Integrate science into all disciplines of the middle school curriculum with the hands-on activities found here. Focusing on earth and environmental science, the authors have chosen a book representative of each chapter's theme (such as oceans, rivers, mountain formations, weather, the tundra, fossils, environmental quality) on which to build a complete interdisciplinary lesson plan. Other suitable books for each unit and further resources are also provided.

Develop music appreciation among your students with folk songs, rhythmic poems, stories with musical themes, and picture books with strong musical links. Designed for teaching flexibility, these lessons can be adapted according to a teacher's level of musical proficiency and time limitations. Sections cover rhythm, melody, form, instruments, music history, and dance forms, with lively activities that involve singing, playing instruments, chanting, and movement. These are perfect for the nonmusician who is teaching music as well as the seasoned music specialist.

The award-winning illustrations of 57 Caldecott Books (1938-1994) have inspired a multitude of lessons that guide students in creating art with similar qualities. Focusing on such principles and elements as line, color, texture, shape, value, and space, these classroom-tested projects have step-by-step instructions, materials lists, and detailed illustrations for teachers who have little or no art training. Various art media are explored, including pencil, crayon, marker, colored pencil, chalk, stencils, collage, watercolor, tempera, color mixing, and printmaking. These projects use...

Due to popular demand, the Butzows have put together more fascinating thematic units that make science more exciting for young learners. Each chapter focuses on an individual book and includes vocabulary; concepts; applications; and a wide variety of activities, including hands-on and inquiry-based topics, games, puzzles, word searches, and more. The authors' approach helps connect the conceptual content to real-life experiences. Physical, life, earth, space, and environmental sciences are included.

Combining practical, student-centered activities with an annotated bibliography of more than 160 children's books, this guide models ways for classroom teachers to teach geography through children's literature. Chapters based on the five themes of the Geographic Standards present a variety of activities that teach students important geographic concepts. The extensive bibliography provides summaries of books, suggested teaching activities, and cross-references to other books; a list of teacher resources is also included. Attractive line drawings accompany the conversational text. Anyone...

Allow students to step back in time to experience the thoughts, feelings, dilemmas, and actions of people from history. For each history topic, Miller suggests two titles-one for use with the entire class and one for use with small reading groups. Summaries of the books, author information, activities, and topics for discussion are supplemented with vocabulary lists and ideas for research topics and further reading. This integrated approach makes history meaningful to students and helps them retain historical details and facts.

Similar to U.S. History Through Children's Literature: From the Colonial Period to World War II in format and approach, historical fiction and nonfiction are integrated into modern U.S. History. For each of these topics, Miller suggests two or more titles-one for use with the entire class and one for use with small reading groups. Summaries of the books, author information, activities, and topics for discussion are supplemented with vocabulary lists and ideas for research topics and further reading. This integrated approach makes history more meaningful to students and helps them retain...

The Butzows' groundbreaking, critically acclaimed, and best-selling resource has been thoroughly revised and updated for today's classroom with new titles and new activities. More than 30 exciting instructional units integrate all areas of the curriculum and serve as models to educators at all levels. With each chapter there is also a list of related sources-including Internet sites. Adopted as a supplementary text in schools of education nationwide, this resource features outstanding children's fiction books that are rich in scientific concepts yet equally well known for their strong...

These dynamic literature-based activities will help you energize the social studies curriculum and implement national (and many of state) standards. Fredericks presents hundreds of hands-on, minds-on projects to stimulate actively and engage students in positive learning. Each of these 33 units offers book summaries, social studies topic areas, critical thinking questions, and dozens of easy-to-do activities for every grade level. The author also gives practical guidelines for integrating literature across the curriculum, lists of web sites useful in social studies classes, and annotated...