We know that a big part of the CCSS is to include more informational texts into our students' reading. I quickly discovered I had a "gap" in my reading diet - the genre of informational texts! To help me fill the gap this year, I am going to participate in Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesdays! This is a great link-up hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy. Please visit this website to see other educator's link-ups. My goal is to read at least one informational text each week and post information on the blog. The more books and subjects I read, the more I can encourage (my #OLW for 2014) other teachers to use in their classroom!
A few weeks ago I cam across a post that paired mentor texts together. It was a wonderful post, that I did not save, but wrote down some of the books it suggested. One was perfect for winter. And seeing as winter is not going anywhere soon, I figured it's still an appropriate time to put these books in classrooms!
Under the Snow by Melissa Stewart
Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner
These books pair together so well, as the gist of both are about what animals you find in the snow. Messner's text talks about finding the animals both above and below ground where Stewart's only covers below the snow. Messner's text lacks some of the details that Stewart's text does, but the illustrations in Over and Under the Snow by Christopher Silas Neal make up for it!
When using these texts in the classroom, I would suggest using Under the Snow first to gather loads of information from - where the animals live, how they eat/find food, what type of home they have for themselves. Then go to the Over and Under the Snow text to compare and contrast details.
These books lend themselves well to 1st/2nd grades. Could also be used in kindergarten.
Standards to cover:
RI.2 - main topic/key details
RI.3 - connection between 2 ideas in a text (habitat - how the animal lives/feeds)
RI.6 - gaining information from text and illustrations
RI.7 - key details
RI.9 - compare 2 texts
Michele - I agree! These two books work wonderfully together. Thanks for linking up.
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