Nature Smart

A collection of 62 posts

Common Core State Standards

The Big Book of Barf

Your kids will gobble up this non-fiction book by Vicky Lorencen! The Big Book of Barf: A Spewnami of Sick Science, Hurled History, and Body Oddities is chock-full of gross facts that kids can't get enough of. Made easily digestible in its nonlinear format, kids can flip through

Early Learning

This November, choose WE ARE WATER PROTECTORS

This November, celebrate Indigenous People’s month with this wonderful book, the Caldecott winner WE ARE WATER PROTECTORS written by Carole Lindstrom and illustrated by Michaela Goade. The art is glorious and the message is important. Our Earth’s water needs protecting for the sake of all life on our

Craft and Structure

When the Rain Came Down

I’ve been a fan of author/illustrator Leslie Helakoski for a long time. She’s incredibly creative, kind, talented, and she’s been a generous mentor for many years. I asked her about one of her newest picture books, WHEN THE RAIN CAME DOWN, illustrated by Keisha Morris, and

Craft and Structure

April: Poetry, Earth Day, and April Pulley Sayre

I had the pleasure of speaking at an early education conference where our theme was literacy and science. I brought stacks of books that tie into STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) or STEAM (add Art) to share. Rather than just lecture all day, I led a session of “speed-dating” books:

Art

Loving Kindness For Us All

Loving Kindness written by Deborah Underwood and illustrated by Tim Hopgood is the perfect book for December. No matter what the faith of your students, this book shares a message we all need to hear. “You are beautiful just as you are. You are loved, and you love.” We see

Biography

Try Food as a Way Into Reading

Learning is best done through experience, and food is definitely a way into learning for many of us. To tie reading in with some cool hands-on (and mouths-on) experiences, grab this biography, Try It! How Frieda Caplan Changed the Way We Eat written by Mara Rockliff and illustrated by Giselle

Craft and Structure

How-To Poems and My Love of Hedgehogs

How-to poems are an easy introduction to poetry, to nonfiction, and to writing what you know. This book of poems selected by Paul B. Janeczko and illustrated by Richard Jones has such a wide range of topics that all your students will find at least one poem that they love.

Early Learning

Groundhog's Dilemma is here!

It’s self-indulgent, but I can’t resist; my December pick is my new picture book that just hit the shelves, Groundhog’s Dilemma! It’s gorgeously illustrated by award-winning author/illustrator Matt Faulkner (with whom I’m about to celebrate five years of wedded bliss.) Half of Groundhog’s

Early Learning

September Bonus List of Books and Activities!

Because I gave a presentation to awesome librarians this month and I couldn’t resist sharing all the great ideas we came up with, you get a bonus post this month! And because you’re getting a bonus post, I hope you’ll allow me to indulge in a bit

Counting Book

27 Books You Can Use This Year

During the “Moving Beyond the Basics… Reaching for More” conference on Aug. 11 at the Byron Center High School in Michigan, a roomful of teachers and I read through boxes of books. (Thank you, Annemarie Johnson and Kate DiMeo, for inviting me to share informational picture books and to talk

Art

You Are Stardust

Happy July! This is the month for fireworks and stargazing and wonder, which makes it the perfect month for You Are Stardust written by Elin Kelsey with artwork by Soyeon Kim. It begins like this: “You are stardust. Every tiny atom in your body came from a star that exploded

Early Learning

Dig in to fun summer books!

These books are so much fun I couldn’t choose just one! Now that summer is here, I’m looking for books that encourage outdoor play. Here are two books that will have kids scurrying to the sandbox: Digger, Dozer, Dumper written by Hope Vestergaard and illustrated by David Slonim

Art

"Rah, Rah, Radishes" and Go, STEM!

Happy May, everyone! I had the pleasure of speaking at an early education conference where our theme was literacy and science. I brought stacks of books that tie into STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) or STEAM (add Art) to share. Rather than just lecture all day, I led a session

Early Learning

Bananas for Early Readers!

Happy April, everyone! A teacher-friend asked me for super-simple books for readers who are wrestling with her lowest-leveled texts. I shared BANANA! by Ed Vere and the kids went ape. The facial expressions on the two monkeys are so engaging, and the text is limited to two words: “banana” and

Body Smart

Here Come the Humpbacks!

Happy March, everyone! This month I’m sharing a terrific informational picture book about humpback whales and a fabulous, free activity guide that will have your students up and moving as they process information. For those Nature Smart students who’re fighting the winter blahs, this kind of reading will

Craft and Structure

A Warm Winter Tail

Here’s what you need this chilly January: A Warm Winter Tail by Carrie A. Pearson and illustrated by Christina Wald! This nonfiction picture book about animal adaptations in winter is perfect for a Range of Reading lesson (Core Standard #1 – check!). Carrie Pearson, a Michigander who knows all about

Art

You Can't Taste a Pickle With Your Ear

When it comes to Common Core State Standards, the one that I think is the most fun is Range of Reading. (I know, I know, all the CCSS are fun, but this one is the most fun!) Range of Reading: Informational Text means we want kids to “read and comprehend

Art

Peace

It has been twelve years since the terror attacks on 9/11. Most of the students in elementary classrooms today weren’t even born yet in 2001, so how do we commemorate that day with kids? The kindest way I can think of to honor the lives that were lost

Body Smart

Go Out and Play!

Go Out and Play! Favorite Outdoor Games from KaBOOM! is like a chocolate-covered peanut butter cup: it combines two good things to make something wonderful, and it is something I cannot resist. The peanut-butter-part: Go Out and Play! is a nonfiction book, so sharing it with your students hits that

Biography

Celebrate America with "Seed by Seed"

What better way to celebrate the Fourth of July than with a slice of apple pie and a beautiful picture book about an American legend? Seed by Seed: the Legend and Legacy of John “Appleseed” Chapman written by Esme Raji Codell and illustrated by Lynne Rae Perkins is one of

Craft and Structure

All the Water in the World

Summer in Michigan means swimming in lakes, running through sprinklers, diving into pools. It’s a good time of year to share  All the Water in the World by George Ella Lyon and Katherine Tillotson. Science, poetry, and art swirl together in this gorgeous picture book. “That rain that cascaded

Early Learning

A Little Book of Sloth

For me, summer reading is all about slowing down, relaxing, and reading for pleasure.  To help you unwind, I’m sharing this irresistible book,  A Little Book of Sloth by Lucy Cooke. Flip through the pages and just try not to squeal at all the sleepy-cute faces and snuggly, furry

Early Learning

Farmers' Market Day

I am counting the days until my local farmers’ market opens. Until then, I’m glad I found this perfect pick: Farmers’ Market Day written by debut picture-book author Shanda Trent and illustrated by Jane Dippold. This rhyming book is a quick read that can easily be turned into an

Biography

My favorite Earth Day book: Wangari's Trees of Peace

Sometimes I fear that I can’t make a real difference in helping the planet, but Wangari’s Trees of Peace: a true story from Africa by Jeanette Winter shows how powerful one person’s actions can be. Wangari Maathai was devastated to see how barren Kenya was after thousands

Craft and Structure

The Pet Project

As soon as I picked up this new poetry book, The Pet Project, I thought of the animal reports many of my students are doing and I knew I must get this book into the hands of those kids and their teachers! The Pet Project: Cute and Cuddly Vicious Verses