Spiders

Bishop, N.  (2007).  Spiders.  New York, NY:  Scholastic Nonfiction.

Through beautiful close-up pictures of spiders, Nic Bishop informs the reader about the eating habits of a spider and the anatomy of the spider. Bishop also provides rare pictures of a spider molting. The reader also finds out about mating rituals of a spider.  Bishop provides a brief paragraph at the end explaining how he got his pictures on spiders.  He conveniently provided a glossary of terms relating to the spider.

Other books that Nic Bishop has written and provided photographs are the following:

Bishop, N.  (2010).   Lizards. New York, NY:  Scholastic Nonfiction.

Bishop, N.  (2012).  Snakes.  New York, NY:  Scholastic Nonfiction.

Bishop, N.  (2008).  Frogs. New York, NY:  Scholastic Nonfiction.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Selznick, B.  (2007).  The invention of Hugo Cabret.  New York, NY: Scholastics, Inc.

Hugo Cabret lost his father in a fire accident at the museum where he worked.  Hugo had to go live with his uncle because he was the only family he had.  He worked in a train station fixing the clocks.  One day, his uncle did not returned and Hugo took over his job.  He spent most of his days trying to fix an automaton his father had found at the museum.  He had to steal from Melies, who owned a toy shop at the train station.  He was caught and had to work off his debt at the shop.  He also lost his note book with the drawings of the automaton.  When his friend helps him get his notebook, they discover Papa Georges used to be a film director and Hugo finds a family in him.

Since a film was made of this book, the a lesson plan for students can be to see the film and read the book and make a comparison.  By using a Venn diagram, they can list all things the same and all things that are unique to each of the media.

7th Grade TEKS-Reporting Category 1 -Figure 19 F -RS -make connections between and across texts, including other media (e.g., film, play), and provide textual evidence.

Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village

Schlitz, L.  (2007).  Good masters!  sweet ladies! Voices from a medieval village.  Cambridge, MA:  Candlewick Press.

Good Masters!  Good Ladies!  was written by a librarian in a form of a monologue so that she could get her students interested in history.  We see the stories in the point of view of several people living during medieval times.  We find out some of their customs and rules while living in this time period.  The reader also learns something about the feudal system and how non-land owners had to grow crops and pay a Lord his chair.  Sometimes they were left without anything.

Other books that are similar to this book are as follows:

Willard, N.  (2008).  A visit to William Blakes inn. New Jersey:  Audible, Inc.

Fleischman, S.  (2003).  The Whipping Boy.  New York, NY:  Greenwillow Books.

Schlitz, L.A.  (2012).  Splendors and Glooms.  Cambridge, MA:  Candlewick.

Bridge to Terabithia

Paterson, K.  (1977).  Bridge to Terabithia.  New York, NY:  Harper Trophy.

Jess Aaron practices his running every morning before milking the cow.  He wants to be the fastest runner in fifth grade.  On the first day of school at the anticipated race, a new girl shows up and competes with the boys.  She turns out to be faster than all of them.  Jess becomes friends with Leslie, and together they have adventures in the woods in their "magical" kingdom.  One day after a hard rain, Leslie has an accident.  Aaron cannot believe he has lost his best friends and he must find a way to deal with what happened and how to go on without her, but he finds the courage.

If you liked to read this book, here are some books that are similar to the Bridge to Terabithia.

Rawls, W.  (2011).  Where the red fern grows.  New York, NY:  Random House LLC.

Babbitt, N.  (2010).  Tuck Everlasting.  New York, NY:  Macmillan

L'Engle, M.  (2010).  A wrinkle in time.  New York, NY:  Macmillan.

Rules

Lord, C.  (2006).  Rules.  New York, NY:  Scholastics, Inc.

Catherine finds it difficult to make friends because of her autistic brother, David.  She has to constantly remind him of the rules of how she wants him to behave.  When a new girls moves into the neighborhood, she thought she was finally going to have a friend, but she finds that she has a few prejudices against her brother.  When she meets Jason, who is in a wheelchair and cannot talk or move as he wants to, Catherine must decide if she wants their friendship be seen in public and possibly loose her friends.

To see a trailer on this book, go to the following link:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2V3U5eNXIyQ

Landy, D. (2007). Skulduggery Pleasant. New York, NY:  HarperCollins Children’s Books.

Stephanie's favorite uncle has just past away, and in his will, he left her the biggest portion of his estates and properties.  One day as she tries to spend the night in her mansion, she is attacked by a man who broke into the house.  Skulduggery Pleasant comes to rescue her.  He introduces her to a world of magic and monsters.  Because of this, Stephanie and Skulduggery suspect that her uncle was murdered.  Stephanie decides to become part of this world as Skulduggery's side kick as they try to solve the mystery of her uncle's murder.

Skulduggery Pleasant is a mystery book and would work well to teach students inferences.  The teacher can choose sections of the book where students can infer what they think happened or is happening and provide textual evidence.

7th Grade Reading TEKS - Reporting Category 2 - Figure 19 D - RS SS -summarize, paraphrase, and synthesize texts in ways that maintain meaning and logical order within a text and across texts. Readiness Standard (Fiction) / Supporting Standard.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Kinney, J.  (2007).  Diary of a wimpy kid.  New York, NY:  Amulet Books.

Greg Keffley is in middle school, his mother got him a journal so that he can write his "feelings" in his book.  Greg finds bullies in middle school and at home with his brother.  Greg does not seem to be always the victim.  He seems to always take advantage of his friend, Rowley.  He tricks him and convinces him to do things that he normally would not do.  When Rowley decides not to be his friend anymore, Greg realizes that things are not the same without his friend.

Many authors have taken the idea of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and created books similar to this one.  Some of the successful books are:

Russell, R.R.  (2009).  Dork diaries.  New York, NY:  Aladdin.

Peirce, L.  (2011).  Big Nate in a class by himself.  New York, NY:  HarperCollins Publishers.

Kinney, J.  (2013).  Diary of a wimpy kid:  hard luck.  New York, NY:  Amulet Books.