Barack Obama

Encourage children to learn about our Nation's President!

Sutcliffe, Jane.
Barack Obama.
March 2010.
Lerner Books.
Review copy provided courtesy of publisher.

Barack Obama has been a history maker, here in the United States. His election was one of monumental excitement (for many) around the country. Even young children were enamored by his election and followed it for many months in anticipation of Election Day. Their excitement and eagerness to learn about Mr. Obama did not dwindle on the day in which he was elected - to this day, children are still eager to learn what they can about him and his life.

This book perfectly allows them that opportunity. While the book is obviously geared toward older children (I would say, grades 4+), there is no reason that with the help of a teacher/parent, children even younger can learn a great deal of information about President Obama - stemming from his boyhood through the date of his election. Children love to learn facts and share them with their peers and elders, and this book is one that provides children with just that. Definitely a recommended biography of President Obama, prior to his life in office!

Learning/Reading Activity:

• After reading, encourage your child(ren) to further research President Obama. This biography only takes readers up to the time of his election. Since that time, President Obama has had a huge impact on the United States. Have children research the time since his election. What has he done for our country? How do people feel about how he is doing as president, etc? Ask children to write the "next" chapter in Obama's biography, based on a topic of their choice, related to his time thus far in office.
  

If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com. I am an Amazon Affiliate, so any purchases you make after clicking these images will result in my receiving a small percentage of the sale price!

Mish-Mash Monday: Non-Fiction Titles for Children

Mish-Mash Monday seems an appropriate title for these non-fiction books... they certainly don't "go" together, but they're great books non-the-less and deserve special recognition!

Obama, Barack.
Our Enduring Spirit: President Barack Obama's First Words to America.
September 2009.
Review Copy provided courtesy of: HarperCollins Publishers

The election of Barack Obama to Presidential Office marked a turning point in American history. For those of us old enough to recall watching and understanding that important inaugural address, it will be a day to remember for years to come - a true first in American history. Despite the excitement that many children shared about an African American being elected to office, I tend to believe that they will remember the hullabaloo, but not so much the incredible inaugural speech that was given on that cold January day.

Given that it's a day we'll want to be able to share with children, this book is absolutely perfect! It depicts Obama as a man proud to be named President of the United States... proud to have the chance to try and change the direction of which our country was headed... and a man who wishes to make sure that life is as meaningful for ourselves as it his for himself. Bits and pieces of Obama's inaugural address to the Nation are shared here, in collaboration with illustrations that allow children to draw connections between the text and themselves. I am so glad to have this book to add to my collection that I must send a special thanks to my friend Jana at HarperCollins for passing this my way!

Bauer, Patricia.
B is for Battle Cry: A Civil War Alphabet.
April 2009.
Review Copy provided courtesy of: Sleeping Bear Press.

This book is so perfect for a 4th grade classroom here in New York that I must say I'm disappointed that I wasn't aware of it 4 years ago when I was completing my student teaching in that grade level! There is so much to teach children about the Civil War... from the basics (Confederate Troops and the Union troops) to the more obscure, less mentioned details of the war (letters expressing sentiments from home and war, and the different battles that were part of the war). This book allows teachers an opportunity to decide what they feel are the most important details and to use the alphabet pages in their own way to determine how much to share with students. So glad to have this to add to my shelf... even if I don't wind up in a 4th grade classroom here in NY, children seem to be drawn to the concept of war and battles, so I'm sure this will be a welcome addition to my ever-building (someday) classroom library!

B is for Battle Cry Teacher's Guide

If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com.

Non-Fiction Monday: President Obama

I've had these hanging around for a while now waiting for a review, but never had the time that I wanted to create a learning activity to go along with at least one of them. Well, this weekend, I made time during my super-rainy Saturday, so here goes...

Brill, Marlene Targ.
Barack Obama: President for a New Era.
2009.
Lerner Publications Company.

I really enjoyed reading this biography of President Obama! I'm not typically one to pick up a biography, but this one has appealed to me from the start, maybe because I never really followed Obama very much and knew very little about him or his life. I think children would be interested in this book as well, based on the huge interest I saw from children towards Obama in the months leading up the the election and immediately after his election to Presidency.

The book introduces readers to virtually all aspects of President Obama's life - his family, his childhood years spent in Indonesia, his school years, college, his beginning work in the public service sector, his "second" family in Kenya, his time in public office and eventually his election as President. Having been broken into sections, the book is very easy to read and allows readers to see exactly the orders of the events that led to Barack Obama being elected President of the United States.

This book is perfect for the upper-elementary (I'd say 4th grade and up) or middle school classroom. The text itself is quite simple and easy to understand, but due to it's length and non-fiction writing, I think that it would take older children to read and understand this book.

Lesson Plan/Reading Activities:

During my student teaching experience in a 4th grade classroom, I worked alongside my cooperating teacher to implement learning contracts with the students. We implemented these because of the students lack of responsibility in turning in morning work. The learning contracts held students responsible for their daily/weekly assignments in two ways:

1. In order to participate in recess, students had to have completed each day's morning work assignments, consisting of a Math POD (problem of the day), a DOL (daily oral language), and a measurement activity.
   
2. In addition to daily morning work, students had to complete 3 of 5 activities of choice by lunchtime on Fridays. These activities included math, spelling, science/social studies, ELA/reading, and a miscellaneous category. These were meant to be completed during any free-time the students had throughout the course of the day (after morning work, during snack, during lunch, if they finished another assignment before the rest of the class, etc.).
   

Each activity was given points on a scale of 1-3, depending on the work produced. At the end of the week, students received "Dollars for Scholars," which they could bank from week to week and use to purchase "Tools for School," from the class store (pencils, pens, erasers, a snack, a ruler, etc.).

The activities for the learning contracts switched off every two weeks and each "station" had 2-3 activities that could be completed. All of the activities were in some way related to the 4th grade curriculum. Students really enjoyed the concept, as they were being held accountable for their school work, while at the same time having a little bit of freedom regarding what they were learning!

The activity that I created to go along with Barack Obama: President for a New Era is one that could be included in the social studies/science station. The activity packet can be downloaded here.

Ignatius, Adi.
President Obama: The Path to the White House.
2008.
Time Inc., Home Entertainment.

This is another incredible Barack Obama biography! However, this one is for either the teacher or the parents - it falls a bit above the level of reading for children... at least of the age I focus on!

My favorite part of the book is the photographs, but then again I love looking at photographs. Bits and pieces of the book would be appropriate for children and they'd probably enjoy the photos too!

This book has definitely found a home on the coffee table at my house!

If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com.

Welcome, President Obama!

Inauguration Day! Today's post will feature one children's picture book about Mr. President, Barack Obama and another about Presidential Inaugurations in general! Enjoy!

Grimes, Nikki.
Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope.
2008.
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers: New York, NY.

Ages:
Genre: Biography
Guided Reading Level:

Review/Summary:

Nikki Grimes gives a child's eye-view of our new President in her latest biography, Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope. David and his mother sit in their apartment - a tenement, watching television. As Barack Obama appears on the screen before him, David questions his mother about who the man is. His mother eagerly takes him into her lap and begins telling her young son about this inspirational figure. The story of Barack Obama himself is told in simple language that would be easy for most readers to understand. However, David takes the words his mother gives him and turns them into a language that he can personally connect with, making this biography even more understandable for even the youngest children. The bright colorful illustrations draw attention to each page and also depict the surroundings in which Barack Obama grew up. This would make a great text to read to children as we welcome our new President into office.

Santella, Andrew.
U.S. Presidential Inaugurations.
2002.
Children's Press.

Ages: 9-11
Genre: Non-Fiction
Guided Reading Level:

Review/Summary:

This is a very detailed account of Presidential Inaugurations, from parades to weather to speeches all is explained. This book would be best be used as a read-aloud over the time span of several days before an inauguration. The text is very involved and will likely need to broken down and simplified for students to take the very most of it.

A few things I learned:

• "John F. Kennedy's parade featured nuclear missles mounted on trucks" (28).
  
• "In 1985 temperatures dropped below zero for Ronald Reagan's second inauguration" (31).
• William Henry Harrison's inauguration speech was the longest ever - 10,000 words long! (20)
  

Lesson Plans/Book Activities:

• Your Government, Your Voice!
• Hail to the Chief! Inauguration Lesson Plans
• Curriculum Matters: Lesson Plans for Inauguration Day