Monday, June 22, 2015

On the Same Day in March: A Tour of the World's Weather #bookaday June 22

I was ambitious to think I could keep up with #bookaday at the end of the school year, but alas, I couldn't.  I'm in my last week of school now and as I clean my classroom, I am gathering interesting titles from my classroom library that I never read.  One of my goals is to be able to book-talk many different titles and genres next year. In order to do that, I need to read more of the books in my library.  

This one is perfect for both third grade Science and Social Studies connections: 

On the Same Day in March: A Tour of the World's Weather is written by Marilyn Singer and illustrated by Frane Lessac.  The gist is that all over the world, on the same day in March, there are very different types of weather.  An author's note explains the tilt of the earth and why the weather is different around the world.  In the beginning of the year, my third graders study geography and the continents.  This book would be perfect for making connections to the different countries and continents.  Later in the year, we study weather in Science.  I can see bringing this book back to revisit why the weather is not the same in different parts of the world during the same month.  

Beyond the curricular connections, the writing in this book would serve as a mentor text for informational writing with voice.  One beautifully crafted sentence says: "Polar bears ride on floes of ice, stalking seals, wishing fish, as the six-month sun begins to rise slowly in the Arctic skies." 

I am so glad that I discovered this gem in my classroom library and I'm looking forward to reading it with my new class of third graders next year!