Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash

My free inquiry project is going to focus on how themed books for the elementary classroom can be used to show students that reading can be meaningful and bring pleasure to our lives. Themes books can also be a springboard for cross curricular connections. I will choose a book theme for each month that correlates with a holiday, season, or other significant theme. I will gather these books by searching in Pinterest and other websites, and reading them myself beforehand to make sure they are appropriate for K-3 (which is the age range I am focusing on). I will also make Pinterest boards as a resource folder.

From my own experience and observations, I have seen how children’s books can bring joy, humor, and creative thinking to students’ lives. I have also seen how books can teach principles and educate students through story. Books can be educational and relaxing, and the sooner students understand that reading is exciting and unlocks their imagination, the sooner they will have a love of reading for life.

September – Autumn and Apples K-3

photo from Pinterest

Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn by Kenard Pak is a book about saying farewell to summer and embracing all the beautiful changes that autumn brings. The artwork is beautiful and the read aloud version on YouTube (linked above) is cheerful and engaging.

Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert tells the story of the travels of Leaf Man. The artwork is all made out of leaves, even all of the animals! There are themes of migration, changing seasons and a variation of animals.

Cross curricular connections:

Art -collect leaves, make a creation inspired by Lois Ehlert

Science-use your 5 senses to experience autumn, what do animals do now that the weather is getting colder?

Social Studies- What kinds of trees grow in different parts of Canada?

Math-gather items from outside and sort them, make patterns

How Do Apples Grow? by Betsy Maestro is a book about how apples grow from bud to flower to fruit.

art-apple print painting

science- study the life cycle of an apple

Social Studies- how does our province use apples? where are they grown?

math- cut open an apple and count the seeds

PE- apple catch

October – Thanksgiving and Pumpkins

Thanksgiving in the Woods shares the story of community traditions surrounding thanksgiving. Ages 4-8

Franklin’s Thanksgiving by Paulette Bourgois is a classic story of family, friends, and traditions. The artwork is brimming with autumn colours and would be a great cross curricular story.

Cross curricular connections:

science: change of seasons

social studies: how do other countries celebrate harvest season?

Art: make cornstalk dolls

Language Arts: write onomatopoeia poems about Thanksgiving

Pumpkins is a non fiction book by Jaqueline Farmer. It is full of facts about pumpkins and traditions surrounding them. Carving jack o lanterns, roasting seeds, making pies…. She also gives a lot of information about how different cultures have used pumpkins.

Curricular Connections:

Math: count seeds

Language arts: write a story from a pumpkins point of view

Art: carve pumpkins, arrange seeds in a mosaic on paper and glue them on

Science: Study the life cycle of a pumpkin