Historical Fiction Book Club {Freebies!}

Getting ready to start my historical fiction book clubs! I love getting students outside their comfort zone. Many students don't think they like historical fiction until they get some great books in their hands!

If you're thinking of starting your own book clubs, here are a few things that can help you get started on your own book club adventure! My teaching partner and I think that the "prep" is key. For this book club, we're focusing on the Civil Rights Movement. Since this time period deals with lots of tension, we send a letter home to the parents to let them know about what will be going on in our classroom and book clubs. We've also done a lot of work making this unit relevant to our students. We look for books that are current, well-written, and engaging!

If you're wanting to start book clubs, here's a peek at my Historical Fiction Unit.

{Click the image to snag a free copy}

During the first week of book club, we really try and focus on the time period. Getting students to become aware of the setting and the important events that took place during their time period. We keep track using different handouts and activities so that we can refer back to these as often as needed! 

How do you start a new reading unit?

Black History Must Haves!

Are you looking for some "new to you" picture books to incorporate into your upper elementary classroom? Two fantastic books that I use during the month of February are: Freedom on the Menu and Freedom Summer! I love to use these books to teach history, craft, and practice great {Common Core aligned} reading strategies.

What are some of your favorite books to read during Black History Month?

Favorite Civil Rights Reads!

Since February is Black History Month, I thought this would a great time to link up with the lovely ladies at the Teaching Trio to share my three favorite Civil Rights picture books for their Favorite Things Linky!

In 5th grade, we have an entire integrated unit about the Civil Rights Movement. We read tons and tons of primary sources. We watch videos, we learn about the history, we make timelines. Its truly one of the best units we teach all year. However, one of my favorite ways to "teach" this time period is through amazing picture books. You can see more of my favorite books by checking out my past post on Historical Fiction & my Civil Rights feed!

Here are my three favorites:

Freedom on the Menu
This picture book is great for teaching the idea of injustice. Told through the eyes of a little girl who wants a banana split at the lunch counter this book resonates with my 5th graders. The book is extremely well written and has great "stop and jot" moments. This book is also a great companion to primary sources about the Greensboro Sit-ins. {Click each book cover to see more on Amazon!}

Freedom Summer
 This book focuses on two best friends that try and go swimming together at the public pool, only to find out the pool is only open to whites. The writing is impeccable. For fifth graders, this book is perfect for meeting our multimedia standard in Language Arts. Have students read the entire story typed up without pictures first. Then, reread the story together with the pictures! The pictures definitely add to the tone, beauty, and understanding of the text. I'm so glad a fellow colleague thought up this great lesson!

A Taste of Colored Water
I love this book because it's written from a completely different perceptive. Instead of being through the eyes of an African American child, this story is told through two rural boys that have no concept of segregation. Lots of inferencing and imagination are at work in this story! The boys venture into the city with their uncle lured by the taste of "colored" or rainbow flavored water. My students love the humor but always see the bigger message of this text. It also pairs extremely well with the picture book White Water.

I use all of these books to teach about different historical perspectives and events. I also use them as our models before we start writing our own historical fiction. If you're celebrating Black History Month and need some great reads definitely start with my three fravorites!

What are some of your favorite February picture books?

Martin's Big Words Freebie!

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! I know many people are not as lucky to be off today to celebrate and I know this freebie comes a little late but I thought I'd take a minute and share a quick activity for anyone studying Martin Luther King Jr. or readings for Black History Month.

My fifth graders come with a lot of knowledge about Martin Luther King Jr. from previous grades. One of my favorite books to share with them is Martin's Big Words. This book has so many great quotes that can really open up conversation about so many social issues or social injustices. You can check the book out from the library or watch it here on You Tube!



After watching the video, I assign each student a different quote from the book. You could also let students choose a quote that speaks to them. We do a huge display as a wing out in the hallway so I try to make sure all quotes are represented.

Students spend time thinking about their quote. Researching how their quote relates to Dr. King's life or how they see his quote realized in our world today. This activity is a great 1 - 2 day activity to get students thinking and talking about social justice.We use this during our Civil Rights study during Black History Month. This is a great introduction activity to get kids to see the power of words!

Here's what the handout looks like:
{Grab it here from Google Docs or click the image}

What are your favorite MLK books or activities?