The Three Pigs

Author: David Wiesner

Illustrator: David Wiesner

Genre: Traditional Literature

Annotation
Three pigs collect materials and build houses. One is made of straw, the other is made of sticks, and the third pig made his out of bricks. The big bad wolf huffs and puffs and tries to blow the houses down.

ELA Content Standards

Key Ideas and Details- Grade 3
3.) Describe characters in a story (eg., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.

How it Connects: Students can discuss the traits of the three pigs and the wolf. They can also talk about the pigs motivation while building their houses and the wolfs motivation for wanting to blow them down.

Craft and Structure- Grade 1
4.) Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feeling or appeal to the senses.

How it Connects: Students can pick out the words and phrases in the story that show how the pigs feel while building the houses, and how they feel when the wold blows it down.

Tier 3 Vocabulary

materials, build, tough

Classroom Usage

Independent Reading: Students can read the story silently to themselves. After they are finished they can design their own houses out of whatever materials they want to use.

Differentiation
This story would be good for ELL because it opens up the readers imagination while helping them work on their reading skills.

Jack and the Beanstalk

Author: Gavin Scott

Illustrator: Gavin Scott

Genre: Traditional Literature

Annotation
A boy named Jack exchanges his cow for "magic beans" from an older man. Jack's mother was angry he did this and through the beans out the window. The next morning, a giant beanstalk had grown and reached the sky. Jack climbed it all the way to the top and found a house that a giant lived in. When jack went in the house he noticed that the giant was not home. He began to steal gold, food, hens, and other things from the giant and him and his mother lived happily ever after.

ELA Content Standards

Key Ideas and Details- Grade 1
3.) Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.

How it Connects: Students can discuss what the different characters are like. How the mother feels when the boy trades the cow, how the plot changes when the beanstalk grows, and how all of the characters are effected by the trade. Students can refer back to the book to find key details.

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas- Grade 1

7.) Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.

How it Connects: Students can look at the illustrations on each page and talk about the traits of each character, where the plot takes place, and what is happening in each illustration.

Tier 3 Vocabulary

grew, trade, reach

Classroom Usage

Independent Reading: Students can read on their own, then create their own picture of a plant and label the parts and make up a story about the plant, like Jack and the Beanstalk.

Differentiation
This story would be good for ELL, gifted, and dyslexic students because it is an easier read that opens up the students imagination and will help work on their comprehension.

The Wall

Author: Eve Bunting

Illustrator: Ronald Himler

Genre: Historical Fiction

Annotation
A little boy and his father have come from far away to visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington. The father and boy began searching for his grandfather's name until finally the father puts his finger on it. This is a good story that is about Memorial Day, Veterans Day, or any other day when children and grown ups are thinking about war and its consequences.

ELA Content Standards

Craft and Structure- Grade 1
4.) Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggests feelings or appeal to the senses.

How it Connects: 
Students can discuss the feelings of the boy and his father as they are visiting the wall and talking about the war that the grandfather died in.

Key Ideas and Details- Grade 1
3.) Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.

How it Connects: Students can discuss where the story takes place, where the son and father go to visit the wall, and what they learn about the war through the story. This would be a good intro book when trying to bring up the topic of war to children.

Tier 3 Vocabulary

consequences, fighter, strong, fearless

Classroom Usage

Centers: Students can split up into four groups (more or less depending on the amount of students) and discuss the topic of the book, if anyone knows someone who is in the army, navy, exc. and ask questions as a class for the teacher to answer.

Differentiation
This book would definitely be good for ELL because it is a more advanced text, and it involves a sensitive topic. This helps the reader learn information about a topic that they may have never been introduced to before, and works on their comprehension.