SheilaBerryACEI

Children’s Literature Integrated with Elementary Geography: 

Children’s Literature Integrated with Elementary Geography By: Sheila R. Berry Slippery Rock University

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“The purpose of geography is to provide a ‘view of the whole’ earth by mapping the location of places.” Ptolemy, 150 CE http://geography.about.com

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“Literacy means being able to speak, listen, read, write, and view; thinking is an integral part of all these processes.” www.state.tn.us/education/ci/cistandards2001/la/cilaglossary.htm

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“Integrating social studies and reading skills serves two purposes: (1) to reinforce reading skills and (2) to reinforce social studies vocabulary and concepts.” William P. Fitzhugh

Activities to Incorporate Literacy with Geography: 

Activities to Incorporate Literacy with Geography Brainstorming Crossword puzzles Sorting and Classifying Puzzle Boxes Word Searches Alphabetical Lists Word and Picture Matches Design Travel Brochures and Posters Reading Children’s Literature Reading Poems

PARTS OF PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY: 

PARTS OF PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY Continents Oceans Lakes Rivers Mountains Deserts States Countries Climate Fauna and flora Soils Wild vegetation

The Social Studies Curriculum requires that students need to use higher order thinking skills such as:: 

The Social Studies Curriculum requires that students need to use higher order thinking skills such as: Compare Explain Analyze Predict Construct Interpret These are all dependent on a variety of literacy skills and processes. www.literacymatters.org

Incorporating children’s literature into the geography curriculum allows for the students to practice literacy skills as well as geography skills. Before, during and after reading strategies will allow this integration to be done more easily.: 

Incorporating children’s literature into the geography curriculum allows for the students to practice literacy skills as well as geography skills. Before, during and after reading strategies will allow this integration to be done more easily.

Before Reading Strategies: 

Before Reading Strategies The student will: Activate and build upon prior knowledge and experiences Predict what the book is about based on its’ features, visuals, and the text type Set a purpose for reading Example: Anticipation Guide https://www.seattleschools.org/area/literacy/before-during-after/before-during-after.htm

During Reading Strategies: 

During Reading Strategies The student will: Connect new texts with experiences and prior knowledge Check predictions for accuracy Form sensory images Make inferences Determine key vocabulary words Interpret traits of main characters Self-monitor own difficulty in decoding and comprehending text Interpret diagrams, maps and charts Ask how, why, and what questions to understand Recognize cause-effect relationships and drawing conclusions Notice when comprehensions problems arise Example: Character Map https://www.seaattleschools.org/area/literacy/before-during-after/before-during-after.htm

After Reading Strategies: 

After Reading Strategies The student will: Discuss accuracy of predictions Summarize key ideas Connect and compare information from texts to knowledge and experience Explain and describe new ideas and information in own words Retell story in own words including setting, characters and sequence of events Discuss and compare authors and illustrators Reflect on strategies that helped the most and least and then tell why Example: Semantic Map https://www.seattleschools.org/area/literacy/before-during-after/before-during-after.htm

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Before, during and after reading strategies will be used when incorporating children’s literature with geography

Deserts: 

Deserts A landscape form or region that receives little precipitation. worldnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

Integrating Literature and the Study of Deserts : 

Integrating Literature and the Study of Deserts Discuss with students geographic features, climate and other natural resources affect how they live Have students locate deserts on a map of the United States Compare with the students how a desert region is the same or different from where they live Introduce the students to the book The Three Little Javelinas by Susan Lowell

The Three Little Javelinas: 

The Three Little Javelinas The teacher will read the book out loud to the students The teacher will ask the students to listen to and look for things that is a feature of a desert Before the end of the story the teacher will ask the students to use the prediction strategy to try and predict what will happen at the end of the story Have the students write down their predictions which should be based on what they have already learned about deserts Upon completion of the story compare students’ predictions In review, have the students talk about how the features of the region in the story is different than where they live

Oceans: 

Oceans An ocean is a large body of water constituting a principal part of the hydrosphere Worldnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

Integrating Literature and the Study of Oceans: 

Integrating Literature and the Study of Oceans The teacher will ask the students to describe what an ocean is The students will be asked to name any animals that might be found in the ocean The students will be asked to identify an ocean on a map The students will describe what area they live in and if they live near an ocean The teacher will introduce the book A House for Hermit Crab by Eric Carle

A House for Hermit Crab : 

A House for Hermit Crab The students will be asked what they know about hermit crabs and to describe what they think they look like The teacher will then read the book A House for Hermit Crab Throughout the story the teacher will stop periodically to ask the students questions about the story After the story has been read the students will discuss the different sea creatures they read about in the story to check for comprehension

Mountains: 

Mountains A landform that extends above the surrounding terrain in a limited area en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountains

Mountains: 

Mountains

Integrating Literature and the Study of Mountains: 

Integrating Literature and the Study of Mountains The teacher will display several pictures of mountains and ask the students to describe what they see The students will be asked if they live by any mountains The students will locate mountains on a map The teacher will introduce the book When I Was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant

When I Was Young in the Mountains: 

When I Was Young in the Mountains Before reading the book When I Was Young in the Mountains the teacher will ask the students to make predictions about the story based on the title and the cover The teacher will then read the book out loud to the students Upon completion of the book the students will be given questions to respond to: *What state did the story take place in? *Why do you think the story took place in that state? *Where do we live? *Are there any mountains near where we live?

Rivers: 

Rivers A large natural stream of water (larger than a creek) worldnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

Integrating Literature and the Study of Rivers: 

Integrating Literature and the Study of Rivers Have students list as many things as they already know about rivers and what they look like Ask the students if there are any rivers close by to where they live The teacher will introduce the book The Floating House by Scott Russell Sanders

The Floating House: 

The Floating House Before reading The Floating House the teacher will ask the students to make predictions about what the book will be about based on the cover While the teacher is reading the story the students will check their predictions to see if they are correct Upon completion of the story the students will retell the story in their own words

The History of Geography: 

The History of Geography “Geography began with the Greeks who explored and described in a somewhat systematic way by capturing their observations and making maps. While ancient maps have been lost, maps were created from the beginning of travel to more distant places.” http://www.utk.edu/~wrobinso/531_lec_geo.html

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“Maps are graphic representations that facilitate a spatial understanding of things, concepts, conditions, processes, or events in the human world.” http://web.utk.edu/~wrobinso/531_lec_geo.html

Flat Stanley: 

Flat Stanley The teacher will introduce the book Flat Stanley by The students will be asked to make predictions about what the book will be about using an Anticipation Guide The students will listen to the teacher read the book out loud After the book is completed the students will then review their answers to the Anticipation Guide and discuss their responses

Poetry: 

Poetry “Poetry celebrates the individual word, the sound of language, and the rhythm of language in a way that narrative does not…It’s important to expose very young children to poetry because children build the foundation for learning to read through being exposed to the sounds and rhythms of language.” PBS Parents

“And My Heart Soars” by Chief Dan George: 

“And My Heart Soars” by Chief Dan George The beauty of the trees, the softness of the air, the fragrance of the grass, speaks to me. The summit of the mountain, the thunder of the sky, the rhythm of the sea, speaks to me. The faintness of the stars, the freshness of the morning, the dew drop on the flower, speaks to me. The strength of fire, the taste of salmon, the trail of the sun, And the life that never goes away, They speak to me. And my heart soars.

GOT Geography!: 

GOT Geography! The students will listen to several different poem selections from Got Geography! by Lee Bennett Hopkins The teacher will then discuss some of the poems and what they mean Students will be asked to write their own poem related to geography

Additional Children’s Literature Related to Geography: 

Additional Children’s Literature Related to Geography Desperate Desert…Anita Ganeri Baby Rattlesnake: A Native American Tale…told by Te Ata, adapted by Lynn Moroney Cactus Hotel…Brenda Z. Guiberson Desert is Theirs…Byrd Baylor Death Valley: A Day in the Desert…Nancy Smiler Levinson Desert…Elizabeth Haldene Racing Rivers and Odious Oceans…Anita Ganeri Is This a House for a Crab?...Megan McDonald Hermit Crab Moves House…Linda Hartley A New True Book: Oceans…Katharine Jones Carter What the Sea Left Behind…Mimi Gregoire Carpenter Humphrey the Lost Whale…Wendy Tokuda and Richard Hall The Magic School Bus on the Ocean Floor…Johanna Cole

Additional Children’s Literature Related to Geography (cont.): 

Additional Children’s Literature Related to Geography (cont.) How Mountains Are Made…Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld Racing Rivers and Odious Oceans…Anita Ganeri The Amazing Impossible Erie Canal…Cheryle Harness My Land Sings: Stories from the Rio Grande…Rudolfo A. Anaya Mapping Penny’s World…Loreen Leedy The Alphabet Atlas…Arthur Yorinks Maps and Globes…Jack Knowlton My Map Book…Sara Fanelli Mojave…Diane Siebert My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States…selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins Seaside Poems…J. Bennett and N. Sharratt * All pictures courtesy of Amazon.com and Google.com