Books for the New Year
I am always on the lookout for new books to use for different seasons in my classroom. I recently ran across the book Because by Mo Willems. It is absolutely perfect and stunning for the new year. I am going to use it for goal setting and will also tie in some reading comprehension strategies and reading skills.
I decided to try to find a book to partner with the book to Because. The book by John Lithgow called, Never Play Music Right Next to the Zoo, was the perfect book to use. It has a similar topic and is lots of fun.
New Year's Book Descriptions
The book, Because, is a beautifully illustrated book that features the story of an orchestra. It traces inspiration from one piece of music to the final moment when an orchestra is formed. It shows how just one person can have a huge effect over the lives of others. It is written in a simple pattern, but don't let that fool you! This book is packed with possibilities for older students like my upper elementary kids.
The book, Never Play Music Right Next to the Zoo, is a fun book that features an orchestra as well...only in this book some rogue animals take over the orchestra, reeking havoc in the process.
New Year's Partner Books
What I love about using these two books together is their easy link based on not only the orchestra, but how easily the books show a cause/effect relationship. They are perfect for linking together to compare and contrast.
Lesson Planning for New Year's Books
I was looking through these two books with reading lessons in mind. I knew I wanted to connect the books not only to New Year's celebrations, but also to my curriculum. I looked for skills that could be incorporated. Here are some good ones.
First, of course, we will have a discussion about the points of the book using basic questions as well as questions that dig a bit deeper and require making connections.
Next, using the book Because, we will work on cause and effect relationships. This book is perfect for that. Each page has a cause/effect sentence on it. We will branch away from those, writing some of our own. In the end, we can link back to the book, Never Play Music Right Next to the Zoo for one last cause/effect.
For deeper learning, students will think about the effect (goal) they want to have for the rest of the school year. They will list out some causes....what will cause them to reach that goal. They will draw a picture of themselves completing that goal. If you visualize it and have a step-by-step plan, you can achieve it, right?
The book, Never Play music Right Next to the Zoo, is also a great way to review basic nouns and verbs. We will do a quick verb sort with this one.
Another great skill to work on with these two books is comparing and contrasting. Using partner books allows you to have enough similarities, but there will be many differences as well. A Venn diagram is the perfect way to organize a comparison between these two books.
Using fun picture books is one of my favorite ways to teach new skills and these two ne (to me) boxes will be a perfect addition!
