. I would also remind them to always be nice and make the smartest decisions, always.  

This is a great book to teach the importance of learning to read. I would ask my students all the benefits of learning to read and write. We would then read the book and I would ask my students what they learned from the book about reading. They will know how important it is to read just for everyday living. My main goal is for my students to love reading and writing. 

This was one of my FAVORITE books growing up. I first read this book in second grade and I think that it would be a great book for kindergarten-2nd grade. It is a great lesson I would use to teach students that they should always be on their best behavior. It does not matter if their is a sub or me in the classroom. We would then create an anchor chart, as a class, of appropriate behavior when their is a sub. I would have it displayed in my class to always remind them. We would all decide that we do not want to be "the class from the black lagoon". 

My 4th graders LOVE this book and the message that comes from it! They learned that you should never give in and become someone that you don't want to be. They love that the princess did not give in to become the typical "princess" and decided to maintain what she believed in and worked hard to get where she is. This is a great lesson to teach the students that if you work hard and believe in yourself, you can do anything you want to do. 

This is a great book to read to 4th graders! My 4th grade class loves this book and it is a great way for them to learn about comprehension. Even though the text didn't specifically say why the little girl became brave, the students were able to acquire that she got distracted into baking a cake and learned that there is nothing to be afraid of thunder. The students loved this book and loved when I included an anchor chart of what the little girl was originally afraid of vs. what she no longer feared and how brave she became. Plus, it comes with a delicious recipe for cake. 

This is the BEST book to read on the first day of kindergarten. Almost all children are nervous on the first day of school, but especially kindergarten since most of them have never been to school before. This is a book I would read to ensure my students that there is nothing to be nervous about at school. I will make sure that all of my students know that our classroom is a safe place and that everyone is loved. I also love that they have this book in different languages and will accommodate all students. It is a great read! 

This is a FANTASTIC book to read to any grade to show them the importance of taking care of your things. I would make an anchor chart and have the students tell me the difference between being respectful and taking care of your belongings vs. overworking and not caring for their things. They need to know how important it is to take care of and respect all objects. 

This is such a fun book to read to lower grades in elementary school! I think that this is a great book for students to read and learn that animals don't need clothes because they are made to live without them. I would use this book to introduce nondiscrimination and that not everyone is like us. For example, when you look at the cover, you see that the porcupine cannot wear a shirt, but a kangaroo could. It teaches students, that not everyone is the same, but that does not mean that they are wrong.   

The Day the Crayons Came Home has always been one of my favorite books to not only read, but to also listen to. It is such a fun and engaging book that will keep the attention of kindergartners. I would use this book to introduce the importance of keeping up with your materials. This is a great book to read at the beginning of the year to remind students that they are responsible for all of the belongings. This will help children to become responsible and take care of their items. 

This is a wonderful book to read to kindergarten to introduce the colors of the rainbow and all different types of farm animals. I would have the students predict what colors they think they will see throughout the book, as well as, all of the animals that might be introduced. This book will leave the students imagining all of the colors and animals that the world has. It is a great book for imagination. 

These are GREAT books for introducing cause and effect. I would teach these books to second grade and have an anchor chart with the students predictions vs. what the book states. I would then pass out a sequence of events pictures and have the students put them in the correct order. These were always some of my favorite books growing up and really helped me understand cause and effect. 

This is a great book to read to first grade! Most of them are experiencing losing a tooth and getting a visit from the tooth fairy. This book will get them excited for losing a tooth, but also teach them the importance of brushing teeth. This is a book I would read and teach a lesson on brushing teeth. There are so many cute lessons that go along with this book. There is even a really cute math lesson where the first graders counted how many teeth the moose looses and allow them to create a moose independently so that no one moose is the same. 

I love love love this book! It is a great book to read to Kindergarten or first grade at the beginning of the year. It teaches the importance of no bullying through fun, fictional characters. I would read this book and then make class rules with my students. I think this is a great activity to introduce during the first week of school. It is also a great book to readdress if bullying starts up on your class. It will show that the llama does not like to be bullied by the billy goat and that no one wants to be a bully. 

I love the idea of using this book to introduce a lesson on American Revolution, as well as, integrating nonfiction text. I would use this book in upper elementary, preferably 5th or 6th grade. It would be a great review on nonfiction and introduction to American Revolution. I would have an anchor chart with the elements of nonfiction text. I would then have an anchor chart with the facts about the American Revolution.   

How Do You Hug A Porcupine? is one of my absolute favorite books! I would read this to lower grades (K-2) and for each animal I would ask how they think they would hug that specific animal. I would then read the book and compare the answers from the students to the actual text. Next, we would go over how everyone deserves love and you should never judge a book by its cover. I would remind them how our classroom is filled with hugs and love and not discrimination.