Books Archives | Lucky To Be In First

September 4, 2017 Leave a Comment

Sound & Light

Do you teach the Next Generation Science Standards? I recently created a Sound & Light unit to use with my first graders this year! For the first time, I’m actually excited to teach Science!

{You can read more about the Sound & Light here!}

Of course, it helps to have great books to go along with the unit, right?

Here’s a peek at the perfect books for Sound & Light that are just perfect for first graders!!
Click on any of the pictures and it’ll take you right to the book.

This post contains affiliate links. By purchasing an item on these sites using these links, I will receive a small commission on your purchase…which I’ll use to buy even more books! For more information about my Disclosure Policy, please visit this link.

It’s important that every child understands that they are a Scientist! This book is a great way to kick start your classroom learning!

This is a great book to review the five senses! and kick off your discussions on Light and Sound!
I learned A TON while creating this unit and this books were just right for kids {and teachers!}
This is a very comprehensive book on Sound! Kid friendly illustrations, too!

This just may be my favorite book {along with the Light one!} It is absolutely perfect for young learners and it includes experiments for kids to take their learning even further!

Can you ever go wrong with a Rookie Reader? Simple language for complex ideas! Love the picture dictionary in the back, too!

This is a fabulous book for learning all you need to know about light waves!

I am so grateful for the authors out there who can make really challenging concepts so simple to understand through words and illustrations! I love both of Wendy Pfeffer’s books for this unit!

This book on light is just right for first graders!Every child loves their shadow! And I’ve recently discovered that I love Oscar! Oscar is a very curious cat who helps students understand scientific concepts!
As you start to learn more about sound and light, students soon discover that the two ideas are related…and they can communicate using what they know! This is a perfect book to help with that idea!
And it wouldn’t be a Science unit if we didn’t have the Frizz helping us, right?

I purchased the entire Magic School Bus DVD set because they are just perfect for Indoor Recess!

But the two episodes that are just right for Sound and Light are Magic School Bus: Inside the Haunted House and Magic School Bus: Gets a Bright Idea.

Wrapping up the unit is the perfect time for these videos because students will have a strong idea of what’s happening after they’ve had a chance to explore on their own!

Want to read more about Sound and Light? Check out this blog post!

Slainte!

April 26, 2017 Leave a Comment

Spring Bookshelf – What to Read This Season

Well, life must have been pretty busy these past two months, because my Books Read list is awfully short! I read so few books in March, that I combined April in with this list!

This post contains affiliate links for Amazon and Book of the Month. By purchasing an item on these sites using these links, I will receive a small commission on your purchase {which helps me buy even more books!} For more information about my Disclosure Policy, please visit this link.

Sophie Kinsella’s books are always hit-or-miss for me. Fortunately, My Not So Perfect Life was a hit. Definitely something entertaining that you should add to your summer reading list!

It takes place in London and that always makes me want to move {or at least visit London!}

Hey Harry, Hey Matilda is a fun story told through a series of emails between a set of twins. You may recall from my January Bookshelf post that Meg Cabot’s book is a story completely written through emails, texts, and news articles. That was an entertaining book.

This one? It’s good…not great. Entertaining, but quite honestly, not worth rushing out to pick up!

The first Book of the Month title I read was Marlena by Julie Buntin. To be honest, it was a little depressing. The narrator, Cat, moves to a small town in Michigan at 15. It tells a drawn out story about how she got mixed up with a troubled girl name Marlena.

I’ll be honest…it just didn’t make me want to pick it up and read. I finished it, but it took far too long! But, there’s a book out there for every reader, so don’t let me stop you from picking it up. It was well-written for sure. I just didn’t love the plot {which kinda important in a novel, right?}

Okay, so The Most Dangerous Place on Earth was the opposite of Marlena – I couldn’t put it down! The story takes place in the fancier part of the Bay Area {definitely not where I live!}. The book starts with a group of kids in middle school, where a tragedy occurs.

Fast forward a few years, and it follows the same group of kids through the high-pressure high school years.

It’s fantastic!

You know I love me some James P! One of his latest {he comes out with about 14 books a month!} is Never Never. It’s a mystery that happens in the Australian country. It was one of the few books of his that gave me the heebie-jeebies!

Definitely a good read for the upcoming summer break!

Of course I had to sneak in a Lauren Layne book this month! Blurred Lines is a delicious, guilty pleasure read. The premise: can a guy and a girl just be friends? This is a super fun read that answers the age-old question!

Who knew I liked suspense novels? I can’t get enough these days. Behind Closed Doors is excellent and you MUST add it to your TBR list! It’s not scary-suspenseful. It’s more of the “HOW can this happen to someone!” suspense!

The Good Girl has been on my Kindle wishlist for quite some time. It was on flash sale during April, so I snagged it. Really good! If you like to read books {like Gone Girl} where you try to piece together things as you’re reading along, you will enjoy this one!

It’s told from the perspectives of the mother of the missing girl, the man who kidnapped her, and the detective on the case. It’s awesome!

Hope that fills your reading queue for a bit!

Slainte!

April 4, 2017 7 Comments

We’re All Wonders Mini Book {FREEBIE}

This post contains affiliate links for Amazon. By purchasing an item on the Amazon site using these links, I will receive a small commission on your purchase. For more information about my Disclosure Policy, please visit this link.
So if you’ve stopped by before, you know that I am a HUGE reader and I will pick up anything and try it out! Well, a few years ago, I saw so many friends posting about Wonder that I knew I needed to read it. Of course, I loved it {and uncharacteristically, sobbed throughout the book}

I then eagerly awaited the rest of the series.
And very patiently for R.J. Palacio’s latest release, We’re All Wonders.
You guys, this picture book spin-off is just delightful! It is perfect for Kindergarten through second-grade learners.

After reading the story, we had such a thought-provoking conversation about what it may feel like to be different. Kids shared stories {of course!} about what it felt like when someone made fun of their shoes, their hair color, their name, etc.

At the end of the story, Auggie says, “I know I can’t change the way I look. But maybe, just maybe people can change the way they see…”

We chatted about what we would/should/will change how we see the world around us.

I just LOVE the list they came up with:
• how we treat the elderly
• being kinder to those with special needs
• loving who we are
• being more helpful to those around us
• not staring at someone who looks different than us
• asking to help someone who may need it

My favorite line was from a kiddo who said, “We are all the same…because we are DIFFERENT!”

To follow up the conversation, we completed these little mini books!

We’re All Wonders Mini Book FREEBIE
Of course, I had to print it on blue Astrobright paper…because everything is more fun in color, right? Just print & fold and you’re good to go!