10 Great Books About Space Exploration for Your Classroom

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I’ll admit it! In our family we are space fans. We watch documentaries and movies about space, we go to space exhibitions at the museum and we read space books. 

A lot of space books.

Here’s 10 of my favourite books about space for your classroom library.

 
10 Great Books About Space Exploration for Your Classroom. A teaching and learning blog post with a book list of picture books for every classroom. #booklist #learningaboutspace
 

1. Counting on Katherine by Helaine Becker

With the success of the movie Hidden Figures, more people now know about the contribution of Katherine Johnson and her fellow ‘computers’ when it came to getting men to the moon - and home again. This lovely picture book memoir allows children to also learn about this history. It follows Katherine’s life from when she was a young, enthusiastic learner, through to some of the challenges she faced to get an appropriate education through to her achievements. 

2. One Giant Leap by Don Brown

This is another memoir, but instead of focusing on the hidden figures behind the space program, it looks at arguably the most famous public face - Neil Armstrong. In 1969, Neil Armstrong was the first person to step on the surface of the moon. In the book, the author chooses to focus on Neil’s childhood and his wish to fly and on the Apollo 11 mission and the moon landing. By choosing just 2 focal points, students are able to draw connections between the boy who worked hard to fly and the man who worked hard to walk on the moon. 

3. Reaching for the Moon by Buzz Aldrin

This beautifully illustrated picture book is written by the second man to walk on the moon, Buzz Aldrin. It’s a longer book by the first two, but a fantastic overview of Buzz’s life from childhood until the moon landing and a wonderful insight into what an astronaut is actually thinking about and why they think they were able to succeed. 

4. Moonwalkers by Mark Greenwood

Like One Giant Leap and Reaching for the Moon, this is a story about the Apollo 11 mission and the first moon landing. However, instead of focusing on the astronauts, it focuses on the people watching the landing back on Earth. Billy lives near The Dish, and he wishes he can be an astronaut. The book shows us the elements of the mission through Billy’s craft projects, through the games he plays, through his dreams and through the viewing of the first steps on the family television. Terry Denton’s illustrations are particularly wonderful in this book - especially the spread showing the 20 steps to get the astronauts to the moon and back again.

 
10 Great Books About Space Exploration for Your Classroom. A teaching and learning blog post with a book list of picture books for every classroom. #booklist #learningaboutspace
 

5. To the Stars by Carmella Van Vleet and Dr Kathy Sullivan

Kathy Sullivan was the first woman to complete a space walk. Like other picture book memoirs about astronauts, this one explores some of the interests and characteristics she showed as a child and compares it with their achievements as adults. This one doesn’t follow a linear narrative, though, instead going back and forward to make direct connections. This interesting story telling style is well worth exploring with students.

6. The Astronaut with a Song for the Stars by Julia Finley Mosca

This memoir of Dr Ellen Ochoa is a bit different from the other memoirs - because it’s written in a delightful rhyming style. As well as examining Ellen’s childhood, this book looks at the influence of her family and their experiences. This book also connects nicely with Reaching for the Moon - emphasising the importance for both Buzz Aldrin and Ellen Ochoa of learning more to achieve. This book with additional information and a timeline included is a wonderful way to explore persistence.

You can find a book study for The Astronaut with a Song for the Stars - and a free resource! - at the Galarious Goods shop

7. The Darkest Dark by Chris Hadfield and Kate Fillion

Chris Hadfield became well known for his communication and songs from the International Space Station. However, this book focuses mostly on a child, Chris, who loves space and rockets, but is scared of the dark. When he watched the Apollo 11 moon landing he gains a different perspective on the dark and the wonders it holds.

 
10 Great Books About Space Exploration for Your Classroom. A teaching and learning blog post with a book list of picture books for every classroom. #booklist #learningaboutspace
 

8. On the Moon by Anna Milbourne

This is a special book to me, because we actually bought it at The Dish mentioned in Mark Greenwood’s Moonwalkers! This is a book aimed at younger readers showing a young girl who is interested in space and the moon. The book walks through what happened on a typical moon landing mission, from the launch to the landing and home again. This would be a great one to have in a lower grades class or for new readers.

9. Penguinaut by Marcie Colleen

It’s amazing how many picture books feature animals deciding to go to the moon! This lovely picture book is one of those, following the story of Orville the small penguin who has a lot of big friends with big adventures. So he devises a big adventure of his own - a trip to the moon - which he will complete on his own. There’s a lot to explore in this book and it’s a lovely companion to the non-fiction books.

10. Curiosity by Markus Motum

On the day my son was born, a little rover landed on Mars. That rover was Curiosity and this beautiful book is Curiosity’s story. It tells the reader why rovers were built, how they were built and how they were launched to Mars. It’s a beautiful non-fiction book which examines the history of the rovers while allowing room for further curiosity when it comes to space exploration.

Have you used any of these books in your classroom? Share your experiences in the comments.

 
 
 
 

4 Literacy Activities for I Just Ate My Friend

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He was my best friend . . . and now he’s gone!

If you haven’t read I Just Ate My Friend by Heidi McKinnon, I highly recommend getting your hand on a copy. This lovely picture book, which follows the monster’s search for a new friend - after they ate their old friend, is a brilliant book to read with early primary students, and a great one to take a closer look at in the classroom. 

Here’s a few ways you can explore this very funny picture book in your classroom.

 
4 Literacy Activities for I Just Ate My Friend. A teaching and learning blog post for the Heidi McKinnon picture book and how it can be used in lower primary classrooms #year1 #year2 #prep
 

1. Create Your Own Monster

The monsters in I Just Ate My Friend all look very different. Students can choose a monster and work in pairs or in small groups to describe these monsters. Alternately, students can explore creating their own monster.

One way to create a monster is to combine it with mathematics and use chance - and a dice - to create a monster. Each number of the dice can correspond with a particular monster feature and students can roll the dice, then draw the piece of monster they get. If students are in the pre-reading stage, this can be done in literacy rotation groups with a teacher or assistant or even as a whole class activity. Once students have drawn their monster, they can write descriptions for their new creation.

Want to create monsters with your class? You can get free printables to support this activity in your classroom by signing up for the free resource library.

 
 

2. Engage in Readers Theatre . . . And Create Their Own

Because the main character in I Just Ate My Friend meets a lot of other characters, it’s a great opportunity to introduce and explore reader’s theatre with your students. Students can discuss how they think different lines in the book should be read (exploring fluency and expression) and take turns being the main character and the monsters they meet. 

Once students are comfortable with the text, they might also like to think about how they could expand it. Students can brainstorm other monsters the main character might meet and act out what those monsters might say. They could challenge themselves to have enough monsters for the whole class to participate!

3. Exploring What a Friend Is

This is a great book for exploring the qualities of friends. Students can brainstorm words which describe friends and create images or descriptions of friendships.

Students can also explore what friendships look like in other media. They might like to talk about television shows or movies or other books which feature friendships and talk about the qualities of friends shown there.

Do you want to teach this activity with your students? You can find it as part of the I Just Ate My Friend book study

 
 

4. Exploring Surprising Endings

I Just Ate My Friend has a surprise ending which completely changes the book. This is a great opportunity for students to talk about surprise endings and why the author might have chosen to write it. They can also connect this book to other books with surprise endings and discuss what makes an ending surprising.

Once they’ve discussed surprise endings, students might like to try creating their own surprise endings. They can create stories in small groups or pairs, write them, record them or have them scribed and create their own books.

Have you read I Just Ate My Friend in Your Classroom? Share your experience in the comments.

 
 
 
 

Just Empty Your Head! How Students Can Create a Brain Dump When They’re Reading

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“Just hold all these complex ideas in your head. Then add in some new vocabulary. And form some questions. And don’t forget to make predictions!”

What are we asking students to do when we ask them to read a complex text or a novel? When you start to break it all down, it’s easy to see that students are being asked to recall or process several things at the same time. And that is, of course, an incredibly important skill to have. But how can we scaffold this to ensure that every student in the class has success with the more complex task? Enter . . . the brain dump!

 
How Students Can Create a Brain Dump When They’re Reading. A teaching and learning blog post exploring different methods for students to show understanding of texts and to create reading connections. #readingskills #teachingreading
 

What is a Brain Dump?

Essentially, a brain dump is the act of taking everything that you’re thinking . . . and putting it down onto paper (or a technological alternative). Many people use them when they’re feeling stressed or anxious or overwhelmed; it allows people to grab all of the nagging little thoughts in their heads and put them into a tangible form. They’re also great if you’re in the habit of ‘remembering’ all of the things you need to get done in a day or a week. By putting them down onto paper you have something to help you remember, loosening the mental load just a little.

“So, that sounds great . . . but how does it work when you’re teaching reading to children?”

Using a Brain Dump when exploring a book

As I pointed out, reading a text involves a lot of different actions, particularly if the text is longer or is complex. There’s characters to remember, settings to put into place, plots to follow. There’s the basic act of decoding, then there’s understanding the vocabulary - either by using context clues, remembering words or by using word roots. Students then need to make predictions of what might happen next or why they think a particular character acted the way they did or why the author might have chosen to use that particular word. The act of reading is a complex one!

By creating a brain dump, students can get everything they’re thinking about the text out of their head and onto the page. They’re able to see what they do and don’t know and use their brain dump to create new connections. 

“That’s great . . . but how do we teach it?”

 
How Students Can Create a Brain Dump When They’re Reading. A teaching and learning blog post exploring different methods for students to show understanding of texts and to create reading connections. #readingskills #teachingreading
 

How Do We Teach Brain Dumps for Reading

It might be best to start with a short piece of text - a poem or a picture book - which is familiar to the students. On the first read through, students should simply listen to the text. On the second read through, you demonstrate the brain dump. As you read through it again, model writing down everything which comes into your head - from observations on the characters’ names (“Oh, that dog is called Trevor. I went to school with a Trevor. Just like the Trevor from Fireman Sam . . .“) to questions (“I wonder why Pig never seems to learn his lesson. Or does he learn his lesson and just constantly make new mistakes?”) to random thoughts which are unconnected to the text but came into your brain anyway (“I wonder if it’ll be wet at lunch?”)

Once you’ve modelled your brain dump you can use the same text or another familiar text for the students to have a try. Remind them that it doesn’t need to be perfect - it’s not being used for assessment - it’s just a way of helping them better understand the texts they are reading. Give students plenty of opportunities to practice - remembering that they can be used with texts students use in history or civics, science or technology as well.

Tip: Students can use any piece of paper - or a computer or tablet - for brain dumps. However, you can find a range of free brain dump templates by signing up for the Galarious Goods free resource library.

 
 

“Ok, I get that. But what do we do with them once we have them?”

Using the Brain Dumps

Once students have their brain dumps, they can use them in a range of ways. Again, this is something you might like to model to the students - but they might also develop their own ways of using them, which they might like to share with their classmates.

Students might like to use their brain dumps for basic recall references. They allow students to write down the important characters or the important dates and events, something to refer back to when they need them. Or they could use them to brainstorm questions they might like to ask about the text, going back through their information to see where there are any queries.

If students create brain dumps for two different texts, they might like to use them to find connections - once they see the information written in front of them, it can be easier to see where those themes or ideas overlap. Students might also like to share their brain dump with a classmate to see how different people have responded to the same text.

Have you used brain dumps for reading in your classroom? Tell us about it in the comments!

 
 
 
 

5 Places You Can Find Picture Books

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So you want to add more picture books into your classroom. That’s great! But where are you going to find them? And how are you going to find them without spending every single cent you earn? Here’s some ideas for finding picture books for your classroom library collection!

 
5 Places You Can Find Picture Books. A teaching and learning blog post looking at some of the places where teachers can purchase or borrow picture book teaching resources for their classroom #teacherresources #classroommaterials
 

1. Your favourite book shop (or other place to purchase books)

The first place you’ll probably look for picture books is your local bookshop. If you’re lucky enough to live near an independent bookstore, it’s definitely worth building a relationship (ie: visiting as much as you can to admire the prettiness) with the shop. Independent bookstores often have books you can’t find elsewhere and booksellers are often well informed about upcoming releases you might like to try out. 

Even if you have a book chain rather than an independent bookstore near you, it’s worth building relationships with the staff. My local QBD bookstore has staff who have been there so long they’ve helped nurture my kids into readers. And they always have good recommendations for me when I’m looking for something new.

For low cost books in Australia, Kmart, Target and Big W have smaller selections, but are usually good for the most common books and a few hidden gems. However, if you’re wanting something from another country or something more rare, you might need to look towards online bookshops. It’s worth shopping around a bit with these - sometimes it makes it easier to find a good deal. 

2. Second hand/op shops/thrift shops/ marketplaces/garage sales

When I first started teaching, I built my classroom library from local op shops (thrift shops). Then I went to the big Lifeline Book Sale which is usually held in Brisbane each year and left with armfuls of affordable second hand books.

These days, it’s worth checking online marketplaces like Facebook or Gumtree to find second hand picture books. And don’t forget the humble garage sale - my daughter’s kindy teacher is an expert at finding high quality second hand books at those.

 
5 Places You Can Find Picture Books. A teaching and learning blog post looking at some of the places where teachers can purchase or borrow picture book teaching resources for their classroom #teacherresources #classroommaterials
 

3. School library

What if you have absolutely no money for picture books and you need them right away? Talk to your school librarian about some great books to borrow from the school library. Your librarian might have a system to make sure you can rotate books in and out of your classroom which suit what you’re teaching or which work for certain topics you want to cover. And if there’s a book you really want and the school library doesn’t own it, they might be willing to add it to their ‘to-buy’ list.

4. Public Library

Don’t forget your local public library! Mine is brilliant for new and interesting picture books - high quality books I haven’t seen anywhere else. Like school librarians, the librarians at your local library might be able to help you find the most appropriate books and some libraries also have special borrowing limits for teachers!

5. Organise buying with other teachers

If you’ve got teacher friends you’re willing to lend books to, organise it with them so you don’t double up the books you’re buying. Whether it’s just one other teacher or a small group, create a list of books you’d all like and let the other teachers know when you buy one of the books off the list. Then you’ve got borrowing rights to books from your teacher friends and they can borrow yours. It might be worth that little extra organising to get books at a lower price!

How do you build a classroom library without spending a fortune? Let us know in the comments.

 
 
 
 

Finding Extra Time in the School Day to Read Picture Books

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We know that reading picture books in the classroom is beneficial for many of the grades, but how can we fit that reading time into a busy school schedule? The lack of time in the classroom is real, but here’s a few ways to sneak extra reading into your classroom time.

 
Finding Extra Time in the School Day to Read Picture Books. A teaching and learning blog post exploring time management and providing more classroom time for literacy practice. #timemanagement #picturebooks
 

Fit in reading at the beginning of the school day

Reading a short picture book is a great way to set the tone for the day. On those grey, miserable days you can begin with something funny. Something thoughtful can be used when you’ve got a lot of heavy thinking work planned for the day. You can even fit a short book into a morning meeting, especially if it fits in with what you’re talking about.

Still lacking time? Read the first couple of pages, then leave the book. Allow students to delve into it at other times during the day.

To teach reading concepts

Picture books can make great mentor texts. You can explore rhyming with almost every Aaron Blabey book or explore how Nick Bland makes his characters come to life in The Very Cranky Bear (complete with use of speech for another mentor lesson.) Picture books tell stories with surprises, stories with quests and stories with lessons to learn. Picture books can also be used when you’re looking at writing skills, from character to plotting.

Still lacking time? Use a page from a picture book to teach a particular skill . . . and keep the book available for students at other times.

After breaks

After a busy break running around and engaging with their peers, a book can be a great way for students to wind down and focus on their next session of work. While this is a great time for a chapter of a novel or silent reading, you might like to change it up a little with some picture book time. If you’ve got a class with some playground behaviour management to work through, this can also be a time to use books which explore behaviour, feelings and emotions.

Still lacking time? If you usually do silent reading after breaks, take a minute or two to introduce new picture books or ‘sell’ a forgotten picture book to the class. Make sure you have a system for when 5 people want to read it first!

 
Finding Extra Time in the School Day to Read Picture Books. A teaching and learning blog post exploring time management and providing more classroom time for literacy practice. #timemanagement #picturebooks
 

In those 5 minute gaps

School days are filled with those 5 minute gaps - when a lesson doesn’t quite go as long as you think it might or you’re waiting for a specialist teacher or an event within the school. These are the perfect time for part of a picture book if not the full book. It doesn’t have to be the full class - if you do rotations in your classroom, you might have one group which finishes early - this is a great chance for a picture book (either with an adult or a student reading it aloud, or the students just sharing it together). 

Still lacking time? Plan a week where you give yourself some 5 minute breaks. You wouldn’t want to do it every week, but it’s good for students to see reading prioritised. 

As part of literacy rotations

If literacy rotations are part of your classroom environment, these are the perfect places to fit in picture books. You might examine them in a more indepth situation, ask different groups to complete activities based on picture books, or just ask students to read them - either individually or as part of a pair or groups. There may not be a place for them every week, but you can fit them in at least some of the time.

Still lacking time? Plan a special ‘picture book focused’ rotation. Think about spelling or word activities based around picture books, writing activities inspired by picture books and reading comprehension questions or graphic organisers which can work for any picture book. This might work particularly well when combined with study of a particular commemoration or holiday such as Anzac Day or Christmas.

How do you make time for picture books in your classroom? Let us know in the comments!

 
 
 
 

5 Engaging Picture Books Featuring Australian Animals

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Australian authors LOVE to create picture books about Australian native animals. After all, many of them are rather cute, some of them carry around babies in their pouches and - although kangaroos don’t always jump down the middle of the street (unless you’re in Canberra), many of them can be spotted around the major cities, while others might be just a short drive away. 

It’s hard to recommend just a few books starring these lovely animals, but I’m giving it my best shot (while reserving my right to write another post in the future!). Here’s 5 of my favourites.

 
5 Engaging Picture Books Featuring Australian Animals. A teaching and learning blog post filled with ideas for books about Australian native animals and how you can use them in the classroom #booklist #classroomlibrary
 

1. Don’t Call Me Bear by Aaron Blabey

Koalas are not bears. Warren the koala wants everyone to understand this. He’s quite happy to spend his time telling you why . . . but don’t be surprised if he gets a little cranky if people insist on calling him a koala bear.

This is an interesting picture book because it combines non-fiction - the discussion about koalas not being bears and where you can really find bears is true - and fiction - koalas and their friends don’t usually talk and koalas are often a lot sleepier than they are in this book! Students can explore the rhymes that the author uses and look at some of the extra details in the illustrations.

Don’t Call Me Bear is also a great text for students who are discussing similarities and differences between different animals. Students can look at the features of a bear and the features of a koala, comparing and contrasting them. This can be connected to research activities, where students use different sources to explore the habitat, diet and features of koalas. 

You can use the printables from the Don’t Call Me Bear! book study to scaffold koala research with your students

 
 

2. Josephine Wants to Dance by Jackie French

Josephine has a dream to be a ballerina, but how will she deal when an emergency situations leads to her being asked to take the leading role?

This is a Jackie French classic, created with Bruce Whatley, which explores what it means to hold onto a dream even when other people don’t believe in it. It’s a great book for identifying favourite moments - there’s lots of very memorable illustrations which bring the text to life. (My favourite? Stretching the ballet shoes to fit Josephine’s large feet!)

While we don’t have too many kangaroos in ballet companies, students can spend some time looking at how different animals move, creating lists of verbs and writing descriptive language to describe their movements. Students can also examine some of the different ways dancers jump - watching a range of dance videos - and can create a kangaroo inspired dance of their own.

3. Possum Goes to School by Melanie Carter

What happens when a possum leaves the comfort of a tree and finds itself inside a school building? This is the question posed in Possum Goes to School as the possum in question causes chaos and destruction wherever it goes.

Possums are pretty common in Australia - many children are familiar with the thud and scramble of a possum running across a roof at night (we seem to have a possum the size of a man who tramples our roof!) It’s also not unusual to hear of them finding their way into less than ideal spots. Students can definitely use this book as inspiration for research on possums and why they behave the way they do!

This is also a great book for young students getting to know their school. The possum visits all sorts of places within the school - places which students might need to know in their own school. Students can go on their own ‘possum walk’ visiting some of the places in their school which feature in the book (the library, the tuck shop and the playground included!). Students might also like to create a map of the places the possum visits, either individually or as part of a group.

Are you interested in creating a map based on Possum Goes to School? A mapping activity is part of the Possum Goes to School book study, with a worksheet and place cards.

 
 

4. Not Cute by Philip Bunting

Until recently there haven’t been a lot of books about quokkas, which is a pity because they’ve got one of the best names of all the Australian animals. And they’re very cute.

Or not cute according to the quokka at the centre of this Philip Bunting picture book. Quokka goes to great lengths to let us know that they aren’t cute . . . but it is possible that they should be a little less stubborn!

If you’re reading this book with students who have already read this one, ask them to keep the story to themselves for the first read through. The surprise twist in the book is BRILLIANT and it’s a reaction worth experiencing! Once you have read it together, students might like to go through it in more detail, exploring how Quokka tried to convince the others that he was not cute.

Students can also discuss what the lesson of this story might be and what might have happened if Quokka had behaved differently. 

5. Eric the Postie by Matt Shanks

Eric really wants to be a postie and he knows he’s be really good at it. But he’s never given the chance he deserves.

Students might like to look at the reasons why Eric would make a good postie and use those reasons to create their own job descriptions for post deliverers. They can talk about which of those features real posties need and which ones aren’t as important. They can also discuss whether it was right for Eric to take the letters even though he wasn’t the official postie.

This is a great book to team with a letter writing unit. Students can write their own letters and post them into a classroom postbox - you might even like students to help you create a postbox for the classroom.

What’s your favourite picture book about Australian animals? Let me know in the comments.

 
 
 
 

4 Literacy Activities for The Wrong Book by Nick Bland

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Go away! You’re in the wrong blog post!

Unlike Nicholas Ickle, the very frustrated narrator of Nick Bland’s The Wrong Book, I don’t really want you to go away. But I do want to tell you about this wonderful picture book and to offer just a few ways you can explore it, pull it apart and bring it to life in your classroom with these literacy activities.

 
4 Literacy Activities for the Wrong Book by Nick Bland. A teaching and learning blog post exploring reading and writing activities for this picture book. #year1 #year2 #prep
 

The Wrong Book tells the story of the aforementioned Nicholas Ickle who really wants to tell a story about . . . well, before he can tell us what the story is about he is joined by a bunch of unexpected guests - from mischievous monsters to a plague of rats. With repeating text, extra details in the illustrations and constant anticipation, this is an excellent book to use in lower primary classrooms. 

Here’s some activities for The Wrong Book you might like to try with your students:

1. Reader’s Theatre

This is the perfect book for some reader’s theatre and there’s a range of ways you can approach this with your students. If you keep the text as it is, the only speaker is Nicholas Ickle, so you can have the teacher reading most, with the students chiming in for the refrain “Go away . . . !” while other students act out the visitors. Or a range of students could divide up the lines for Nicholas Ickle.

If you wish to have non-speaking roles acted out by the students, you can spend some time - as a whole class or in small groups, exploring what each of the different visitors are doing. This allows students to practice their visual literacy skills and also allows you to incorporate some drama through mime into your activity.

If you wish to have more speaking roles, you can work with the students to imagine what each of the visitors might say. When you have brainstormed this together, you can work collaboratively with the students to write a new script.

2. Conversations between the different characters

What would the monsters say to the Queen? What kind of conversation would the pirate have with the elephant? These are great questions for students to discuss and write about as they’re reading The Wrong Book.

By putting themselves into the ‘heads’ of the non-speaking characters, students are examining the ways they behave in the illustrations - again working on their visual literacy skills - and inferring what they might say. Students can also explore whether the characters might speak differently to different characters - would the elephant be more polite to the queen and a little crankier with the monsters

 
4 Literacy Activities for the Wrong Book by Nick Bland. A teaching and learning blog post exploring reading and writing activities for this picture book. #year1 #year2 #prep4 Literacy Activities for the Wrong Book by Nick Bland. A teaching and learn…
 

3. Why Did They Come?

Why did the different characters walk into Nicholas Ickle’s book? Were they supposed to be there? What is their motivation?

As students develop a better understanding of all the different characters in The Wrong Book, they can engage in activities where they create new motivations and worlds for these characters. Students can work in pairs or small groups to brainstorm why the different characters turned up then contribute their ideas to the whole class to create a display. 

Would you like to try this activity with your class? The printable resources for this are available as part of The Wrong Book picture book unit study.

 
 

4. What does this book tell us about books?

What is Nick Bland trying to tell us about books with The Wrong Book? Students can definitely spend some time contrasting and comparing The Wrong Book to other books they know. One very interesting aspect to discuss is the way that Nicholas Ickles talks both to us, the audience, and to the other characters in the book. Students might like to draw connections with other books which have characters breaking the fourth wall - such as The Monster at the End of the Book or Do Not Open This Book

Right as we’re finally about to get Nicholas’ story, the book ends. Students might like to explore if the book had to end at that point. This could even lead to a mathematical exploration as students investigate whether picture books have a certain number of pages and ask whether The Wrong Book really had to end when it did.

Have you read The Wrong Book with your class? Tell us about your experience in the comments!

 
 
 
 

12 Books to Read After Whitney and Britney Chicken Divas

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Whitney and Britney are the singing chickens coming to your classroom! But what books can you explore with your students once you’ve finished the story of the Chicken Divas? Here’s a list of 12 related picture books I’ve put together for you!

 
12 Picture Books to Read After Whitney and Britney Chicken Divas. 12 picture books which are great for the classroom, along with ideas for how to use them. Extend this book with these connected texts, allowing students to draw comparisons between di…
 

Books about Chickens

1. Rosie’s Walk by Pat Hutchins

Rosie goes on a walk, not realising that she’s being followed by a fox. The poor fox - who is obviously up to no good - is met with disaster every step of the way. This is a great book for comparisons - comparing what Rosie does with what happens to the fox, but also comparing the relationship between fox and chickens in Chicken Divas and the relationship in Rosie’s Walk.

2. Peggy by Anna Walker

Peggy is happy living in her little house, getting on with her daily activities . . . until one day a gust of wind blows her away and she finds herself in the middle of a city. Peggy needs to use her problem solving skills to get back home. Students can compare the behaviour of Peggy with the behaviour of Whitney and Britney - deciding which of the activities are ‘normal’ chicken activities and which ones are a little more unusual.

3. Banjo and Ruby Red by Libby Gleeson and Freya Blackwood

While this story focuses on Banjo, the best chook dog, you can’t forget about the spirited Ruby Red who defies the barks of Banjo until she can’t anymore. This story explores the friendship and love between these two animals and is a great story for prompting discussion about whether animals can have feelings and relationships.

 
12 Picture Books to Read After Whitney and Britney Chicken Divas. 12 picture books which are great for the classroom, along with ideas for how to use them. Extend this book with these connected texts, allowing students to draw comparisons between di…
 

Books about Performing Animals

4. Alpacas with Maracas by Matt Cosgrove

If you’re looking for animals who want to perform, you can’t go past that other musical (or not so musical) duo, Macca and Al. This is another great book for comparisons - looking at the different ways the animals put together their acts and the way they were received - and a great excuse for a class dance party!

5. Dance is For Everyone by Andrea Zuill

What do you do when an alligator turns up at your dance class? This gentle book is a great exploration of some of the issues that might arise when unexpected animals just want to dance. Students can brainstorm some of the other issues of animals turning up wanting to dance, explore animal themed music like The Carnival of the Animals or Flight of the Bumblebee or even create a dance featuring animals.

6. Josephine Wants to Dance by Jackie French and Bruce Whatley

Josephine just wants to dance - even when her brother tells her she can’t. When the ballet company needs her, she’s thrilled to leap her way into the performance. This is a lovely book looking at why an animal might like to perform - students can explore some of the reasons Josephine wants to dance and create their own reasons for Whitney and Britney.

 
12 Picture Books to Read After Whitney and Britney Chicken Divas. 12 picture books which are great for the classroom, along with ideas for how to use them. Extend this book with these connected texts, allowing students to draw comparisons between di…
 

Books about Solving Mysteries (like Dora)

7. What the Ladybird Heard Next by Julia Donaldson and Lydia Monks

When eggs go missing from the farm, the ladybird and her friends have a mystery to solve. This is a more complex problem than Dora’s but it’s delightful watching the animals working together to outwit the terrible crims and the different types of poultry make this a lovely follow up to Chicken Divas

8. The Very Hungry Bear by Nick Bland

Bear also has a food related problem - he’s hungry. Polar Bear can solve his problem, if Bear can solve Polar Bear’s problem. This is a great book for retelling - looking at the different problems the characters face and how they eventually solve them. 

9. Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox and Julie Vivas

This is a very different type of problem Wilfred is trying to solve - he’s trying to help his neighbour find her memories. This is a lovely book to make connections between the past and the future - just like Dora used to be a performer and remembers this when she discovers the Chicken Divas, Wilfred uses different tools to help his neighbour remember her past.

 
12 Picture Books to Read After Whitney and Britney Chicken Divas. 12 picture books which are great for the classroom, along with ideas for how to use them. Extend this book with these connected texts, allowing students to draw comparisons between di…
 

Books about Foxes (And Wolves)

10. The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka

Foxes get a bad reputation in books. But just like Dora is a sweet fox who gets on very well with everyone around her, Alexander T Wolf wants you to know that he’s a really nice guy, wolves aren’t all bad and the story of the Three Little Pigs is just a big misunderstanding. This is a great opportunity to discuss how foxes and wolves are represented in media and why they are almost always the ‘bad guy’.

11. Fox  by Margaret Wild and Ron Brooks

Fox is more true to stereotypes in this picture book more suited to middle and upper primary readers. Exploring friendship, trust and loneliness, this is a great book as a contrast to Chicken Divas. Students may like to compare the different ways text and fonts are used in both books and how they influence the way the readers read and react to the two books.

12. Hattie and the Fox by Mem Fox and Patricia Mullins

Just as we started with a book with a chicken and a fox, so we end! Hattie can see something, but all the other animals dismiss her . . . until all of a sudden we see the sneaky fox! This is an easy to read book which students can also compare with Chicken Divas. Students might like to question why Lucinda Gifford chose to make Dora a nice fox, when foxes are so often portrayed as sneaky or dangerous.

 
12 Picture Books to Read After Whitney and Britney Chicken Divas. 12 picture books which are great for the classroom, along with ideas for how to use them. Extend this book with these connected texts, allowing students to draw comparisons between di…
 

Have you got any other books you would add to this list? Leave a comment to let me know.

The link on this page are not affiliate links - these books are usually available from a wide range of retailers, as well as your school or local library

 
 
 
 

5 Reasons to Explore The House that Cleaned Itself in the Classroom

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Frances Gabe was tired of cleaning her house. So she experimented with cleaning tools and designed and invented and adjusted her designs until she had a house that cleaned herself.

This real-life story is brought to life in the amazing picture book The House that Cleaned Itself by Laura Dershewitz and Susan Romberg. It’s a lovely and engaging book, perfect for the classroom. Here’s some reasons you should be exploring it in your classroom.

 
The House that Cleaned Itself - 5 Reasons to explore this biographical picture book by Laura Dershewitz and Susan Romberg in the classroom. Teaching ideas and tips from Galarious Goods.
 

1. It’s a great biographical picture book

I adore biographical picture books. I love the way they highlight the lives of interesting people - both well known people and those who should be better known. I love the way authors manage to use limited space and words to explore complex lives. 

In the classroom biographical picture books show students how you can tell real stories through a familiar medium. They’re an accessible way of learning about the subject - using words and illustrations to allow students to gain a better understanding or inspiring students to undertake further research and reading about the subject. They allow students to get a good understanding of why the subject is important, why they are being written about, before they get into the details of how they got there. 

The House that Cleaned Itself is one of the best biographical picture books I’ve read. It’s incredibly clear - we meet our subject, see her problem, see how she works on that problem. She can see why she is remarkable and what challenges she faced. We can also read between the lines to see why she undertook these projects and what kind of person she was. We can wonder who else is similar to Frances Gabe and what qualities we would like to emulate ourselves.

We can also use this book as a template for biographical picture books of our own. This would be especially useful if you were researching inventors or scientists who have worked to solve problems.

2. There are so many opportunities for science exploration

The House that Cleaned Itself shows us that Frances Gabe didn’t just jump in and start inventing. Instead she did a whole lot of research, experimenting to see how different chemicals worked and hypothesising how she might use them.

There are so many science questions raised in the book which we can explore in the classroom. We can look at how water works and how it can be guided and moved in different ways. We can explore how we can effectively drain water from a space and even how we could collect and reuse water.

 
 

Frances Gabe also explored how she could protect belongings in her house. This is a great exploration we can continue in the classroom. We can experiment with the impacts of water on different surfaces - what it does when it touches or rests on paper or cloth or wood. We can experiment with different forms of waterproofing and make recommendations to use in a self-cleaning house.

Cleaning products is another area students can experiment with. During the 20th century cleaning became more scientifically influenced, especially as new machines and new cleaning products were invented. Students can experiment with different dishwashing methods or products, different ways of getting stains out of cloth even different methods of cleaning marks off a ‘wall’ surface. This is particularly good for exploring cleaning ‘old wives tales’ and whether natural kitchen products can clean as well as commercial cleaning products (and there’s an environmental angle students can also explore).

3. The book is all about design

Design is such an exciting subject to explore in the classroom. The House that Cleaned Itself is a perfect introduction to design thinking. Frances Gabe identified a clear big problem (she hated cleaning her house) but also lots of smaller problems (how would she clean her dishes? How could she protect her books? How would she drain the floor?). She experimented and brainstormed solutions and built prototypes. She engaged in troubleshooting when something didn’t work and went back and tried again. 

Students can reflect on the design process as they tackle their own design challenges. They can talk about big design problems - in their homes or classrooms, in their local community, in the world - and identify smaller problems which they can design solutions for. They can experiment, brainstorm and design. They might troubleshoot and fix issues, not being discouraged when something goes wrong.

4. The illustrations are perfect for further exploration

Meghann Rader’s beautiful illustrations are well worth exploring. Inspired by technical drawings, they tell us so much about Frances Gabe and the activities she was undertaking. Students can compare the drawings of Frances Gabe and the differences between the beginning of the book and later in the book. They can look at how the illustrator has used line to show movement - of water, of plants and of ideas. They can examine technical drawings and compare them to the illustrations - and use this style to create their own illustrations.

 
 

5. The additional material inspires more exploration

As with so many books from The Innovation Press, The House that Cleaned Itself includes additional material in the form of an authors’ note and bibliography. These easily prompt more questions for exploration - who are the other inventors who have worked out of their homes? How would Frances Gabe’s inventions be useful for NASA? Why was Frances Gabe’s invention mostly forgotten?

This additional material allows a deeper exploration and better understanding of the book and the subjects around it. It encourages students to take more time, to research issues raised in the book and additional material and to draw conclusions from this. It’s perfect for a classroom where students really think about books and the subjects they cover and it’s ideal for a classroom which values STEM education.

The House that Cleaned Itself is available from book retailers including Amazon and Book Depository. You can find more amazing books from The Innovation Press here.

If you’re exploring The House that Cleaned Itself in the classroom you can find a comprehensive book study here. You can also find a free activity from that book study here.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Exploring The Girl With a Mind For Math in the Classroom

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The Girl With a Mind for Math is a beautiful book from the creative team of Julia Finley Mosca and Daniel Rieley. Telling the story of Raye Montague who pioneered new ways of designing ships in the US Navy, this is a must have book for the classroom - and one which can be used in a number of different lessons.

 
Exploring The Girl With a Mind for Math in the Classroom. Explore this picture book memoir of the amazing Raye Montague by author Julia Finley Mosca and illustrator Daniel Rieley. This blog post explores why it's great for the classroom and a range …
 

This is the third book from Julia Finley Mosca and Daniel Rieley (and the team at The Innovation Press) focusing on the life and achievements of great scientists. The Girl With a Mind for Math introduces us to Raye Montague who was just a young girl when her grandfather took her to visit a submarine, inspiring her to one day design ships just like it. However, Raye was born into the segregated south of the USA, and as a black girl she would have to fight to get the education she wanted to get. Her persistence and hard work and the support of her family over a number of years helped her finally achieve her goal and allowed her to bring new design ideas into the US Navy.

Why is this book important?

Told in relatively simple rhyme, A Girl With a Mind for Math allows readers an accessible insight into the world of a remarkable mathematician. With the extensive additional material at the end of the book, adults reading with children can help them gain an even deeper understanding of Raye Montague and the importance of her work, as well as the systemic barriers she faced as she worked to achieve her dream.

Picture book memoirs and biographies can be used across a wide range of grades. Young students can bring illustrations and words together to discover new worlds, while older readers can experience the story and gain background knowledge to support further research without having to wade through material often designed for adult readers.

This is also a story we should all know, but may not. Raye Montague was named a ‘hidden figure’ of the US Navy; someone whose contributions may have been overlooked or not remembered or celebrated as much as they should have been. Her achievements would be extraordinary for anyone - to design a ship by computer in less than 19 hours even though she had been given a month to work on it - but they are especially noteworthy as you learn the story of what she had to do to learn the skills she needed to achieve this feat.

 
 

Ways to Use The Girl With a Mind for Math in the Classroom

The Girl With a Mind for Math is a great book to share with your students or to add to your classroom library. But you can also use it for a range of teaching moments.

Explore machines used by the military

Often times when we think about the military, we think about those who fight in the armed forces. But it’s worth taking a little time to look at what happens behind the scenes and the machines which are used to assist the military. Some of these machines have become famous in history (like the aircraft of World War 2) and it can be interesting to look at how these were designed, how they worked and how they changed the way battles were fought or life was made safer for armed forces.

The Girl With a Mind For Math is just a little insight to that behind the scenes work - there are many scientists, mathematicians and engineers who have worked for the military to create machines!

Uncover other under recognised people of STEM

Students can go for their own search for STEM people in history who should be well known but aren’t. They might like to use their research to write memoirs or create museum displays or can even create a website or podcast series to share their discoveries with others. It can be a great way to explore research skills as well.

Explore some of the themes of the book

There are so many themes to explore in The Girl With a Mind for Math. Students can look at some of Raye Montague’s defining characteristics such as persistence and hard work, compare these with other examples from other people or reflect on how they can use these skills in their own lives.

Older students might like to explore discrimination and how it can impact the lives of people historically and today. The book gives several examples of discrimination faced by Raye Montague; students can also examine other notable people and the challenges they faced due to discrimination.

Download a Freebie for The Girl With a Mind for Math

Want a free resource to go with The Girl With a Mind for Math? Galarious Goods was thrilled to create an Interactive Timeline, along with additional questions for teachers to use, for students to set out notable moments in Raye Montague’s life. This is a great way to get an overall understanding of the book, and a good starting place for a more in-depth exploration.

You can see how the resource goes together in this video!

 
 


Have you read The Girl With a Mind for Math? Have you used it in your classroom?