My Text Set

I chose to do my text set on space. It is the first unit I will teach in the fall and I have never taught it before. I liked finding a variety of texts including picture books, non-fiction articles, novels, and even poetry which blew me away.

My favorite book from my list is called George's Secret Key to the Universe. The main character, George, finds out that his neighbor is a scientist with a special computer that talks and thinks. This computer also holds the key to visiting places in the universe. Of course if this computer were to get in the wrong hands, it would be devastating. The book is great for a read aloud because it has amazing pictures and really intertwines factual information into the fictional storyline. I thought this novel would be a great way to engage my students, while learning about space.

I also found a book of poems about space called Blast Off!: Poems about Space. I would implement this resource by making copies of the some of the poems for the students. They would read the poems in groups and discuss not only the content of the poem but the style as well. After analyzing and discussing the poems, we would make our own space poems. It would be a great connection to writing and would give students a chance to write about their learning in an interesting and creative way.

Below are the resources I found:

(1998-2009). Kids Astronomy. Retrieved May 10, 2010, from Kids Know It Network: http://www.kidsastronomy.com/

Becklake, S. (1998). All about space. New York, NY: Scholastic Reference.

Bredeson, C. (1998). Gus Grissom: a space biography. Springfield, NJ: Enslow Publishers.

Canright, S. (2010). NASA kid's' club. Retrieved May 10, 2010, from NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forkids/kidsclub/flash/index.html

Cowen, R. (2007, March). Bang: the cataclysmic death of stars. National Geographic, 78-95.

Goodman, S. E. (2001). Ultimate field trip 5. New York, NY: Macmillan/McGraw-Hill.

Hawking, L. & Hawking, S. (2007). George’s secret key to the universe. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

Hopkins, L. B. (1995). Blast off!: poems about space. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.

Jackson, E. (1994). The winter solstice. Minneapolis, MN: Millbrook Press.

Jeffrey, L. S. (1998). Christa McAuliffe: a space biography. Springfield, NJ: Enslow.

Moore, E. (2000). The magic school bus: space explorers. New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc.

Morton, O. (2004, January). Mars planet ice. National Geographic, 5-30.

Nadeau, I. (2006). Learning about the movement of the sun and other stars with graphic organizers. New York, NY: The Rosen Publishing Group.

Nicolson, C. P. (1999). Comets, asteroids and meteorites. Buffalo, NY: Kids Can Press.

Ornes, S. (2008, November 19). Speedy stars. Science News for Kids, Retrieved May 10, 2010, from http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/articles/20081119/Feature1.asp

Ornes, S. (2010, May 5). Planning for Mars. Science News for Kids, Retrieved May 10, 2010, from http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/articles/20100505/Note1.asp

Osborne, M. (1996). Magic tree house: midnight on the moon. New York, NY: Random House, Inc.

Rau, D. M. (2007). Black holes. Minnespolis, MN: Compass Point Books.

Rau, D. M. (2007). Space exploration. Minnespolis, MN: Compass Point Books.

Redfern, M. (1998). The Kingfisher young people's book of space. New York, NY: Kingfisher.

Simon, S. (2002). Destination, space. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.

White, N. (1999). The magic school bus sees stars. NewYork, NY: Scholastic Inc.

Williams, G. T., & Regan, D. F. (1987). Adventures in the solar system. Los Angeles, CA: Price/Stern/Sloan Publishers, Inc.

Zelon, H. (2002). Apollo 11 mission: the first man to walk on the moon. New York, NY: PowerKids Press.