Books of the Month

Here you will find great books that have made an impact on myteaching. I want to share them with you in hopes that they will be of some help to you too. Also under some of the books you will find free resources that will be helpful to you when using the book! If you like what you see, click on the book and buy the book at Amazon for a great price! I have only listed the books that I use over and over again on this page! BOOKS I COULDN'T LIVE WITHOUT!!!

Mosaic of Thought : Teaching Comprehension in a Reader's Workshop & Strategies That Work : Teaching Comprehension to Enhance Understanding
June - Book of the Month - click the book to learn more

These books go together like peas and carrots! Ok, if you pick two books to read this summer - READ THESE! I first read, Mosaic of Thought in a Literature Circle and I was impressed with the book and began using the terms with my students. Mosaic stresses that we need to teach children what good readers do when they read. Good readers make connections with the text. They make text to text connections, text to self connections, and text to world connections. Teachers need to model the connections they make while they read and encourage their students to do the same. This book really made me think about how I read and what I DO while I read. Mosaic of Thought redefines teaching reading comprehension in a workshop approach. Teaching comprehension as a strategic process enables readers to make connections and move beyond literal recall. This book will get you excited about teaching reading. After reading Mosaic, I suggest you read Strategies That Work.

FREE Comprehension Printables, Lessons, and much more - CLICK HERE!

Olivia (Caldecott Honor Book, 2001)

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Math By All Means: Multiplication, Grade 3
APRIL Book of the Month - click to learn more

Marilyn Burns has some really great books. This book in particular is one of my favorites. It is great to have around when you start to teach multiplication. Also it is extremely helpful for students who are struggling with multiplication. The hands-on lessons have helped my student develop an understanding of the concept of multiplication. The students love the lessons and they are fun and easy to teach. Two of the activities are used in my classroom on a regular basis. In fact, The Circle and Stars game is a hit with my students. This is a must have book when teaching multiplication!

Looking for other great resources that are related to this book? Try the The Ultimate Multiplication ResourceCatchy Tunes that Make Multiplication EasyFree Multiplication Work SheetsMultiplication Online Games Teach DivisionOther Multiplication Teaching Products

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Teaching Kids With Learning Difficulties in the Regular Classroom : Strategies and Techniques Every Teacher Can Use
MARCH 2001 Book of the Month - click to learn more

This book is great for the General classroom. It has many ready to use materials; such as, charts, story webs, and much more. Also, the author offers an abundance of ideas to help the regular education teacher work with the Learning Disabled student in their classroom.

Looking for other great resources that are related to this book? Try the The Special Education PageTeaching LD Students Chat BoardLD in DepthThe Resource Room

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Making Words : Multilevel, Hands-On Developmentally Appropriate Spelling and Phonics Activities
Feb. 2001 Book of the Month - click to learn more

Word Building was introduced to me about three years ago. I have been teaching for two years now and have used word building as a part of my reading program. I am pleased with the progress that my 2-3 graders make with this program. They understand how spelling and reading are related. Also it teaches them that two or three letters when put together make one sound. I purchased this book in September. I have been very happy with it. If you are unfamiliar with this method, this book is all you need. At the start of the book it shows you step by step how to set up word building in your classroom. Pictures are included. You will find over 150 word building lessons. Letter tiles for you to copy, cut, and laminate are included. I now feel that word building should be a part of every k-3 reading program.

Looking for other great reading resources to use in your classroom? Try the Reading Rug! Free Making Words LessonMaking Words ArticleAnother Lesson Working with Words - Includes PicturesMaking Words from "Hibernate" More Making Words w/ PicturesMaking Words with a Twist Making Words from "Farmers"Boggle Junior Letters Find Words in a Word here

See a lesson I have tried from this book and how I set up word building in my classroom (pictures included). - Coming soon

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Complete Reading Disabilities Handbook : Ready-To-Use Techniques for Teaching Reading Disabled Students
January 2001 Book of the Month - click to learn more

*This is a large book filled with resources galore for all reading teachers! Each of the chapters are filled with wonderful ready to use assessments and remediations. Some of my favorite goodies in the book include; Emergent Literacy Behavioral Checklist, Primary Checklist For Teacher Observation of a Child's Reading Skills, the explanation of Running Records, the Graded Word Lists, the tests for Assessing Sight-Word Recognition in Context, and the games included for teaching different reading skills. Those are just a few of the goodies found in the pages of this book.

I use a variety of the many tests in this book as a pre-assessment at the start of the year and a post assessment at the end of the year. Many General Education Teachers have borrowed this book from me and then later bought their own. This is awesome for tracking every students progress in reading. If you teach reading, you need this book!

Looking for other great reading resources to use in your classroom? Try the Reading Rug!

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Super Graphs, Venns, & Glyphs : Hundreds of Great Data Collecting Activities to Build Real-Life Math Skills
December 2000 Book of the Month - click to learn more

*Grades 1-4 -Make data collection fun for your students with clothespin and bottle graphs, child-size Venn diagrams, and umbrella and lunchbox glyphs! This book is jam-packed with practical tips for introducing and teaching concepts (including actual teacher-student exchanges) and hundreds of activity ideas that connect math to reading, social studies, science, and other subjects. - 120 pages

See an idea that I have tried from this book here - HERE!

Here are some links to some glyphs I have found online! Tooth GlyphPenguin Glyph Scarecrow glyph Mitten GlyphValentine's Glyph Boat GlyphGingerbread Man Glyph

More Graphic Organizers Here

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Reading Reflex - Click to learn more
NOVEMBER Book of the Month - click to learn more

*If you are teaching reading to K-1 readers, or if you teach struggling K-4 readers, you must have this book... I REPEAT - MUST!!!! I just started using this book this year as a component of my reading program. I am amazed at all my K-1 students are learning. They are students with learning disabilities and they are reading at an average or an above average reading level. Also, this has been very helpful to my 2-3 students who are struggling with reading. I highly recommend this book for you to read and suggest to your parents. I have been very pleased with the hands-on lessons contained in the book. You will be happy with the price too!

*Click here for more great ideas about reading!

Talk about Phongraphics and Reading Reflex with other teachers and parents!

Other Products from Read America - I bought the cardstock manipulatives (set of 5) and had them laminated. I then placed each set/level in a organizer (found at Walmart in hardware center - has small drawers). This makes the cards very easy to use with my reading groups!

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The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything
Book of the Month - click to learn more

October

*A Fun Halloween Read!

*See Ideas to Go Along With This Book!

Buy the Tape Here

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Your students will love this book!!! They love to follow the little old lady on her trip in the woods. They will enjoy acting along with the book as you read.

Phonemic Awareness Activities for Early Reading Success
Book of the Month - click to learn more

SEPTEMBER

*Great for reading fun in k-2!

*Awesome Activities!

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A wonderful book filled with fun activities for the K-2 student. Activities in the book include; phoneme discrimination, rhyme and alliteration, oddity task, oral blending, oral segmentation, phonemic manipulation, and linking sound to spelling. What I like best about the book is that each activity offers a suggestion box with ideas to help children who are having difficulty with the activity. Also, the activities are easy to do, do not take much time, and lots of preparation is not needed. I often hear my students say, can we play Higglety, Pigglety, Pop (a game from the book). This is a great book to use with any reading program.

Thank You, Mr. Falker
Book of the Month - click to learn more

AUGUST

*A great first day read!

*A must read for all teachers!

Read a Thread about the book.

Patricia Polacco bases this story on her own experiences as a child. She uses the story in this beautiful book to thank her fifth grade teacher, Mr. Falker. In the book, Tricia, who has a yearning to learn to read because of her family's love of learning, discovers that letters in books seem to be all just wiggling shapes. As Tricia moves through school, students call her dumb. She sadly begins to except their teasing and begins to believe she truly is dumb; until, Fifth Grade when she is blessed with an outstanding teacher, Mr. Falker. Every classroom should not only have this book, it should be read aloud. Without saying the word "dyslexia" or preaching, Polacco has produced a wonderfully compassionate story.