Fayth Watkins' Favorite Classroom Books!

Corduroy is a book of a bear that leaves his safety of a department store to do anything to be adopted by a little girl. Students can create a character web where they identify traits of Corduroy from the book. This book is a level 3.5 on the accelerated reading leveling system.

Goodnight Moon is a book that students could use a scavenger hunt for while reading. Students could also research the moon and facts about the moon. This book is a level 16 on the DRA leveling system.

The Snowy Day is a book of what a boy named Peter does on a snowy day. Students can fill in a making connections chart of what Peter does on a snowy day from the book and what they would do on a snowy day. This book is a level 2.5 on the accelerated reader leveling system. 

If you Give A Mouse A Cookie is a story about a boy that gives a mouse a cookie and what will happen there after. A teacher could use a mouse puppet to tell the story then after reading create a tchart and take a class vote of what each person's favorite cookie is and then analyze the data. This book is a level 410L on the lexile leveling system.

No, David! is a story about a boy who always hears "No, David!" from his mother. As a whole class, the students and teachers can participate in a discussion about what David could have done instead of what he did so he would not have gotten into trouble. The teacher can create a T-Chart with one side saying No, David and the other saying Yes, David and then display it in the class. This book is a level 10 on the DRA leveling system.

Bark, George is a story of a dog whose mother is concerned because he making different animal noises instead of barking. His mother takes him to the vet who finds animals inside of him. Students could practice sequencing by placing the animals in the correct order of how they happened in the book or could do a character study on George the dog. This book is a level 14 on the DRA leveling system.

Cookie's Week is a story about a kitten who is not graceful. Each day something different happens to Cookie. Students could practice sequencing and sorting by what happens to Cookie each day of the week. This book is a level 1.3 on the accelerated reader leveling system.

The Mitten is a story about a boy who loses one of his mittens that his grandmother made for him after promising he would not lose them, but eventually finds it after many animals have made it their home. Students can practicing sequencing a story by sequencing the order of which animals went into the mitten first, all the way to the last one. This book is a level 20-24 on the DRA leveling system.

Strega Nona is a story about a woman and her helper who wants to prove to the townspeople his knowledge of the secret recipe. Students can create a story map for this book that includes the setting, characters, problem, and solution. This book is a level 730L on the lexile leveling system.

Stellaluna is a story of a bat who is accidentally dropped from her mother and lands in a birds nest where she is taken in and cared for as long as she acts like a bird and not a bat. This would allow a great research activity for students to research bats and their way of life. Students could also create a venn diagram to research and compare and contrast bats from birds. This is a level 3.5 on the accelerated reader leveling system.

Alexander And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day is a book about a boy that has a terrible day and can't wait for the day to end. Every student ( and teacher) can relate to this story because everyone has a bad day at some point. Students can write about a time they had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. This book is a level 3.7 on the accelerated reader leveling system.

The Giving Tree is a story about a tree that loved a boy who would come to her everyday and eat her apples and swing from her branches. As the boy grew up, he wanted more from the tree and the tree kept giving. One activity to go with this book is that students could create their own giving tree and write about a time that someone helped them by giving and how it made them feel. This book is a level 530L on the lexile leveling sytem.

Charlotte's Web is a classic story that has many activities that can go along with it. One activity could be a character study of each character in the book or you could have students choose one character to do a character study on. This book is a level 4.4 on the accelerated reading leveling system.

The Rainbow fish is a story about a fish who learns to make friends by his shiny scales. An activity to go with this is to have students create their own rainbow fish with their favorite colored shiny scales. This book is a level 410L on the lexile leveling system.

Thank You Mr. Falker is book based on a true story of the authors struggles with dyslexia and how a great teacher believed in her and helped her learn how to read. An activity that teachers can use in the classroom is to use it as a lesson to discuss bullying and how not everyone learns the same and is different. Students could also write about a time a teacher believed in them or helped them. Students who have dyslexia can also connect to this book and know they are not alone. This book is a level 24 on the DRA leveling system.

Amazing Grace is a story about a girl that learns that she can be anything she wants to be, despite what other people may think. An activity that goes along with this book is for teachers to assign roles to their students and allow them to act out the story. Students could also create a character study about each character in the book. This book is a level 680L on the lexile leveling system.